['Cane]

I’m in for my annual service and was walking around the showroom and a CA approached me so I started talking with him. Speaking about M4 LCI he tells me that he saw in their system that M3 LCI will include an update to bring a manual transmission for G80 Competition, RWD only. I told him I don’t believe it for a second. FWIW, he didn’t really seem that knowledgeable, but I don’t know what he was looking at either.

[Burrcold]

He's an idiot obviously.

['Cane]

Originally Posted by Burrcold

He's an idiot obviously.

Most likely, yes.

[Mike02z]

Most of those guys know less than we do. I was told I’d be getting iDrive 8.5 any day now when I purchased my ‘24 M4C. I knew that was BS but didn’t waste my time calling him out. There will be no G80 XDrive Comp with a manual in 2025.

[Needsdecaf]

Doing so would mean certifying an entirely different powertrain. For one car. Jeez, these guys are thick. I mean, I'm not expecting sales people to be encyclopedically knowledgeable (although I have to believe if that was my job I would be) but sheesh, come on dude.

[LuckyBrand]

Obviously hard to believe as someone would have sniffed this out already but it would be awesome to see.

I'm perfectly happy keeping my slow outdated manual G80 lol. But if they decided to make a special run for the last hurrah of a comp xdrive manual it'd be worth having my wife threaten divorce again over a car lol.

['Cane]

Originally Posted by LuckyBrand

Obviously hard to believe as someone would have sniffed this out already but it would be awesome to see.

He said it just showed up in the system today.

[GabesSlowM4]

Originally Posted by Mike02z

Most of those guys know less than we do. I was told I’d be getting iDrive 8.5 any day now when I purchased my ‘24 M4C. I knew that was BS but didn’t waste my time calling him out. There will be no G80 XDrive Comp with a manual in 2025.

This is very true. I could not list the amount times i've been "helped" by a salesman who knew much less then I did.

[Mike02z]

Originally Posted by GabesSlowM4

This is very true. I could not list the amount times i've been "helped" by a salesman who knew much less then I did.

Even most of their “geniuses” are clueless. They could not even answer a simple question about the 5G hotspot.

Some sales people get to know the cars they sell well. This has not been my experience with BMW sales people. Nice people but clueless about so many areas of the car. You can spend 2 hours here and learn more than most BMW sales folks.

[calbears]

Originally Posted by 'Cane

He said it just showed up in the system today.

the bullshit system?

[Alpine300zhp]

Originally Posted by Needsdecaf

Doing so would mean certifying an entirely different powertrain. For one car. Jeez, these guys are thick. I mean, I'm not expecting sales people to be encyclopedically knowledgeable (although I have to believe if that was my job I would be) but sheesh, come on dude.

Let’s be honest. The average car salesperson is simply looking to make a living and they could care less about the product they sell. All they want to do is get you to make a deal so they can close a sale quickly. They often are not knowledgeable about the product they sell and, if knowledge is required, they often fake it until they make it by lying and making up crap. This forum is full of people that know far more than the average BMW salesperson and the few exceptions to the rule are often enthusiasts themselves. I’ve been shopping for a second car lately and decided to try and open myself to other brands. Doing so made me aware of just how uninformed the average car salesperson really is. I looked at a car this weekend and asked a basic question to a sales guy who was clueless. When he didn’t know the answer, I got it from the dealership website in under a minute. 🙄. In case you guys are wondering, I quickly decided that whatever I get will have a roundel on the hood.

[Alpine300zhp]

Originally Posted by 'Cane

He said it just showed up in the system today.

Right.

[ourlee]

He's an idiot obviously.

so damn funny

[Needsdecaf]

Originally Posted by Alpine300zhp

Let’s be honest. The average car salesperson is simply looking to make a living and they could care less about the product they sell. All they want to do is get you to make a deal so they can close a sale quickly. They often are not knowledgeable about the product they sell and, if knowledge is required, they often fake it until they make it by lying and making up crap. This forum is full of people that know far more than the average BMW salesperson and the few exceptions to the rule are often enthusiasts themselves. I’ve been shopping for a second car lately and decided to try and open myself to other brands. Doing so made me aware of just how uninformed the average car salesperson really is. I looked at a car this weekend and asked a basic question to a sales guy who was clueless. When he didn’t know the answer, I got it from the dealership website in under a minute. 🙄. In case you guys are wondering, I quickly decided that whatever I get will have a roundel on the hood.

I'm not arguing your point. What I'm saying is that we tend to give sales people a pass because "they are just making a living at it" and they don't care about cars. And, I'm not saying you have to be a petrolhead and talk about modding and performance ad nauseum on forums to sell cars. But....shouldn't you at least be educated about what you are selling? I mean, if I were selling copy machines, I'd certainly know a lot about what went into my machine, what made it different. What features gave me a competitive advantage, what features I was lacking on. I'd understand my competition and give it respect while crafting an argument about why mine was better even if it was more money. I'd be able to talk specs out the wazoo for someone who cared but know enough not to do so for the majority of people who just want a gray box that makes copies and prints and costs less than my competitor.

But I guess that's why I'm buying BMW's rather than selling them? I hate to be that way but people need to put a little more pride into their job whether they are interested in it or not.

[Alpine300zhp]

Originally Posted by Needsdecaf

I'm not arguing your point. What I'm saying is that we tend to give sales people a pass because "they are just making a living at it" and they don't care about cars. And, I'm not saying you have to be a petrolhead and talk about modding and performance ad nauseum on forums to sell cars. But....shouldn't you at least be educated about what you are selling? I mean, if I were selling copy machines, I'd certainly know a lot about what went into my machine, what made it different. What features gave me a competitive advantage, what features I was lacking on. I'd understand my competition and give it respect while crafting an argument about why mine was better even if it was more money. I'd be able to talk specs out the wazoo for someone who cared but know enough not to do so for the majority of people who just want a gray box that makes copies and prints and costs less than my competitor.

But I guess that's why I'm buying BMW's rather than selling them? I hate to be that way but people need to put a little more pride into their job whether they are interested in it or not.

I agree with you wholeheartedly and I think what you said describes a lot of car salespeople and other workers too. It seems that a considerable number of the people I see working these days, including but not limited to salespeople, seem to feel that mediocrity is acceptable. See, I have been living in this BMW bubble since the 90’s where, with the exception of a couple of outliers, I have been on a steady diet of BMW vehicles. Also, because of my personal connections, I have basically only purchased cars from friends who are either career BMW salespeople (ie: profiles in achievement level people) or career BMW management so my exposure has been consistently positive because I’m only dealing with top level people who excel at what they do. I had a rude awakening when I started shopping Jeep, Ford, GMC, ect. recently and just decided that I’m better off sticking with BMW for all of my cars.

[wtwo3]

CAs just be saying random shit

['Cane]

Originally Posted by calbears

the bullshit system?

Was waiting for you to chime in.

[Needsdecaf]

Originally Posted by Alpine300zhp

I had a rude awakening when I started shopping Jeep, Ford, GMC, ect. recently and just decided that I’m better off sticking with BMW for all of my cars.

I would say in BROAD general terms, the lower down on the food chain you go, the more "sterotypical" the sales person you get. Likely because they pay less.

I would say that even at higher end stores, I have seen WOEFULLY dumb sales people. That's BMW, Mercedes, Porsche, JLR and Audi in my experience. And, conversely, I have seen some of the best sales people in my life in lower brands. Two people, one at a Honda dealer and one at a Hyundai dealer, in particular, stand out. So it isn't a vehicle price specific thing.

['Cane]

Originally Posted by Needsdecaf

I would say in BROAD general terms, the lower down on the food chain you go, the more "sterotypical" the sales person you get. Likely because they pay less.

I would say that even at higher end stores, I have seen WOEFULLY dumb sales people. That's BMW, Mercedes, Porsche, JLR and Audi in my experience. And, conversely, I have seen some of the best sales people in my life in lower brands. Two people, one at a Honda dealer and one at a Hyundai dealer, in particular, stand out. So it isn't a vehicle price specific thing.

You don't have to really know or like cars to be a good CA/salesperson. As someone who was in the business for a long time, I'd say 80%+ have no clue. I always prided myself on my product knowledge, and I was a good salesperson too, but there are so many that are just there for a paycheck.

I didn't think this guy was serious at first, but he said he was and it was all I cold do to not laugh in his face. I retreated to the service department as soon as I could.

[Alpine300zhp]

Originally Posted by Needsdecaf

I would say in BROAD general terms, the lower down on the food chain you go, the more "sterotypical" the sales person you get. Likely because they pay less.

I would say that even at higher end stores, I have seen WOEFULLY dumb sales people. That's BMW, Mercedes, Porsche, JLR and Audi in my experience. And, conversely, I have seen some of the best sales people in my life in lower brands. Two people, one at a Honda dealer and one at a Hyundai dealer, in particular, stand out. So it isn't a vehicle price specific thing.

Agreed. We have all heard the horror salespeople stories on here and they are from BMW stores. The reality is that it’s a crapshoot no matter what you buy as to if or not you ll get a knowledgeable salesperson. True story, I went mattress shopping last year. I’ve been through a bunch of crappy beds over my years and a poster here pointed me to PranaSleep. Went to a local mattress store and happened to get greeted by a salesperson who, unbeknownst to me at the time, was the store manager and has been selling beds for decades. Told him what my problems were, without mentioning PranaSleep, and he directed me to two different beds one of which was a PranaSleep. He gave me a ton of information, detailed and precise information about which of the two beds was likely best for me. Funny enough, he discouraged some more expensive beds when I asked about them saying, for what I’m looking for, the two he showed me were best. He clearly and with evidence showed me why these two beds were my best bet. Unsurprisingly, I dropped enough coin for a decent cheap used car that day and have slept like a baby ever since. Thank god for that guy. If I had met him 20 years ago, I would have been sleeping like a baby all along.

[ksa]

Reminds me of the time when I was taking delivery of my Jaguar F Type R last summer and the 'delivery specialist' was going over the car with me. I couldn't locate right away if the car had heated seats and asked him and he said oh they don't come with heated seats.

Sure enough, looking closely the temperature knob could be clicked down for BOTH heated and cooled seats in fact. Haha. To be fair, I did buy it from Porsche so I guess Porsche guy not knowing about Jaguar is not that bad...but then don't call yourself a 'delivery specialist' and try to 'go over the features of the car with me.' lol

[Game]