Glossary of Dealer Terms

From music to medicine every business or profession has their own jargon. The car business and car dealerships are no exception. Dealership and the clandestine vernacular once employed exclusively by suspender wearing, Soprano looking, cigar-chomping, cheap shoe wearing Tom Jones look a likes, has been past down and still alive and well and used every day by the modern automotive salesperson, be it man and women, now in penny loafers and Polo shirts. This is the authentic slang glossary of dealer terms. 

It may not make your car shopping experience more pleasant, but its funny just the same - We've placed the terms in four categories.

Starting with the:

The Car

• Key and a Heater: A basic car with no options.
• Baldinis: Bald tires.
• Bomb: An old car with no value.
• Be-backs: The customers who tell you not to worry, they'll be back.
• Cream puff: A used vehicle in excellent condition.
• Crop duster: A car that blows smoke out of the tailpipe.
• Gold Package: Gaudy-looking vehicle.
• Loaded: A car with every option. A rich customer.
• Sled: A slow and cumbersome vehicle.  A worthless vehicle.
• Teaser: A basic car with few options (used to draw customers into the dealership)

The Customer

• Fish: A customer who's too willing to part with their money.
• Hung: Status of a customer who's ready to sign the papers.
• Player: A customer with a good credit history.
• Roach: A customer with a poor credit rating.  
• BK: The customer has a bankruptcy in their credit history.
• Sticker shock: Customer's negative reaction to the price of the vehicle.
• Deadbeat: A customer with a bad credit history.
• Blow them out: Don't waste any more time with a customer.
• Gasser: A customer who doesn't have the money to buy a vehicle, but acts like they do.
• Tire Kicker:  Someone who doesn't have the money to buy, but looks just the same.
• Qualify: Determine if the customer is ready to buy.
• Short Arm: Very thrifty (cheap) customer.  
• Stroker: A customer who acts like they're ready to buy, and has no intention of doing so.

The Cash

• Backwards: When a vehicle's wholesale value is less than the amount still owed on the vehicle.
• Upside down: The car's true value is less than the amount owed on the vehicle. (aka Backwards.)
• Gross: Amount of profit.
• Grease: The amount of discount a customer needs to close the deal.
• Slam-dunk: Make a very profitable sale.
• Numbers: The price of the vehicle.
• Nut: The break-even point.
• On the hood: Rebates, incentives, and special financing offered by a manufacturer or lender.
• Pack: Money built into the price of the car to cover dealer's expenses (advertising & overhead in particular).
• Pad: The amount of a sale meant for the salesman.
• Push: Cash, rebate, or special financing.
• Rear-end money: Kickbacks and incentives given to a dealer by a lender for closing a financing deal.
• Stole It: Purchased a vehicle far below wholesale value. Normally your trade-in.
• Kickback: Money refunded to the car dealer after the sale is made. May come from the car maker, finance company or insurance companies from the sale of extended warranties.
• Spiff: Bonus a salesperson receives if a sale is made.
• Took a Bath:  Lost money on a deal.
• Took a Pill:  Lost a great deal of money on a deal.
• Special financing: High-interest loans for customers with poor credit - Low-interest loans underwritten by the manufacturer.

The Con

• Lowball: An attempt to undercut another dealer's price.
• Hammer: Exercise pressure on a customer to buy the vehicle.
• Gouge: Sell a vehicle for more than sticker price.
• Grind: Negotiations that take a long time.
• Hit A Home Run: Make a great deal of money on a particular sale.
• Snow job: An attempt to hide the truth from a customer with persuasive language.
• Roll 'em: Force exerted by a salesman to close a deal.
• Twist 'em: Force exerted by a salesman to close a deal.
• Sweep 'em: Don't waste any more time with a customer.
• Shark: A ruthless, money-hungry salesman.
• Crapped out: Deal that didn't materialize.