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.
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...
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!
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