Well...I decided to actually see up close what the Silverado SS and Dodge Hemi looked like...that was a mistake on my part...the warranty on my 01 Lightning will be up in a year so wanted to explore what the competition has...

Episiode1- go the the local Chevy dealership...pull up in the Bolt (all prettied up)on a Sat...Numerous salespeople lizards outside just killing time...got out of the truck...said politely would
like to look at the SS...2 sales people immediately start the chevy/ford war nonsense...they state the SS will blow the doors off the Lightning...the SS is now King OF the Hill...I said wait a minute here, I'm a potential customer and simply wanted to see the SS and I didn't want any B***S*** from retarded people...my hostility at their sales approach made them just walk away...anyway a nice older salesman came out...saw the SS,
41K with no discounts off sticker...(just as greedy as ford huh!)...thanked him for his time and replied that was too expensive...BTW...did you know the SS is speed limited to 105-109 MPH top end.

Episode2- I should have known better again...yesterday decided to visit the local dodge dealership...pull up in the ever pretty Bolt (polished exhaust tips too)...as I'm getting out of the truck a young sales person with a definite genetic problem says immediately that the "HEMI will eat your Lightning for breakfast"...
by now I've had enough...I said how about a $1000.00 run between their Hemi and my 01 Bolt...then they
become quiet...thinking (as if that something they could really do)...the sales mgr was listening to this craziness
and asked what the hp and torque figures were on the Lightning...told him...he smiled/laughed and looked at the
ever so obnoxious salesman...said NO WAY the the hemi can touch the Lightning...the idiot salesman looked down
at his feet in embarrassment and left the area...I asked the mgr is this how your sales people treat potential customers...he was nicely apologetic...asked if I wanted to drive the hemi...said NO...was already turned off...period.

Lessons learned...
1. I'm stupid for driving up in a Lightning (the true undisputed king of the hill).
2. Chevy and Dodge salespeople are mentally challenged and emotionally crippled.
3. I see the reason more clearly for birth control.
4. It's my fault because I have a Bolt.
5. This bad tornado prone weather in the south has caused behavioral problems for men.
6. Chevy and Chrysler dealerships hire salespeople that have agressive mental disorders caused by
Lightning Envy (yes brothers and sisters this is a real disorder, it's a horrible disease).
7. I should be banned from all chevy/dodge dealerships and be punished because I drive up in a ford vehicle.

 

They just have eaton envy.

 

So I guess what we can conclude from this is:

You had a day to waste, since you already knew both vehicles were no match for the Lightning.

Sales people who assume you are there to buy a car, not waste their time will try and push their product as being superior......imagine that, they actually have the gall to try and make a living...........

Keep in mind most sales people, especially ones who work for Chevy or Dodge dealerships don't know that much about the Lightnings, and most likely don't give a crap.

Hell, most F150 owners don't know about Lightnings, and don't give a crap either............

Ease up on the people who sell cars, they are just trying to make a living.

 

Salesman are worthless pond scum trolls that need to die a horrible death. Just like Novell

Nearly all of them arent up to date on the products they sell. Dont know performance data or what features to compare the competition with.

They are there to screw you over and support their 8 ball a day coke habit.

 

I really dont think salespeople should run their lips about things they know nothing of.Those are the ones who give bad names.And if the hemi or SS was superior,There are more enthusiastic ways of bringing that part of a sale to the table,Other than disrespecting the vehicle you just drove in..Just like if you were going in to buy a new cobra and you drove in a 69 mustang with 4k original miles on it.It wouldnt be right to disrespect that car cause the cobra is faster.......

Im not a salesman but I am a car dealer.I own my own small dealership and I NEVER give negativity to try and close a sale.Positive persuasion sometimes ends in positive results.Negativity never amounts to anything you apply it to.Just my .02

Take care Mark

 

mswaim:

"Ease up on the people who sell cars, they are just trying to make a living"

The issue is that I went there as a perspective customer,
was polite and I wish no one any ill will...their attitude
towards me (because of the truck) was plainly hostile...
that is not an appropriate business environment...even the
mgr at the dodge place saw the salesman's approach toward
me as BAD....I do understand what your saying mswain but in this
case open directed hostility towards a customer simply because
of the vehicle their driving is just plain wrong.

 

Guess I'm just getting old......and a bit tired of all the "dealership/salepeople slamming that has been going on lately. Went back and re-read my post, probably came off a little heavy.........wasn't meant to be personal, just trying to bring a different perspective to the thread. I agree, most sales people don't learn enough about the products they sell, but keep in mind, we are a select few who actually do know something about vehicles. Most of their customer base does not, so I guess they don't see a need for learning the details. Quite frankly, most consumers only care about pricing and financing, and not about performance.

 

mswaim:

Hey thanks for replying...and I did not take it wrong...I
value your opinion.

 

I agree about pricing and financing most of the time!! But as a salesperson one must also take into consderation the type of customer.. It shouldnt be hard to figure out that a guy that drives into the lot with a performance vehicle, looking at vehicles being marketed towards performance, is going to be interested in performance? Hes alsmost certainly very proud of his current ride and hes probably going to know when hes being bamboozled by a salesperson who knows nothing about the product he or she is pushing. Generally these customers are the ones who've done their homework? Does that make sense?? We all know this doesnt apply to all car salesment out there but theres a good bunch of them and they create the stereotype that casts a bad shadow on the truly good, salespeople who might not know the answers( no one could know everything) but will admit they dont and find the right answers... BS is transparent.

 

snownyet:

I agree...one of the best salesman iv'e ever had is the ford
salesman that has sold me a bunch of cobras,used f-150's,
bullit mustangs and Lightnings...never once did he lie or exert
pressure...in fact this last Bolt I bought...he let me test drive 4 or
5 of them to pick out the best one...my problem is that I'm getting
tired of all the problems have had with my last 2 Lightnings...
and really wanted to see if I could "like" the SS or Hemi...
Iv'e had fords for a whole lifetime but sometime the quality
you expect is simply not there...the Hemi and SS have lots
of nice room with leather and look pretty sharp...but because
I'm brain challenged will probably get an 04 or gen III (if
the cost is not bad). When I shop for any kind of vehicle I
certainly consider cost/finance (why pay premium when you dont have to)...these jacked up prices on L's, Hemi's, SS's is to me
just plain disgusting.

 

I walked out of the 1st Ford Dealership when I was Lightning Buying for the same reason, real A-holes, the SVT Specialist (Boy I should say) had no idea of what the specs were on ANY SVT'S

After hearing enough B/S, "and no information", I hunted down the guy who sold me my Cobra at a differant Ford Truck Dealership and had them bring one in from out of State.
After Solo Test Driving someone else's of course.
The Phrase, ""Drive it like you Stole it"" was an understatement that day. My Salesman came to where I work, threw me the keys to a Black one and said go (he didn't come) Man did I go, I immediatly hit the prkwy for WOT hi speed, then like 5 power brake launches, and another hi speed WOT blast back, I was gone over a 1/2 hour. Me and the Saleman heard schitt the next day at the Dealership when I picked mine up.
I wouldn't even let them detail it, I was there in the Dealership when the retired cop and wife they hired drove it down from Conn, had 318 miles on it, I left with it within hours. I didn't want any a$$hole test driving mine

 

I'm afraid "price gouging" is something that is here to stay, and is not limited to Ford, or other "performance oriented" cars........A friend of mine wanted to buy his wife one of the new mini-coopers, my god did they see him coming...............

Just FYI - The recent rash of warranty voidings is not limited to Ford either. Met up with a few of the local R/T owners this weekend. One of them had his warraanty voided when he arrived at the dealership to have some repairs made. The service manager told him they would not honor his warranty since he had been racing his truck. He told them he did not race, at which time they produced a magazine (forget the name) with his picture sitting on the line in his truck, helmet and all............ouch..

 

Rob_02Lightning:
Rob...if anyone truly lives by the phrase "Drive it like you Stole it"
I believes it's you...you know you coluld probably get a job test
flying jets for the Isralie AirForce (some of the best pilots in the world)...

mswaim:
good point about the price gouging.

""He told them he did not race, at which time they produced a magazine (forget the name) with his picture sitting on the line in his truck, helmet and all............ouch..""....thats got to be some
brand of "dealer on the spot quick justice"...mayby this guy needs
to go on tv with Judge Judy!

 

Sorry to say that a large percentage of car salesmen just don't know schitt about the line they represent. In '99 I was desperately seeking a Formula Firehawk. I had a '93 model that I sold in '97; and, I really missed it. Well, after going to no less than 5 different Pontiac dealerships, I finally gave up and bought the first red SS Camaro I found. Why? None of the places I went to had never heard of SLP, let alone a Firehawk. In fact, they treated me like an idiot for having asked. It's very frustrating to walk into a place of business and know more about the product than anyone in the whole place. It's twice as bad to go in knowing exactly what you want and not being able to buy it, because of the incompetence of the sales department.

The Lightning was an easy buy though. I just walked up to the first salesman I could find and said, "Hey Goober. You want easy commission off of one of them there fast pickem up trucks?"

He said, "Duuuuh, OK."

The rest is history.

 

Odin's Wrath:

Do you still have the red SS Camaro ?
Any pics?