joseph mitro

i look young for my age (31) and have had the same problems at porsche dealers, although here in OKC they seem to be for the most part respectful. in my opinion the salesman are the snobs - they work on commission and won't "waist their time" on someone who doesn't look like they can afford a $70000 carrera. the parts people, on the other hand, actually have to KNOW the parts and are therefor generally more helpful.

i agree totally with scott harrison -if you act like a mature adult and lodge a legitimate complaint, then i think managers should give you the respect of listening to your complaint.

joseph mitro

i look young for my age (31) and have had the same problems at porsche dealers, although here in OKC they seem to be for the most part respectful. in my opinion the salesmen are the snobs - they work on commission and won't "waist their time" on someone who doesn't look like they can afford a $70000 carrera. the parts people, on the other hand, actually have to KNOW the parts and are therefor generally more helpful.

i agree totally with scott harrison -if you act like a mature adult and lodge a legitimate complaint, then i think managers should give you the respect of listening to your complaint.

joseph mitro

i look young for my age (31) and have had the same problems at porsche dealers, although here in OKC they seem to be for the most part respectful. in my opinion the salesmen are the snobs - they work on commission and won't "waste their time" on someone who doesn't look like they can't afford a $70000 carrera. the parts people, on the other hand, actually have to KNOW the parts and are therefore generally more helpful.

i agree totally with scott harrison -if you act like a mature adult and lodge a legitimate complaint, then i think managers should give you the respect of listening to your complaint.

brrt50cal

I had that same problem at the local BMW dealership. It was kinda funny though since the salesman thought I was a parts guy from Ford that he talked to earlier that day.

BeerBurner

This is one of the reasons I buy almost all of my Porsche parts from my mechanic and not the local stealership. Fortunately, though, since I work/live in the Dulles Corridor, there are enough IT people running around who are even younger than me driving $50k+ cars that they have to treat all of us nicely.

That's not to say there aren't any snots. My dad and stepmom went to test drive a Boxster once. They were about the get in when my stepmom commented that she didn't like the color. The salesman refused to let them test drive it. I always figured that all Boxsters drove the same regardless of color, and if they liked the red one but wanted a white one, that could be arranged. I guess I was wrong...

BB.

Legoland951

I am surprised someone else read "the millionaire next door". Its funny but the millionaire next door wouldn't even be in a Porsche dealership because most of them drive domestic trucks where dollars per pound value is higher compared to sports cars. I have a very good friend from high school who had $700k in his bank account when he was 17. At that time, he drove a datsun (now nissan) 210 that costs about $1000 and he worked on his own car. I found out his family was worth more than 100 million. The owner of the family fortune is his 75 year old mother who does not even own a car and takes the bus to get around. You would never be able to tell from looking at her. Don't get caught up in the superficial BS of the dealership and the society in general. Work hard, work smart, accumulate lots of wealth, and prove these clowns wrong. Then, go into the dealership in crappy cloth and buy a car from the person who treat you well to get even.

thomschoon

This is not just an age issue, I got trashed at the MBZ dealer when I went looking in shorts and a tee shirt as I drove up in my beater Isuzu. Being in my midlife crisis stage, I was way past insulted. So the next day I go there right after work, driving my BMW and wearing a tie, the guy $hits himself trying to get me into a test drive. I play the game a bit and then remind him of how he had treated me the day before, he just grins and smirks it off, so I go to the sales manager and he just shrugs. Needless to say my wife ended up with a new MBZ from a dealer 75 miles away and I would never give a single peeny to the MBZ dealer in Rochester and he is also the Porsche dealer!! I also spent a great deal of effort "interfacing" with MBZ USA, and they made me very happy.

The moral of the story, go back and complain and then get even + interest.

zakk

Back when I purchased my 99 A4, I did all the car shopping via phone, as I didn't have time to drive around to all the dealers in the area. Basically, I knew how much I wanted to pay, and was up front and straighforward about it when I called, and expected the same from the salesman on the other end. I had a variety of responses to that, the best being from the local Porsche/Audi/Mercedes dealer that said 'well, I'm not going to talk price over the phone, you have to come here if you want to buy one of these cars'. I eventually found the right car and price, and when I picked it up I made sure to dress in my messed up shorts and untucked+wrinkled shirt. A friend who later dealt with that salesman said he commented that seeing me made him realize ANYONE is a potential buyer for the cars, and changed his sales attitude a bit.

The nicest I've ever been treated by a salesman was when a friend and I both decided to buy 2001 Audi S4s and walked into a dealer and told the salesman we were both planning on buying that day, and could he show us what they had in stock. I guess group buying cars has advantages!

Dave951M

Some of those guys never stop to think that even if the "kid/customer" may not have the money now, where might he be in the next year or two. You never know just how fast things can change. For what it's worth, I avoid the deal as much as possible. The guy behind the parts counter is ok, but just walking in past all of the Ferraris and the snooty sales types makes me sick.

Matt O.

Lego,

Yeah, there are some "millionaires next door" who might be in the market for a new or late model Porsche, you never know. Retirement maybe? Generally speaking though, you are very right, according to the book. Yeah, I read that book when I was about 18. Good book.

I saw a documentary about the .com millionaires (back in '99) and it showed the guy who started eBay, pulling up in his circa 1985 Mazda RX7 convertable, and his friends were making jokes because he leaves the top down, even in the rain, and how it was a beater. And then he talked about how he's sold enough of his stock in the company to never have to worry about money.... how cool is that? Then, they skip to the founder of X.com (and I think PayPal) who was taking delivery at that time of a McLauren F1. Two very different sides of the coin.

Interesting to see that eBay bought out PayPal, and not the other way around.

I digress...

Matt O.

Matt O.

Matt O.

</font><blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana,Tahoma,Helvetica">quote:</font><hr /><font size="2" face="Verdana,Tahoma,Helvetica">Ferraris and the snooty sales types makes me sick.
</font><hr /></blockquote><font size="2" face="Verdana,Tahoma,Helvetica">The funniest part about what you just said, to me, is that back during Christmas when I was down in O-town, me and two friends went over to the Ferrari dealership off I4, and we take one step inside, and a salesman comes up and was very polite, probably 30 or 35 years old. We were shootin' the breeze about these cars, asking if he had this, or that, and he was totally cool the entire time. I thought at the time Porsche should take lessons.

Of course, we pulled up in a 2002 M3 so who knows who he thought we were, but even then.

-Matt

944S2NUT

Never had this problem at our local dealer WEISSACH. The Sales guy is good and the service manager bends over backwards for you. A+++++ Service. I mean this place has the lamborghini MURCIELAGO, new lotus's, 911's out the ying yang and the only certified dealer for RUF upgrades. They may cost slightly more then some places but their receipts look good for my porsche portfolio, + the service is unbeatable.

Riff

Ryan-

Let me guess, this happened @ Rhode Island's only Porsche dealer??? Guess it must be contagious cause we (wife and I) got the same attitude at one of their "other" brand showrooms when we were looking for her car. Long story short, I will NOT buy stuff from them unless I have exhausted all other avenues.

Cheers,