Multiple dealerships told me 87 Octane
10-26-16, 10:14 AM
#31
Haha, you've clearly never spent any time in a car dealership.
On a busy Saturday, take a stroll over to your Lexus dealer and just walk around and pay attention to the people around you, listen to them talking and interacting with the salespeople. I promise you that people with the level of knowledge we have are VERY rare, and most people know nothing about cars, and the salespeople spew BS like this because their customers eat it up. "Oh Bill told me a secret, isn't he great!".
No joke, when I was getting the LS I made it a point to do that. While I was waiting I just listened. First couple comes in:
Couple: We want to buy a car
Salesman: Great, happy to help you. What model are you interested in?
Couple: We want a Lexus
Salesman: Okay, have you thought about an SUV or a sedan, coupe?
Couple: A Lexus car
Seeing that they were an older couple he took them out in an ES350. They came back from the test drive and sat down at the desk across from me.
Salesman: What sort of option packages have you thought about, do you want navigation?
Couple: We'd like air conditioning.
I'm not exaggerating! Not long after that a guy came in and told the receptionist he was there to see "The F Sport". The salesman he was paired with asked him which model F Sport he was interested in, GS, IS, LS, etc and his response was "the red one"
I asked my guy when he came back with all the paperwork and all how typical that was, and he replied that it happened all the time.
Confrontation won't do anything, they'll just think you're an a-hole and move on to the next person.
On a busy Saturday, take a stroll over to your Lexus dealer and just walk around and pay attention to the people around you, listen to them talking and interacting with the salespeople. I promise you that people with the level of knowledge we have are VERY rare, and most people know nothing about cars, and the salespeople spew BS like this because their customers eat it up. "Oh Bill told me a secret, isn't he great!".
No joke, when I was getting the LS I made it a point to do that. While I was waiting I just listened. First couple comes in:
Couple: We want to buy a car
Salesman: Great, happy to help you. What model are you interested in?
Couple: We want a Lexus
Salesman: Okay, have you thought about an SUV or a sedan, coupe?
Couple: A Lexus car
Seeing that they were an older couple he took them out in an ES350. They came back from the test drive and sat down at the desk across from me.
Salesman: What sort of option packages have you thought about, do you want navigation?
Couple: We'd like air conditioning.
I'm not exaggerating! Not long after that a guy came in and told the receptionist he was there to see "The F Sport". The salesman he was paired with asked him which model F Sport he was interested in, GS, IS, LS, etc and his response was "the red one"
I asked my guy when he came back with all the paperwork and all how typical that was, and he replied that it happened all the time.
Confrontation won't do anything, they'll just think you're an a-hole and move on to the next person.
Salesman- this ES comes with a sunroof
Mom- that will just mess up my hair. Do you have any without a sunroof?
Salesman- let me check on that, oh by the way here's a white one with a beige interior.
Me thinking in my head- yup old folks love white/beige cars. They don't show the dirt and they are cooler in Texas summer.
BTW they bought a red ES. First time in their lives they bought a red car!
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sbowden99 (01-18-23)
10-26-16, 10:23 AM
#32
One solution might be to ask them to put it down on paper. They will be careful what they commit to when evidence is left behind, plus then you can really dissect their words, i.e. 87 octane fuel CAN be used in this engine or 87 octane fuel is RECOMMENDED for this engine
10-26-16, 10:28 AM
#33
10-26-16, 11:25 AM
#34
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If you feel as though you must be correct then I'll grant that to you. But you're still answering a question I didn't ask.
Correct. But it sounds like you (and probably a lot of people on this forum) know an awful lot about the car. Perhaps more than a sales person would know.
Have you ever been into Best Buy and looked at the TVs? Usually the person knows less about them than the customers. Not because he/she doesn't care but because it's just not really part of the job anymore. The customer looks at the sizes, prices, picture, basic features; And then points to the one they want to buy and the people carry it out to their truck for them. As you've noted, for a lot of car buyers, this is also the process.
When I was in college I worked at Circuit City. I'm a nerd. So, I went out of my way to read through the reviews and manuals of all our TVs. I was especially interested in the larger TVs because they were something I couldn't afford at the time. I got excited about telling people everything I could about how it worked and what to expect. I became the guy that other customers would tell each other about. Every week someone would come in and say: "My neighbor told me to come in and talk to you about a TV."
I didn't ever lie to anyone (willingly), but there is certainly a chance I gave out bad advise based on something I read. Then came the Circuit City training. They told us to tell the customer that the TV would die in 5 years, but if they bought the protection plan we'd replace it for them for free. So, on a $2400 TV it just made sense to buy the plan because they were basically getting a free TV out of the deal for less than $200. I actually repeated that to customers! Not because I was a bad guy or a bad sales person. I did it because Circuit City insisted I sell protection plans as part of my job.
THAT is why I asked my question. The evidence of the sales people being trained to say the car does not need 91 octane fuel is the fact that I've now heard it from four different sales people (one of them a sales trainer). The sales people are being told the car does not need 91 octane and that is getting passed along to the customers. My intent was to open a dialog about WHY that might be and what people's thoughts were on how/why the conversation has changed.
NOTE: Again, I am not asking if it's okay to use 87. I am not asking you MustangSal if I can use 87 in the car. I am not asking if the car can run on 87. I am not asking what will happen if I put 87 in the car. I am asking what peoples thoughts are on why four different sales people (from four different dealerships) have now told me that the car does not need 91.
I know that I don't really need you for anything more than to get me the vehicle I can already see on your inventory and then to the finance manager so we can talk about what I'm actually paying. I'm also not negligent to the fact that there are a host of people walking into dealerships with no decisions made and need a salesman to guide their journey into a fit that works for them.
Have you ever been into Best Buy and looked at the TVs? Usually the person knows less about them than the customers. Not because he/she doesn't care but because it's just not really part of the job anymore. The customer looks at the sizes, prices, picture, basic features; And then points to the one they want to buy and the people carry it out to their truck for them. As you've noted, for a lot of car buyers, this is also the process.
When I was in college I worked at Circuit City. I'm a nerd. So, I went out of my way to read through the reviews and manuals of all our TVs. I was especially interested in the larger TVs because they were something I couldn't afford at the time. I got excited about telling people everything I could about how it worked and what to expect. I became the guy that other customers would tell each other about. Every week someone would come in and say: "My neighbor told me to come in and talk to you about a TV."
I didn't ever lie to anyone (willingly), but there is certainly a chance I gave out bad advise based on something I read. Then came the Circuit City training. They told us to tell the customer that the TV would die in 5 years, but if they bought the protection plan we'd replace it for them for free. So, on a $2400 TV it just made sense to buy the plan because they were basically getting a free TV out of the deal for less than $200. I actually repeated that to customers! Not because I was a bad guy or a bad sales person. I did it because Circuit City insisted I sell protection plans as part of my job.
THAT is why I asked my question. The evidence of the sales people being trained to say the car does not need 91 octane fuel is the fact that I've now heard it from four different sales people (one of them a sales trainer). The sales people are being told the car does not need 91 octane and that is getting passed along to the customers. My intent was to open a dialog about WHY that might be and what people's thoughts were on how/why the conversation has changed.
NOTE: Again, I am not asking if it's okay to use 87. I am not asking you MustangSal if I can use 87 in the car. I am not asking if the car can run on 87. I am not asking what will happen if I put 87 in the car. I am asking what peoples thoughts are on why four different sales people (from four different dealerships) have now told me that the car does not need 91.
10-26-16, 11:35 AM
#35
I know there has been talk that the RX would be okay with regular gas, but the GS is more performance based and would assume nothing but premium would be needed, not just for MPG but for engine sustainability.
10-26-16, 12:10 PM
#36
Lexus Champion
When we were buying our Highlander, we looked at one at the first dealership. Because the hybrid RX uses requires premium fuel, I asked if the Highlander Hybrid also required it. My saleslady had to go ask several other sales people. None of them could answer the question. I just went to the car, popped open the gas door, and looked at the label. Standard 87 is the recommendation.
10-26-16, 01:47 PM
#37
Lexus Test Driver
I just filled mine up with water - using the garden hose. Drove it up and down the driveway a few times - runs just fine. I cannot believe I've been wasting money buying gasoline...
10-26-16, 02:52 PM
#38
Lexus Fanatic
What you have to realize is any talented salesperson isn't going to sell cars, and if they do they aren't going to do it for long. Its just too hard to make a good living selling cars nowadays. If you're a good salesperson why struggle selling cars to make $70k when you can make $300k+ somewhere else selling something else? The answer is, you wouldn't LOL
Originally Posted by kitabel
There is a character trait common to salesmen: they think they're too smart to work.
10-26-16, 03:29 PM
#40
Lexus Fanatic
10-26-16, 03:52 PM
#42
Lexus Fanatic
Thats the kind of thing that is missing from the US nowadays...today that wouldn't be possible because I'm sure Boeing has minimum education requirements for employment...
10-26-16, 04:05 PM
#43
True, this was in the 60-70's. My uncle Jack has been gone for many years now. I still remember all the Boeing model planes he used to give me as a kid, they would be painted for airlines from countries I had never heard of.
10-26-16, 04:08 PM
#44
NOTE: Again, I am not asking if it's okay to use 87. I am not asking you MustangSal if I can use 87 in the car. I am not asking if the car can run on 87. I am not asking what will happen if I put 87 in the car. I am asking what peoples thoughts are on why four different sales people (from four different dealerships) have now told me that the car does not need 91.
10-26-16, 04:10 PM
#45
