Jul
31
To continue the automotive theme this week, each industry has it’s own set of slang words and phrases, and the car business in no different. There are dozens of terms you can find online and in any showroom across the country; these are just some of my favorites.
| Term | Definition | Use In a Sentence | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|
| Up | A potential customer. | "How many ups did you see today?" | No idea where this comes from. Perhaps a distant baseball reference where each customer is considered an at bat (up) for the salesperson? |
| Negative Equity | Owing more than your car is worth. | "You've got about $4000 in negative equity in your trade-in, sir." | I love the attempt to put a positive spin it. |
| Take a Bath | Selling at a loss. | "We took a bath on that deal." | And you didn't even get wet. |
| Pad Slap | Replace brake pads. | "$99.95? Oh, that's just for a pad slap." | Normally you'll have to get your rotors machined or replaced at the same time. |
| Tower | Sales Manager's desk or office. | "I'm not sure I can do that, but let me check with the tower." | Often at the same elevation as the rest of the store. Makes it sound like air-traffic control. As if these managers didn't already have a high enough opinion of themselves. |
| Nut | The amount of monthly profit the dealer has to make to cover his fixed expenses. | "They've got to make a $1 million before they make a buck. That's a big nut." | Again, no idea where this comes from. |
| Bend the Metal | Design good-looking cars. | "They make a dependable car, now if they can just figure out how to bend the metal." | Pretty basic. |
| Bird-dog | A finder's fee paid for referring a customer. | "We also pay a $50 bird dog." | Sounds like hunting. |
| Lay-down | A customer that pays full price without negotiating and accepts all the back-end add-ons. | "Drinks on me! That last guy was a real lay-down." | Like you didn't even put up a fight. |
| LOF | Oil change. (Lube, oil, filter). | "We LOF'd it." | Pronounced "loaf." |
| Croak & Choke, Mop & Glo, Rust & Dust | Insurance products sold through the finance office. Credit life/disability, paint protection, etc. | "He looks like he's 90 years old. Better sell him the Croak & Choke." | Rhyming is fun. |
I’m sure I’m missing some other good ones. Such a colorful business.
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One more term…
Four-Square: A piece of paper that sales consultants use to work a deal; mostly in the dealers favor… The paper is broken into four parts, monthly payment, price of new or used car, down payment, and trade-in. Sales consultants are trained to work the deal as a whole package. Great for the dealership; bad for the buyer…
Best,
Sterling
[...] In January 2001, the PT Cruiser won Car & Driver’s Car of the Year award, and went on to sell nearly 1.4 million units over the next decade. I’d say that’s a pretty impressive return on investment, essentially just from a re-badge and a change in how they “bent the metal.” [...]