Smart people make the DUMBEST car buyers! 

I’m in sales. When someone is bragging about their job, I tell them “I used to work at Pizza Hut”. It a good way to end a conversation.

That wasn't an engineer. That was a project manager with an aerospace engineering degree.

As an Engineer of 30 years I know the exact kind of guy your talking about, these guys never stay at one place to long as they claim they are "no longer challenged by the job" but in reality it's because they realize everyone hates them and is purposely making their life miserable!

Had a similar issue with an aviation mechanic. I was repairing the wiring on his telehandler as he scolded me about splicing in 6 inches of wire that was different color than factory. He stated "im an aircraft technician, this would never pass inspection!" I took a deep breath and replied "if this machine ever gets airborne, you will have bigger issues to worry about than the color of wires I spliced in" He got the memo after that.

As an electrical engineer, I promise we’re not all like this. One thing I’ve learned in my short 5 years of being an engineer is that there are a lot of people who know a lot more than me, and the best thing I can do is listen.

Back when I was a tech at a dealership, I never realized how appreciative I should have been to have a service adviser in-between myself and the customer. The customer service aspect of any job is the hardest part. Doug tells these stories so well, and is so relatable.

I worked in the parts/service depth for H-D for 23 years.. the absolute WORST customers were engineers.. in my opinion, if anyone that has to tell you how smart they are, they usually aren't as smart as they claim to be

You can also guarantee he’s not a very good aerospace engineer. It reeks of insecurity when someone keeps trying to impress you with their job title. Genuinely smart and successful people don’t need to boost their ego every 2 minutes.

A drummer that skips or misses rehearsals is extremely common 😂

I owned a retail business. Had my share of nightmarish customers. Many times I told my staff selling is like fishing. You gotta know which ones to throw back into the water.

One of the most important things I've learned in the engineering field so far is that the best engineers ask questions so they can listen more than they have to talk and they are able to explain complex concepts and ideas to anyone on a middle school reading level. The guy mentioned in the video is every thing I hate in an engineer lol.

When Reddit Mods go to a Porsche dealership

I'm a systems engineer. Honestly one of the most critical parts to succeed at my job is knowing when I DON'T know something so that I can defer to someone who does. I can say, at least based on personal experience, that this is sadly a rare trait. I know what I know, and I'll push back hard against people who clearly don't know what I know, but the moment you step outside that personal knowledge bubble you better be talking with someone who actually has the appropriate knowledge for that scenario.

Most people have heard of the phase, "The customer is always right" that's not the complete quote, " The customer is always right, when it comes to taste" is the full quote, Rj in Oz

"I'm an aerospace engineer." Dude probably makes glue for 3M... not designs or invents it... just makes it. They gave him a white coat to wear on the production line, and he thought it was a PhD.

I hope your aerospace engineer watches this.

All I saw was the title and a Porsche and my mind immediately screamed "DOUG STORY!!" - Doug car story is best car story. Love what he's putting out there on @switchcars. That collection of trucker stories was huge fun.

As a Toyota technician, I’m not a fan of customer engineers either. Dude brought in his highlander complaining that air was blowing lightly on his face when set to feet. So I print out the literature from TOYOTA that says it’s normal to have some air movement from other vents. He began to tell me how it’s wrong cuz he’s an engineer. I don’t understand how one engineer is right compared to the teams of engineers that built the car, but who am I judge

I worked at a tim hortons when I was sixteen. The owner would tell us he's an engineer every day we saw him. 1 day it took him 3 hours to figure out how to change rubber seal in the clean water tank on the toilet😂😂😂

When someone starts nitpicking a used car, the correct response is, "You're looking for a new car. They're over there. Bye!"

He wasn’t difficult because he was an engineer, it’s because he was from NY.

Kia Stinger engineering of starter placement is an example of them not having to be a mechanic.

I hope he sees this

I am a retired electronics engineer and a mechanic in aerospace by trade. Very proud of my achievements, but not a know-it-all. I feel no need to lecture others. Also good to have a wide knowledge base and plenty of hands-on experience to rely on to form your own opinion. Saved me plenty of money in the past.

My dad was a brilliant mechanical engineer. I always played with his ring. He told me it was to remind engineers that they too can make mistakes, and that they have a huge responsibility. The Canadian rings were rumoured to have been made from the iron recovered when the Quebec City bridge collapsed twice under construction killing 88 men. It seems many engineers pick up the cocky part and not the responsibility part.

I worked for Goodyear Aerospace, and Doug is 100% correct in his assessment of these individuals. Congratulations on your successful escape, and a hilarious story!

Intelligent people often have the hardest time recognizing their own biases.

Great story! I’m also an aerospace engineer! I met Doug a number of years back when I was shopping for a GT3… hey wait! I didn’t realize you knew 2 heavy set aerospace engineers shopping for a GT3. Wonder if I know him?

If that “aerospace engineer” works at Raytheon, it would explain his attitude. Most of those people think they are high and mighty.

I have a close friend who was a car salesman. Old farmers w/cow dung on his boots gets out of a very old and extremely beat up truck. No exageration... he asks to see the new top of the line F150 on the lot. Leather seats and all possible options. My friend said ok... but your going to have to clean your boots first. They both go around back and literally wash his boots. Go for a test drive. Farmer who is in dirty coveralls pulls out a roll of cash and pays for it outright. Then says the farm needs 5 work trucks and they negotiate the sale of those. A week later the guys wife comes in and buys a new eddie bauer expedition. All 7 cars bought through my friend because he treated the guy w/respect. (Ford dealership in Olney Illinois about 25yrs ago) Never... ever..... judge a book by its cover.

I’m an engineer and I’ve been a used car customer recently. The sales guy was great: he realized at some point of the inspection of the car that I’m an automotive engineer (I did not mention this, just doing my usual checks on the used vehicle). We got along great, I bought the car and he thanked me numerous times about how pleasant it was to deal with each other. Probably he had some bad experiences with engineers before…

I do side work and one day I had an " engineer " . He kept on bird dogging me til the point the job was halfway done and I flipped and said do it yourself no charge for what I've already done. Put my tools up and cleaned them. He started complaining... I told him to call a tow truck. Truck sat at my shop for 3 days before a tow truck came. Sometimes F people that act like that.

I used to work as service advisor in car dealership. By far the worst customers were the IT engineers. For some reason they thought that all the brand new cars have the same level of quality and everything must be absolutely perfect. No mate, your $20 000 entry level SUV is not the equivalent of $100 000 Porsche Cayenne. No, the interior will not be as quiet as $200 000 Rolls Royce. It is slightly crap and that's why it's cheap. One of the IT guys broke off the trunklid trim piece when opening trunk (he forgot to unlock the car first). So he was absolutely convinced that we must cover it with warranty. Nah bro, warranty is for issues that are direct result from manufacturing flaw. The fact that you broke it is not a factory's flaw. So he went on an on with this, called multiple times, sent many emails to me and my manager. Eventually my manager gave up and purchased new trim + paintjob with company's expense to get rid of that guy.

People who crow the loudest about being engineers are 100% NOT engineers. Just like people who crow the loudest about being military were probably never in the military. And ESPECIALLY if they claim to have been Special Forces. They were 100% not in the Special Forces.

As an Engineer I'd like to officially apologize for that particular individual; as his personality (i.e. - Expert in one area = Expert in ALL areas!) does not represent ALL of us. Some of us? Yes, but (thankfully) not ALL Engineers. : )

Having an engineering degree, and _being_ an engineer are two very different things. For example, the engineers a Morton/Thiokol told NASA to not launch _Challenger_ and the degrees holding managers overruled them, and 7 astronauts died.

I set this to 2x speed and it was like he was speaking at regular pace 😅 then Ed came on and it was like an auctioneer 😂

M.E. here for 32yrs.... that guy falls into one of two categories. He's either financially tight (which is my guess because he didn't immediately pay for it) OR he's nothing but a pure academic who likes to research data and never set his hand to reality. Wouldn't surprise me if that was the first time he drove a GT3 or maybe even a Porsche. Me... I get just as much joy out of repairing / modifying a sports car as I do driving them.

I think the issue was that this engineer was a narcicist. That's the defining quality here.

When I'm selling a vehicle, if the customer starts getting picky about the condition and especially if they are rude. I stopped the negotiation and asked them to leave. I never sell when I have to. Only when I want to. So, I am not in a position where I have to put up with disrespectful behavior.

I’m in the jewelry business and can confirm engineers are the worst customers to deal with for these exact reasons. Engineers are a lot like corvette owners.

Doug is the type of guy that says "I'm like..." when telling a story, when he is actually talking about what he was thinking, rather than what actually happened.

The conversation would have ended pretty soon after he gave me shit for having to leave by 6. Its been stated and you agreed. Tough shit. Mr I'm an aerospace engineer probably hasn't been told that in ages

My wife’s an Electrical Engineer, and would never do this, but she will beat you to death on price. Best negotiator I’ve seen outside of Ed.

I sold high end cars for many years. When engineers start taking about engineering issues and how my competition's is better I say great. You obviously know more about this car than I do. Let's go sit down and talk about price.

We had an engineer as a customer. Austin Martin made him feel important. 4runner had rusty lugs, he bought his own. I put 5 on each wheel and went to ask him where the new wheel lock key set is. Stupid me. His answer was, I hate wheel lock keys. I guess he couldn't count to 6

Wisdom and intelligence are two very distinct human qualities. It’s rare to have both.

Engineers make ideas, machinist and mechanics have to make those ideas actually work.

It translates to much more than just mechanical things. My father has a Ph. D in Aerospace, had a pretty good career then became a professor of aerospace. He knows everything. What is interesting is that he isnt all that smart, just really focused and really likes airplanes. When it comes to reading people, he is a bit lost. Overall a good guy, but an interesting person to observe.

I worked at a division of intel’s R&D department, and the engineers I worked with were almost all fixated on the results they wanted, not what they actually got. It’s hard to change that mindset.

I'm going to say... within 53 hours from now, someone will comment that they know and work with this guy and might even name drop the company. the world is funny like that.

I've heard this story from 2 other people and didn't want to believe it was it true, but I should have known better due to the experience in question. He asked me what I do for a living and I said that I'm an aerospace engineer. It was literally the only time I mentioned my career. I am the one that a prior engagement and was late to the test drive because of work, and despite politely explaining I needed to get going he just kept trying to keep me there for an immediate sale so I reluctantly agreed to the deposit just to get out of there. And yes, my mother died 2 days after the test drive and I let him know so he wouldn't think I was ignoring him. He STILL harassed me like a desperate ex, going so far as to call me THREE times in 30 minutes during my mother's funeral and leaving nasty voicemails. The rest of his story about clutch inspection and 3 levels of inspection is completely fictional. Bottom line, there's 2 sides to every story. Be skeptical of the side that's trying to impress you with wild details. Signed, The Bartender who tricked this guy into letting me drive a Porsche and desperately didn't want him bouncing my deposit check. I guess we're both schmucks.

This was not an engineer, this was a Business Bachelor, working in sales for a firm that produces parts for larger aerospace firms... and probably a firm that was divested/outsourced from their main customer in a restructuring.

I like your Allen Iverson quote referring to practice (coached hoops for many years and loved to show it to kids). Doctors as well have proven to be odd customers (sales experience as well)......

As an Engineer, I even have to dealt with these special cases. It is hilarious to see their reaction. If was dealing with this person, I would been "Ha an Aerospace Engineer eh. You know get your head out of the clouds. You are high on life, but not down to Earth."

Just so everyone knows, it is okay to fire customers. There's no shame in doing so.

when I encounter nitpickers like that I'll say "It is what it is" repeatedly

I’m a mechanical engineer & lifelong hands-on gearhead, and unfortunately I’ve worked with many engineers like this.

Some deals just aren't worth the price you have to pay. Good show Doug !!!

The mountain bike crew I ride with engineer-heavy. Some of them are gearheads and pretty good wrenchs, but the best thing is when they argue. It’s not possible for either of them to be wrong, ever. 😂

I almost became an engineer, and then I realized I’d have to deal with people like that for my whole career and I went into a different field.

As an aircraft maintenance technician, my job is to fix their fkups because they couldnt engineer it correctly the first time😂 and im anal af too, that just comes with the territory in aviation. Everything must be perfect for us.

The “I’m an engineer” guys are just as annoying to their coworkers. Most engineers don’t go around pulling the “engineer” card left and right. The ones that do though can be some of the most annoying people you’ll ever deal with. They also do it frequently enough that it FEELS like all engineers do it.

Engineering > Sales

Good video. 1st time channel viewer. I'm a retired electrical tech who's worked with electrical, mechanical, and chemical engineers. "Cheapness" to the point of ridiculousness is a common trait among engineers. I can't help but wonder if cheapness is a driver for engineer bad behavior. An old mechanical engineer boss used to proudly tell me how he and his wife went over the week's sales receipts every Friday night. The guy had 2 kids, then his wife left him. He should've listened to me when I told him that there were better things to do on a Friday night from a wife's perspective.

A guy came in 30 min before closing on a Saturday with an Audi Q5 and asked for a wheel change. We were still full, so I politely declined. After he complained that we HAD TO do it and he’s an ENGINEER at Mercedes Benz (no one in Germany calls it …Benz, it’s just Mercedes…) he bought a way too weak carjack (insisted on the cheapest) and a cheap wrench. I confirmed, that the wrench would fit his lug nuts. After a few minutes, the MB engineer came back and was furious, that I’m too stupid to sell him the right tools. The wrench didn’t fit. It was a 2in1… all he had to do was rotate the adapter 180° as stated on the packaging 😁

As an engineer, I have no respect for engineers.

Well one thing I can say is that this customer sure found the right car to be in good company with other douchebags like himself. I have sold, managed, wholesaled for Porsche dealers and independent dealers dealing with them for over 2 decades and for some reason (particularly GT products) the customers (typically, obviously not always) are some of the most pompous and arrogant people ever. The best part is they are like this even with one another …..996 GT3 guys will take any and every opportunity to argue that they’re cars are more pure than the 997 guys cars, and the 997 guys think they have the best and last of any 911 and it goes on and on …….its one thing to like the car you have but they take on this obnoxious, cult like behavior when it comes to their cars 🤦🏻‍♂️ It’s absolutely my least favorite part of a wonderful brand with great automobiles

I hate these kinda people! I’m also an engineer with an MS in mechanical engineering, that also works in aerospace and it’s not that big a deal. I hate telling people I’m an engineer, nothings cool or sexy bout it and no one believes me till I show a business card or my Grad diploma. I prefer wearing my gold teeth, working out and doing my lil jiu jitsu and grappling.

The frequent mention of his status as an engineer reminds me of Margaret Thatcher’s quote: “Being powerful is like being a lady. If you have to tell people you are, you aren't.”

Doug is the best storyteller. Love the videos featuring his stories.

I'm an aerospace engineer and change oil, engines, brakes and my own socks!

Dude was hiding his character and personality flaws behind his job title. Apologies from all the engineers that aren't like this.

This might be a big misunderstanding. He may not have been bragging about his job, but telling you what it was, because what he did, was exactly what aerospace (quality or industrialization) engineers do for a living. They will turn every brick of your factory building up side down and look at it and will have you perform a thousand tests and inspections before you can even start to produce parts for them. The bit about the notary evidence sounded super familiar. You can show them physical evidence in front of their eyes and the will go "but do you have a document proving this?". In terms of thorroghness and caution they are on another level and they have to be. It's why plane crashes are so rare and why a flying bus costs hundreds of millions of dollars. And BTW that's why it's ridiculous for Boeing to blame their quality issues on supplieres who all had to go through what you went through and more on every little part they made. He wasn't bragging. He was warming you.

As a carpenter with 40 years on the job, the worst people are the ones that think they're better than you. When I was still in high school, I thought I wanted to be a photographer. There was a photography class trip to a pro fashion shoot. We watched the photographer set up and start shooting. There were several people from the advertising agency there that were trying to tell them what they should do. I happened to be in earshot of them near the photographer. He gave me a look in the middle of this and it told me everything I wanted to know about the business. I finished the class with top honors and swore I would never let myself get in the position of being told how to do my job. If they are shown they are wrong it can get really ugly or they just walk away.

I was a machinist in a shop that made aerospace parts for allied signal, King radio, Bendix etc. We did a lot of prototyping. Some of the engineers were okay but the vast majority of them were as bad or worse than the guy you were dealing with.

Doug should have known an engineer from out of town buying a used GT3 an hour and a half before needing to leave wasn’t going to work in time

It's such a horrible bit of blackmail when a customer asks you to prove something they know you can't prove. Just take everything at face value and trust the company selling it to you. If you can't trust them, go elsewhere. I guess some people go through life making a nuisance for themselves at every transaction to get a deal.

That guy was a narcissistic engineer 😂

That customer nitpicking and examining everything should buy a new car, not a used one... As a seller you should have sensed that and try guide him to buying a new car instead, because that is what he really wants.

I think after the second or third "I'm an aerospace engineer" I would have told him to go tell someone who cares.

As someone who works with engineers like this guy often, I can assure you he's like this because he doesn't understand why his colleagues don't respect him more. He's spent his entire career producing sup par work, getting critizised for it, and then getting frustrated as to why the organization didn't proceed with his idea. He's seeking out situations where he can validate himself. Just be thankful he didn't have a PHd or he'd be 10x worse.

Some car deals just arent worth it.

That dude is what we call a “soul sucker”

I used to have an engineer friend. He reminded me all the time. I would kindly remind him he’s 200k in debt and I earn more with zero debt.

As a car salesman, some of the best deals I’ve ever made are the ones I didn’t do.

Doug is a drummer. It all makes sense now 😅

Some Engineers have some of the worst egos when talking to others. In general, if someone has to tell you they’re an engineer without the need for that context, they are a bad engineer. They are the type who was used to being the smartest kid in high school, and think they still know everything now.

Tabutt is always a great storyteller. I am subscribed to SwitchCars, and it is awesome to watch his podcasts.

We had a customer demand the algorithms from a field engineer it was hilarious!

How do you know if someone is an engineer? Wait thirty seconds, they'll tell you.

If anyone has ever worked on the NBC system in the M1 Abrams, you’ll never respect an engineer again.

Bro just imagine what its like sitting in class with these goofs,and then later having to work with them. It really isnt too far off most 'car guys' these days.. everyone is a god damn expert

One of the first things I learned was to seek out input from the people who build what i design and the people who service what i design. Theyve been doing it longer than me and know what works and what doesn't. With that said when it comes to my cars i know more than 99.9% of the salesmen out there. I became an engineer because of cars. I have been doing all ny own maintenance and mods since i was 15 years old. Engine swaps, replacing wiring harness, upgrading turbos/superchargers, etc.

I watched this dude tell his lady to sit in the car (911 turbo back in the day) he says "does that feel like an $80,000 seat" I still laugh about it

As an engineer, I HATE when other engineers use their titles as some BS credential that somehow makes them an expert in everything. Only thing you are an expert in is critical thinking, logic, & math (and those aren't even guaranteed). We've all seen PLENTY of dumbăss engineering scenarios (especially in cars lol). It's not the flex he thinks it is 😂

As an engineer i always downplay my work as its not really that special anyways. People say what do you do? i say i work in construction

“We talking practice???”

My family does e-commerce sales and one thing I’ve learned is you can always feel when a customer is going to be a problem. Oh and I’ve learned that 9/10 the customer you’re going above and beyond for will come be coming back with “issues”

This is a perfect example of why you should be nice, in general. Just because they wear a name tag, don't make them beneath you.