A Car Dealers Won’t Sell: It’s Electric

[WetEV]

$32k for it and gave me a lease price that was ridiculous. It was a really bad experience. I hope the Bolt is better.

Dealers are ... well dealers.

One of the better local dealers has the S (MSRP 32k) for $22,890 plus registration and title. Lease $0 at signing, 23 payments of $229 or 35 payments of $209.

 

[roundpeg]

Beginning to wonder if there isn't some truth to the rumor that some dealers are disinterested in selling the Bolt for some reason. My own local Chevy dealership (in California) seemed quite interested in keeping me informed about when they'd be ordering Bolts, but they went completely quiet on the subject a couple of weeks ago. They have quite a few Volts on the lot, so being unwilling to sell EVs isn't the issue.

 

[jdunmyer]

FWIW: I drive a 2016 Nissan Leaf and had a 2013 for 2 years before, so I have a little bit of experience. My Nissan dealer is in no hurry to sell Leafs, has probably moved fewer than 40 since December of 2010, when the car was introduced. Other close-by dealers are no better. Here's an interesting take:

http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=23&t=17133

Cliff Notes: the writer is a Nissan salesman, loves the car, but it's a huge pain for him to sell, and he makes little money on it.

Be sure to read the part about the online survey that you'll be urged to take after taking delivery. If you like your salesman at all, be sure to rate your Sales Experience as "Outstanding".

My lease expires in December of 2017, and at the moment, I'm expecting to move into a Bolt. I'm very happy with the Leaf, especially the 2016 with the 30 Kwhr battery, but more is always better.

 

[Robaroni]

FWIW: I drive a 2016 Nissan Leaf and had a 2013 for 2 years before, so I have a little bit of experience. My Nissan dealer is in no hurry to sell Leafs, has probably moved fewer than 40 since December of 2010, when the car was introduced. Other close-by dealers are no better. Here's an interesting take:

http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=23&t=17133

Cliff Notes: the writer is a Nissan salesman, loves the car, but it's a huge pain for him to sell, and he makes little money on it.

Be sure to read the part about the online survey that you'll be urged to take after taking delivery. If you like your salesman at all, be sure to rate your Sales Experience as "Outstanding".

My lease expires in December of 2017, and at the moment, I'm expecting to move into a Bolt. I'm very happy with the Leaf, especially the 2016 with the 30 Kwhr battery, but more is always better.

Thanks for that link, interesting viewpoint from the salesman.

A couple of things - I'm wondering if dealers are forced to take cars in from the manufacturer that they wouldn't normally stock. The dealer I drove the Leaf from had no idea what he was selling, neither did the salesman. The showroom was filthy and dingy, the front window was so dirty I had to put on the wipers to see where I was going! Doesn't sound like the salesman in the link.

 

[laev]

I find the information given in the original post absolutely shocking

 

[Robaroni]

I find the information given in the original post absolutely shocking

Unfortunately it's the way of the world. The dollar dictates the justifications for our actions, people are last. Yo notice the owner of the dealership doesn't lose, only the employees.

 

[jdunmyer]

robaroni said:

A couple of things - I'm wondering if dealers are forced to take cars in from the manufacturer that they wouldn't normally stock. The dealer I drove the LEAF from had no idea what he was selling, neither did the salesman.

That probably depends on the manufacturer, I don't think Nissan dealers are required to stock Leafs.

My salesman seemed to be pretty 'up' on the Leaf as far as knowledge and he didn't try to steer me to something else. However:

Checking stock at other dealers revealed that most never have one on the lot except for Ann Arbor Nissan, and in the past they usually have had 3-5 on the lot. At the moment, the web site shows 2. When the 2016s came out, I asked my salesman to get one in, and he did; it came from a couple hundred miles away. (I had specified the SL version, with all the goodies)

Dealers are independent businesses and can't afford to evangelize something that doesn't make them any money or even is a loser. I can't fault them for that.

I'm going to be shopping some Chevy dealers soon for a possible purchase of an ICE car and will be inquiring about the Bolt and their plans to carry it (or not).

 

[Aidan]

I'm from the Greater Vancouver area in British Columbia and I did some calling around 2 some of the local Chevy and GM dealerships here in regards to whether they are going to stock the bolt or whether they're able to service and maintain service with the electric vehicles and I didn't come across any issues or problems ,now granted that's just some sales person telling me that it's not an issue and that they've been stalking the volt for 2 years So I don't think in the Greater Vancouver area this is going to be a problem as every dealership confirmed they will be stocking the Bolt but the consensus was they are still quite a few months away from receiving them

 

[oilerlord]

After looking on the Bolt website, which said to see my local dealer for more information, my wife and I visited a Chevy dealer in Venice Florida yesterday to ask about the Bolt. They seemed really irritated that I even asked about it and the sale manager, after a long delay, told the saleswoman to tell us it was only going to be available in California and Washington DC. I said " so this really is only a compliance car". She said " yes and was there anything else she could do for me. I said I was really interested in the Bolt and was really disappointed. She said I was "a one in a million" buyer that wanted an EV. I replied that I was 1 of over 350,000 that plunked down $1000.00 on March 31 to reserve a model 3. She had no reply. My wife said "let go, and keep our test drive appointment to drive a Tesla Model X". At 10AM today we drove the X and it is wonderful in every way. However it too expensive for the average buyer.
Bottom line, GM still doesn't get it. They have designed a car that would fit the needs of a great majority of car buyers but they do not, and/or their dealers do not really want you to buy one. They have no interest in supporting a network of chargers that would make it a good car to drive cross country. It will not be in anyway a competitor to the Model 3 Tesla.
I was born and raised in the Detroit area. I have always been a car nut. It pains me that the "Big Three" can't see the handwriting on the wall and are willing to "bury their heads in the sand" when it comes to EV. How many more times does GM need to go broke, and take Michigan down with them, before they finally get where the future in automobiles is going?

You got it backwards. GM *does* get it. It is the dealer you visited in Venice Florida that does NOT get it. GM is making a great car. GM has announced that it will NOT be limited to just a few states (although I have not seen details of exactly when the cars will be made available in the different states). Some dealerships still don't understand. (1) email GM and ask if the vehicle will be sold in Florida, and if it will be available the same day as in CA. (2) Go visit a different dealership to get a test drive. (3) If you end up buying one, make sure you go back to Venice and tell them "Hey, you could have had my money, but your sales manager had his head up his ass and refused to give me any information and implied you'd never sell the Bolt. I love my Bolt - you are missing the boat, fellas."

I agree 100% with Ed. It isn't an indictment GM EV's, only a reflection on GM dealers themselves that don't "get" EV's. Early in my car shopping, I seriously considered the Volt and Spark EV. I did a lot of shopping on the Internet, and in person in California. I talked with at least a dozen dealerships. The common thread was the Chevy salespeople I encountered could care less about EV's, much less know anything about them. What they didn't know, they usually guessed at, and guessed wrong. I even had one young Chevy sales guy show me a picture of a baby and tell me "Hey man, I could use this commission". I got much the same from Ford, and made a reasonable offer on a Focus EV which got ignored. I assume because there wasn't a big commission in it for them. There's no doubt that if I was looking at a loaded F-150, the guy would have been all over me like a fat kid on an M&M.

In addition to Ed's wife saying the Tesla X was wonderful in every way, the experience we had with the Tesla rep during the test drive even exceeded how good the car was. Customer service like that is what GM and other dealers don't "get". Tesla's "Ownership Advisors" know everything about their cars, love to spend as much time with you as you choose on a test drive, and then don't play games, or pressure you into buying the car. It's a totally different paradigm to how the "big three" sell cars.

There was a time when GM sold Saturns, and put an effort into training salespeople not only to be knowledgeable about those cars, but also the basics on how to build customer relationships. I hope GM does a big spend to upgrade their Bolt salespeople from quick-buck lot lizards to professionals that put their customers first.

 

[oilerlord]

Beginning to wonder if there isn't some truth to the rumor that some dealers are disinterested in selling the Bolt for some reason. My own local Chevy dealership (in California) seemed quite interested in keeping me informed about when they'd be ordering Bolts, but they went completely quiet on the subject a couple of weeks ago. They have quite a few Volts on the lot, so being unwilling to sell EVs isn't the issue.

More to my point, margins on EV's are razor thin (or non-existent). I'm guessing GM loses $5-10K on every Bolt they sell - just to pick up ZEV credits. For that reason, commissions on their EV's are likely just as razor thin. I wouldn't be surprised if a Chevy salesperson pockets a bigger commission on a $20,000 Sonic than they do on a $37,000 Bolt.

Perhaps the reason they have quite a few Volts on the lot is because there isn't much incentive for their salesperson to sell them.

 

[roundpeg]

More to my point, margins on EV's are razor thin (or non-existent). I'm guessing GM loses $5-10K on every Bolt they sell - just to pick up ZEV credits. For that reason, commissions on their EV's are likely just as razor thin. I wouldn't be surprised if a Chevy salesperson pockets a bigger commission on a $20,000 Sonic than they do on a $37,000 Bolt.

Perhaps the reason they have quite a few Volts on the lot is because there isn't much incentive for their salesperson to sell them.

I don't know about commissions but dealer margins are never huge, low single digits on average. Not that this tells the entire story, since the manufacturers provide incentives of various kinds that don't all get passed through to the car buyer, and dealers make a lot of their profit on aftermarket options, financing, extended warranties, etc. They are bit like movie theaters in that respect.

Dealers don't have any incentive to carry unsold inventory on their lots.

 

[oilerlord]

I used to buy 8-10 cars per year from Manheim - the largest dealer auction network, and import them into Canada. On a $40,000 used car, dealers usually start out looking to clear around $4K, sometimes more depending on what they paid. The longer it sits on the lot, the more that profit erodes to the point they are willing to close the deal near cost. Sometimes I'd just buy from a dealer, and make an offer based on how many days they had it on the lot. Carfax is your friend in that regard. The Mercedes dealer that sold me my B250 bought the car for $23K, listed it for $27.5K, had it on the lot for 5 months, then sold it to me for $23K just to get rid of it.

There are GM rebates and incentives that go to the dealer on new units but again, as GM is already losing their shirt on every Bolt they sell, I doubt there's a lot of gravy left for the salesperson after the dealership absorbs GM kickbacks. On several occasions, I had salespeople try to steer me away from buying an EV and into something else. There are only two reasons that would happen:

1.) The saleperson was looking out for my best interests
2.) The salesperson was looking out for his own best interests