Which car salesman make more money?

[hawc]

The ones selling lots of cheaper cars (hyundais, hondas, kias etc) or ones selling more premium brands BMW, Mercedes etc?

Is there higher margin on cheaper cars and they're easier to sell, or is it better to be the guy selling say five Lamborghinis a year?

[Merc-MarkO]

Need an option for Gateway's salesman.

[hawc]

heheh

[shftat6]

Quote, originally posted by Merc-MarkO »

Need an option for Gateway's salesman.

Now that's funny!!

[impact]

Quote, originally posted by shftat6 »

Now that's funny!!

It's actually kinda sad.

[Turbio!]

Quote, originally posted by Merc-MarkO »

Need an option for Gateway's salesman.

x10

[Quattro80]

I think expensive cars. My logic behind it is the fact that as far as resources go, technically the same "amount" of metal, glass etc, is put into cheap cars and expensive cars. The difference lies in the quality of materials, and effort into engineering. So, although a luxury car would cost more in the end as far as overall resources are concerned, the price they end up selling for (in excess of $100,000) means profit is much higher, IMO.

Economy cars don't have a lot of margin, at all, IMO.

Now, in economy cars there are margins as well. I went with my friend's father car shopping and ended up knocking off $2,500 within 10 minutes of negotiating on a brand spaking new Toyota Corolla - wasn't on the lot, it was going to be special ordered. Now, we also went to look at the Mazda 3 later on that afternoon, and the salesman barely went down $500. Now, granted at the time the 3 was a hot car (IMO still is), but the salesman said something that was interesting. When I mentioned to him that Toyota was flexable on their price, he said that the Corolla is built in Cambridge (which I knew), so it doesn't cost a lot to ship it to the dealer in Toronto. Now the 3 on the other hand is built in Japan, so it technically costs more to ship it to Toronto. SO, although both cars technically cost the same, in the end the margin of profit would be greater for a Corolla than a 3.

[Page7]

id say the expensive ones. there is no WAY an aston martin salesman doesnt make like 3 times the amount (at least) a honda salesman does.

[VeeDub Bowtie]

I think You sould adjust this poll to new vs. used sales.

When I sell a new Suburban I make about $225. If the same truck was 2 years old and sold for half the price and I would get around $1,000.

Used cars guys make much more than new car sales...

[G_RockNYTN]

I think You sould adjust this poll to new vs. used sales.

When I sell a new Suburban I make about $225. If the same truck was 2 years old and sold for half the price and I would get around $1,000.

Used cars guys make much more than new car sales...

Yep, I was going to chime in with used cars over either. The used car salesman at the BMW dealership where I used to work made more money than anyone else.

[Four Speed Fox]

If there's enough interest, I could post an article on how car salespeople are paid.

[98passat21]

Quote, originally posted by Four Speed Fox »

If there's enough interest, I could post an article on how car salespeople are paid.

do it. I double dare you

[turbo_nine]

Quote, originally posted by Four Speed Fox »

If there's enough interest, I could post an article on how car salespeople are paid.

Please do! If more people knew how I was paid in my 100% commission sales job, my own job would be a lot easier...

[Mike!]

The dealership may make more money with the expensive cars. The manufacturer may as well. But it's not likely the salesperson will make appreciably more.

Particularly if economic times are tough in your area, and you're selling BMWs, Audis, whatever, you'd be lucky to still pull two grand a month.

Ever noticed that Ferrari salespeople don't own their own Ferraris?

Mike

[SMG]

Quote, originally posted by MikeNoGo »

Ever noticed that Ferrari salespeople don't own their own Ferraris?

Have you ever seen some of the cars "regular" salespeople drive? Some of their cars look like they haven't been on a new car lot in 20 years. Just because the Ferrari salesman can't afford a Ferrari doesn't mean he isn't making appreciably more than the Honda salesman.

[lowredcabrio]

I never really thought about that.
and I really didnt know that salesmen made more selling used cars!

[roadrunner469]

I used to be in that business. The cheaper car salesperson would make more money. Granted the profits are more on the luxury cars, but how many of those do you sell in a month? Salesperson's commission's are generally 25-35% of the gross profit of the sale. That means minus the lot fee the dealer charges, usually $150-250.

Average profit these days on a new car (domestic) is approx. $200-1000 with the internet and all. However, average profit on a used car is approx. $1550-3000. Thats why many dealerships have the best salespeople hawking used cars. You just can't order a used car from the used car factory.

Edited for addition: The real money makers are the Finance Mgrs. At large dealerships I know some that make over $200,000/yr


Modified by roadrunner469 at 5:24 PM 6-25-2005

[StattlichPassat]

Ahh, the classic question of quality and patience... or quantity and totally working your arse off for like, a dollar an hour.

[JettaGT8V80]

cheap casue you can sell like 5 a day

but you might only sell like 1 porsche every few days so there fore do the math

[PDing]

Expensive cars make more. There are less salespeople in a high-end dealership than the cheaer brand car dealers. When you think about it, there are more people who can afford cheaper cars than those that can afford upscale ones. From my numerous visits to dealerships, lower-end brands tend to have somewhere around 12-25 salespeople depending on the size and location of the dealership. Generally in an upscale dealer, I see at most, 12.

When I ask my friends who sale cars for a living, my friends at BMW dealerships make $80k a year easy, while my friend at VW tells me he tops out around $80-90k a year. The top salesperson at the BMW dealer that I go to makes somewhere around $200k a year and pushes around 18-35 cars a month.

[Four Speed Fox]

Quote, originally posted by PDing »

When I ask my friends who sale cars for a living, my friends at BMW dealerships make $80k a year easy, while my friend at VW tells me he tops out around $80-90k a year. The top salesperson at the BMW dealer that I go to makes somewhere around $200k a year and pushes around 18-35 cars a month.

Ask to see those pay stubs.

It's rare for a car salesman to make more than $40K/year. Some markets pay a little better because rent/expenses are high (e.g. San Francisco) but make no mistake, there is not a dealer in the country who will pay somebody that kind of money unless they have extremely significant community connections.

Keep in mind that lying about one's income is virtually mandatory in the business. I remember my GM telling me, in the most sanctimonious voice possible, "I don't get out of bed for low six figures." Later that year I saw his W-2 as they were prepping it in the office; he had earned $71,000 the year before.

I'll do a writeup this week about some of the more common dealer myths and realities and post it.

The most important thing to understand about modern auto dealers is that the majority of them lose money selling cars and break even servicing them. The profit engine is the parts department, because there is an insane little deal going on between the dealers and manufacturers.

Manufacturers sell dealers parts at a certain cost. Then they repurchase those parts at near retail to be used in warranty service. The more warranty churn you do, the better.

[98passat21]

My friend works at F.C. Kerbeck as a lot attendant. The one in Palmyra not Atlantic City. They sell Rolls-Royce, Bentley, Lamborghini, and possibly Aston Martin (not sure). There were only 5 people who could sell those cars, and two of them were Kerbecks (owners kids). The other guy was rolling in the dough, he made so much money he had a Gallardo. If it was a dealers car or not doesn't matter. Put it this way, if it was a dealers car, he had to have been making the dealership soooo much money for them to give him a Gallardo, therefore he is very well compensated also.
Can't tell you the last time I knew of a Kia salesperson driving a Gallardo or other high end car

[Four Speed Fox]

Quote, originally posted by 98passat21 »

My friend works at F.C. Kerbeck as a lot attendant. The one in Palmyra not Atlantic City. They sell Rolls-Royce, Bentley, Lamborghini... The other guy was rolling in the dough, he made so much money he had a Gallardo. If it was a dealers car or not doesn't matter. Put it this way, if it was a dealers car, he had to have been making the dealership soooo much money for them to give him a Gallardo, therefore he is very well compensated also. Can't tell you the last time I knew of a Kia salesperson driving a Gallardo or other high end car

Heh.

I can remember driving a new Q45 to work and earning $2000 a month - not enough money to pay for the car over 60 months

There's a benefit to the dealership in having one of those cars driven around on a consistent basis. It's free advertising.

[VeeDubDriver]

Perhaps this will shed some light on the topic. If you work at a Toyota or Lexus store, you are probably selling more cars per month than say a Dodge store. In addition, Lexus probably sells cars with less of a discount than many makes, so I would venture to say that if you work at a Lexus store, you have the potential to do pretty well.

[98passat21]

Quote, originally posted by Four Speed Fox »

It's rare for a car salesman to make more than $40K/year.

Amen to that, unless your a top 1% person your not making that money, the managers can make good money though. My GF's father's best friend was GM of a Porsche/Infiniti dealership in Delaware and he was making $200K he left that to do something for Shop Rite and Produce or what-not expecting to make $300K/yr

[aging_fleet]

Quote, originally posted by Four Speed Fox »

Ask to see those pay stubs. It's rare for a car salesman to make more than $40K/year. Some markets pay a little better because rent/expenses are high (e.g. San Francisco)

Interesting, especially since we live in the same area. Through the mid to late 90s I was a lot-lizzard at MAG (local import dealer) while in college, there were a few guys my age that sold BWWs and claimed make 60-80k/yr. They seemed to be doing well for themselves but alot of people tend to live beyond their means.

Looking forward to reading your writeup.

[Four Speed Fox]

Quote, originally posted by CMHCivicSi »

Interesting, especially since we live in the same area. Through the mid to late 90s I was a lot-lizzard at MAG (local import dealer) while in college, there were a few guys my age that sold BWWs and claimed make 60-80k/yr. They seemed to be doing well for themselves but alot of people tend to live beyond their means. Looking forward to reading your writeup.

The old-timers at MAG - Charlie Cox for example - do pretty well, but most of them are struggling to stay above water. MAG is notorious for shorting salespeople on commission/bonus as well.

Right now, Crown is a decent place to make money as well.

There's a formula most car salespeople use to estimate their annual income. It's simple so I will share it with you

BEST MONTH EVAR!!!!11!!one!! x 12 = Guaranteed annual salary to put on loan apps

When I was selling at Infiniti o' Cowtown my in-laws would ask me how I was doing. "Oh, four or five K a month", I would say, neglecting to mention that that month was a total fluke and never to be repeated.

[savethefleas]

Quote, originally posted by Four Speed Fox »

There's a formula most car salespeople use to estimate their annual income. It's simple so I will share it with you BEST MONTH EVAR!!!!11!!one!! x 12 = Guaranteed annual salary to put on loan apps When I was selling at Infiniti o' Cowtown my in-laws would ask me how I was doing. "Oh, four or five K a month", I would say, neglecting to mention that that month was a total fluke and never to be repeated.

So true. Some salesmen just cant stop selling no matter what! When I started here, the manager had me believing I'd make 6-8 grand a month easy right away! ....I made about $1500 my first month......

[aging_fleet]

Quote, originally posted by Four Speed Fox »

The old-timers at MAG - Charlie Cox for example - do pretty well.

Charlie is the first salesperson I thought of when this conversation started, that guy does very well selling high volume, low margin.

[Harv]

Quote, originally posted by PDing »

. The top salesperson at the BMW dealer that I go to makes somewhere around $200k a year and pushes around 18-35 cars a month.

i guess some of it depends on where your selling the cars. If your selling cars in like NYC, LA, or Miami, yeah, your gonna sell more of the high end cars because they are more in demand then say in Iowa or somewhere..so i guess you have to factor that in too.

[hawc]

Just thought this thread could use a picture. Here's a shot from the dealership I was at this morning.

[savethefleas]

From a car salesman, the High-end makes more money on average. But it depends on a lot of things other than just the make of car. The top salesman at the VW dealer makes around $180K a year. This is at one of the top 10 dealers in the nation and he's been here for 10 years too, so he has a huge client base. The top guys at the bigger Ford and Toyota dealers make even more than that, and these arent premium cars.

Of course, in the lower end cars, there are 20 salesmen who make $40K for every one that makes $100K+ so the average is lower. But its not impossible.

[ATL_Av8r]

No selection for "Gateway's salesman"?

[tdipd04]

I have no proof to back this up but I'm guessing...

Toyota and Honda sales people

[Luchak]

Used car sales is where the $ is at