How much does a car salesman make when he sells a car?

[missypie]

Just bought DS17 a car. I encountered some very agressive salesmen (all men) who used very high pressure tactics. Does anyone know what the sales commission is on a new car? I can never figure out whether they're so agressive because they make so little on each sale that they need to make a lot of sales, or that they make so much on each sale. (Whatever the reason for the pressure, it's obnoxious and doesn't make me buy!)

 

[CapeCodTenor]

I think it varies from dealership to dealership. At the Dodge dealership I use to work for (years ago now), the bottm of the line car, Neon, they made only $200. Obviously that goes up with the different models. A commission on a full sized pickup truck will be more than the Neon.

 

[missypie]

Are these guys on straight commission or on base + commission?

 

[CapeCodTenor]

Are these guys on straight commission or on base + commission?

As I understand it, straight commission. Now, I think Saturn pays their salesmen a salery.

 

[sharlon]

My step father is a car sales man. He recently quit (long story, not job related). Anyway, when he was selling up until last summer, his pay was steadily going down. The internet has created a very educated consumer base. Basically people would walk through the door knowing exactly what the car cost the dealer, what holdbacks were, etc. That said, he did have some great months where he made quite a bit, but that was becoming less and less often. He looked into doing used car sales, but they make a lot less.

 

[missypie]

Yeah, I bought through the internet sales department, but I did have to do some shopping around to see what we wanted.

I went to a few car sales sites (like carsdirect.com) and filled out info on what I wanted. Once I got one dealer to email me a quote, I could use that on other dealers. Last time I bought a car I requested faxed quotes...what an improvement!

I will say that some of the salesmen managed to be obnoxious (and condesending, and insulting) even by email!

 

[arminnie]

I will say that some of the salesmen managed to be obnoxious (and condesending, and insulting) even by email!

The worst was one who literally locked me in the dealership one night - sure like that would really make me make up my mind to buy from him. That was years ago either in Dallas or Houston - can't remember which.

 

[mla2177]

I used to sell cars many moons ago, and we were on straight commission. I only lasted about 4 months before I decided to go back to the service department as a writer to get a more steady income. It was a lot of work to sell a car and sometimes you only made $100.00! If you only sell 2-3 cars a week, that's not a real great income! The flip side was there was potential to make a couple thousand on a used vehicle (at least back then). Most of the experienced salespeople that sold over 10 cars a month made about $40,000-50,000 a year. I've heard that times have changed and most are lucky to make $30,000 a year! It does depend on what kind of new vehicles you are selling and the variety of used cars you have to sell!

 

[ChillyWilleys]

My Dad is a retired car salesman. He made a very small salary on top of commission. And by small I mean there is no way you could support a family on that alone. Business had been horrible for the past couple years which is probably why they were so aggressive. They're getting desperate.

 

[CapeCodTenor]

The worst was one who literally locked me in the dealership one night - sure like that would really make me make up my mind to buy from him. That was years ago either in Dallas or Houston - can't remember which.

I'd called the cops, and then his boss the next day to complain.

 

[KelNottAt]

It's my understanding that car sales are no longer the big profit center for dealerships. Now they make more money in service.

The service guy who greets you, calls you with an estimate, tries to upsell on tires/battery/etc, then calls when you're done, is the one making the most commission.

 

[Grumpy's Gal]

my BIL merely DROVE through a car lot one night -- they were closed. He was just pointing our some cars to his wife (my sis.)

The next day, the car dealer called him -- asked him which cars he was interested in!

They never figured out if they had a hidden camera on their lot and somehow traced his license plate number or what......it was too creepy and he did not buy from them.

 

[missypie]

my BIL merely DROVE through a car lot one night -- they were closed. He was just pointing our some cars to his wife (my sis.)

The next day, the car dealer called him -- asked him which cars he was interested in!

They never figured out if they had a hidden camera on their lot and somehow traced his license plate number or what......it was too creepy and he did not buy from them.

Whoa! That is creepy.

When I went to my local Toyota dealership, I was ushered into the guy's cublicle and asked a zillion questions which he put into his computer. It was about 15 minutes before I even saw any cars.

 

[storzo]

I used to work at a dealership in service/parts.

I don't know what percentage the salespeople were paid but it was straight commission, no salary. They also had quotas they had to meet each month or risk being fired. So the aggressiveness was coming from two fronts...money and making the quota.

To the PP, yes service is a BIG money maker for dealers.