In Costa Mesa, car salespeople are bored

Bored car salespeople outnumbered customers midday today along a strip of dealerships on Harbor Boulevard in Costa Mesa.

John Handy, 54, the lone customer at a Honda dealership, said he had just come from a DMV office to purchase a license plate and was frustrated by the long lines and the incompetence of the staff. He said he was a plumbing contractor and had just lowered his fees to try and drum up business.

“If the state of California was a private enterprise, all these people would be looking for jobs,” he said of the DMV workers. “And they’re raising our taxes?”

Handy said he was looking for a new car for his wife, a loyal Honda customer. But he said was tempted to take advantage of the zero percent financing at the Chevrolet dealer down the street.

“My wife loves her Hondas, but at the same time you have to be smart with your money,” he said.

Meanwhile, Honda salesman Anthony McGrae, 43, said he had sold about 20 cars so far this year, about half of what he sold during the same period last year. He said there had been an uptick in sales shortly before today’s tax increase kicked in.

“Everyone is concerned about it,” he said.

-- Mike Anton

A 1 pecentage point increase in California's sales tax takes effect today. It brings the state sales tax to 6% -- but combined with local taxes, consumers in some cities are paying as much as 10% or more. The average local tax rate is now 9% -- one of highest in the nation. Times reporters are blogging reactions to the tax hike today. For more details about the tax hike and its impact, read "Tax increases stack high in Pico Rivera"  and "It's your last weekend to shop before the sales tax increase."

Comments

[Global Warming]

THANKS A MILLION, governor Arnold Scharzennegger!! Thank you for breaking your promise of NOT increasing taxes.

[M]

Uh. Did you expect something better and more reliable with such a huge budget deficit? If you got something, I'm sure the governor and the state admin would love to hear it.

[Faast]

all DMV employees represent all that is bad in government. ALL should be fired. I have never seen a more incompetent bunch, anytime you go to the DMV they treat you with contempt. more worried about keeping up with office gossip than giving you whatever it is you need to get the hell out of there.

[Big Jim Slade]

Customer service at the DMV? The Pasadena one has bullet proof windows. Would some leader with still operational testicular action fire these clowns and let a private enterprise run it? PRETTY PLEASE?

[Big Jim Slade]

P.S. What idiot would buy and register their car in California? So they can pay for the health care of illegal aliens? Notice all the out of state plates lately?

[SAW]

Its very usual for some to find scapegoats to point at with their anger--especially the DMV workers. I have never heard any of these complainers detail what it is that they find so incompetent, except that they are extremely busy. I have always been courteously treated by the DMV workers,