Mail order Mercedes?
Discussion
I'm hunting for a Mercedes and found one that looked just right - but the dealer is on the other side of the country. I rang them up and asked if it was possible to shuffle it around the dealer network a bit for me. The salesman implied it wasn't, but then said that if we worked out the numbers and I paid a deposit, he would personally drive the car to me and I'd pay the balance. I'm not sure if he then planned to go back on the train, or drive it back to the dealership for the paperwork and then I'd have to go and get it...
Anyway, when I said that I'd quite like to see/test drive the car BEFORE throwing £20K+ at it, he seemed surprised and said 70% of his customers bought the cars straight off the internet, and that the deposit wasn't refundable unless the product was misdescribed. Just like eBay!
How normal is this practice, and do distance selling regs apply? I agree that the car will match the photos and a main dealer is unlikely to 'misdescribe' anything, but what if I decide not to go ahead if, for example, the seats are too hard or the ride too firm? It seems bizarre to send £20K+ into the ether for a car I haven't seen or driven.
Anyway, when I said that I'd quite like to see/test drive the car BEFORE throwing £20K+ at it, he seemed surprised and said 70% of his customers bought the cars straight off the internet, and that the deposit wasn't refundable unless the product was misdescribed. Just like eBay!
How normal is this practice, and do distance selling regs apply? I agree that the car will match the photos and a main dealer is unlikely to 'misdescribe' anything, but what if I decide not to go ahead if, for example, the seats are too hard or the ride too firm? It seems bizarre to send £20K+ into the ether for a car I haven't seen or driven.
What you describe is not that different to buying new.
In this scenario you look at some pretty pictures in a brochure, listen to the patter from a salesman, and usually, but not always, take for a test drive to make sure the make, model, engine are right for you.
The car you recieve is not the one you have driven, but it should be very similar to the one tested.
Have you driven a car of similar spec to the one you are interested in to make sure it's the right model for you.
Other than this you are relying on the car being without fault and looking for some level of warranty to provide assurance against your purchase - so again, just like buying a new car!
Just one persepctive.
Regards, Neil
In this scenario you look at some pretty pictures in a brochure, listen to the patter from a salesman, and usually, but not always, take for a test drive to make sure the make, model, engine are right for you.
The car you recieve is not the one you have driven, but it should be very similar to the one tested.
Have you driven a car of similar spec to the one you are interested in to make sure it's the right model for you.
Other than this you are relying on the car being without fault and looking for some level of warranty to provide assurance against your purchase - so again, just like buying a new car!
Just one persepctive.
Regards, Neil
Thanks Neil, it's an interesting thought. I've never bought from a main dealer before, much preferring to buy privately. But very few decent cars seem to be private these days. Everybody must be getting lazy!
The only way I can drive a similar car is to badger a dealer closer to home, and pretend I'm interested, and then walk away with a false excuse. So yesterday I drove an E-Class cabrio that was the wrong colour with a too-small engine, and today I had a go in a CLS 320 that was too old - sorry for wasting your time chaps.
The jury's still out but the E-Class cabrio is nosing ahead.
So, do I take a flyer and post £22K to Bristol, or take a four hour drive...
The only way I can drive a similar car is to badger a dealer closer to home, and pretend I'm interested, and then walk away with a false excuse. So yesterday I drove an E-Class cabrio that was the wrong colour with a too-small engine, and today I had a go in a CLS 320 that was too old - sorry for wasting your time chaps.
The jury's still out but the E-Class cabrio is nosing ahead.
So, do I take a flyer and post £22K to Bristol, or take a four hour drive...
Personally I wouldn't spend what I imagine is a sizeable amount of money without seeing the car.
I don't want to get into a "dealers are crap" debate but I'm fussy and it staggers me what passes for normal, acceptable, "immaculate" condition on a 2-3 year old marque approved used scheme vehicle at a main dealer.
I don't want to get into a "dealers are crap" debate but I'm fussy and it staggers me what passes for normal, acceptable, "immaculate" condition on a 2-3 year old marque approved used scheme vehicle at a main dealer.
sounds to me like you are the sort of person that needs to see the car to make the purchase
have a trip down there and see it
or wait until one pops up closer to home
but the salesman is right - a lot of used cars are bought from main dealers without the buyer seeing the actual car until it is collected / delivered
have a trip down there and see it
or wait until one pops up closer to home
but the salesman is right - a lot of used cars are bought from main dealers without the buyer seeing the actual car until it is collected / delivered
I wouldn't buy a secondhand (or pre-loved, cherished or whatever other nonsense they might call it) without seeing it first, even if it was only a few months old. Everybody has different standards / expectations and one person's 'mint' is another's 'average'. It might be different if you knew the dealer and knew their prep. standards.
I can understand dealers not shuffling cars around at the drop of a hat as it's expensive and time. consuming for them, and would often not result in a sale. I also suspect they are in competition with each other for 'units sold'.
I agree that fewer decent cars seem to be advertised privately, but of course a lot of new cars are leased nowadays, rather than actually owned, hence they just go back into the trade. From seller's point of view, a lot of people can't be bothered with all the timewasters you seem to get now that everything is on the internet and you end up with emails asking hundreds of questions, photo requests, from somebody who isn't really seriously interested, so they just trade it in. I traded my last one in, for the first time in decades of buying cars, as I was offered a reasonable price and couldn't be bothered with tyre kickers or people demanding to know 'what's your best price' etc.
It's a pain, but all you can realistically do is as much research as you can on the car in question and travel if need be. I didn't look at an otherwise perfectly specced car once simply because I noticed that the 2 new tyres were some cheap make I'd never heard of and, on a £30k+ car, that was enough to put me off.
I can understand dealers not shuffling cars around at the drop of a hat as it's expensive and time. consuming for them, and would often not result in a sale. I also suspect they are in competition with each other for 'units sold'.
I agree that fewer decent cars seem to be advertised privately, but of course a lot of new cars are leased nowadays, rather than actually owned, hence they just go back into the trade. From seller's point of view, a lot of people can't be bothered with all the timewasters you seem to get now that everything is on the internet and you end up with emails asking hundreds of questions, photo requests, from somebody who isn't really seriously interested, so they just trade it in. I traded my last one in, for the first time in decades of buying cars, as I was offered a reasonable price and couldn't be bothered with tyre kickers or people demanding to know 'what's your best price' etc.
It's a pain, but all you can realistically do is as much research as you can on the car in question and travel if need be. I didn't look at an otherwise perfectly specced car once simply because I noticed that the 2 new tyres were some cheap make I'd never heard of and, on a £30k+ car, that was enough to put me off.
NJS25 said:
What you describe is not that different to buying new.
In this scenario you look at some pretty pictures in a brochure, listen to the patter from a salesman, and usually, but not always, take for a test drive to make sure the make, model, engine are right for you.
The car you recieve is not the one you have driven, but it should be very similar to the one tested.
I know someone very wealthy who won't buy new cars because of this - he wants to drive the actual car he'll be buying.In this scenario you look at some pretty pictures in a brochure, listen to the patter from a salesman, and usually, but not always, take for a test drive to make sure the make, model, engine are right for you.
The car you recieve is not the one you have driven, but it should be very similar to the one tested.
Salespeople seem to think that test driving is just for checking the car doesn't have any faults. Quite how you're supposed to know if the car is right for you, especially once it gets to a few years old and you can't blag a test drive at a main dealer, I have no idea.
Distance selling regs are a bit vague here - they didn't used to apply for ad-hoc sales, but I think there's wider coverage now.
Sheepshanks said:
Distance selling regs are a bit vague here - they didn't used to apply for ad-hoc sales, but I think there's wider coverage now.
I asked the salesmen if DSRs applied; he didn't answer that one. He seemed fairly desperate to sell but didn't close the uncertainty gap - and the last thing I want is a car I'm not happy with.Anyway, the car sold the next day so the dilemma for now has gone. Hopefully the next one will be a bit closer!
I know when I got mine from MB Direct in Brum they were very pushy to get me to agree to buy it on the 'phone and they'd deliver it. When I went to collect they hadn't repaired stone-chips which they said they would, so they did it there and then.
Normally we buy new, the Merc is the only used car I've had for many years, but even collecting new ones it's rarely just get in and go, there's almost always some issue or other.
Normally we buy new, the Merc is the only used car I've had for many years, but even collecting new ones it's rarely just get in and go, there's almost always some issue or other.
I bought mine unseen from MB Direct in Brum too. It was a £500 deposit, but I was assured this was subject to a test drive and if I didn't like it (or car wasn't as described) I could walk away with my deposit. I didn't test that offer as I went ahead with the deal, even though there were a couple of imperfections it was still a good enough deal to suck it up. They also offered a 28-day exchange I think, in case I wasn't happy with it.
Gassing Station | Mercedes | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff