Salary
Average Salary: $42,000
Expected Lifetime Earnings: $1,753,416
One brave salesman broke down his earnings in a better-than-average month. He earned $3,069.85 before taxes, but only because he sold a bunch of a certain kind of car and hit a couple of nice bonuses. (Think of it like gambling—he pulled a pair of cherries in a slot machine.) If he hadn't gotten the bonuses, he would have earned $1,694.85 for the month. That's before taxes.
His salary is fairly close to the national average, which is about $42,000 a year (source).
The salary not only depends on your skill levels, but also weighs pretty heavily on luck. You can't make people walk onto the lots. Well, you can, but they might try to call the police or something.
Sometimes you'll spend hours on a customer who ends up leaving and coming back another day to buy the car from a different salesperson. Bummer. In that case, you'll have to split the deal. All that work and you might walk away with $50 (or about $32.50 after taxes).
On the plus side, there are bonuses to be had for particularly skilled salesmen. You could make something like $1,000 if you sell fifteen cars.
Sell fourteen and a half, though (because you had to split a deal), and you get no bonus at all...not even a free hot dog.