There are numerous articles recently about the car manufacturers retreating from auto leasing. One such article was in last Friday’s Los Angeles Times. But there are others spread around the different media outlets.
Many major banks and the car manufacturers are joining in the chorus and saying, “Oh, No, ” to leasing. It stands to reason. The residual values on leased cars turn in at the end of the year have plummeted, and the dealers are taking it on the chin. As are the banks. They would think a car would be worth X at the end of the lease, and it is worth X minus twenty percent of X. Or less.
Big loss. Tough times. So Chrysler has already ceased its leasing options. Ford has vowed to make leasing so expensive it is no longer feasible. The end of an era is at hand. At least where the big guys are concerned. Enter the smaller leasing agencies.
Time was, to lease a car you did business with a leasing agency and not a dealership. You went to the leasing agency, told them what kind of car you wanted to lease, they made arrangements and leased it to you. They even made the credit arrangements. So now it looks like they are re-purposed. Which bank they will be borrowing money from I suppose is another question. But it looks at the moment that the smaller leasing agencies will soon be the only game in town.
It’s either using a leasing agency or actually buying the car. Buying a car with lease level monthly payments means buying a cheaper car. The end of the luxury car era for many. Between that and the cause of gasoline it is no longer cost effective nor all that feasible to drive around in a status symbol. Tough break for all.
So then the question becomes, what happens to all the car sales personnel? Some will stick around and some will have to find new jobs either with the leasing agencies or in other industries. Let’s face it, more than a few car sales personnel are obnoxious and annoying. Others, frankly, are lousy sales people. Especially in this day and age on lots that need bodies and offer little real training. You got sales people stumbling around trying to remember the printed sales pitch.
But there are a lot of really good sales people. You have to be to make money in that business. And good sales people don’t grow on trees. It’s a talent. It’s a gift. Some of it you can learn, and the rest of it you are born with. So if you are an employer looking for people to help grow your business, then you might consider re-purposing a car sales guy. Everyone is re-purposing everything else in this world, so why not someone who really understand what life in the trenches is all about?
It’s always good to run a background check on your new sales personnel. Get a professional reference to assess his skills. Education verifications are generally not important, but the criminal record definitely is. Southern California has a few notable sleazoid car sales guys who went to jail for crooked practices in the auto business. But, hey, they were great salesmen.
A guy who can sell can usually sell anything. He just has to learn the business. Train them, prep them, and then send them out into the world. But always–
Check them out before you hire.
