The term "tire kicker" represents the customer who floats from dealer to dealer, strolls the lot, looks at stickers, peeks in windows, asks questions, gives you a blow-by-blow history of his past/present car/cars, possibly even takes a test drive, and leaves without even trying to buy... often with no intention of buying. Basically, he is a guy burning my uncompensated time. Cynical, yes, but remember: no sell, no eat! (Unless you've lived there, you might not understand!)
I've never actually seen anyone kick a tire. The term "tire kicker" is, therefore, not literal... until today!
I met him. The tire kicker.
He was strolling the used car lot while leaving his car door open and the engine running (one of their classic trademarks). As I introduced myself, he turned to a 2008 Chevy Impala and asked, "Whaddaya need for this one?" (actually kicking the tire for punctuation!)
Wow! I finally met him... the head spokesman for "Team Tire Kicker"!
Needless to say, he shook my hand (I do get tired of that) and uttered the line every commissioned salesperson loathes, "thank you for your time".
Disclaimer: This post was written at the end of one of many frustrating 12+ hour workdays with no sales made and no commission earned, and may, or may not (but probably does), represent the views and opinions of
