Wheels (29 page)

Another male voice responded; it bad an aggressive nasal quality. "We
can wait. That's if we make a deal here. Or we might go someplace else
.”

"I understand that, sir. Tell me something, merely out of interest. The
Galahad model, in Meadow Green; the one you were both looking at. How
much more do you think that would cost
.”

"I already told you," the nasal voice said. "A Galahad's out of our
price range
.”

"But just out of interest-name any figure. How much more
.”

Smokey chuckled. "Attaboy, Pierre I" He seemed to have forgotten his
reluctance about Adam listening. -He's selling 'em up
.”

The
nasal voice said grudgingly, 'W
ell, maybe two hundred dollars
.”

Adam could see the salesman smile. "Actually," he said softly, "it's
only seventy-five
.”

A woman's voice interceded. "Dear, if it's only that much . .
.”

Smokey guffawed. '-y
ou can hook a woman that way, every time. The dame's
already figured she's saved a hundred and twenty-five bucks. Pierre
hasn't mentioned a cuppla options extra on that Galahad. But he'll get
to it
.”

The salesman's voice said, 'Why don't we take another look at the car?
I'd like to show you . .
.”

As the trio rose, Smokey snapped off the switch.
"That salesman," Adam said. "I've seen his face . .
.”

"Sure. He's Pierre Flodenhale
.”

Now Adam remembered. Pierre Flodenhale was a race driver whose name, in
the past year or two, had become increasingly well-known naionally. Last season he had had several spectacular wins.
'When things are quiet around the tracks," Smokey said, "I let Pierre
work here. Suits us both. Some people recognize him; they like to have
him sell them a car so they can tell their friends. Either way, he's a
good sales joe. He'll cinch that deal
.”

. Perhaps he'd buy in as a partner. If Teresa drops out
.”

Smokey shook his head. "Not a chance. The kid's always broke; it's why
he moonlights here. All race drivers are the same-blow their dough
faster'n they make it, even the big winners. Their brains get flooded
like carburetors; they figure the purse money'll keep coming in
forever
.”

"You didn't
.”

"I was a smart cookie. Still am
.”

They discussed dealer philosophy. Smokey told Adam, "This never was a
sissie business; now it's getting tougher. Customers are smarter. A
dealer has to stay smarter still. But it's big, and you can win big
.”

At talk of consumerism, Smokey bridled. "The 'poor consumer' is taking
goddam good care of himself. The public was greedy before; consumerism
made it worse. Now, everybody wants the best deal ever, with free
service forevermore. How about a little 'dealerism' sometime? A dealer
has to fight to survive
.”

While they talked, Adam continued to watch activity below. Now he
pointed to the sales booths again. "That first one. I'd like to hear
.”

The sliding panel had remained open. Smokey reached out and clicked a
switch.
. . . deal. I'm telling you, you won't do bet ter anywhere else
.”

A
salesman's voice again; this time an older man than Pierre Flodenhale,
graying, and with a sharper manner. The prospective
customer, a woman whom Adam judged to be in her thirties, appeared to be
alone. Momentarily he had a guilty sense of snooping, then reminded
himself that use of concealed microphones by dealers, to monitor exchanges
between salesmen and car buyers, was widespread. Also, only by listening
as he was doing now, could Adam judge the quality of communication between
Smokey Stephensen's dealership and its clients.
"I'm riot as sure as you," the woman said. -With the car I'm trading in
as good as it is, I think your price is a hundred dollars high
.”

She
started to get up. "I'd better try somewhere else
.”

They heard the salesman sigh. "I'll go over the figures one more time
.”

The woman subsided. A pause, then the salesman again. "You'll be fi
nancing the new car, right
.”

"Yes
.”

"And you'd like us to arrange financing
.”

"I expect so
.”

The woman hesitated. "Well, yes
.”

From his own knowledge, Adam could guess how the salesman's mind was
working. With almost every financed sale a dealer received a kickback
from the bank or finance company, usually a hundred dollars, sometimes
more. Banks and others made the payments as a means of getting business,
for which competition was keen. In a tight deal, knowledge that the
money would be coming could be used to make a last-minute price cut,
rather than lose the sale entirely.
As if he had read Adam's mind, Smokey murmured, "Chuck knows the score.
We don't like to lose our kickback, but sometimes we have to
.”

"Perhaps we can do a little better
.”

It was the salesman in the booth
again. "What I've done is, on your trade . .
.”

Smokey snapped the switch, cutting the details off .
Several newcomers had appeared in the showroom; now a fresh group moved
into another sales booth. But Smokey seemed dissatisfied. "To make the
joint pay I have to sell two thousand five hundred cars a year, and
business is slow, slow
.”

Knuckles rapped on the office door outside. As Smokey called, "Yeah," it
opened to admit the salesman who had been dealing with the woman on her
own. He held a sheaf of papers which Smokey took, skimmed over, then said
accusingly, "She outbluffed you. You didn't have to use all the hundred.
She'd have settled for fifty
.”

"Not that one
.”

The salesman glanced at Adam, then away. "She's a sharpie.
Some things you can't see from up here, boss. Like what's in people's
eyes. I tell you, hers are hard
.”

"How would you know? When you gave my money away, you were probably
looking up her skirts, so you let her take you
.”

The salesman looked pained.
Smokey scribbled a signature and handed the papers back. "Get the car
delivered
.”

They watched the salesman leave the mezzanine and return to the booth
where the woman waited.
"Some things to remember about salesmen," Smokey Stephensen said. "Pay 'em
well, but keep 'em off balance, and never trust one. A good many'll take
fifty dollars under the desk for a sweet deal, or for steering finance
business, as soon as blow their nose
.”

Adam motioned to the switch panel. Once more Smokey touched it and they
were listening to the salesman who had left the office moments earlier.
". . . your copy. We keep this one
.”

"Is it properly signed
.”

"Sure is
.”

Now that the deal was made, the
salesman was more relaxed; he leaned across the desk, pointing. "Right
there. The boss's fist
.”

"Good
.”

The woman picked up the sales contract, folded it, then
announced, "I've been thinking while you were away, and I've decided not
to finance after all. I'll pay cash, with a deposit check now and the
balance when I pick up the car on Monday
.”

There was a silence from the sales booth.
Smokey Stephensen slammed a meaty fist into his palm. "The smartass
bitch
!
"
Adam looked at him inquiringly.
"That lousy broad planned that
!
She knew all along she wouldn't
finance
.”

From the booth they heard the salesman hesitate. "Well . . . that could
make a difference
.”

"A difference to what? The price of the car
.”

The woman inquired coolly,
"How could it unless there's some concealed charge you haven't told me
about? The Truth in Lending Act . .
.”

Smokey stormed from the window to his desk, snatched up an inside phone
and dialed. Adam saw the salesman reach for a receiver.
Smokey snarled, "Let the cow have the car. We'll stand by the deal
.”

He
slammed down the phone, then muttered, "But let her come back for
service after warranty's out, she'll be sorry
!
"
Adam said mildly, "Perhaps she'll think of that, too
.”

As if she had heard him, the woman looked up toward the mezzanine and
smiled.
"There's too many know-it-alls nowadays
.”

Smokey returned to stand
beside Adam. "Too much written in the newspapers; too many two
bit
writers sticking their noses where they've no godda
m
business. People
read that crap
.”

The dealer leaned forward, surveying the showroom. "So
what happens? Some, like that woman, go to
a bank, -ar
range financing before they get here, but don't tell us till the
deal is made. They let us think we're to set up the financing. So we figure
our take-or some of it-into the sale, then we're hooked, and if a dealer
backs out of a signed sales contract, he's in trouble. Same thing with
insurance; we like arranging car insurance because our commission's good;
life insurance on finance payments is even better
.”

He added moodily, "At
least the broad didn't take us on insurance, too
.”

Each incident so far, Adam thought, bad given him a new, inside glimpse
of Smokey Stephensen.
I suppose you could look at it from a customer's point of view," Adam
prompted. "They want the cheapest financing, most economical insurance,
and people are learning they don't get either from a dealer, and that
they're better off arranging their own. When there's a payoff to the
dealer-finance or insurance-they know it's the customer who pays because
the extra money's incorporated in his rates or charges
.”

Smokey said dourly, "A dealer's gotta live, too. Besides, what people
didn't used to know, they didn't worry after
.”

In another sales booth below, an elderly couple were seating themselves,
a salesman facing them. A moment earlier, the trio had walked from a
demonstrator car they had been examining. As Adam nodded, under Smokey's
hand a switch clicked once more.
". . . really like to have you folks for clients because Mr. Stephensen
runs a quality dealership and we're happiest when we sell to quality
people
.”

"That's a nice thing to hear," the woman said.
-Well, Mr. Stephensen's always telling us salesmen, 'Just don't think of
the car you're selling today. Think Of how you can give folks good service; also that they'll
be coming back two years from now, and perhaps another two or three after
that
.”

'
Adam turned to Smokey. "Did you say that
.”

The dealer grinned. "If I didn't, I should have
.”

Over the next several minutes, while they listened, a trade-in was
discussed. The elderly couple was hesitant about committing themselves
to a final figure-the difference between an allowance for their used car
and the price of a new one. They lived on a fixed income, the husband
explained-his retirement pension.
At length the salesman announced, "Look, folks, like I said, the deal
I've written up is the very best we can give anybody. But because you're
nice people, I've decided to try something I shouldn't. I'll write an
extra sweet deal for you, then see if I can con the boss into okaying
it
.”