Commision included, what does a car salesman who hits their mark every month make a year? I hear all these stories about some making $100,000 + a year and was wondering if I should get into car sales. Is that true for the most part? If so, I would think everyone would be selling cars.
I know you can bank it in most sales, I used to sell computers and made a small fortune, but cars?
As stated before, car salesman here.
First of all, you can’t believe half of the advertisements in papers saying 100k+ income a year. They hire 30 people a month hoping just one or two stick. The ‘average’ Toyota salesman might make 40-50k a year with the guys who stick it out with good clientelle making 125k+ year.
When you get to the high end stores, it is not uncommon to have the average salary being 70k plus a year with some guys making 200k+ a year. I have been in the business for about two to three years and I make 150k+ a year, not including bonuses from the factore of another 25k a year possibly.
Hope this helps, and I would be more than happy to answer more specific questions.
My friend – or rather, my friend’s husband – easily clears $100,000 a year. Of course, he’s also a world-class schmoozer and lives up to probably every bad car salesman stereotype you can think of. That, and he works at a high-end dealership.
According to this article, in 2000 the average salary for a new-car salesperson was a little over $50,000.
To add to this…how many hours a week did you work?
A friend of mine was taking home about seven to eight hundered dollars a week. Adding the tax back in, I’m guessing that’s somewhere between 50 and 60k per year. But she worked like mad. She put in between 60 and 70 hours per week, mostly made up of 12 hour days. Plus she had to come in on her off days to ‘deliver’ cars so that she wouldn’t have to split the commision.
One of the guys that worked for us (factory guy) left and went to another high line European make as a car salesman. He is making 175Kish every year. Makes me wonder why I am still at the factory.
ME? I work about 80 hours a week. I am definitely what you call a workaholic. But I am also new at this dealership and have no set client list. There are guys here who work 40-50 hours a week and make what I am making.
Keep in mind, I am very good at what I do, and have NEVER lied to a customer. But it helps that I am in the luxury car business, and I present myself well. The problem in this business is that there is quick money, so you have a lot of people with addictions (gambling, drinking, drugs) and come and go from dealership to dealership. So there might be people who have been in this business for 30 years and worked at 40 different places throughout the country.
On the other hand, there are people here who have worked in the same place their whole life, making ALOT of money. All you need is a good appearance and the gift of gab.
FormerMarineGuy, thanks man, very good info. See, the Ford place here is constantly hiring, so at first I’m skeptical of places that can’t keep help, but been thinking about trying it out. I’ve pretty much done every other job you can think of.
Hey, have you done an “Ask The Car Salesman” thread, by any chance?
It would be an interesting read. I recently bought a car and wonder to myself at least once a day whether I got a good deal. I’m pretty sure I did based on research at various internet sources, but… you never know…
Anyway, reading about car salesmanship from the salesman’s honest point of view may provide insight into this kind of thing.
-FrL-
FMG, if you wouldn’t mind, what makes do you sell?
My relative was a car salesman and as far as I know made less than the lowest amount named thus far, plus worked crazy long hours.
If you have any kind of sales experience / true business experience, I would suggest going to a high end store, if possible. You have a better class of salespeople usually and better customers, usually. Definitely be skeptical of places that have a high turnaround, which is most of them.
Also, you have family run dealerships and stockholder dealerships. They both have their faults and benefits. At a family run dealership, you usually have a better relationship with the bosses, but the rules are not in stone as much (easier to fire, etc.). With a stockholder company (Autonation, etc.) you have a set version of rules and the pay plan ‘might’ not be as good, but the rules are in stone, and they have to follow them to the ‘t’.
I have no idea what this is, so the answer is no. I would be more than happy to do it if I get the right directions.
I don’t mind at all. I sell Mercedes. I was actually in the Marines for ten years (hence FMG) and got out and started selling Lincolns. I was recruited to come here by the big boss, and here I am, pretty succesful. I work regular sales and do the internet sales also. I could be a manager, but the money is not as good.
What is average? In dealerships there is what is called a “Board”. On that board are the sales that each salesperson has made in the month. In an average dealership, there will be two or three salesmen that have maybe 9 or 12 cars on the board. And maybe 10 other salesmen that have 0-6 on the board each month. Yeah, the guy that is consistantly making 7, 8, or 11 sale a month is going to be doing well, but the other guys, not so much. There is only so much in the markup, and the dealer needs to make a lot of money too. It isn’t cheap to maintain all the things that make up a dealership that the factory requires.
Not to mention, the dealership you get to work at depends on your experience. You won’t be hired at a Lexus dealer (where concievably you could make a six figure income) until you have worked and accumulated a track record as a proven salesperson at lesser dealerships.
That being said, are you a sociopathic druggie? If not, you probably don’t want to be in the car sales biz.
So, do you mean average at a Lexus dealer or a Hyundai dealer?
Like many other things, compensation is related to experience.
This is the normal experience. The only people getting rich are the dealers.
And another thing, expect to be eternally screwed with in this business. The dealer will promise you spiffs to motivate you and come payday they dissapear. When you lie with dogs, expect to get fleas.
Very simple. Start a thread in GQ called “Ask The Car Salesman”.
True story. My friend worked for a “zoomin” japanese dealership back in the '90s. The GSM would run a contest every month, most sales in a month would get a $1000 spiff. My friend would almost always win and they would make a big deal of it to the other salesepeople. “Be like James, make an extra grand!” Except that he would never see the money. Month after month. The excuse? “James, you would win it every month so what’s the point? We aren’t going to pay you an extra thou a month? Are you kidding? You make enough money already. That money is if some other salesman wins. Be a team player.”
Enjoy your viper pit.
Not trying to junior mod, so please don’t consider this an order or definitive statement. But I don’t think GQ is considered the place for most “Ask the…” type threads. I believe IMHO is preferred, but I’d e-mail a moderator just to be sure.
Of course you are right. Yah, IMHO!
Where I work, there are guys who are selling 7 cars making over 10k a month. There are guys who have sold 20 cars who have made the same amount of money. A lot of it comes down to how much ‘gross’ a sales consultant can hold. The guys in the internet department definitely make less gross (over invoice) per car, than the guys on the floor, which is why the INTERNET is the best way to buy a car.
As far as experience, that is not always true (although it does make a difference). My first month in the business I was ‘salesperson of the month’ and was the highest paid there. I personally think that a lot of it comes down to just plain people skills. You could have the best product in the world, but if the client does not feel comfortable with you, you WILL lose the sale. I have seen it over and over again. When I was in the recruiting field, my old recruiting instructor used to always say you have to be a chameleon, that is, have to ability to adapt to every person in a different way. I am not saying you have to lie (always will backfire to an intelligent person), but find common ground: “Where are you from?”, “Oh, Colombia, my last customer was from Colombia, what part of Colombia are you from?”, “Is that near the beach?”, “Do you miss it?”, and so on and so on.
I am at the point now that by time I shake a hand, I have noticed the bumper stickers on the car they pulled up in (Democrat or Republican), the types of shoes they have (might be dressed like a bum but have $400 sandals), and if their nails are professionally done (very important if he is a guy, usually means he is a businessman).
As far as the dealerships making money, they WILL always make money, no matter what. If they pay the salesperson on a percentage above invoice, they still have what is called holdback, and sometimes added bonuses from the factories on top of that, plus an extra 10% if their average survey scores are above the national average (big money).
A lot of people also forget that dealerships make more money in service and parts than in the sales department.
Yeah, that’s why no car dealers ever go bankrupt. :rolleyes:
I think he meant they will not accept an offer which causes them to lose money on an individual car.
I don’t know if that’s true or not, but anyway, I think its what he meant.
-FrL-