Advice about a potential job.

[RedShadow30]

So i have a potential job working at a local Mazda dealership as a salesman. I currently work at UPS making 14 an hour, but its only 20 hours a week. It has amazing benefits and 3 weeks paid vacation.

I want to ask some of the crowd that will tell me the truth about taking this risk. I want to get out of my parents house and get a real job. Ups is not letting me go any further, ive been there 4 and a half years and no chance for promotion while people 2 weeks in out of highschool get promoted for tax breaks. I also have an A.S. in business admin as well.

Has anyone here been in the car sales business? What can i expect pay wise? How much potential is there for a stable job? Should i really risk it?

 

[redchihuahua2004]

The salary or pay for any sales position will most likely have a relatively low base pay and rely a lot on sales commission to make up the rest. If you are an outgoing, people person, it would be a good fit. Also keep in mind that a lot depends on what shape the economy is in and if people in general are able to buy a new car. With your 4.5 years at UPS, another shipping company like Fed Ex or the like may be interested in you. Just some things to think about. In the end, 20 hrs a week will not pay the bills, so it's probably a good idea to see what else is out there. Hope this is helpful to you.

 

[RustyRatRod]

Car salesmen are stereotyped as crooks. If that's what you want, go for it.

 

[Bee383]

I have been a commissioned salesman for 25 yrs (appliances) and have made a good living at it.you do have to realize that a commission based pay will vary from month to month and learn to put money back for the slow times.you will have a lot of sitting around time that gets boring.if you are outgoing and like people you can do well.i found that knowing your product is also key to being a good salesman.who you work for is important also.i would not work for a company that expects you to lie to your customers.good luck.

 

[RustyRatRod]

i would not work for a company that expects you to lie to your customers.good luck.

I cannot agree with that any stronger.....the problem is REAL honest companies are very few and far between.

 

[snakeyes]

I call all salesmen land sharks !

 

[Mango 1]

Have you talked to the people at UPS? An actual sit down talk with management? Do they know you want to become Full Time or that you want to be considered for advancement? It is hard to walk away from a job with good benefits and 3 weeks of vacation, but if you have no future opportunities, you will have a decision to make. Redchihuahua 2004 hit it right on the head, maybe Fed Ex would be interested? Don't car salesman work 12 hr. days and every weekend?

 

[RedShadow30]

Have you talked to the people at UPS? An actual sit down talk with management? Do they know you want to become Full Time or that you want to be considered for advancement? It is hard to walk away from a job with good benefits and 3 weeks of vacation, but if you have no future opportunities, you will have a decision to make. Redchihuahua 2004 hit it right on the head, maybe Fed Ex would be interested? Don't car salesman work 12 hr. days and every weekend?

Yea, I have talked to them about it, they will make your life hell, and the union doesint do diddly for us. They are now expecting our shift to take the loads of other shifts and do it in the same amount of time. 4.5 years and everything really has gone to hell, i used to love it, now I cant stand to be there. Supervisors treat you like dirt, employees will treat you like dirt if you work hard. And to put my work ethic in terms, I have missed 6 days in 4.5 years and have never been late. As far as FedEx, ive thought about it, but they are the same as us minus the union and benefits.

Personally though, I am always steriotyped as a package killer, so it wouldint bother me being steriotyped as a crook. I dont see all salesmen as cooks because at some point your car was sold by one. Ive done all my research into them. As far as cars, I just love being around them, any make, model, size. Though I do have my favorites. Honda is the exception, i hate those with a passion. Im not what you would consider "outgoing", I cant stand crowds, and im not really a socialite. However I do enjoy helping people out, and I feel I would be very good at selling a car someone "needs" honestly. One of my strongpoints is research, I do every bit of research I can. I can tell you almost anything about mazda and the dealership. My main fear is getting a job only to be laid off a few months later because there were no sales or all the sales were taken from me by other employees. Moday is my interview and Ill know more details then, but I dont want to make a decision that will ruin my life. And I only trust those that have been around the block more than me.

 

[tpodwdog]

find a job you love and youll never work a day in your life. im a union carpenter laid off for 7 months now.....trust me the union dont give a damn about you or its members like they used to. you have to take care of yourself now-a-days. best of luck.

 

[Cranky]

A few of the things I've founds over the years: unions are only as good as it's membership and working for non union jobs can be good too and like dog mentioned, doing something you love is like not working...unless the people there make it a living hell. What are your goals in life? Own your own business? Working in auto sales can be cut throat as can be but if you have the gift of gab, you can do very well but as the new guy, that may take awhile. Also, is the dealership family owned? Working for a family business can go either way depending on if they open their arms to you or not. Can you wear a tie all day? Never could do that myself and never saw the reason just to sell Dodges lol. Comfortable, casual (not trashy) what I like and there are some places that let you do that. A buddy of mine built up the top fleet sales department in Texas and did very well for himself and the dealership some years back...until the economy tanked. Everyone got laid off except for him and then he was the only one taking care of that department's business and he's still it even tho business has picked up, the dealership won't let him hire some help.

 

[HT413]

This might sound crazy, but have you considered working both jobs for a while? Try out the sales job and just cut your UPS hours back and maybe change shifts to fit the sales job. That way if the sales job doesnt fit you still have your foot in the door.

 

[Bruzilla]

I wouldn't suggest car sales for anyone. It is a truly thankless jobs. Most of the supposed "lies" coming from salesmen are usually the result of lies told by the customers.

I saw two huge problems with this job before you even get to money. The first is hours. You essentially give up your life with this job. You work six 12-hr days, and on your day off a customer calls and says they want to see a car and there goes your day off. Worse, the scumbag doesn't even keep their appointment. There's no such things as weekends or holidays as those are your busiest days, so forget about enjoying the events everyone else gets to.

The other problem is other sales people. Most dealerships have a policy that once a salesman has any contact with a customer, that customer is theirs for life. About 65% of the business most places get is repeat business, so most of the people coming in the door belong to someone else and you can't make any money off them. And there's no such thing as helping a co-worker. If someone else does anything to help you with a deal, they're entitled to a split of the commission. Most won't take it, but some will demand half even if all they did was grab a set of keys for you. Basically, the guys who make the big $$$ at a dealership are the ones who've been there for years and have a well-established customer base, which makes it very hard for new guys to make any money. You're likely going to be losing money for the first 2-3 years.

- - - Updated - - -

This might sound crazy, but have you considered working both jobs for a while? Try out the sales job and just cut your UPS hours back and maybe change shifts to fit the sales job. That way if the sales job doesnt fit you still have your foot in the door.

That's a great idea, and I've often thought it would be great to go do sales in the evening, but the problem is when you're in auto sales you're pretty much living for the customer's schedule and not yours. If they want to come in at 10:00AM, you have to be there. Same if they want to come in at 9:00 PM. That makes it tough to work two jobs.

 

[bigmanjbmopar]

I would go to my supervisor and tell them point blank you are ready to step up and take on more and you want to supervise and make more money. If he / she don't listen then go over his head as many times as it takes to get where you want to be, only the tough survive and if you have to step on your bosses back to get what you need then do it and do it fast and hard. He will be pissed but if you schmooze the right people he will have no choice but to step aside of your progress. You have no friends at the bottom only at the top! trust me. With as many people out there looking for work if you are the slightest pit hesitant or lazy then just stay at home indoors and cry like a girl, If you are a tough go getter than what are you waiting for? go get what you need and bring it home!

 

[44070dart]

amazing benefits are becoming things of the past so I would think long and hard about leaving for a salesman job ..my brother-in-law is a very good car salesman but he works long hours and when things dried up a few years ago so did their bank account ...his benefits are lousy but his wife's job covers that ...somebody here said find a job you like.. if its furthering you business degree or something else its the way to go ..keep the UPS for now ..from what I've seen of "good" car sales people they are born bull$hiters with the gift of gab either you have it or you don't ... I hope you don't ..good luck

 

[RedShadow30]

Well i didnt get the job. But they pay by the hour, not commission, 2 days a week off, and full benefits. So it was better than UPS. Although i didint get that job there is a potential spot in inventory management that was offered if the current employee leaves. So im glad i went to the interview. Thank you all for your advice!

 

[Endangered Species]

Check with some car dealerships about working in the parts department. I have a couple of friends that work at a Dodge Dealership and they do pretty well.

But after 4.5 years and you are still only working 20hrs a week... you need to be moving on. It sounds like you have a great work ethic so you should have no problem getting in with a good company.

 

[BIGSHCLUNK]

First off, I ADMIT I did t read through then entire thread.That being said....

My nephew also works for UPSand makes "X" an hour but like you, about 20 hours a week. He's 26 years old and finally got another "part time " job to make up for the hours difference so he could get on with his life.

He had the opportunity to get into my business years ago, but thats another story.

My brother is a sales man... 100% comission. Although he does not sell cars and has all "business" type of clients. He makes great money. But he has the personallity for it. Unless you are really outgoing, have a wont take no for an answer outlook and have the "gift of gab" being a sales man is not for you. I'm in an automotive field myself (recycler) I deal with allot of car dealers. Its feast or famine. It takes tons of commitment.

Hope this helps

 

[pabster]

If you're used to working union, and you obviously like driving, have you thought about driving transit? I drove buses for King County (Seattle) for 4.5 years.

Pros were job stability, getting to whip 100K buses around like a boss, vacation was great, you could take huge chunks of time off unpaid if you wished, amazing medical benefits and pension., not being micro managed, not having to interact with co-workers unless you wanted to. Not having to take your work home, every day a fresh start. We started at about $16/hr, top pay scale was $22/hr.

Negatives were getting enough hours at low seniority, dealing with PITA passengers, sitting in traffic, dealing with road rage, sore back and neck from sitting and driving all day.

Overall I would recommend it. Depending on the agency you're looking at, what their union is like affects pay/benefits.

Good luck in your quest!