# AUDI snobs! and BMW snobs !



## KimTT (Jul 12, 2009)

on a night shift at the moment.. bored.... just remembering about Audi..and how snobby they were when i first went to look for a TT...

mid summer.. im in 3quater length trousers,sandals and a top...
my partner, shorts, t-shirt and trainers...

walk into audi...
IGNORED
brett (my partner) asked the receptionist twice if we could speak to someone about buying a TT..she looked us up and down.. after 20min's a man came over...

how ruuude!

Quite a bit like when my partners dad went into BMW to buy an M5.. he also walked in..shorts t-shirt and trainers... same thing happened..untill they realsied he wanted to spend 65k LOL
what a joke.

i know it happens and all.. but i really hate it!
grr


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## fishface (Nov 25, 2006)

When we bough our Audi the salesman was brilliant, but on the day I went to pick it up he was not around and I was being ignored!

I did my usual trick of playing with their cars, some dipstick soon came over with his fake Etonian accent, and was quite dismissive when I asked for my salesman by name, did he go and find him? No he went to find the receptionist to get her to find him.

I hate arrogance :x


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## richieshore (May 17, 2010)

Never had a problem with audi and always just stroll in with shorts and flip flops on? What are we supposed to wear? :lol:


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## scoTTy (May 6, 2002)

I certainly wouldn't dress up to look smarter or more wealthy.

Jeez ! I want to negotiate so I'll go in scruff gear !


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## dooka (Apr 28, 2006)

Every time I walk in Wollaston BMW Northampton ( Probably the worst BMW dealer in the history of BMW, and yes pun intended for Northampton (Carlsberg), the look at my watch and shoes, bloody idiots, they are ony car sales persons at the end of the day, and BMW are not anything special. Walk in to any Porsche dealership, and the seem to look after you, and want to sell you a car, no matter what you are wearing..

I used to know Ken Lowes grandson, and my god this family had money, but if you looked at Craig, you wouldn't know it..

Books and covers come to mind ..


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## KimTT (Jul 12, 2009)

indeed this is true...

but so frustrating!!! grrr


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## jampott (Sep 6, 2003)

You have to remember, you're only buying a fucking car from them - something they do every single day, as a living. You aren't special, and there's no reason why you should think you are.

So you were buying a TT, eh? Barely even a mid-price car in Audi's range. I bet TT purchasers are a dealer's worse nightmare, as they think they're a cut above everyone else. :lol:


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## KimTT (Jul 12, 2009)

So u think it's fine that walk into BMW or audi for example with a suit on they are all over you ... Walk in with casual clothes on they ignore you??
What ever car you buy... It's still fro
Them so they should atleast welcome you.
And yeah ok I was looking to only spend 10-15k but for example my partner and his dad at Beemer...that's a lot of money and they got the same treatment.


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## head_ed (Dec 10, 2002)

There are assholes in every place of work.

If you're ever faced with bad service - tell the person, use your feet & move on to somewhere that you do feel valued.

I've just spent a bundle on a new car, the sales guy at the Cardiff branch was a tosser & lost out on a 20K cash sale. I bought from Mitsubishi in Dursley, which is a 30 mile drive for me & I can't recommend them highly enough. From the owner of the dealership to the sales guy who processed my purchase, I was made to feel welcome & treated with respect even in my ripped jeans & trainers.

Unless you're buying a hyper-car where there might only be 1 dealer in the country, you don't have to put up with shoddy treatment - just go down the road.


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## Kell (May 28, 2002)

Many moons ago, we looked at an SLK before getting the TT. Or at least tried to.

We were there for a good 20 minutes or so and no one came over. Then an obviously wealthier family came in and they were all over them. At that point we walked out.

Though I have to say that the Audi dealer was just as bad. Empty promises of test drives and phone calls that were never met.

But it does depend on the dealer in question. Our last Audi dealer was excellent and always had a courtesy car for us. Our local BMW dealer is awful, but then it's less than 5 minutes away so has been useful in terms of geography.

After their recent treatment of us, my wife swore she'd never take the car there again, so I told her to book it in near her work. She didn't and I ended up taking to our local one again.

Principles aren't really really principles until they cost you something.


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## hanzo (Apr 6, 2009)

dooka said:


> Every time I walk in Wollaston BMW Northampton ( Probably the worst BMW dealer in the history of BMW, and yes pun intended for Northampton (Carlsberg), the look at my watch and shoes, bloody idiots, they are ony car sales persons at the end of the day, and BMW are not anything special. Walk in to any Porsche dealership, and the seem to look after you, and want to sell you a car, no matter what you are wearing..
> 
> I used to know Ken Lowes grandson, and my god this family had money, but if you looked at Craig, you wouldn't know it..
> 
> Books and covers come to mind ..


funny you say that, i live in the middle east, Kuwait to be exact and when I walked into the BMW dealership I was completely ignored, and at that time i was coming to pick up my aunts car and just wanted someone to give me the bloody keys!!!

Audi they were cocks too... i had to demand someone to come and help me! but i love Audi and i told them my love for Audi is why I will buy one and not because of them.

At Porsche I walked in within 30 seconds I had a salesmen and I bought the Cayenne S


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## Dash (Oct 5, 2008)

I get excellent service from the local Audi dealer. I tend to rock up in shorts and unshaven, but they treat me better than the Ford garage did when I went in wearing office wear.

I'm amazed at how it differs from garage to garage. And it does make such an impact on what you buy.


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## wallstreet (Oct 19, 2009)

dooka said:


> Every time I walk in Wollaston BMW Northampton ( Probably the worst BMW dealer in the history of BMW, and yes pun intended for Northampton (Carlsberg), the look at my watch and shoes, bloody idiots, they are ony car sales persons at the end of the day, and BMW are not anything special. Walk in to any Porsche dealership, and the seem to look after you, and want to sell you a car, no matter what you are wearing..
> 
> I used to know Ken Lowes grandson, and my god this family had money, but if you looked at Craig, you wouldn't know it..
> 
> Books and covers come to mind ..


Astute.

I found Porsche places in the UK more caring, client focused. Many porker owners are entrepreneurs people who worked hard to get their car. Especially some of the classic owners. They wear jeans and t shirts at meets.

BMW dealers arrogant often enough.

The Swiss are monopolized by AMAG who own most car brands! Service is Swiss slow. Swiss poor service. At a Swiss high cost!

The grass is always greener. Never judge a book by it's cover.


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## j8keith (Jun 26, 2009)

Dash said:


> I get excellent service from the local Audi dealer. I tend to rock up in shorts and unshaven, but they treat me better than the Ford garage did when I went in wearing office wear.
> 
> I'm amazed at how it differs from garage to garage. And it does make such an impact on what you buy.


I often pop into Plymouth Audi wearing jeans, polo shirt & casual shoes, the service is always excellent, coffee not bad either


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## davelincs (Jan 1, 2010)

Lincoln audi , no problem what so ever,i bought an a3 from them ,just went in my work clothes which were dirty at the time, i bought the tt from boston audi (both owned by the same company) no hassle there with the sales staff, both dealers rang when they said they would,and i got a good a service from them has i had with toyota,and jaguar before i bought audi


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## jampott (Sep 6, 2003)

Well I have bought my last few Audis from the same dealership (never again, I hasten to add) and they have always treated me very well - so much so, the R8 always went back there for service despite it being 40 miles away.

I won't be using them again, as they tried to shaft me (to save themselves getting shafted) - but that's another story entirely. 

But the fact remains, a car salesman is really no different to the till operator in any shop / store, nor an estate agent. They don't have any exclusivity over what they sell (there's always another dealer just down the road) and are just selling something "off the shelf". They might have to impart some knowledge to you, but anyone who walks into a showroom serious about buying a car (any car) without having done their OWN homework first is an absolute idiot - so I find it normal to know at least as much as the salesman about the specific model I'm interested in.

All I need from him/her is to arrange a test drive (although it hasn't been possible to do this on some cars) and to handle the order (and any follow-up) properly, and to do it efficiently and courteously.

I take exception to poor service, and will walk out and simply find another dealer - however, suggesting that impolite and poor service (or, indeed, good service) is a feature of an entire marque is, I think, perhaps a little shortsighted - as the posts on this thread will show. Perhaps one dealer group, or individual dealership (or even an individual sales guy) may have a certain attitude (good or bad) but to suggest that this is reflected across Audi or BMW as a whole is stretching things just a little too far. Likewise, I expect there are some total asshats in Porsche dealerships as well, and not everyone gives as good service as has been reported on here.

Maybe some of it IS down to the clothes people wear, or their demeanour as they walk in. Everyone makes assumptions about people, and a salesman needs to line his own pockets. Is he going to spend 30 minutes talking to a scruffy couple who have spent 5 minutes browsing without asking for any help, who clearly don't know what they are looking for and who are (in his opinion) there to tyre-kick and dream... or will he be more interested in talking to the person who grabs his attention, and who is making buying-signals? Yes, inevitably the guy who looks like he might be buying could be a time-waster, and the scruffy couple could be about to part with £100k, so his assumptions will be wrong sometimes, but he will still make them... just like we all do.

So... is there some kind of unwritten rule / ettiquette for buying a car? From listening to you lot, it seems you want to amble into a dealership and mooch around until a salesman"decides" to notice you and pay you some attention. What the fuck for? Isn't it a bit easier and far less time consuming to walk up to the nearest free sales guy and ask him to talk to you about a specific car (after all, you do have a car in mind, right?) If there isn't one free, let the receptionist know you want to talk to someone about a TT, an A3 or whatever, and she'll get the first available one to speak to you. I guarantee this is more effective than simply bimbling around, hoping you'll get noticed.

You want a particular car, you just walk in, find a salesman yourself, and avoid all of the chess-game of "will he / won't he ignore me". You wouldn't go into Tesco and wait for a cashier to ask if they could take your money off you, would you?

If you put yourself in the position of "being ignored", you're doing it wrong.


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## richieshore (May 17, 2010)

Good advice, I always stroll in nice and casually, tell the receptionist what my intentions are, ask for a coffee and ask her to send a salesperson over whenever they're free. Always get good service no matter how I'm dressed too.


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## Charlie (Dec 15, 2006)

I sold Toyota and Lexus many years ago and we had a phrase "hoovers" - those people with no intention of buying a car whatsoever, they are just there to hoover up the atmosphere and dream (sad dreaming about a Toyota I grant you)

It is inevitable particularly nowadays with all the company cars about that some salesmen/women will be trying to assess whether someone is actually there to buy a car for themselves or whether they have a company car allowance and however much work they do the car would be bought via the company rather than through them.

That said some of them are just idiots 

I hated it and left after about 5 months.

Charlie


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## Dotti (Mar 9, 2003)

I got thrown out of Crawley Audi and left on the forecourt when customer were manouvering about in their carpark with my two sons with me, because they wanted to shut up shop and whilst my husband was on a test drive with a saleman with a mk2 TT I was about to purchase and having had my test drive prior! :roll:


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## ScoobyTT (Aug 24, 2009)

richieshore said:


> Good advice, I always stroll in nice and casually, tell the receptionist what my intentions are..


That works? Most people would get a slap across the chops for that one.


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## Dotti (Mar 9, 2003)

ScoobyTT said:


> richieshore said:
> 
> 
> > Good advice, I always stroll in nice and casually, tell the receptionist what my intentions are..
> ...


 :lol: I told the salesman what my intentions were and got thrown out :lol: :lol: :lol:


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## KimTT (Jul 12, 2009)

Dotti said:


> ScoobyTT said:
> 
> 
> > richieshore said:
> ...


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## Harvester (Aug 24, 2010)

I've got to say my experience with the local dealers varies with the marque too.

My last 2 cars have been Beemers and the BMW dealership in Hull have been nothing short of fantastic, whether salesmen, service staff, or manager (who once greeted me when HE was wearing flip flops and shorts having just popped in on a day off and the other staff were all with customers).

And when I recently ordered my new TT from Audi in Hull, the staff were great (apart from never getting offered a coffee).

However I have also visited the VW and Merc dealerships in Hull on other occasions and was completely ignored, we were considering a Golf GTI and a C class sport and a SLK on those occasions.

They all lost out as on these occasions over last 5 - 6 years I bought 2 x 3 series BMW's and now an audi TT, so that's about £25k that VW missed out on and £50 to £60k that Merc missed out on.....obviously the sales people don't need the sales.

I wouldn't mind so much about them looking down at you as if they were a class above, but most of them couldn't afford to buy the cars you're buying anyway!!
:lol:


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## freeman (Jul 25, 2010)

mm, I've always strolled into dealerships with the worst possible cloth I could find at home. Wrinkled shirt, shorts, and flipflop. And to make it worse, I'd not shave so I look like some bum college student.

I see it as a game, whoever that ends up engaging you must be interested in a sale and look past your appearance and may give more room when negotiating.

The Audi dealer by me is crappy, they couldn't even give me a good answer of a time frame for a new TTS order when I was trying to buy one, but the one across the state in Chicago (400 miles away) was pretty good, I've gone in with my old college t-shirts to buy my TTS and the sales person was very responsive. Even offered to show me the R8 while I was waiting for them to check on their stock. I'll probably go back again even if its 400 miles away and get an S4 in the future.


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## Bucks85th (Apr 27, 2009)

I go to my local Audi dealer naked and get immediate attention.


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## freeman (Jul 25, 2010)

Bucks85th said:


> I go to my local Audi dealer naked and get immediate attention.


 :lol:


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## thedino (Aug 10, 2010)

I got ignored for about 5 mins and then when I started talking to them about what I wanted (mk1 tt) they looked at me like a piece of shit and said they couldn't help with an old car like that!!

Never had an issue with BMW in MK when I used to take my 325 in to them.


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## enterprise (Apr 27, 2010)

I bet the dealers love me and the missus, 
I work, shall we say underground in some pretty disgusting places, not one to have too have much time we always phone ahead.

I always turn up in my work clothes when negotiating, when we say 'but that's all we can afford' they tend to believe us! 

Bought three Audi's from the same dealers now and always get treated superb, we have them serviced regularly and maintained regardless.
I think the sales staff are professional enough to recognise someone who is buying a car for themselves, as in a previous comment, not someone who is on expenses looking to spend someone else's money.


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