I can remember a time, not so long ago…

Yup, when Congressmen (there were maybe 1 or 2 women, who ‘inherited’ their spouses’ seats) were held in relative high regard.  And, car salesmen were the low men (again- same statement) on the totem pole.  Now, Congressfolks have a public approval rating that would make Idi Amin (go ahead, look him up!) blush- and car salesman have vanished (almost) from the face of the earth.

Oh, car dealers still employ these folks- but their job is to burden us with enough paperwork that one would think we were buying the Taj Mahal, and to try to upsell us (still) with options and warranties.  But, those kind of jobs are on the wane.  Because of that thing that Al Gore claimed he invented- the internet.

When we enter a car dealership, we already know the price of the car, the “official” cost of that car (we really don’t know the incentives and specials that the manufacturers proffer these guys), and the delivery fees (which have nothing to do with delivery- it’s just a way for both the manufacturer and the dealer to cover more of their costs).

From the time I bought my first car (at the ripe old age of 18- ah, the pleasures of earning good money at a young age), I’ve known what my car would cost- before I entered that showroom.  And, as the car salesman found out when he tried to play fast and loose with me on that fast purchase, I know what I want- when I want it.

(He tried to tell me that the only car he could get came with a landau roof and I needed to pay $ 200 more for it.  He figured he had a live one, since I was only 18 and would not be sophisticated.  I informed him that he could keep the car and return my money.  Given the fact that it was 18 June [back when car manufacturing stopped each year about that date and they were only selling what was in  inventory] and I had “good money”, I got my car- for the $ 3002.70 I had negotiated [including sales taxes].)

Since that time, I’ve purchased some 500 cars (remember- I did have a car leasing company) and have used the same process.  Well, not really- for 6 years, I bought my vehicles directly from the Chrysler Corporation; I was considered a dealer, given the volume of cars I was turning over.

But, car dealerships now have “product specialists”.   These folks work hard (or not) to get you sign on that bottom line- for the car you decided you wanted before you came in that door- with maybe an option or two added, a warranty, and a bank loan.  It’s those last two that insure that the margins for the dealership don’t sink below 3.5%- which is about where they are nowadays.  About 10 years ago, the margins were 6 to 6.5% and 30 years ago, they were pretty close to 12%.

The reason?  We (the car buyers) now spend 11 hours or so doing our homework- online.  That means we spend about 3 to 3.5 hours in the showroom- and about an hour of that is negotiating the paperwork of the sale. (That also includes our commuting time to the showroom and back.)  That’s a major change- in 2010, we were spending some 6 hours buying the car, and less time online. And, while the average salesman is making 50% more than he did in 2002 ($ 64K vs. $ 46K), there are way fewer of them- and that change in compensation is not adjusted for inflation.  (Of course, we already know that wage inflation over the past 25 years has been virtually non-existent!)

(But, as I wrote about two weeks or so ago, we still hold onto our brand loyalty.  That is not a function of the car salesperson, per se, but how we grew up and with what cars.)

I guess Congressfolks will have to work harder (or is that start working?)- they won’t have any folks below them on the satisfaction totem pole, with the demise of car salesmen.

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