Finding a good deal is all about competition. Prices go down when multiple companies sell the same thing. Whether it’s 
Insulting Car Salesmen Slang
My friend Len Penzo recently mentioned “Grape” as a slang term for a clueless car buyer. I’d never heard the term, but was inspired to dig up some other insulting car dealer jargon for your reading enjoyment.
Car Salesman Terms for Customers and their Trade-ins
Beback: A customer who doesn’t buy and swears they’ll “be back”.
Babysitter: A co-signer on a loan.
Blue Hair or Silver Hair: A senior citizen.
Bomb: An old car with no value.
Bunny: A customer who does not negotiate very well and is taken in for huge profits.
Buried: Describes a customer who owes far more than their trade-in is worth.
Crop duster: A car that blows smoke out of the tailpipe.
Deadbeat or Roach: A customer with a bad credit history.
A “Get Me Done”: A customer with bad credit that is more concerned with getting financed than the vehicle they buy.
Grinder, Short Arm, or Chisler: A customer who spends hours haggling over a small amount of money.
Lay down or Grape: A customer with no spine who says yes to everything. They “lay down” and get run over or crushed like a grape.
Maypops: Bald tires.
One Legger: Usually refers to a husband without his wife.
Player: A customer with a good credit history.
Quarterback, Second Baseman, or Third Baseman: Someone a buyer brings along to coach them or help negotiate a deal.
Sled, Turd, Clam, Toad, or Rat: An old trade-in which is banged up and worth little or nothing.
Slide Ruler: A customer who is a specification nut. He may even have a “slide ruler” or pocket calculator to calculate his own sales tax.
Stroker: A customer who gives the impression that he wants to buy a car, but doesn’t have the means to do so.
Tire Kicker, Blower, or Rubberneck: A customer who has no intention of buying.
UFO: U Frickin’ Own it! (PG-13 version) Said to customers that want to return a vehicle.
And here are a few more unusual ones I just learned from Mike’s Liberal Car Blog:
Squirrels: customers with no loyalty to one salesperson
Disneyland shoppers or bumblebees: customers that can’t decide between three or more cars
Strokes: time-wasting shoppers
Bogues: same as strokes
Ghost: customer with no credit score
Fairy: pipe smoking, folder carrying, internet customer
And Mike’s (and my own) favorite…
“RUNNER !!!”: This is what is yelled when a customer gets up from the negotiating table and proceeds to walk out the door. The customer gets up and the salesperson says, “We got a RUNNER.”
Know any car dealer slang that I’ve missed?
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I hope I wasn’t deemed a Bunny during my most recent car purchase!
Fun post!
Ha! Glad I could be the inspiration for one of your posts, Coach!
It was Mr. Lewis, my old junior high school teacher who was also an ex-car dealer, that told us kids that clueless car buyers were called “grapes.”
“Never be a grape!” he’d tell us. “Either when buying a car, or living your life.”
He never told us the origin of the term – but now I know, 30 years later.
It makes sense!
(Coincidentally, my next post (coming this Wednesday) was inspired by YOU! No lie.)
All the best,
Len
Len Penzo dot Com
Very informative, but it’s too bad they give names to the customers. It seems disrespectful.
Not all of them are insulting. Sea Lawyer is the guy who comes with a friend or family member to negotiate on their behalf.