Fancy a laugh? trying buying a car......
Discussion
P-Jay said:
Are WBAC a real viable option then? In fairness I've only really ever asked them for prices for s
tboxes worth £2k on the best of days to save the hassle but found their valuation laughable - typically I've sold them for about twice what WBAC offer.
I'm not sure where their "sweet-spot" is - I suppose it's fairly ordinary cars, not too old, not too many miles etc. I've seen reports in various places at every extreme - some very happy, some very unhappy.tboxes worth £2k on the best of days to save the hassle but found their valuation laughable - typically I've sold them for about twice what WBAC offer. As other similar organisations appear there will be more competition for customers. They must be a threat to the usual dealer sales model if they soak up decent cars which would normally be p/x'd.
markmullen said:
Paul O said:
Anyone ever been to a Mini dealer? fk, they are good at it.
Smiley pretty's all over the shop, quick hello then let you browse and sit. Then available for questions, test drive arranged within minutes, then assisted browse through their franchise online used catalogue, then immediate quick quotes for finance.
Bish bash bosh.
No pressure. Lots of follow-up calls to get you to buy, mind - but the dealership experience (on-spec I might add) was really, really impressive. They got it right in my view, even if we didn't buy at the time.
Did you buy from them at all?k, they are good at it.Smiley pretty's all over the shop, quick hello then let you browse and sit. Then available for questions, test drive arranged within minutes, then assisted browse through their franchise online used catalogue, then immediate quick quotes for finance.
Bish bash bosh.
No pressure. Lots of follow-up calls to get you to buy, mind - but the dealership experience (on-spec I might add) was really, really impressive. They got it right in my view, even if we didn't buy at the time.
All the good feeling in the world accounts for nothing if it doesn't keep the doors open.
The way most main dealers operate (eg focusing on finance / add-ons etc) is because that is what earns them money, not selling obscure halo models to enthusiasts who want to bring their torch and work through a checklist they found on the internet.
Did we buy from them? Errrr, no. But we did buy from BMW in the same dealer group. So that counts yes?
doogz said:
We've been looking for a pretty specific car. Been in a few places recently trying to find one. Soul destroying. I love cars to much, I hate buying them so much.
The Peter Vardy Car Store was the worst.
You meet a man in the car park, who says hello, asks why you're here, what you're after, your name, some other details, then takes you into the reception, and hands you over to the receptonist, who takes all the same details, and then some more, prints you off a name tag and puts it on a lanyard. She hands you over to someone else, who introduces himself, asks what you're interested in, and walks you literally 10m through the door into the salesroom, where he passes you over to a manager.
You go through it all again with him, and he passes you onto a salesman.
You explain it all to him, we want a 135, there's not much else we'll consider, but it must be RWD, and a proper manual box, 3 pedals and an h-pattern box.
So he tries to sell us a DSG R32 Golf, because they have nothing remotely close to what we're looking for.
That sounds like fun The Peter Vardy Car Store was the worst.
You meet a man in the car park, who says hello, asks why you're here, what you're after, your name, some other details, then takes you into the reception, and hands you over to the receptonist, who takes all the same details, and then some more, prints you off a name tag and puts it on a lanyard. She hands you over to someone else, who introduces himself, asks what you're interested in, and walks you literally 10m through the door into the salesroom, where he passes you over to a manager.
You go through it all again with him, and he passes you onto a salesman.
You explain it all to him, we want a 135, there's not much else we'll consider, but it must be RWD, and a proper manual box, 3 pedals and an h-pattern box.
So he tries to sell us a DSG R32 Golf, because they have nothing remotely close to what we're looking for.
The best sales person encounter I have had was around a year ago.
She wanted to agree on a price before the test drive. I said I usually didn't negotiate a price on a car I hadn't driven. On the "test drive" I pointed out the alignment needed sorted. She asked what made me think that. I said the car is pulling to the left. She said, no, it just needs a new steering wheel. mmm.
And the reason I say "test drive" is because I pulled out of the dealership and which point she said, just go left here....and left again....and we'll go left here...and just up here turn left. Really!? you are just letting me drive around the block?
But as others have said...they only need to wait for Moron A or Moron B to arrive and just buy the thing immediately with no test or inspection.
I have some sympathy for smaller dealers not allowing speculative test drives to customers who want to find out if they like that model of car.
A test drive (for them) is about testing the condition of the specific car.
It's not about letting someone decide they do like the model and then find a similar model online.
So I can see why they only allow a test drive at sale time.
A test drive (for them) is about testing the condition of the specific car.
It's not about letting someone decide they do like the model and then find a similar model online.
So I can see why they only allow a test drive at sale time.
CrutyRammers said:
I'm about to go through this again, it's something I dread tbh. Traipse around a load of dealers until you find one that isn't an utter tt, it's miserable. Buying a new car should be enjoyable, I have a better time buying groceries.
I totally agree.t, it's miserable. Buying a new car should be enjoyable, I have a better time buying groceries.And yet the resident car salesmen on PH will tell you that it is your fault not theirs.
It is your fault that the car buying process can be such a depressing, unedifying, waste of time that leaves the buyer wishing they hadn't bothered.
It is your fault not theirs that most car buyers go into the process deeply suspicious that they are going to get ripped off.
It is your fault, not theirs, that every time a thread like this pops up it comes up with legions of people who have had bad experiences.
No, according the people who work as car salesmen, it is a deeply enjoyable process; they always put the customer first; want everyone to be happy and their industry is a shining beacon of decency, transparency and integrity. It isn't them causing the grief, its us.
Edited by toppstuff on Tuesday 1st July 11:09
My favourite car buying methodology is to walk into a dealership dressed like a tramp, last time it was t shirt, shorts and flip flops and ask to speak to a salesman. Normally this results in the new boy being sent over. I did this when is ordered my last car and the young lads face was a picture when I just said I want to order I don't need to drive it I've driven one before. I find the junior sales guys much more helpful as they're trying to impress.
Having allways bought private so far, i bought my first car of a dealer a couple months ago.
Driven past whilst at work and stopped in for a chat and a quick look around.
Rang him 2 days later stating i want to see it again, this time with my misses. He said there were more people interested (though non of them were local, whereas we were 10 minutes down the road) but we struggled to find suitable time with me doing 12 hours and my other half working in London and both of us doing weekends.
Dealer then offered to open after closing hours on a saterday. Went round with the misses and looked at the car, he gave us the keys and asked if we wanted to go for a spin, which we did. I was a bit suprised he didn't want any details, he didn't have my name, phone number, adress anything, he'd not even checked if i had a licence and/or insurance, but he had seen me in my uniform with a marked ambulance car the first time, so i guess that was enough for him.
Took the car for a spin, liked it, put a deposit down, and picked it up a few days later after a couple little bits were sorted.
The whole process/transaction couldn't have gone any smoother, so no complains with my first experience of buying a car of a dealer.
Medic-one said:
Having allways bought private so far, i bought my first car of a dealer a couple months ago.
Driven past whilst at work and stopped in for a chat and a quick look around.
Rang him 2 days later stating i want to see it again, this time with my misses. He said there were more people interested (though non of them were local, whereas we were 10 minutes down the road) but we struggled to find suitable time with me doing 12 hours and my other half working in London and both of us doing weekends.
Dealer then offered to open after closing hours on a saterday. Went round with the misses and looked at the car, he gave us the keys and asked if we wanted to go for a spin, which we did. I was a bit suprised he didn't want any details, he didn't have my name, phone number, adress anything, he'd not even checked if i had a licence and/or insurance, but he had seen me in my uniform with a marked ambulance car the first time, so i guess that was enough for him.
Took the car for a spin, liked it, put a deposit down, and picked it up a few days later after a couple little bits were sorted.
The whole process/transaction couldn't have gone any smoother, so no complains with my first experience of buying a car of a dealer.
My experience with a couple of local independent dealers for used cars has been the same as yours. Very acceptable. Driven past whilst at work and stopped in for a chat and a quick look around.
Rang him 2 days later stating i want to see it again, this time with my misses. He said there were more people interested (though non of them were local, whereas we were 10 minutes down the road) but we struggled to find suitable time with me doing 12 hours and my other half working in London and both of us doing weekends.
Dealer then offered to open after closing hours on a saterday. Went round with the misses and looked at the car, he gave us the keys and asked if we wanted to go for a spin, which we did. I was a bit suprised he didn't want any details, he didn't have my name, phone number, adress anything, he'd not even checked if i had a licence and/or insurance, but he had seen me in my uniform with a marked ambulance car the first time, so i guess that was enough for him.
Took the car for a spin, liked it, put a deposit down, and picked it up a few days later after a couple little bits were sorted.
The whole process/transaction couldn't have gone any smoother, so no complains with my first experience of buying a car of a dealer.
My experience in buying new has been quite the opposite, with just one notable exception where I know the dealer principal. This locks me into a narrow range of brands. Each time I have explored a different marque of car it has been so awful I simply gave up in despair.
yellowjack said:
I had a positive experience too, buying my Mondeo from Ford in Farnborough. I got on quite well with the salesman, no problems getting out in the car, and was well aware that there was quite a bit of interest in this particular car (genuine, not sales patter). No real attempt to steer me toward finance, etc, just straight down to did I want it, or not. Well, I did. But not some of the bits it came with. So I went along the row of similar Mondeos, and picked and chose what I wanted from each of them. Mats from that one, please (mine had none). And the new/unused spacesaver spare wheel from that one. And the boot carpet from that one. I had wanted a proper sized spare, but found that it robbed too much space from the boot, and I hate the idea of those repair system/compressor combos. The spacesaver spare needs a different sized boot carpet than the full size spare. Salesman was happy to oblige with all these 'swaps' and the only thing that soured the deal at all was getting a pretty poor price for my trade-in, although if I hadn't been so lazy I could have sold that on myself. I was offered all the usual paint and upholstery protection products, etc, but no real 'hard sell' and I simply signed a form stating that they'd been explained and I'd declined them. I left a deposit, then when it came to collection day, I got a call to say that they were "short staffed, and running behind". I offered to re-arrange the appointment, so that they could deal with a more time-pressed couple, and to my surprise the 80 litre tank was brimmed full when I drove away, as a 'thank you' and a bit of a Brucie Bonus.
They were good at service time too. While it was in I got a call saying they'd "forgotten to mention that it was brake fluid change time" according to the service book. The oversight had been noticed by the workshop technician. I simply expressed my (polite) disappointment, and asked for some help on the price, and got the fluid changed at half price as part of the annual service. I find the main dealer servicing is hugely overpriced for what amounts to a few filters, fresh oil and a few visual checks, but while it's in warranty I'll get it done there for the peace of mind. They also provide breakdown recovery as part of the service price, among other things, so it works out OK for me for the time being at least.
For all the negative experiences I've read and heard, about car dealerships, I'd certainly buy again from Ford in Farnborough if they had the right car for me at changeover time.
+1 I had a great experience buying (my first car) new from Ford Farnborough. Excellent service overall, though I didn't ask for a test drive, just bought it there and then. Called the previous week, had an appointment booked and agreed the details then. It was a great deal I thought (almost 30% off the price of the new car, it was a Ford Ka to be fair).They were good at service time too. While it was in I got a call saying they'd "forgotten to mention that it was brake fluid change time" according to the service book. The oversight had been noticed by the workshop technician. I simply expressed my (polite) disappointment, and asked for some help on the price, and got the fluid changed at half price as part of the annual service. I find the main dealer servicing is hugely overpriced for what amounts to a few filters, fresh oil and a few visual checks, but while it's in warranty I'll get it done there for the peace of mind. They also provide breakdown recovery as part of the service price, among other things, so it works out OK for me for the time being at least.
For all the negative experiences I've read and heard, about car dealerships, I'd certainly buy again from Ford in Farnborough if they had the right car for me at changeover time.
For balance, I'll also add I had good experiences with Cooper Tunbridge Wells BMW, Stratstone Doncaster BMW, Marshall Honda Peterborough and BMW Sycamore Peterborough.
P-Jay said:
Are WBAC a real viable option then? In fairness I've only really ever asked them for prices for stboxes worth £2k on the best of days to save the hassle but found their valuation laughable - typically I've sold them for about twice what WBAC offer.
Do they want to make £1k per car, hence why they've offered me half for my £2k or are they the preserve of the terminally stupid / lazy who don't care they're giving up half the value of their old car as long as it's gone in time for the shiny new Leasemobile?
I have to admit I couldn't understand how they were gaining enough customers to cover the cost of all their adverts!
WBAC offered me £16300 online for my Evo. The model, year and mileage currently goes for £19-20k on Autotrader so I see that as a fair price for trading in (I seriously can't be arsed with Evo test pilots...been there done that, before anyone asks why not sell it privately). Merc wouldn't offer more than £15k and that wasn't guaranteed to be held until the car arrived. VW and Alfa agreed to match WBAC. My bank is offering a 2.9% flat rate, VW offered over 6%! Merc were better at just over 3%. Haven't got quoted from Alfa yet as they haven't had third quarter offers through but are talking 0-2%. So, in the end, I can have a crap trade in but competitive finance from Merc. Competitive trade in but crap finance from VW, or a much better deal all round from Alfa. Which do you think I'm most interested in.....yet, I'd have signed on the line for the Merc or VW if they'd remotely been flexible in their deals. As it is, I've written both off and won't go back. Alfa or wait for the Honda Type R it is. And I won't bother going back to Merc or VW when the wife's car needs replaced next year for that matter as I know how they play the game and I don't like their rules.tboxes worth £2k on the best of days to save the hassle but found their valuation laughable - typically I've sold them for about twice what WBAC offer. Do they want to make £1k per car, hence why they've offered me half for my £2k or are they the preserve of the terminally stupid / lazy who don't care they're giving up half the value of their old car as long as it's gone in time for the shiny new Leasemobile?
I have to admit I couldn't understand how they were gaining enough customers to cover the cost of all their adverts!
Edited by Ali_T on Tuesday 1st July 11:50
There's good and bad dealers. The guy I bought my car from had the car fully prepped before I got there, all the documents ready, a printed HPI report. Quite a brief description in the advert but importantly no bullst and lies.
He let me test drive, after that we agreed on price, I paid deposit and then picked up the day after with the rest of the money.
Bad one - Wouldn't let me test drive without agreeing to buy and paying non-refundable deposit. I asked why, he said the car had just been cleaned and because it had rained he didn't want it to get dirty on the road. I said I can't commit to buying a car without checking that it drives OK. He shrugged and said come back another time
t and lies.He let me test drive, after that we agreed on price, I paid deposit and then picked up the day after with the rest of the money.
Bad one - Wouldn't let me test drive without agreeing to buy and paying non-refundable deposit. I asked why, he said the car had just been cleaned and because it had rained he didn't want it to get dirty on the road. I said I can't commit to buying a car without checking that it drives OK. He shrugged and said come back another time
Some years ago my OH was in the market for a little 2-seat runaround. While enjoying a ride out on the bike, we were near a main Mercedes dealer, so decided to stop to have a look at what SLK's they had in stock. I know a couple of leather clad bikers aren't everyone's cup of tea, but we couldn't have had a worse reception by the salesman if we had covered ourselves in dog crap.
A few months later we passed the same dealership whilst out in the Lambo, so decided to stop by. To say our reception on this occasion was the polar opposite of our previous experience would be an understatement. After wasting enough of his time, and finishing off the free coffee, I pointed out that he obviously didn't remember us from our first visit or the shocking way he had treated us, and that whilst we had been serious buyers and not a couple of tyre kickers, he had completely blown his chance of securing our custom by judging us before we had walked through the door. And I think the ELise that we had purchased was probably more fun anyway. Oh how I wish I had a camera to record the look on his face for prosperity.
A few months later we passed the same dealership whilst out in the Lambo, so decided to stop by. To say our reception on this occasion was the polar opposite of our previous experience would be an understatement. After wasting enough of his time, and finishing off the free coffee, I pointed out that he obviously didn't remember us from our first visit or the shocking way he had treated us, and that whilst we had been serious buyers and not a couple of tyre kickers, he had completely blown his chance of securing our custom by judging us before we had walked through the door. And I think the ELise that we had purchased was probably more fun anyway. Oh how I wish I had a camera to record the look on his face for prosperity.
I've never understood the "you have to pay a deposit to drive it" nonsense. Sorry, I don't like ANY car that much, I'll just walk away. The only time I did was for a Monaro VXR that was being moved from Aberdeen to Edinburgh and I wanted first dibs on it before someone else came along. I even phoned the dealer in Aberdeen about its condition. "Oh sir, I wouldn't let any car that isn't pristine and as new into my showroom floor and it's sitting pride of place". I should have phoned back and subtly suggested he head for Specsavers as it was an absolute dog. After 18 months and 20,000 miles, the lacquer was peeling off both bumpers, the wing was covered in deep scratches, bird st etching was all over the bonnet and roof, it had no paint left on the driver's door handle and the rear end must have had a shunt because the boot lid shutline was over an inch on one side and rubbing against the 3/4 panel paint on the other! And it clunked and grumbled from the rear suspension and axle. Once I'd pointed all this out to them, they quietly gave me back the deposit.
t etching was all over the bonnet and roof, it had no paint left on the driver's door handle and the rear end must have had a shunt because the boot lid shutline was over an inch on one side and rubbing against the 3/4 panel paint on the other! And it clunked and grumbled from the rear suspension and axle. Once I'd pointed all this out to them, they quietly gave me back the deposit. 
even though I started this thread I have a view on why some sales'people' with the stereotypical shiny suit, loafers, fake blingly watch brigade seem to hold customers in contempt.
I was co-owner of a small classic car business for a couple of years, we typically held between 20-35 cars in stock at any time and it was down to me and my business partner to source, buy, fix and sell our stock. Obviously for the highest possible margin we could muster.
This is the key here though - we had to buy the stock - from anywhere we could find - free ads, ebay, auction etc so we got our fingers burnt and time wasted many times going to see cars that were nowhere near as described. But this also gave us the view of the buyer, so we made sure that when we resold any car we made the experience the best we could. We didn't have flashy premises or state of the art coffee machines, but we did make sure the car was advertised truthfully, was ready for the visitor when they arranged to see it (quick wash, hoover if needed) and we had a sensible negotiation to agree a price everyone was happy with. We might even make a cup of tea! Yes we made a profit, sometimes great, sometimes little, we even lost on a few, but as long as we were up overall that is what allowed the business to keep going. If a buyer had a problem, we took the car back and fixed it or worked with them to use a local mechanic - its not rocket science and we got quite a few regular customers and built a decent reputation.
This is my long winded way of saying that these people should treat any customer as they expect to be treated - sadly this simple rule is missed by many. or perhaps we just annoy them by disturbing their game of candy crush.
I wish I was in the position to be able to have another car sales business, yes its hard but its also fun and surprisingly sociable if you get it right
I was co-owner of a small classic car business for a couple of years, we typically held between 20-35 cars in stock at any time and it was down to me and my business partner to source, buy, fix and sell our stock. Obviously for the highest possible margin we could muster.
This is the key here though - we had to buy the stock - from anywhere we could find - free ads, ebay, auction etc so we got our fingers burnt and time wasted many times going to see cars that were nowhere near as described. But this also gave us the view of the buyer, so we made sure that when we resold any car we made the experience the best we could. We didn't have flashy premises or state of the art coffee machines, but we did make sure the car was advertised truthfully, was ready for the visitor when they arranged to see it (quick wash, hoover if needed) and we had a sensible negotiation to agree a price everyone was happy with. We might even make a cup of tea! Yes we made a profit, sometimes great, sometimes little, we even lost on a few, but as long as we were up overall that is what allowed the business to keep going. If a buyer had a problem, we took the car back and fixed it or worked with them to use a local mechanic - its not rocket science and we got quite a few regular customers and built a decent reputation.
This is my long winded way of saying that these people should treat any customer as they expect to be treated - sadly this simple rule is missed by many. or perhaps we just annoy them by disturbing their game of candy crush.
I wish I was in the position to be able to have another car sales business, yes its hard but its also fun and surprisingly sociable if you get it right
I've had mostly good experiences when going to view cars at dealers/traders. There is usually no problem having a good look all around the car then taking it for a test drive, when buying I've been offered finance said no and that was that. Some of them have been remarkably relaxed about test drives even allowing me to go out unaccompanied which always surprises me. I do sound a bit posh which might help but the salespeople have never been anything but helpful to me.
The one thing I have discovered is that trading in cars is not worthwhile, the quotes I have been offered have been laughable (~50% of what I then sold for privately). They take no account of condition, service history etc and just pick a number out the book which is useless if you have slightly specialist cars in well looked after condition.
The only bad experiences I have had were going to look at cars for/with female friends. One chap was an absolute knobber, acted like an arrogant arse, tried to convince us that Fiestas didn't need cambelts, wouldn't let me drive the car at all and only allowed her to go at 20mph for a 200yd loop, I don't know how he sold any cars at all as I wouldn't have bought a car from him if it was the deal of the century. Another misunderstood which car we wanted to look at and it was gone when we arrived.
The one thing I have discovered is that trading in cars is not worthwhile, the quotes I have been offered have been laughable (~50% of what I then sold for privately). They take no account of condition, service history etc and just pick a number out the book which is useless if you have slightly specialist cars in well looked after condition.
The only bad experiences I have had were going to look at cars for/with female friends. One chap was an absolute knobber, acted like an arrogant arse, tried to convince us that Fiestas didn't need cambelts, wouldn't let me drive the car at all and only allowed her to go at 20mph for a 200yd loop, I don't know how he sold any cars at all as I wouldn't have bought a car from him if it was the deal of the century. Another misunderstood which car we wanted to look at and it was gone when we arrived.
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