How To Become A Car Sales Consultant: What It Is and Career Path

What is a car sales consultant and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

Quoted Expert

Derrek Schartz

There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a car sales consultant. For example, did you know that they make an average of $33.1 an hour? That's $68,853 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 0% and produce 1,900 job opportunities across the U.S.

What general advice would you give to a Car Sales Consultant?

Derrek Schartz

Senior Lecturer, Website

Be agile and able to adapt. Sales has changed more of the last 20 years than over the previous 100. It's not your father's sales career. Over the last several decades the role of sales in most organizations has changed dramatically.

ScoreCar Sales ConsultantUS Average

Salary

5.4

Avg. Salary $68,853

Avg. Salary $59,228

Diversity

6.9

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.57%

Asian 6.77%

Black or African American 10.20%

Hispanic or Latino 20.84%

Unknown 5.34%

White 56.28%

Gender

female 23.51%

male 76.49%

Age - 39

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 39

Stress Level

6.2

Stress level is manageable

7.1 - high

Complexity Level

4.5

Complexity Level is intermediate

7 - challenging

Work Life Balance

8.5

Work Life balance is excellent

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a car sales consultant

Explore car sales consultant education requirements

Most common car sales consultant degrees

Bachelor's

39.6 %

High School Diploma

25.5 %

Associate

22.0 %

Start to develop specific car sales consultant skills

Skills	Percentages
Customer Service	18.17%
Customer Satisfaction	9.87%
Sales Process	8.70%
Automotive Sales	7.86%
Test Drive	6.33%

Complete relevant car sales consultant training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 1-3 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New car sales consultants learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a car sales consultant based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real car sales consultant resumes.

Gain additional car sales consultant certifications

Car sales consultant certifications can show employers you have a baseline of knowledge expected for the position. Certifications can also make you a more competitive candidate. Even if employers don't require a specific car sales consultant certification, having one may help you stand out relative to other applicants.

The most common certifications for car sales consultants include Certified Sales Professional (CSP) and Commercial Driver License (CDL).

More About Certifications

Research car sales consultant duties and responsibilities

Coordinate and manage services and requests from clients for BMW, Lexus, and Mercedes for auto body repairs and restorations.
Identify new sales opportunities within existing accounts to remain a client-account manager relationship by up-selling and cross-selling.
Work with agency partners on creative execution for Facebook marketing campaigns (including design, layout and copy).
Develop inventory database for tracking parts list on eBay.

Prepare your car sales consultant resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your car sales consultant resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a car sales consultant resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose From 10+ Customizable Car Sales Consultant Resume templates

Build a professional Car Sales Consultant resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your Car Sales Consultant resume.

Apply for car sales consultant jobs

Now it's time to start searching for a car sales consultant job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:

Browse job boards for relevant postings
Consult your professional network
Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
Watch out for job scams

How do car sales consultants rate their job?

-/5

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Car Sales Consultant reviews

A zippia user wrote a review on May 2020

Pros

I love to engage the public and meet new faces. I enjoy explaining all of the benefits of the product I am selling, and making the customer feel important and well informed.

Cons

I don't like feeling like I haven't did a great at job at making customers feel comfortable and confident about where and who they are purchasing from.

A zippia user wrote a review on Jul 2019