If you’ve ever been in a car dealership, you’re likely familiar with how ready and willing car salespeople can be to try to get you to purchase a car.
While some of their methods simply involve being friendly and personable, others can be more malicious. For example, one car dealership expert revealed that some dealerships will eavesdrop on customers when they think they’re alone; another warned that some dealerships will attempt to use illegal tactics to get the most money out of a customer as possible.
Given these possibilities, it’s understandable that many would want to simply be left alone while shopping for a car. However, that’s not as easy as one might think, as car salespeople can be persistent.
Now, a car salesperson on TikTok has sparked discussion after revealing what method actually works to get dealership employees to allow you to shop unaccompanied—and it’s not by simply telling them that you’re “just looking.”
In a video with over 706,000 views as of Friday, TikTok user Russ (@russflipswhips), who’s previously inspired debate after revealing what not to say when buying a car, says that salespeople tend to ignore any comments about “just looking.” There are two main reasons for this, he explains.
“One is, we hear it every single day,” he details. “So when somebody tells me ‘I’m just looking,’ I’m so used to hearing that, I almost like brush it off and ignore it, because I’m like, ‘That’s what the customer’s supposed to say.’”
“Secondly, every car salesman has had a customer say, ‘I’m just looking,’ and we ended up selling them a car,” he notes.
If a shopper really wants a salesperson to leave them alone, Russ says the method is simple.
“I’d say, ‘Hey, I’d really like to look alone. Can I please have your business card?’” Russ states. Later, he shares that one can also add, “I’m really not in the market for a car.”
@russflipswhips Replying to @SoyPablo This is what I would say #carsales #carsalesman #cardealership #carbuyingtips ♬ original sound – RussFlipsWhips
Commenters offered their own methods for dissuading persistent salespeople.
“The ‘I have 2 repos and no money down.’ line works wonders,” said a user.
“I say ‘if you want to make a sale leave me alone until I’ve made a decision. Tell your coworkers too’ because constantly being asked will make me go somewhere else quick,” detailed another.
Some said that having their “I’m just looking” statement ignored would dissuade them from buying at that dealership or with that salesperson.
“If someone doesn’t leave me alone after saying that I will never buy a car from that sales person,” stated a commenter.
“Honestly, I know it’s just trying to do your job, but my general rule is the first car salesman that comes up to bother me while I’m looking is not who I’m gonna use to do the purchase,” offered a second.
The Daily Dot reached out to Russ via email.
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