I am looking at going into new car sales, and would like to know an average of pay rates for this job. Thank you.
Your pay will be relected in regard to the effort that you put forth. You can make between 20000 and 100000 per year based on your skills and work effort.
I am new to selling cars and the salesmen at my dealership will not help explain anything about the new car sales process. I take great pride in my work and love sales but with out understanding the process tricks and details I just have hit a wall. Please help Thank you
Don’t worry. It will come with experience. Too many car salesman are worthless slimeballs…please don’t become one of them. Treat the customer honestly and fairly and you will do well.
Hi
I used to ba a car salesman for 3 years and my pay structure in $AUD was as follows:
$525 debitable retainer ( if you sold nothing in a week then thats what you took home )
$175 per car PLUS
20% of the gross profit after the "lot" fee.
So here’s an example to help you understand better :
Lets say the dealer bought a car for $10000.
Add the "lot fee"- ususally $2500 ( this covers all the fixed expenses of the yard, full time staff wages, mechanics etc etc ).
Car now "owes dealer" $12500
Sticker price $14950
So, If I negotiate with the client and sell for $14500, there’s $2000 gross profit. Therefore I would receive:
$175 ( for selling the car )
$400 ( for maximising the profit )
$575 AUD total.
Remember, everytime you discount the car you are giving away 20 cents in every dollar. It was a great system, encouraging me and the dealer to make more money. If this wasn’t in place then you’d simply "give" away the cars, applying the maximum discount.
I was turning over an average of 15 cars ( all used ) per month so there is good money to be made but be warned – it’s a hard job, lots of hours, lots of time spend on your feet and a lot of "attitude" from clients. " I’m just looking " is a favourite – in other words car salesman – GO AWAY !!
Get over all that and with a passion for cars you should enjoy it.
Enough from me anyway – good luck.
One salesman told me he makes $100 per vehicle he sells. Is this accurate? I know it’ll vary from location to location, and dealer to dealer, but the AVERAGE?
On a new car on average bout $250 add on’s extended warranty’s etc that is where big $$ is made and the salesman doesn’t see that.
Used cars are much better more profit can be made,Pay $2000 for a trade in and resale it for $8000 (done every day) the dealership takes out prep charges and service and and and then the salesman get a % of profit made. Then commission could be in the $500 to $800 range depends .
When I was a green pea (new salesman) I got $150 per sale no matter what the profit was… with a Base of $1500 a month (6 days a week 12 hour days) when I went straight commission I averaged bout $300 per car sold 12 to 16 cars a month. Most average salesperson will make $25k a year starting out and get up to $40k after a few years. BUT at a good dealership and with large amount of UP’s (customers) the average sales person will make $60 to 80K some will make over $100k but you have to have large volume of customers and sell 30 cars a month. That’s hard I have HEARD some sales people selling over 100 cars a month … never seen it…..
A car salesman told me there are 4 to 5 year car buying peaks, the last peak in car sales were from the years 2005 and 2006.
he said most car loans will be paid off in 2009 and 2010
and in those same years they are expecting another peak in new car sales.
any truth in that?
I have been in the business for 10 years most people try and trade after 3 years. The current popularity of 72 month and even 84 month finance will change that. We get a steady flow of customer for the most part until like now the economy get shaky then we slow down. The 2005/2006 spree was caused by low rates and big sales(GM’s first employee price sale). I hope it does turn but I wont hold my breath
depends but, usually as a new salesperson it will be something like 20% of gross profit with a $75-100 minimum. You would be suprised though that 20%dwindles fast,
say the dealership owns the car for $10,000 and you sell it for $12,600.
Your thinking great i just made $520.
BUT, out of that $2,600 comes the pack, which is something dealers make up to pay the salesman less, usually $400-600 on used and $100-200 on new, they will tell you its for overhead or something. Then the car goes into the shop, where they will charge a minimum of $150 for cleaning, then if the car needs anything they charge you for that to, so say $300. Then your manager will change the ACV on the trade in to make himself look good, so theres another $300. all of a sudden your $500 deal is down to $250-300. And if your a new salesperson you will be on a draw, so you wont get to keep anyof that till you make up for your draw.
See how this general manager motivate his sales force for the weekend.
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I’m thinking about getting a job selling cars and want to know the best place to start as a beginner? Used cars, new cars? A large dealership or a small? I’m thinking new car sales due to needing to know my product and I’m also thinking a large dealership would be better due to all their exposure ie, advertising? Like I said this is just what I think and would appreciate your input as an experienced sales consultant.
I am not really a car salesman but I buy and sell cars on ebay and I also thought about becoming a salesman for a dealership so I will offer you my thoughts based on that.
Used car salespeople are among the most hated professionals. Mostly because people are not reasonable about their expectations of a used car but also because there have been and still are quite a few used car salespeople who don’t really care about screwing their customers.
And you also have to know a lot more about cars to start with since you will have to sell a lot more varied selection of brands and models.
As far as signing on with a dealership to sell new cars, make sure you believe in the brand you will sell. Sales (cars and anything else) are made through relationships that you develop with your customers and it is a lot easier to develop those if you don’t change brand on a regular basis.
Next you need to check out what deal they offer you to start with. Will they pay you a salary when you start or will you be on straight commission right off the bat? If there is a salary, how long will it last? Check out benefits too just as with any other job you would consider.
Last but not least, make sure you understand cars in relation to the area you live in. For example, if there was a Mercedes Benz dealership in your country town of 20,000 souls, even if those cars are great, you couldn’t expect to sell too many of them.
I have heard and read that women do pretty good in that business even though I can’t say have seen that many of them in dealerships… Who knows?
Hope that helps and good luck.
Just curious. We just bought bought a 2007 Toyota Sienna and wanted to know.
Some dealership "Mini’s" are actually $50 per car, so there is no way to determine anything. Like the poster above me stated, every dealership has different commission plans, some of which are performance oriented and a sales associate needs to sell a pre-determined amount of vehicles per month to get a bonus, which will augment each of his/hers individual vehicle sales commissions….I have made from $25 on a split deal to well over $2,000 on a single car. There are no magical percentages or universal commission calculators. I hope this answers your un-answerable question. 
New car salespeople make less than you think. Because selling a new car is easier than selling a used car, the used car guys make more.
Also, new cars are competitive. If you dont like the deal being offered, you can just go to another dealer of the same brand and buy the car elsewhere.
A used car is somewhat unique. Where else are you going to find this exact model, year, mileage and options? How much did it cost the dealership to obtain the car – was it traded in and bought right? Was it bought at auction etc.
new car salesman make a few hundred dollars per unit, depending on brand.
Used cars can be a flat $200 to multiple thousands depending on the amount of profit in each sale.