×

Excuse No. 3: Sometimes, the ‘salesman sells you the wrong car’

It’s Not Your Fault!

All the excuses you need to know so you can feel better about yourself while paying outrageous prices to fix your car.

Viable Excuse No. 3, the salesman sold you the wrong car.

In our last Article we discussed idiot engineers who should have been flunked turning simple jobs into nightmares. This time we discuss how the Salesperson selling you the wrong model car can cost you thousands of dollars over the life of that car.

I know it’s not fair blaming the salesperson for not being a mechanic, but I’m a mechanic, so what do I care. There is no salesman school that teaches the salesperson that if you sell someone a virtually identical car to a car of a different maker he/she can either cost or save the buyer thousands. And here is a well-kept secret… These days most people if they had a blindfold put on them and were spun around three times and put in a car to drive for an hour – couldn’t tell the difference between any of the major brands (don’t try this at home!). Repair times vary as much as 7 hours for some very common jobs. If you knew going in you will be paying $950 for front brakes and rotors as compared to $350 on a similar small truck would you care? I think you should. The problem is the salesperson’s job is to sell you a car while making the most he or she can for the dealer. The mechanics job is to fix a car. Most dealers do everything they can to keep these people from meeting each other because the dealer needs every car sold. Most salesmen are nice people, if they learn a car they sell is going to pick your pocket later on they are going to steer you into a car you’ll be happy with so when the time comes, you come back to them to buy again.

So the next time you have to pay $500 to $700 more for a job on your car than it would cost on another vehicle just remember… its because a salesperson was kept in the dark. You still have pay out the big bucks, but don’t you feel better knowing it’s not your fault.

Nick Rowe has over 20 years experience in the automotive industry, he has worked at Volvo, Dodge and Jeep dealerships and is currently one of the mechanics at Horseless Carriage in Milford, NH.

Nick Rowe has more than 20 years experience in the automotive industry. He has worked at Volvo, Dodge and Jeep dealerships and is currently one of the mechanics at Horseless Carriage in Milford.