Dear Tony,

I am a 20 year old new car sales person from New England. I just visited your site for the first time and it cracked me up! You were dead on the nose with the jargon used in the dealerships. You also gave some great tips on how to be on the defensive when buying a vehicle.

But I have to ask, why put-down the industry that you made a living in for so many years? I can understand you are getting older and maybe want to "repent" on some times that you made a lot of money on someone who was unsuspecting of the deal they negotiated.

I would also like to say that I am one of the most honest sales people in the industry, i have no doubt about that. I have been selling cars for 2 years now and 65% of my sales are from repeat and/or referrals. My customers love me!

Probably because i make it a point to remember names, call to follow up on how things are going with the vehicle I have sold them, or maybe just because they realize I have not been in the business long enough and won't let myself be manipulated by managers and fellow salespeople who do not share my same views on genuinely helping people to get into a vehicle to fit their budget and lifestyle.

Again, your website is great keep up the good work, but also let them all know there are still honest salespeople and managers in the industry.

Professionally,

Derek W.

My Response to This Email:

Hi Derek,

I appreciate you taking the time to email me. Thank you for your kind comments about my website. I don't get many kind words from car sales people!

Listen Derek, I'm not putting down the industry. I love the car business, and nobody gets more pissed-off then I do when I hear stories about car dealers ripping off customers.

Hardly a day goes by when I don't receive several e-mails from people asking for my help. They allowed themselves - usually due to lack of knowledge - to be put in a compromising position in a car dealership, and guess what? They get taken advantage of . . . Big Time!

Just as an example, I just got an e-mail from a woman who bought a new Nissan from a large dealership in Atlanta. She traded a vehicle that had a payoff on it. Now she's getting calls from the bank where her trade was financed telling her she's behind on her payments because the car dealer still hasn't paid off her trade. It's been over 30 days since she traded! There is no excuse for this!

I'm not looking to repent for my past. I'm trying to educate people on the realities they are going to face when dealing with car dealers. The more educated a customer is the better the chances are that they will know when someone is trying to take advantage of them. There is nothing more powerful and more uncomfortable than the truth.

I worked as a Sales Manager for many years. I understand that a car dealer has to make a certain amount of gross profit per deal in order to pay the overhead and make a profit. I don't begrudge them for that. That's just business! But, when a dealer promotes sleazy tactics amongst his sales force, and applies so much pressure to the managers and sales people that anything goes . . . well, that's when I have to get pissed-off.

I've worked for a lot of car dealers. Believe me when I tell you . . . there is a lot of dishonest crap that goes on in car dealerships. I want people to be prepared, so they can protect themselves if they come up against this kind of stuff.

You have only been in the business for two years, and from the sounds of it you work for a pretty good company. You're lucky. You sound like one of the good guys. That's great. Don't let the business corrupt you.

If you take the time to really read through my site you'll find numerous places where I remind people that their are indeed good and honest car sales people and dealers out there, and if they come across one to stick with them and tell everyone about them.

Keep up the good work!

All my very best...

Tony Iorio