I am a Mercedes-Benz Sales Consultant. I started selling Mercedes-Benz at 18 and this is the start of my 5th year with the company! Ask Me Anything about Cool Cars, The Stereotypes of the Car Business, The Changes in the Car Industry over the last...

Do you slap the roof of the car?

As a last resort

Do you kick the tires and say "she's a beauty!"

Only if I am selling a used car with hub caps. You have to kick them hard enough so the covers fall off for comedic effect

You ever sold a car to someone you felt couldn't really afford it?

Yes. Some people will do anything to have a star on the grill. It's unfortunate because I often suggest things to help with their situation (Like leasing a cheaper car to get rid of their negative equity and come back after that lease) but ultimately you have to do what they want.

ultimately you have to do what they want.

i want you to sell me an amg g-wagon in white/sand kitted out for camping out in the aussie bush for under $20k

I have people on my list to call that want a cheap G and I haven't called them just yet.

What can you tell us about how and when salespeople profile potential buyers on the lot? I've heard plenty of stories about a rich (though average to poorly dressed) person getting snubbed, then coming back later in a snappy suit and getting much better service. Any truth to stories like these or are they just entertaining outliers?

"Curb Qualifying" is a real thing. I notice it a lot with people who have been in the business a while, although I wouldn't say I see it my dealership a lot as there is a huge emphasis on our culture and we hold ourselves to a high standard.

I treat every person on the lot the same. Walk up with head up and a smile (not looking at my shoes). Say "Welcome to Mercedes-Benz of XXX, are you finding everything okay?" and go from there. I have dealt with multi millionaires that look like "bums" sometimes and you just never know. Handle every opportunity like your helping your mother buy a car.

I walked into the local BMW dealership and had several sales people walk past me to sit at their desks.

The receptionist finally asks me what I’m here for and I said that I’d like to talk to someone about buying a car.

Time ticks by, just standing there, and I see a sales guy get up out his chair in his office, walk past me, get some peanuts, walk past again, and sit at his desk alone to eat the peanuts.

I finally told the receptionist not to bother, I’m leaving and that I’ll buy a car from someone else.

She tried to call over the manager as I was walking out.

The place wasn’t busy, I was one of two customers.

Two weeks later I paid cash for a 997 GT3RS.

It remains one of the oddest experiences I’ve encountered.

Thank you for walking out. Anywhere you go that does that don't buy from them.

Do customers still come by in their W140s and W210s to get them serviced?

All the time! We host a Mercedes-Benz drivers club every couple months and you will see all those types of cars come through.

Can I bring my Mercedes to the dealership and get it detailed there? I can never get it as clean as the day it came off of the lot.

Sure can! I think we charge $150 for interior/exterior full detail. We also do paint protections, paint corrections, interior protections etc.

Those paint protections generally aren't worth it

If it’s a good ceramic coat then it’s worth it. The old school sealants aren’t.

I agree

What is your average annual compensation for a average producer at your store? (So not your superstar always blowing out their numbers, and not your "might get let go" person.) You make your numbers, maybe move a few extra units, maybe don't, etc.

I think a well preformed sales person can easily make $120k

I’m buying a MB from the showroom. What can I negotiate on for a better deal?

Anything you can offer as far as reviews, referrals, guaranteeing you will service with them etc. We eat that stuff up and if you are generally a nice person throughout the process, we noticed. Be willing to come to a deal though.

If we let you walk out of the showroom when the sole issue is difference on price, you probably have a pretty good deal.

I've owned 2 Mercedes (C250 and GLC300), and I've saved a hefty chunk on the price by picking up demo models from the dealers with around 2k Miles on them. When I start getting in the mood to upgrade, I give the used department a call and ask when some fresh demos are coming up for sale. I saved 10k on my C250, and 12k on my GLC300 doing this.

I always suggest purchasing ex-service loaners/demos. Best deal out there for sure if you are "new" car shopping.

I worked in the service department of a Chevy dealership for a couple years. At our shop, the turnover for the sales department was INCREDIBLY high and the atmosphere seemed very toxic. Seemed new guys would come in and just get chewed up and spat out like nothing, and I've heard similar things from friends at other dealers. Not to mention the wildly excessive cocaine usage.

When you move up to a higher class manufacturer, is the culture in the sales department different, or is it still the kind of caustic, dog-eat-dog world of the mass-market brands?

Haha we probably all make the same stupid jokes as one another. Culture is different yes, but a large part of that comes from management, and how involved owners are. Our management here and owner take culture in to high priority. We have to have to hold ourselves to a high standard with customers and be presentable in the light of the product we sell.

It can be dog eat dog. I definitely have had numerous arguments about deals, but we don't have 25 sales people. We have 10. And I think that a smaller group of sales people that get a long together is more profitable than the latter who don't get along with each other.

I have a question along the same vein. When I was in my late teens/early twenties I worked for a dealership. The dealership I worked at sold new cars, but also had a used car section as well. The type of ads the dealership would run on TV, and the outward appearance of the building itself felt tailored to a low-income customer. This brought with it a lot of low-credit (re: not approved).

Do you find in your experience at a higher-end company that the main reason for not reaching a deal is because of customers with low credit trying to punch above their weight (like in my experience), or is it more to do with the terms of the deal/specific vehicle they want? Thanks.

We don't deal with a absurd amount of people with bad credit, but there are some still. It comes down to if you can get approved, or you can't. Most of the time I lose deals to car availability or agreeing to numbers.

Can one lease a used Mercedes?

Not through a new dealer. Although I am aware of leasing companies that purchase used cars and lease them through their business. I've sold a few cars to those companies.

Favorite AMG model and why?

Do you yourself actually own a Mercedes?

The SLS AMG Black Series. I saw one when I visited Mercedes-Benz of Manhattan in the Solar Beam Yellow/Night Package and boy that thing is something else.

I currently do not own a Mercedes. I become Master Certified in Q2 of this year and get better incentives than just the employee discount. After that I would love to get a GLC-43.

The SLS AMG Black Series. I saw one when I visited Mercedes-Benz of Manhattan in the Solar Beam Yellow/Night Package and boy that thing is something else.

Damn that's a sexy vehicle. It's easily on my top 5 dream car list for if I ever hit the Powerball.

I think CNC motors in CA has a couple right now!

Novice classic owner. I have a 1958 220S. Is it worth joining a Mercedes Benz club?

Sweet ride! I think it depends on your area and what you want to get out of it. I know a few clubs have guys that are fanatic about talking chassis numbers, comparing why their year vehicle is better that the one that's 2 years newer than theirs. But I also know of some that hold some pretty bad ass car shows and you get to see a lot of great old Mercedes!

What is Tesla doing right and what can the industry learn from them? Edit:typo

Innovation. They are able to consistently update their cars as needed like a computer. All other Manufacturers have to wait to the next model year right now. Also, their auto pilot system is fantastic. Mercedes-Benz is not far behind though. We do offer the auto pilot as well and I'd say we are second overall in that category, but Tesla definitely take 1st place.

Don't forget that Tesla uses some Mercedes parts and licenses a lot of our patents!

Why do people who buy luxury cars and live in areas with snow never put snow tires on their cars?

Having a very fancy car that lacks traction at all seems like putting the cart before the horse.

The all season tires from Continental and Michelin that Mercedes uses are pretty good. And the traction control system is a lot better than toyota's and ford's.

Can't go wrong with a good set of Nokian's though, which is what I would put on if I was still driving around in snow!

What is a common misconception about your job and yourself?

I think a big misconception for the position as a whole is that we are out to empty your wallets. With the internet, it is very hard to "screw" people with vehicle pricings. You can pull so much data from the internet in terms of pricing that we have to be pretty in line with the market pricing. Sometimes people get pretty upset when we can't do multiple thousands off our used cars.

For myself I think it is my age. I am 23 and deal with a lot of well established customers. It can make people wary when they are spending a ton of money and dealing with a "Kid". But I make it very important to know every single detail about the cars, and even best ways to use their money, and suggest the best plans of car purchases over the next 6-10 years. I HAVE to build value in that, but again, it's not like this with everyone.

They get screwed in the business office through markups on warranties, propacks, rustproofing, etc. Roll that into a 7 year loan and people don't notice. Next time round roll that negative equity into a new deal and keep the cycle of debt going.

However, Mercedes-Benz will pro rate your warranty back to you if you sell the car before you use it all.

Back in the 90’s Mercedes was a synonym of super reliable vehicle with engines clocking 1 mln. miles without major problems or rebuilds. Unfortunately this had changed somehow. Maybe the cars became too complicated, or was it the marketing people who figured out that a car needs to break more often and does not have to last a long time to make more money for the company? What do you think?

Mercedes-Benz states that a Mercedes-Benz will run 180,000 miles before needing any serious drive train work. Keep in mind too that the increased technology in these new Benz (Like electric motors in conjunction with gasoline engines) is astronomical to those older ones. Kinda along the argument of "Oh back in the old days I could change my oil without a computer!" for example.

We have a couple service techs with 90s E Class diesels that have well over 300k miles!

Could be more of a money grab though. People lease more than ever before now so why make them last forever?

Mr. u/kncrew, What is it going to take for me to get you into this fine automobile today?

A crisp high five!

How do you deal with "colleagues" who take keys out of the controlled keybox and "conveniently" forget to return them?

Asking for a friend ;-)

We have a high tech key box that takes a picture when a key is check out. If it happens a lot, we print their picture and hang it in the Frame of Shame in the inventory room lol.

This is interesting. Toyota had to buy me a second key. In the time of them getting the car and selling it to me they lost one. Do you guys have to replace keys often? The Toyota ones are expensive enough I'm sure let alone Mercedes.

Yeah we either lose them or the people trading them in only has one. Keys are like $350 a pop.

Have you ever sold an AMG-GT? How much leeway is there on those for lease/sale prices?

Yes! I think I've sold about 12 of them. As far as leeway, it depends on your dealer. Some small dealerships might get 1 or 2 a year. If that's the case, they will probably find someone who would pay sticker for it as its a high ticket item from them. You might be able to see $1,000 or 2 off, but I doubt much more than that.

Why are you doing this ama?

Great question! I think I would be able to provide objective opinions to the new era of the car industry and how it's changed from the stories I hear of how it used to be.

I also love talking cars and this is a great way to do it.

What time of year is it best to lease a new Mercedes?

November-February. Find yourself a prior model year Ex Service loaner. They have the best deals but you can't do lease deals with them after March 1st

How much is it Mercedes engine and how much of it is Lewis Hamilton in F1 if you have any idea about it?

I work at Mercedes HPP in Brixworth - the motorsport powertrain facility supplying the PUs for F1, FE, and X1). We operate 100% indepdently of the Mercedes Benz road car company. The only part of our facility that even communicates directly with MB is the Project 1 team, which coordinates with Daimler AMG in Germany on the integration of the PU with the chassis team.

Lewis is incredible but we work hard too! I like to think we make a good team. And of course the F1 chassis team operates separately from the PU team (us), but we work more closely with Brackley than with Williams or RPF1!

Proof (taken during team celebrations at HPP after we won our 6th championship last year): https://i.imgur.com/IopoOUR.jpg /

Nice to meet you!

I loosely follow Formula 1, but have seen a few of Hamilton's retired F1 cars. I don't have a direct answer, but given that Mercedes spends an astronomical amount of $ compared to the other manufactures, I can't help but speculate that the MB F1 car is pretty damn good.

Are you a car guy, a sales guy or a bit of both?

As a kid, I LOVED cars. And still do. I used to ride my bike up to the local Mercedes and check out all the cool cars. I definitely love cars more than I love sales, but I think the love for it makes me a better sales person.

I bought a merc last week, and my key stopped working. Centre console, lights etc work but it suddenly flashed up in dash board “this key does not belong to this vehicle”?... it was the same key I used to get to work. Luckily enough I don’t work too far away from home and was able to get spare. Spare key works OK. Does this happen often and any idea what happened?

Try pulling the keyless start button out of the key hole if you have one and physically use the key to turn the ignition. If that doesn't work, your key battery might be dead. Press the lock or unlock button and make sure the red light is flashing. If not that, then it is definitely the wrong key.

• Any stories of customers coming back to you to tell you how happy they are with the car or how shitty the car has been?
• What is the best part and worst part of working for MB dealership?
• What is the turnover rate for sales people, how long does the average person last?
• What percentage do you get per sale, and how much do you make in a year?

1. Luckily for me mostly it has been positive! I usually see them when they are in for service.
2. Best part is you're around great product and work in a state of the art facility. Worst part is you do a lot of searching for cars when customers happen to be looking for the one thats missing.
3. I think last year we had 3 people come and go. If you can make it through the first year, you'll most likely stick.
4. 20% new car 25% used. Plus some other bonuses that pay a big part. Last year I did 135k

I was once told to ask to see the invoice for the car before making an offer, because the dealer has to show you if you ask. Then then offer $100 above that.

Is that true and would that work?

Depends on the car. If it is a high ticket item, like the new body GLE/GLS which are hard to come by, probably not. I'd say if you ask for a few cars that are the oldest on the lot within the model that your looking for, they may have some more incentive to do that.

In my 5 years though, I haven't had someone do that!

Why do you guys disable the turn signals for these cars after someone buys it? It seems unsafe.

Also, would you recommend gasoline vs diesel?

Have you seen a ONE in person before?

Haha we have to keep BMW guessing.

Gasoline. But I've never owned a diesel.

I have.

How many times have you been fucked over because someone gave you a less than perfect survey due to circumstances beyond your control?

ALL THE TIME

Do you use a four-square?

My first year I did, but then we got a new CRM and the proposal sheet changed.

How overpriced is the car service at the dealership?

Well, this is a tough one to answer. Your dealing with the service dept. and the parts dept. With service, you do have high quality service men/women who go through extensive training, and once they're certified with Mercedes, they can get a job literally anywhere. But that drives up hourly cost which I think for us is 120/hour. Mercedes has a catalog on how long jobs will take for whatever the car needs. That is how your bill is calculated for labor.

Up charge i would say really comes from the parts. We do have to buy OEM parts, and typically you can find aftermarket a lot cheaper. I think it's pretty standard for parts to have a 15-30% markup on them

How did you get into it at 18?

The GM that hired me had a similar situation to me. He started at Ford at 18. I think he saw a little of himself in the interview. It took about 3 months of consistent follow up though before I got the interview.

What’s your daily driver right now?

2008 Range Rover Sport with 37k miles on it. I also have 2 Triumphs

I used to valet and I know for sure that at least one model of Benz has a bottle opener built into the center console drink divider in the back seats of the car. How many models have fun little hidden things like that?

I think the models with the refrigerator come with that solely. One cool thing is if you double tap the brakes while at a stop the car will hold the brakes for you!

Do only idiots buy and not lease Mercedes?

If you have a solid history of keeping cars for 6 years plus. By all means go ahead and finance/pay cash for a new one. For the other 90% of the market that finances and say they will keep a car for 6 years but end up trading up 3-4 years in. Lease the damn car. I always hate to see people buried in a ton of negative equity as it is very stressful for those that have the car, and each time you try to get a new car it will become harder and harder without putting money down to cover the negative equity.

Favourite merc? Current and past

For current, I really like the GLC-300/43. It's such a great SUV. And for past I really love the 300 SEL AMG. Also known as the "Red Pig"

Since you sell Mercedes, I’ve got to ask: what car do you drive?

If Mercedes, what other brand would you recommend?

If not Mercedes, why should I buy a Mercedes if the sales person doesn’t use the product?

I do not drive a Mercedes-Benz yet. I mentioned in another comment I am waiting for Master Certification in Q2 this year.

Here's the thing, if a Sales Person like myself do not own their brand, we definitely still drive them. Every single day! If I am driving during work hours for errands, I take a Benz. Lunch? Benz. Need to run to our storage lot? Benz. Therefore, we still get a lot of time in these cars, so we know them for sure. But we have lives outside of work too and not everyone budgets for them! I am also only 23 and am on my second car ever :)

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I always say the best cars to buy are the previous model year EX-Service loaners. Bigger discounts and they will have more warranty than a new car because they will be sold as Certified Pre Owned.

Is it your job to ensure that possible buyers will never use their blinker?

That is a question for BMW my friend!