Caddy Rudeness

[Efthreeoh]

So I have the day off work. I go down to Charlottesville, VA for the day (the wife was getting her hair done...). So after driving a 2012 F30 335i for the past week as a loaner car (and hated it), I decide I need to drive the ATS to see how it compares while the F30 is fresh in my ass-o-meter.

I go in to the C-ville Caddy dealer, I tell the salesman I want to drive both the 2.0L Turbo with the manual trans, and the 3.6L (auto only) with the magnetic-shock suspension. So the Sales guy says, "well we might not have the 2.0L manual, we don't stock those because not everyone wants one and when we get one it sits on the lot too long." Same shit I hear 10 years ago when Lincoln sold the LS... He says he'll check anyway. He comes back, nope they don't keep them in stock. We have a 2.0 L with the automatic right over here, you can shift it manually." I said "no, I want an actual manual transmission.: He says "sorry, but let me see if we have the 3.6..." So I say, "why does Cadillac even bother?" He says what do you mean? I say "Well, why does Cadillac build a sports sedan with a manual transmission" when the dealers don't stock them?" I heard the same crap from Lincoln 10 years..."

He says "Well we can order it for you." I said, "So why would I go order a car that I can't test drive first? Don't you understand that people like to test drive a car to see if they like it before they buy it." He said, getting pissed, "Why are you hating on me?" (I think lovely some pussy I got here). "It's not good business practice to keep a car on the lot so long." I said "well it's not good practice to not have a vehicle configuration the manufacturer has made to meet a demographic of drivers who want a manual transmission." So they guy is totally pissed now. So I say "Nice way to treat a potential customer... see ya".

I then went to the local BMW dealer. Test drove the F30 320i with a sport package and a manual transmission. It rode a lot better than the 335i (without a sport package), but the steering is just does not have the BMW DNA. Nor do the brakes. And whew, man was it slow...

[DougLikesBMW]

He did you a favor and saved you some time, why waste money on a Cadillac when German engineering is available?

[quagmire]

Originally Posted by DougLikesBMW

He did you a favor and saved you some time, why waste money on a Cadillac when German engineering is available?

You never have driven the ATS have you? You only use perception to buy a car without knowing what you're actually buying and not knowing the other choices you have.....

Anyway, I don't think the guy was being rude. I actually thought you were quite rude. The salesman doesn't control dealer inventory so to go off on him like that was wrong.

But, it does highlight the problem with Cadillac dealers. They are still on the mind of selling the deal and not the car. I went with my dad to our local Cadillac dealer back in July to drive the 2.0T and 3.6 AWD models because he is interested in replacing the E90 335xi with it. Anyway we drive both models and we liked the 3.6 better.

We go back in the showroom and they don't have an ATS the way we want it in stock( fairly fully loaded, black diamond, morello red interior) and my dad prefers to wait for the 2014 models. But the salesman kept on pushing how much money we could save on a 2013. My dad kept telling him that he wants the car the way he wants it and prefers to wait for the 2014. The guy kept on pushing how great of a deal we could get with the 2013 despite them not having a 2013 the way my dad wants it in stock.....

And that they don't stock models that will attract the demographic of people who look like the 3 series, G37/Q50, etc. They are stocking ATS's for the older demographic. With the good products Cadillac's are producing today, the dealers are going to hurt them because they don't know how to sell the new product. They are still on the old Cadillac mode of sell to old farts.

[swanson]

Originally Posted by DougLikesBMW

He did you a favor and saved you some time, why waste money on a Cadillac when German engineering is available?

[Efthreeoh]

Originally Posted by quagmire

You never have driven the ATS have you? You only use perception to buy a car without knowing what you're actually buying and not knowing the other choices you have.....

Anyway, I don't think the guy was being rude. I actually thought you were quite rude. The salesman doesn't control dealer inventory so to go off on him like that was wrong.

But, it does highlight the problem with Cadillac dealers. They are still on the mind of selling the deal and not the car. I went with my dad to our local Cadillac dealer back in July to drive the 2.0T and 3.6 AWD models because he is interested in replacing the E90 335xi with it. Anyway we drive both models and we liked the 3.6 better.

We go back in the showroom and they don't have an ATS the way we want it in stock( fairly fully loaded, black diamond, morello red interior) and my dad prefers to wait for the 2014 models. But the salesman kept on pushing how much money we could save on a 2013. My dad kept telling him that he wants the car the way he wants it and prefers to wait for the 2014. The guy kept on pushing how great of a deal we could get with the 2013 despite them not having a 2013 the way my dad wants it in stock.....

And that they don't stock models that will attract the demographic of people who look like the 3 series, G37/Q50, etc. They are stocking ATS's for the older demographic. With the good products Cadillac's are producing today, the dealers are going to hurt them because they don't know how to sell the new product. They are still on the old Cadillac mode of sell to old farts.

I wasn't being rude, I was trying to make a point. The point you clearly understand. The salesman got rude first, which is fine because the Caddy dealer near my work is offering 24-hour test drives, so I'll just go to them. All dealers try to sell the product they have on the lot. The 320i sport that I drove at the BMW dealer was offered to me at $3,800 off sticker right off the bat without me even asking (and I bought my E90 at this dealer 7 years ago) when I told them I wasn't buying a car that day.

[quagmire]

Originally Posted by Efthreeoh

I wasn't being rude, I was trying to make a point. The point you clearly understand. The salesman got rude first, which is fine because the Caddy dealer near my work is offering 24-hour test drives, so I'll just go to them. All dealers try to sell the product they have on the lot. The 320i sport that I drove at the BMW dealer was offered to me at $3,800 off sticker right off the bat without me even asking (and I bought my E90 at this dealer 7 years ago) when I told them I wasn't buying a car that day.

I'll take your word for it since I wasn't there and it's hard to determine tone over text.

Anyway, I understand dealers try to sell the product they have in stock, but the ones they had in stock were not even close to how my dad wanted it. My dad made that very clear, but he still pushed. The one in the showroom had everything, but it was red( which I and my dad probably could compromise on since the red looked good too with the morello red interior) and not AWD. That was the closest one they had. As much as I would love a RWD to get the MRC suspension, my dad wants AWD for the snow.

[-Wingman-]

You're actually the one that seemed rude, not the sales guy. At the point where you say, 'why bother?' is where it sounds like you came into the dealership with a stick up your ass.

[CirrusSR22]

In my 10+ years on BMW forums all I hear is how hard it is to find a manual BMW in-stock at a dealer. How is this any different?

And why didn't you look on their website or call to see what was in stock?

[Nkc]

Originally Posted by -Wingman-

You're actually the one that seemed rude, not the sales guy. At the point where you say, 'why bother?' is where it sounds like you came into the dealership with a stick up your ass.

[F32]

Originally Posted by -Wingman-

You're actually the one that seemed rude, not the sales guy. At the point where you say, 'why bother?' is where it sounds like you came into the dealership with a stick up your ass.

This.

OP...you are a douche bag. The salesman appreciated you wasting both his time and his up.

[Crimson92]

Op. You sounded like a tool.

[Forced_Induction]

This is so funny how the OP's story totally backfired, and now everyone is letting you know you're in the wrong. Were you looking for sympathy points? I bet you regret posting this now don't you, douche bag.

[Efthreeoh]

Originally Posted by Forced_Induction

This is so funny how the OP's story totally backfired, and now everyone is letting you know you're in the wrong. Were you looking for sympathy points? I bet you regret posting this now don't you, douche bag.

Wasn't looking for anything, just venting to what I thought would be like-minded enthusiasts, but I do now understand where the douchebags really are and what kind of cars they drive. I even more understand why BMW is now building the (old) Buick-like F30 because a bunch of tool-acting, Roundel-hound, douchebags would rather play with themselves and their kewel I-drive crap than actually drive a car and get the pleasure of interacting with a machine that has finely tuned steering, brakes, and suspension (apparently what the ATS has and the F30 doesn't).

Had the salesman's response been something like "You know, it's nice to see real car enthusiast guys like you come in because they have interest in the ATS. Unfortunately, we are out of the manual transmission right now, we sold the last one a few weeks ago and GM hasn't had any available to restock. How about as soon as we get our next allotment of turbos in with the manual, I'll call you and we can arrange a test drive. But in the meantime, how about we find a 3.6 with the suspension you are looking for and take it out. It's a great handling car and I think you'll enjoy driving it. When we get to take out the manual transmission version, it will probably be even more enjoyable for you." - That would have been a proper response to win over a customer and get him interested in dealing with the dealership. Telling me "Well we don't stock the manual because so few people buy them and it's a bad business decision." tells me the dealer and Cadillac really aren't interested in changing their customer demographic. I know this is not true in the case of Cadillac because most corporations don't spend billions of dollars to develop a car and change its image to move its customer demographic.

[quagmire]

Cadillac has no control over what the dealer orders. If that dealer doesn't order a manual transmission equipped ATS, GM won't send them one.

[Efthreeoh]

Originally Posted by quagmire

Cadillac has no control over what the dealer orders. If that dealer doesn't order a manual transmission equipped ATS, GM won't send them one.

That's not totally accurate. But the point is if Cadillac is trying to change it's customer demographic and gain sales from BMW, Lexus, Infinity, and Acura, the dealers need to be educated and follow suit. The dealer is the customer arm of the corporation regardless of its independence from GM.

[Nkc]

Originally Posted by Efthreeoh

Wasn't looking for anything, just venting to what I thought would be like-minded enthusiasts, but I do now understand where the douchebags really are and what kind of cars they drive. I even more understand why BMW is now building the (old) Buick-like F30 because a bunch of tool-acting, Roundel-hound, douchebags would rather play with themselves and their kewel I-drive crap than actually drive a car and get the pleasure of interacting with a machine that has finely tuned steering, brakes, and suspension (apparently what the ATS has and the F30 doesn't).

[Efthreeoh]

Originally Posted by Nkc

The children started the name-calling...

[Efthreeoh]

Originally Posted by DougLikesBMW

He did you a favor and saved you some time, why waste money on a Cadillac when German engineering is available?

And I get called a tool.

[gonzo]

^
4 posts up would have eased the first post a bit.
I see both sides of the story.

To actually help educate Cadillac, you could email or call the stores GM as well as the region manager.
You never know what trying to help a big company may get you.
They "could" make a manual car appear for a test drive.
It is how you deliver your thoughts that counts.


fyi
No manual turbos show as available in DFW .
Nearest car is in Austin.
That might tell you something.

[Efthreeoh]

Originally Posted by gonzo

^
4 posts up would have eased the first post a bit.
I see both sides of the story.

To actually help educate Cadillac, you could email or call the stores GM as well as the region manager.
You never know what trying to help a big company may get you.
They "could" make a manual car appear for a test drive.
It is how you deliver your thoughts that counts.


fyi
No manual turbos show as available in DFW .
Nearest car is in Austin.
That might tell you something.

I do actually plan on some type of response to Cadillac. I also have a friend originally from Detroit, who has family that work in executive positions within GM, which my be the route I take. His connections helped me work the deal I got on my Hummer H3T in 2009.

I've been waiting a long time for an American car company to even seriously approach taking on the Germans in the sport sedan class (Lincoln LS aside), and my real first experience is what I got yesterday (same as I got from Lincoln 10 years ago). I'm the ATS' target audience. I fondly remember Cadillacs of the '60s and '70s, despite being luxury barges, taken in context of the times, they were quite excellent, high-quality automobiles. I have no prejudice against the American car manufacturers (I've owned quite a few good ones).

[Year's_End]

Originally Posted by -Wingman-

You're actually the one that seemed rude, not the sales guy. At the point where you say, 'why bother?' is where it sounds like you came into the dealership with a stick up your ass.

Originally Posted by CirrusSR22

And why didn't you look on their website or call to see what was in stock?

Originally Posted by Nkc

Originally Posted by F32

This.

OP...you are a douche bag. The salesman appreciated you wasting both his time and his up.

Originally Posted by Crimson92

Op. You sounded like a tool.

+1

What's the point of getting pissed off at the salesman that probably has zero control over the dealer allotment. If you're gonna be an entitled dick, might as well complain to someone that has some control over the matter.

[b0bab0i]

Originally Posted by -Wingman-

You're actually the one that seemed rude, not the sales guy. At the point where you say, 'why bother?' is where it sounds like you came into the dealership with a stick up your ass.

Exactly what I thought when I read OP's post.