Dealership Customer Service

[Yellow Rose]

From a different thread, someone wrote.

are you sure...I am talking about MARIN ACURA.

I talked to Dean...and told him I live in San Francisco and work in South
San Francisco. He told me, we can put you on the bus or give you a ride to
the ferry since our shuttle service only services Marin County.

I even purchased my car at Marin Acura.

I get better service from Mercedes Benz on my $50k 7year old E430.

Maybe I should have got the SL55. I don't think MARIN ACURA knows what
customer service is...

To which I replied.

Where in the sales contract does it stipulate that a dealership is
mandated to provide a loaner car? Having said that, with today's competition
in cars sales, most dealerships do this on warranty jobs but not regular
maintenance jobs.

Think about it.....if you are a dealership, who would you first
provide a loaner car to (a) a customer that can make life miserable by
complaining to the manufacturer about a warranty issue or (b) a customer
whining because they are bringing the car in for routine maintenance? If I
was the dealership and you are (b) I would politely (maybe not if you are
belligerent) explain that loaner cars are limited on a
first-come-first-serve basis, with priority to warranty customers. If you
come in for an oil change and we have a loaner car available for the day,
you will get it. But don't expect it just because you drive an NSX. And
before you backlash at me, I dropped my NSX off to have the fluids changed a
few years ago. Unfortunately the dealership had all of their loaner cars
out. No big deal, I asked a friend to pick me up. I sure didn't trip over my
bottom lip of the situation.

Then somebody responded.

I'm working with a rare type of Acura enthusiast who buys a 90k car. The
odds of them doing so again are pretty good, and i'm willing to spend the
extra money to cater to them so that their next purchase comes from MY
dealership. Besides, i know if i dont pamper them the next dealer down the
road will, and customers tend to remember that kind of treatment.

This is why Vegas casinos bend over backwards for their high rollers.

My turn again.

You have very flawed logic. :redface: You think the odds of them buying two brand new NSXs from the same dealership are good? No way!!! Let’s look at the numbers.

From 91 to 94, other than Brooklands Green and revised wheels, there were no significant changes made to the NSX. So if someone bought a new 91 NSX and took out a five-year car loan, do you really think they are inclined to start all over again within the next three years? No.

Beginning in 95 the T was introduced so this may be tempting, but even the 96 is identical to the 95 so I don’t see too much incentive for an existing NSXer to buy brand new again.

Now beginning in 97 with the six-speed and larger engine I can see how an existing NSX owner may be tempted to purchase new again. However, we are now in 2005 with only slight cosmetic changes to the NSX since inception, whose current production quantities are approaching zero. Do you really think that someone who purchased a new NSX in 2003 plans on buying another new NSX (doesn’t matter if from the same dealer), when the car is to be discontinued? Not hardly. Any dealership that caters to the existing NSX owner hoping they will buy another new one from them is sadly mistaken. In today’s economy more NSXs are purchased used than new. :tongue:

Yes, high rollers are repeat customers in Vegas. Show of hands.......how many people have purchased a new NSX and another new NSX at the same dealership? There may be a few people, but they are the exception vs the norm.

 

[zahntech]

An inner door handle repair on an NSX is aprox 700$ parts and labor at a Dealer ...its like 195$ on an Integra...even if the NSX owner doesnt buy a new one they are good to keep happy....just because you have money doesn't meen you have money to burn..why would you pay 120$ per hour for labor and top dollar for parts if you are not getting top notch service?


this is why independant service shops are still doing well even tho it has become more and more pricey to keep up to date with tools and information.



I have worked with and for Dealers for the last 16 years and one thing I learned very early on was that the Sales Dept doesn't really care for the service dept at most dealers ..at many dealers the sales dept would rather the service dept would just go away...as they reduce the profits on sales by making them do repairs on used cars they are trying to sell..the Major portion of the dealer profits come from the sales dept....so the 100k+ per month that comes from the service and parts depts is just too much trouble to bother with even though it keeps the lights on so they can sell cars.

 

[White92]

I know my local Acura dealership only provides a loaner for warranty repair. If it's not warranty repair and you still want a rental, they charge you $25 per day. Or they will call Enterprise for you. Either way. You still pay. I don't understand why someone would have a problem with this. It sounds completely fair to me.

 

[GHOSTRIDER]

I see a few flaws here that need to be pointed out.

YR,
Last time I checked Acura sold more cars then just the NSX & most also carry used car inventory. A well cared for customer is more likely to come back in search of another car if thay are treated BEYOND their expectations when they visit the dealer.
Since we are looking at the numbers I would venture to say 90% of NSX owners own second car.

zahntech, A dealerships main profit center is it's service & parts dept. If this isn't the case there is something seriously wrong. Dealers count on those deptarments to cover all expenses plus a certain percentage of profit per month. The sales dept is just gravy. Very true about the Sales and Service butting heads, sales feels alot of "gross" slipping away everytime service brings in a car.

 

[White92]

zahntech, A dealerships main profit center is it's service & parts dept. If this isn't the case there is something seriously wrong. Dealers count on those deptarments to cover all expenses plus a certain percentage of profit per month. The sales dept is just gravy.

That's true as well. Years ago, I worked at a very large Ford dealership. The service department was huge as far as profits for the owner goes. The sales department made maybe 30% of the profit.

 

[zahntech]

the Infiniti dealer I last worked for had a 127$ per hour labor rate and the parts dept had the highest parts mark up margin in the area and they still made much less than the sales Dept at aprox 275k gross per month for the parts/svc dept.


yes the parts and service depts keep the lights on ..however when the sales dept makes more money with fewer bodys on the floor the dealer management has a much fonder view of the sales dept.

 

[zahntech]

That's true as well. Years ago, I worked at a very large Ford dealership. The service department was huge as far as profits for the owner goes. The sales department made maybe 30% of the profit.

import dealers and domestic dealers are not the same...I worked for ford as well and yes at that dealer the service dept made up a much larger portion of the gross.

NOTE: gross and net are two very different things...one honda dealer I worked with had a 20 car quota for sales people ...the national avg is 9..so it would seem that the dealers i have worked for had very successful sales depts..

 

[Yellow Rose]

ZT - respectfully, I disagree with your assessment of the Sales Department vs the Parts-Service Departments.

My best friend has been in the dealership business since about 1983. He is now the Director of Parts & Service for a major automotive chain in Texas. Every Monday morning the General Manager, Sales Manager and he (with others, of course) have update meetings. Once a month he flies to headquarters to meet with the Owner's Team for an update.

In general, the below numbers are what he reports.

40 % - service
30 % - used car sales
20 % - parts, financing, etc.
10 % - new car sales

Think about this for a minute.....why do the sales guys have these "killer" price deals every time you click on the radio or television? Because they don't make the dealership's profits.....it is the shop that does.

 

[Yellow Rose]

I see a few flaws here that need to be pointed out.

Last time I checked Acura sold more cars then just the NSX & most also carry used car inventory. A well cared for customer is more likely to come back in search of another car if thay are treated BEYOND their expectations when they visit the dealer.

Ghost - you need to re-read that person's post more carefully before deviating. He wrote, "I'm working with a rare type of Acura enthusiast who buys a 90k car. The odds of them doing so again are pretty good....." which implies that the NSX owner will buy another new NSX not just any new car.

 

[zahntech]

40 % - service
30 % - used car sales
20 % - parts, financing, etc.
10 % - new car sales

QUOTE]

is this gross or net?...in the area I live/work in the used sales depts bring in a larger % than that.

the finance dept has the single largest net profit of any dept as they have little overhead.

 

[Yellow Rose]

It Doesn't Matter

40 % - service
30 % - used car sales
20 % - parts, financing, etc.
10 % - new car sales

is this gross or net

I don't know but it does not matter. The point of my post was to trump your post where you wrote, "the Major portion of the dealer profits come from the sales dept" which is simply incorrect.

Note - since it was originally postulated that the sales are "new" but not "used" let's not transpose nor add these two figures together, so as to "compete" with the figure for the service department.

 

[White92]

Like the Perma Plate packages they sell for $1200. Pay the lot tech $50 to apply and there is maybe $20 materials. :biggrin:

 

[The Kid]

Re: It Doesn't Matter

40 % - service
30 % - used car sales
20 % - parts, financing, etc.
10 % - new car sales

is this gross or net

.

Your correct about this figure :wink:

 

[zahntech]

New or Used it doesn't matter its all sales, and the sales depts. hold their own just fine.. at least at the dealers I have worked for...new cars are never the big money makers because the profits are controlled very tightly by the manufactures and the market competition...the used market is where the money is...the Infiniti dealer I worked for was buying truckloads (9) units of BMW lease returns for aprox 130k and selling them for aprox 300k they would sell them in a matter of 3 weeks and go back to the auction for more..that's 170k profit in less than a month on only 9 units, and they would sell many more than just that 9..at one point the gross sales numbers were kept a secret from the dealer employees due to employee morale being effected by the tremendous profits from the sales dept and the low wages of the employees.

I live/work in a affluent area so its very possible that sales in Topeka KS are not going to be as profitable as in other areas....Fords in TX need fixing and buyers in TX may not have the interest in buying a pricier car like they would be in beverly hills.


But back to the original topic..Dealer service Depts. do not have a good reputation at least in my area..the company I work for now has built its marketing around the slogan "your dealership alternative"..and it has worked very very well ..just this week I had a customer that had a catalectic converter failure on a 2002 vehicle and there is a service bulletin and the converters are covered till 70k, the local dealer refused to fix it then I spent 30 mins calling other dealers till I found one that would, this is the kind of "customer service" that has given the dealers at least in my area a bad name.