Now I've been making money off of these shops for a while but I think my luck may run out. I have been to so many car dealerships recently that I can't go back for a while especially after getting the written offers and then declining to buy the car. I know Rich says you cant' believe anything the salesperson tells you it seems otherwise. Some are just honest business people. You do have to be like a snake with these guys though. I feel remorse about what I did. I go in there, lay down the law, lie a bunch, and leave. And most of these places asked for my driver's license. So, When I go back I will have to tell yet another lie. I've found that on this particular job you have to be a really really good actor or actress, It is such a huge game to get those offers from the dealers. It becomes more challenging when your under pressure and you have the due date and you have to come up with the correct written offers with NO MISTAKES! I've had so many dealers pull stunts on me when giving me the written offer such as leaving a fee out from the printout. Or such as trying to give me a lease offer without the full breakdown of the lease. I've had to take pictures of sales persons personal computer to get a full breakdown of the lease. Anyone else find these shops challenging at times?

I have done a couple car shops recently, and they do not like giving you the best price because they want you to finance. I have been telling them, I already have a small business loan and I am using the money for that, and that works so far.

I did only one of these. They didn't want to put the offer in the format that was required. What do you do then? I got pushback from R and I asked him what the heck do I do when they just don't want to cooperate? He submitted it "with exception". I had to ask what does that mean? He said in so many words he fixed it. Result: I got paid but received NO GRADE for it. I put a contact in to ask them to put a grade on it, but never heard back. Whatever.

They don't put grades on them period.

I did one of these too, and the time spent at the dealership, then writing up the lengthy report, were not worth the money I was paid for it. And I did feel guilty making the guy think he'd be getting a sale.

You can't make the salespeople printout all the information. The lease options are the worst. I asked repeatedly for all the info, it's not info typically given in a normal lease. I ask and ask but what else am I supposed to do? They won't keep going back to the manager and print out offers, I even had a salesperson write down all the information I wanted printed out in the form and took it to the manager. They still didn't have every thing I needed and requested when they printed it out. The salesperson just wrote the rest in instead of getting a 3rd printout. Rich wants it printed. It's not always an option. Dealerships can't always change the standard forms they use to include the unreasonable amount of information requested. These are unreasonable shops and not even worth doing. The dealerships, salespeople, and I get annoyed.
Plus give us a reasonable car to shop. When you complain and want a better price on a $90,000 car, they just tell you to go down a model. It's not believable at all to go in and ask for pricing on a car you won't even test drive. The sales people have said directly that doesn't happen. It's not a normal sales experience.
One dealership looked up the model I previously looked at during my last mystery shop and there was a $50,000 difference.
Plus, doing these ruins me going back to these dealerships ever. The scenarios are so eccentric that they will remember you. People don't go in. Not test drive and argue pricing and then just disappear. The higher pay isn't worth it. Don't do these shops. I can make more shopping these locations in regular car shops, and being able to return.

I have completed 12 of these shops over the course of 2015. I did 7 of them while actually trying to buy a new car. I think they are OK money for the amount of time it takes me to complete them now. I actually try to complete them when I'm traveling for work and know i have free time. They are pretty much always available so I know I can get them assigned.

I have to agree they are a pretty annoying shop to complete. The scenario they want you to execute is dumb and it does make it hard to return to the store.

I'm not going to avoid them completely, but I will only take them when bonus or when traveling.

Is the client the dealership or a competitor? I ask as if a dealership only provides limited information, then the client should not ask for something that they do not allow to be provided.

As for stating you have your own financing secured, I think that is a very bad idea (unless the guidelines allow it). I say this as dealers make some extra money on financing. Any information that a shopper provides, that lets the dealer know they will make less money, means that the price they quote will not be as low. To that end, the better buyer guides clearly tell buyers to indicate they are going to finance and will be willing to take advantage of what the dealership can offer them. (Just remember, since you are not ready to buy you are not ready to fill a credit application out). Just say you have excellent credit, financing is not a concern (again unless your guidelines require something different).

Leases are not easy to run, hopefully as a buyer you have a lease versus purchase scenario ready. A good one is a 60-month loan versus their current lease promotion. If you have to state that you have money down, tell them you plan to cover the tax, tags, and processing fee plus any extras you may decide on; for both quotes. If they mention anything about an extended warranty, or other stuff, just inform them anything extra you decide on you plan to pay for up front, you are prepared for that.

Hopefully there are no scenarios that require you to state you are "buying today if the price is right." If that is what the sales person asks, just inform them that if the price is right, then there is a very good chance that you will be buying the car within 24 hours. I find it is better to be comparing different makes and models as an excuse to not decide right away. Price is not your motivation, the overall best value that also meets your needs the best is your motivation. Again, all of this has to fit into your guidelines.

As for your drivers license, that is only required if you are going to drive the vehicle. My company now gets a copy if we do a trade appraisal, to prove whom is authorizing us to drive the car for appraisal, and of course if we run credit.

We don't know who the client is. I assume it's a competitor. It's been discussed here before. You are given the scenarios as to how you want to pay, you don't get to choose.

One dealership made me hand over my license. The other one never asked. No test drive in either case. I tried to say no, but it was obvious that I wasn't going to be able to complete the shop if I didn't hand it over.

They made you hand over your license? Your license contains non-public financial information (NPFI). It's illegal to require a copy of your license if all you want is a written quote. It amazes me how many dealers train their sales people this way still.

So, is the pay for these shops really worth allowing some company the information they need to illegally soft check your credit and to potentially retain your personal information in an unsecured manner?

Why would my driver's license contain non-public financial information? I understand that there is information on it which might assist someone intent on identity theft or even permit then to run a credit check, but encoding that information into the driver;s license? I personally doubt that that is done? Why would the DMV need to do that, and where would they get the information?

Nonpublic Personal Financial Information includes your drivers license number. Any personal information that is not available from a public source is covered.

Bottom line is, there is no reason a dealer needs any personal information to provide a quote. They may want it, may refuse to provide a quote without it; legally they can not admit they asked for it as a condition.

I give quotes (buyers order) all the time, over the phone, by email, and in person. I prefer to at minimum know the persons first name. I am required to ask for their full name, a contact number and/or email address. Nothing else is asked for if all they want is a quote.

Other than the dealer representative signing the buyers order, the customer does not have to sign it. Some sales people make buying cars too difficult.

The pay for these shops seems acceptable...except...it can be impossible (not always, but sometimes) to get the information that Rich "requires" on any of his three scenarios (Cash, Finance, Lease). Some dealerships simply do NOT have the format ready to print out and must give it to you in writing.....If that doesn't shout "Red Alert! Shopper!", I don't know what does.....A friend of mine has done many of these for Rich, and finds the challenge worth the trouble....Rich still gives him a hard time, though...

@winemaker wrote:

Some dealerships simply do NOT have the format ready to print out and must give it to you in writing.....If that doesn't shout "Red Alert! Shopper!", I don't know what does.....

Well, I wouldn't assume that. If you walk in off the street and 2 minutes later ask for a price in writing, that might be a little suspicious. But if you go through the salesperson's song and dance and schpeel, and then get to pricing, I would surely want something in writing if I were a serious buyer and were spending $15k-$50k for a new car! There are too many shady people in sales who won't hesitate to pull a fast one. I remember one time my dad was buying a vehicle and the salesperson faxed him (yes, this was a while ago the summary of the quote. They had gone back and forth numerous times and the salesperson finally lowered the price to what my dad had offered. Reading the fine print, the VIN of the car on the written offer was a different one than the VIN of the car they had been talking about all along!

The issue I have with these negotiation shops is the incredible waste of time for a salesperson who is, after all, working on commission. Its one thing to go in, test drive a car, get a quote and get out, but to go in, spend up to 90 minutes negotiating and then go back again, knowing there is no way you are going to buy that car, just feels wrong to me. It would be even worse if the client were a competitor.
I have seen some car shops posted where the guidelines state that the salespeople are aware that they will be shopped and its a part of their training. They know its a part of the deal going in. That's different and if a salesperson accepts the job under those circumstances, that's up to them. They should be on their game and ready for it.
It's the murkier situations where the salesperson is not aware they may be shopped, given the nonproductive waste of so much of that person's time and effort with no hope of getting paid, that feel uncomfortable to me.
Some might rationalize it by saying, "If they didn't spend so much time playing games with their pricing, it would take less time." Depends on your perspective, I guess.

In general, sales associates are aware they are mystery shopped. If we are recorded in any way, we have to sign disclosures. I signed one to be audio recorded on phone calls for example.

Hete we are rated on mystery shops and provided with the results. I believe I posted last year how a mystery shopper claimed I did not perform a task that I (and my manager) know I did perform.

Unfortunately my company pays the shoppers without verifying their reports are truthful and accurate. I do not debate the reports regardless, as 99.9% of the time I do everything the way I am supposed to. When I do not, they need to trust my judgment or just understand no one is perfect.

@isaiah58 wrote:

In general, sales associates are aware they are mystery shopped. If we are recorded in any way, we have to sign disclosures. I signed one to be audio recorded on phone calls for example.

Hete we are rated on mystery shops and provided with the results. I believe I posted last year how a mystery shopper claimed I did not perform a task that I (and my manager) know I did perform.

Unfortunately my company pays the shoppers without verifying their reports are truthful and accurate. I do not debate the reports regardless, as 99.9% of the time I do everything the way I am supposed to. When I do not, they need to trust my judgment or just understand no one is perfect.

Thanks, isaiah58, hearing it from your point of view helps a lot!

IIRC, at some dealerships, the salespeople do get a fee if they receive a good report on a shop.

For most dealerships, sales persons can lose money. We can lose our certification.

@GMooneyhan MBSC wrote:

IIRC, at some dealerships, the salespeople do get a fee if they receive a good report on a shop.

Rich is really hard to work with. He is rude and will eliminate contact with you if you ask for clarification. I did several shops, submitted the reports and then found out they had been removed without explanation. I emailed Rich and See Level HX - NO RESPONSE. This is a horrible business practice and I have a feeling that this scam is going to be brought down soon.

You have spent your limited amount of time here either writing virtually the same post three times or hunting down old closed threads on the same subject so you could "like" every comment aimed at Rich. It makes me curious. Are you planning on participating, possibly talking about companies you like, or was your registration just for revenge?

I have done a few of these shops with different results.

The first one was flawless. I received an itemized price sheet for both scenarios the first visit and second visits. All the numbers added up.

The second shop, they removed the letterhead from the price sheets, claiming "internal documents."

The third shop, they would not give me the price sheets at all. I asked if I could take a picture of them. They agreed. They emailed me the price sheet for the second visit.

The last visit, none of the numbers added up. I didn't realize it until I got home. I really don't want to call the dealership because the salesman was hungry.

Luckily, Rich gave a training to new shoppers that addressed all issues that could come up. I used his tips in all the shops I've done for them.

Overall, I enjoy them. The money is great, the dealerships are local, and the reports are simple.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/19/2016 11:20PM by HonnyBrown.

You have to look the part. I do drive a nicer vehicle, and I actually lease the high end cars. With that, I get what I want.

Rich is good with you if you show insightful thought in terms of your report writing, as well as a very tactful approach to your negotiations. It also helps if you are savvy with technology and have some business sense as well. Also helpful is if you know the discounts offered in the area that you are shopping in. The emails from the dealer will help you.