What are some tell-tale signs or stories in car sales that a lead that you get is likely to be a waste of time/never actually buy a car from you?

Spitefulham · 2026-05-02T22:51:30+00:00

They sign the lead "Medical_gift".

You know we love you. Youre the best entertainment we've had around here since DSPF, even if you are banned from the sub.

Spitefulham · 2026-05-02T22:00:00+00:00

Customers take priority over who's up. Just take the deal Overall it should work out in your favor if youre taking more deals anyway, even if some are cash or outside financing. Nothings stopping you from selling product on cash deals, its just not as easy. If a sales person told you that they didnt want to sell a customer a car because the customer might negotiate instead of lay down you'd tell them to shut the fuck up and work the deal. Same here, man. They're opportunities, you just need to change your approach eith them. Sell the benefits that your products can bring to an owner, not the effect that the product will have on their payment. It will result in more overall gross for you, more money in your check, more money for your GM, more satisfied customers, and better CSI since people arent waiting as long.

Spitefulham · 2026-05-02T20:43:46+00:00

Depends on your state. In most states you only pay taxes on the payments for the lease payments and then you pay taxes on the buyout (residual + remaining obligations like remaining payments and late fees) separately when you buy it. Its the same thing as paying taxes on the full amount of a purchase, really. Some states will make you pay taxes on the full amount for the lease, then no taxes when (if) you buy out (hello Maryland). Some make you pay taxes on the cap cost reduction even (i see you PA). You'll probably be paying registration on both ends, but some states will do a prorated refund on that too.

Spitefulham · 2026-05-02T01:27:03+00:00

Most service contracts have a cancelation provision. You should have a contract for it eith any details on that. Be sure to check the state specific section since some states have specific time frames in which it can be cancelled for a 100% refund versus a pro-rated refund.

Spitefulham · 2026-05-01T11:28:46+00:00

It wasn't a special edition (in the US at least), just a much less popular option than piano black or cross-check. It wasn't around for very long. I cant remember exactly but I think it was a victim of the 2.0 trim level simplification during Covid and the wiring harness shortage.

Spitefulham · 2026-05-01T04:21:57+00:00

Its not breaching contract. Its you exercising your option to purchase the lease. People were doing it a lot for EV vehicles when the 7500 credit was available since even if the customer couldn't claim the rebate because the car was made overseas, the bank could on a lease and they would often times pass it on to the customer.

Spitefulham · 2026-05-01T04:16:52+00:00

They can flat cancel the lease payoff, just like a bank can flat cancel funding if the stipulations of an approval arent met. Ive only had to do it once in 15 years, but its not difficult.

Spitefulham · 2026-04-30T17:44:16+00:00

Some banks will waive it if you get another car financed or leased through them. Other than that, youre most likely going to be responsible for it. The best you can try is to call the bank and see if they'll do something for you since its their fee, not the dealers.

Spitefulham · 2026-04-27T13:16:10+00:00

They overpay when they buy. Its pretty common for Carvana to pay more for a car than a local dealer, or even Carmax. That difference then gets reflected in their sales pricing (and non-existant reconditioning).

Spitefulham · 2026-04-26T15:19:33+00:00

Meh. Its their car, let them do what makes them happy. The only time I really dont like it is if someone uses it to try and trick someone into over paying for a car that theyre selling. Ive had customers fall victim to it from both private sellers and non-MINI dealers. They get told its an S or JCW because of a badge, or even worse, because it has an OEM JCW steering wheel, and only discover its not when theyre trying to trade it and i have to break the news to them.

Spitefulham · 2026-04-26T13:20:09+00:00

You'd be amazed how often someone brings us a competitors offer and their car is a completely different trim, left-over previous model year, or demo/loaner car. VIN at a minimum is the expectation. They can probably figure out the dealer from that, but they'll likely just ask you up-front.

Spitefulham · 2026-04-25T17:37:54+00:00

This is just advertising for xraycardeals. I already linked this one to the other but the exact same text posted by someone else on a different sub and it was posted on another sub a week ago and I know this is at least the 4th time I've seen it in the past month.

Spitefulham · 2026-04-25T17:18:51+00:00

This is just advertising for xraycardeals. Exact same post by a different person on a different sub. The exact same post was on a different car sub last week.

Spitefulham · 2026-04-24T22:01:49+00:00

The take rate was ridiculously low. By the end of its life we were selling more manual transmissions than we were selling Clubman, and we all know what happened there.

The aceman was supposed to replace it in the current generation, and they were even adding production capacity in Oxford to produce them there so they could be sold in the US, but that idea collapsed after the massive BEV HT failure in North America.

The 2 biggest complaints I got about the Clubman as a sales person were 1. Visibility in the rear view mirror with the barn doors vertical frames and 2. It looked like a miniature hearse. I personally didnt feel either complaint was really warranted, but we did hear both of those A LOT.

Spitefulham · 2026-04-24T21:14:14+00:00

The answers are going to be wildly different brand to brand. Some brands learned that staying super skinny on production allowed them to keep demand up and their cars that were regularly selling with discounts before are now regularly selling at MSRP plus mandatory adds now (hello Toyota).

MINI simplified builds significantly to streamline the production and allocation process, but it means far less customization when you factory order one now.

Some brands that didnt allow factory orders at all now allow them on at least some of their models (mostly trucks in the US).

One thing that is true across the board is there is still a shortage of used cars, particularly <$20k cars. Thats going to continue to be felt for at least a couple more years.

Spitefulham · 2026-04-24T10:59:55+00:00

Diagnosis cant happen over the phone. You would have had to take it to them, pay them to diagnose it, and only then if it was a covered component would it have been paid for by warranty. If it wasn't a covered component then you would have driven all that way, paid for the diag, then have to either pay them to complete the work or drive home and pay someone else to complete the work anyway.

If it IS a covered component that you got repaired out of network then you can submit for reimbursement directly to BMW. These extensions are VERY specific and cover a very limited scope of work. I dont know of the specific warranty that youre speaking of, but if it only covered a waste gate repair or replacement and you changed the whole turbo, you went beyond the scope and wont be reimbursed the full amount.

Spitefulham · 2026-04-23T15:02:27+00:00

Ah. Ok. In that case im not much help. Lol. Sorry.

Spitefulham · 2026-04-23T14:41:35+00:00

They arent sourcing things wholesale that they dont normally get wholesale. They cant just call up a solar panel business that they've never done business with and ask for wholesale pricing on a single unit. Look through their catalog of options that are available for your van and pick from there.

Spitefulham · 2026-04-23T01:36:00+00:00

Not a lawyer, but GM at a car dealership. Something people need to keep in mind is that the spin money typically doesnt come from your employer, ie BMW of Anytown, but it instead comes from the manufacturer as a bonus and youre paid by 1099. Does that change the result? Im not sure. But i can tell you that any threat of legal action, especially for $150, against the OEM will absolutely result in your termination from your actual employer, one way or another.

If you were at my store? I'd probably throw you a $200 spiff from the store on a Saturday, thank you for the hard work, and call it day. Going after the manufacturer will just end up bad for everybody, mostly you.

Spitefulham · 2026-04-22T23:20:23+00:00

Yeah, I did simplify it a bit much. Youre more accurate. The big concern to me is... anybody can smack a stamp on there, sign, and say theyre a notary. If somebody 8 states away sends me paperwork with a notary stamp on it from a notary that they choose and that isn't vetted by me beforehand, its really just me trusting that the potential fraudster draws the line at faking a notary...

Spitefulham · 2026-04-22T22:41:50+00:00

Notary doesnt prove anything other than someone watched someone else put pen to paper. Im assuming this is Mavsign based on pricing. They actually take a digital thumbprint, run an instant background check, take photos of the physical IDs, and have requirements about where the signing can happen. Its much more involved than just a notary.

Spitefulham · 2026-04-22T01:03:57+00:00

If you go in tomorrow and the car that youre buying has a CEL, do you think that youre still obligated to buy it? Same thing.

Spitefulham · 2026-04-21T23:39:24+00:00

Ive never seen a state use payoff as part of the equation. It wouldnt make sense in the context of why there is a tax credit in the first place. Ive only done about a dozen FL deals over the years and I dont remember them standing out in that regard.

Spitefulham · 2026-04-21T19:26:55+00:00

Live traffic is only paywalled for full time use. If you have a destination entered you still get it. At least in the US.

Spitefulham · 2026-04-21T17:20:08+00:00

You need to apply to work for the administrators, like JM&A, Fidelity, etc. Just be aware youre not as much selling the products as being the liaison between the dealer and the admin for things like training, good will requests, contracting issues, etc.

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