Have car sales gone down?

Question

I am thinking about going into selling cars. I've applied to the higher end cars like Lexus, BMW, Audi, Infiniti because all of dealerships are all hiring. I am currently a legal secretary and in school for my law degree but would like something that pays a little more while I am in school. Does anyone know how the car sales industry is these days? I know with gas prices, car buying might have gone down a little bit? I see a lot of them advertising for $4,000 sign on bonuses and stuff....how does all that work?

Answer 1

If you make a decent salary as a legal secretary, I'd stay put.

You CAN make good money as an auto salesperson, but you will work long hours. With you going to law school, I'm not sure that'll fit your study schedule. You will be reading all the time.

Have sales gone down? Not really. SUV and truck sales have obviously gone south, but the makes you are looking at have not seen a drop in sales.

Sign-on bonuses usually carry with them some fine print. Some require you to complete a 2-week training, then sell a number of vehicles before you get the bonus. Most dealers won't pay someone $4K just for showing up. They then say "bye-bye" to that $4K.

If I were you, I'd take a long, hard, serious look at whether or not car sales is for you. You're entering law school, that alone is going to take up so much of your time. I would find something that gets you through, but also gives you the freedom to work around your school schedule. Car sales won't give you that freedom. In order to be successful as a new salesperson, you need to work long hours. LONG HOURS. Sometimes 9AM to 11PM. It is not an "8-to-5" position.

Good luck!

Answer 2

on average sales are down 19%.

selling is an art, to do it well requires skill, knowledge and some luck.

now is not a good time to learn to sell cars.

small cars are selling, SUV's are not.

Cars

    * Chevy Cobalt: Down 23.8%

    * Dodge Caliber: Up 10%

    * Ford Focus: Up 24%

    * Honda Civic: Up 18.3%

    * Honda Fit: Up 73.8% ******************

    * Hyundai Elantra: Up 11.1%

    * Kia Spectra: Up 41.3%

    * Mitsubishi Lancer: Up 32.7%

    * Nissan Sentra: Up 21.4%

    * Nissan Versa: Up 34.2%

    * Toyota Corolla: Down 21.3% (mainly due to the changeover to the 2009 model)

    * Toyota Yaris: Up 83.2%

    * VW Jetta: Up 19.7%

Hybrids

    * Honda Civic Hybrid: Up 44.3%

    * Toyota Prius: Up 16%

Trucks and SUVs

    * BMW X5: Down 41.9%

    * Chevy Silverado: Down 23.5%

    * Chevy Tahoe: Down 34.2%

    * Dodge Durango: Down 38%

    * Ford Explorer: Down 14.8%

    * Ford F-Series: Down 23.8%

    * Honda Pilot: Down 23.6%

    * Hummer H3: Down 32.6%

    * Lexus LX 570: Up 156.1% ****************

    * Nissan Titan: Down 44.9%

    * Toyota Sequoia: Up 19.8%

    * Toyota Tundra: Up 16.8%