[Ghunger]

I'm 25 and was treated well at the dealership but the first time I showed up I was with my uncle because I wanted a second unbiased opinion. I don't know if that made any difference but it could have. Other than that though, the other times I showed up my CA was very helpful and treated me like I'd imagine he'd treat any other serious customer.

[E712]

Thanks for all the advice

Originally Posted by epiphone3

I was treated very well at my dealership.

If you want some attention from sales people when in the show room... walk around the car you like and pop open the trunk and look inside. Guaranteed to have the most eager salesperson in the joint on your ass.

[bhootnath]

I'm 27, had no problem at all with any dealers that includes MB, Audi, Infiniti and Lexas ... in all occasions I showed up with jeans and t-shirt ... i was approached almost immediately by salespersons. However, I finalized the deal over phone with a dealer whom I hadn't visited before, primarily because of the better price they offered.

[Neurorad]

Don't blackball a dealership because of a crappy salesman. If you were unhappy with your visit, and still want to test this or that car, call manager and explain. Make an appt with a different CA, especially if you have to drive 30-45 mins.

Of course, maybe all salesman are crappy at a given dealership, and you should shop elsewhere. Car salesmen have a bad rep for a reason.

[Minimaul]

I haven't gone into a BMW dealership yet. I did an online credit thingie, and the next day I got a messege from someone at the dealership saying they got the application and that we can "work something out." A week later I got a letter saying I got denied through BMW credit. I'm assuming by "work something out" they ment "15% intrest, 'cuase of your poor credit." PFT! Yeah, right.

[BarelyFitInCar]

I am 24 and it really depends on the salesperson and place. Even the surrounding area the dealership is in plays a major role. I am in So Cal, and since there are so many car dealers here, it gets competitive.

My worse experience was at one dealer where I walked up to the guy asking to test drive a car, gave him the exact specs on what I wanted, and then we started to go look at the car. When we went outside to the car another lady approached him and he started helping her. That was pretty messed up and as he went to get the car, the lady and I decided he was a jerk and we both left.

If you are buying a BMW with specific options and features, its harder to do it over the internet, since not all dealerships are sitting with a bunch of cars with exact specs. For me, shopping around and going to a dealership that was interested in selling me a car made the difference. I say, just walk until you find someone you feel like you can deal with.

Its not like you don't have the money for the car, but a lot of dealers tend to judge younger kids coming through as not serious buyers. Its the way they are trained, to look for the ones who are more likely there to buy than those who are not.

[Tropicool]

life is full of steriotypes. Love it or hate it, its the truth

I am 18, and i just put a deposit down on a 335i sedan. I have earned the money for it over the past 3 years, and am incredibly excited. I am lucky enough to have a dealer where my parents buy from and know me as well. I have gotten incredible deals and also got to test drive a brand new M5 after i put a deposit on the 335i.

Also remember, salesmen get comission, u don't want to give your money to a dick, now do you?

In this world it pays to be respectful and treat everyone the way you would like to be treated. Apearances can be deceitful.

And a quick story, 1 year ago my dad and I came back from our ranch house wearing wranglers and beatup white t's smelling like manore and dirt brown faces and walked into a lambo dealer. One salesman gave us a dirty look, the other came over and shook our hands. We left that day with a murceilago roadster and drove it back home still smelling like poop

[nmulax]

I'm amazed to see the reactions I get because of my age. I am 23, and probably look a year or so younger then that, but still... no piercings, no visable tattoos.

Went into Audi dressed in jeans and a tshirt, and was treated great. Greated immediately, offered espresso, given a quote, and the sales guy let me take the A4 out for an hour test drive, and told me to have some fun and really push the vehicle.

At the first BMW dealership, I had on dress pants and dress shirt, and stood around for almost 20 minutes without being acknowledged, before I finally confronted a salesman (turned out to be the sales manager). Then he acted as if I was wasting his time, and tried talking me out of test driving a 325xi. After he finally went and made a copy of my license he asked where my street was (he lives in my city), I told him what subdivision I lived in, and his attitude did a complete 180. As if the little buzzer in his head went off saying "Oh! he has money!".

Next BMW dealership was in jeans once more and was forced to wait almost 30 minutes; but after that, the salesman was very apologetic about the wait and very friendly and helpful.

Either way, I've learned that for the time being, the internet and over the phone are the best for me.

Salesman (and people in general) need to learn not to judge people based on appearance. A few years back, my dad went into a Chevy dealer dressed in sweatpants and a tshirt and was ignored by everyone except the newest salesman. An hour later he wrote a check for a new Corvette.

You don't know that the guy driving the Civic isn't a millionare, or that the guy with the CL500 isn't in debt and living in a trailer park.
Don't judge one another on clothes and cars.

[deltron]

I'm 25 and things worked out well with my dealer. I walked into the dealership almost 10 minutes before they were closing. I was looking to test drive a car first, 325xi, and hopefully start negotiating about price, etc...

Well, I knew I wasn't going to do any of that but their hostess brought me to a dealer working who she said could help me and he told me to stop by whenever it was convenient (he was working with someone at the time). I came the same weekend. He remembered me, told me to sit down and said he was glad I came back to the dealership and that I came to him instead of going to someone else. That seemed to start things off well.

In the past I've negotiated price on cars for my family. I got a RX330 for 150 under invoice and was pretty enthusiastic about it at the time. I had gone to a another BMW dealership and when I asked about pricing the CA, who's maybe a few years older than me, told me instantly that they are very aggressive about pricing. It turned me off, especially since it was the dealer we got our Lexus from. Our Lexus guy said he'd work with us and wanted us to be happy from the start.

Any who, back to the other dealer I bought the car from. I asked for TMV price (from Edmunds) for the car I wanted. He said he'd check for me and came back with it. I then asked for a few hundred less, and he replied with, well you asked for this and now you asked for that. He didn't let me reply and just said, "OK." I was feeling nervous the whole time and forgot how to negotiate.

I'm dropping 30% of the cars value for the down payment. This is my first car too, and I'm taking care of everything. I'm thinking the whole time, Is this the right car? Will the maintenance/repair kill my wallet? Am I over my head? Dammit, this check is gonna hurt! ...

No pressure at all from the dealer. I was shy a few hundred to invoice, but I had this feeling I would never come close from my run-in with the other dealership. *I* was happy with the price.

The guy basically told me at the end that when he saw me come back, he knew I wanted to buy and he wanted to sell me the car. So it worked out and he's been taking care of everything. He said he thought it was my first time buying a car and didn't want to push me away, and that I'm young, and I can be his customer for a long time if I walk away satisfied and happy.

Any who, I'm known as "the Engineer" when they are sorting out issues with my car between their various departments. Very friendly people, and no stereotypes or anything with these guys.

I talked with other car companies: Acura, Mini, VW, Audi, Scion, Lexus. The Acura folks were the coolest. I walked in (my dad is with me), 2 minutes later a dealer sees me and asks if I want to drive the TSX. I say yes, he literally throws me the keys and says, "its the blue one, try to make it 20 minutes, have fun!"

No license copy or anything. It was most likely because I had my dad with me. Lexus people were really nice, so was VW and Audi guys were really enthusiastic and didn't BS about the competition sucking. None of them gave me trouble because I was young.