Car Salespeople Refer to Some Buyers as 'Strokers' Behind Their Backs
Like many professionals, car salesmen have their own patois. Here are a few terms they throw around in the showroom.
1. Up
Any potential buyer.
2. Laydown
A customer who offers little resistance and purchases a car at the list price or more. Also known as an “ace.”
3. Paperboy
A buyer who comes in with an advertisement or printouts from the internet. Also known as a “nerd.”
4. Stroker
A shopper who acts interested but has no means or intention of buying a car.
5. Be-back
A shopper who claims he’ll come back, but may or may not return.
6. F.D.R.S.
These initials stand for “filthy disease-ridden swine.” Used to describe a buyer with horrible credit. Often used as inter-salesmen code to name the type of loan, as in, “You qualify for our F.D.R.S. loan!” Such a customer is also referred to as a “roach.”
7. Third baseman or third-base coach
The “expert” a buyer brings along to provide advice on the deal. Also known as a “lawyer.”
8. Gold balls
A customer with excellent credit. The opposite of an F.D.R.S.
9. Slasher
A temporary salesperson brought in for his high-pressure sales acumen during a short-term or weekend sale.
10. $500 Sandwich
Sales lost to a lunch break.
11. F&I
It stands for “finance and insurance,” the dealership department to which customers are handed after the sale, and where “back-end” products such as financing, extended warranties, and other soft add-ons get pushed on the buyer. Often the place where dealerships rake in the most profit.
12. Lot lizard
A salesperson who stalks customers as they pull into the dealer’s lot.
13. 040, 149, etc.
When salesmen want to indicate a customer’s race to another employee, they use the brand’s paint codes.
14. Home run
A salesman’s extremely profitable deal that includes a car sold at full list price or more. It may include a lucrative financing kickback and a trade-in purchased for less than its value.
15. De-horsing
Taking the keys and driving away the trade-in “to assess its value.” This leaves the buyer with no means of leaving the dealership.
16. A key and a heater
A car with no options but an enticing price. Also known as a “stripper,” “teaser,” or “loss leader.”
17. Mop and Glow
An extra-cost paint sealant or fabric protector of dubious value.
18. Spiff
Any bonus or incentive paid by the factory to the salesman or the dealership for moving a slow-selling car. Generally not disclosed to the buyer.
19. Whack ’em
When the F&I department successfully loads the buyer down with window waxing, paint sealant, nitrogen-inflated tires, dentless paint-removal package, etc.
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