Dealers..... Grrrrr....

[Piersman2]

I'm sat here fuming on behalf of one of my team from work.

Her old Honda Accord has finally expired.

Her and her hubby have been in to buy a BMW 520D at their BMW local dealer. She's been telling me about the deal this morning.

List price £11000+

Plus:
Admin charge £50
Paint protection £500
GAP insyarance £500
Dent insurance £500
Tyre insurance £500

But they'll do a deal and lump all the 'extras' in for £1250. On top of the price.

I'm fecking fuming on her behalf. And she's already left a £1000 deposit.

I've told her to tell them to stick any extras, but seeing as she's already agreed the car price she'll have to pay that.

Apparently, they wouldn't negotiate on the car price because they'd already reduced it from £14000.

Really, really pisses me off that dealers would take advantage of anyone like this, just goes to show that it's the nice people get ripped off, she just thought all this was "normal".

I've shown her the online GAP insurance is £90 if she wants it.

[trickywoo]

Fools and their money.

Unless the 'extras' were somehow hidden I can't see how its the dealers fault.

[POORCARDEALER]

She should have gone to a decent independent.

Amazes me how big glass showrooms seduce customers.

[ajh38]

Don't agree with the dent and tyre protection so much but if an individual is willing to sign up for this then what is the problem? Also if they have dropped the car by £3000 then that's fair enough too.

I don't think the dealer came round to her house with a gun and forced her to sign.

Now those PPI people that phone me 5 times a day they're a real menace....

[Pixelpeep]

yeh we used to automatically add GAP and paint protection to all quotes - charging a staggering £450 for each but we would do a 'deal' and let you have the two for £700

the paint protection was superguard which is about £60 in materials and 2 hours labour for the valeters and i think you can get private GAP policies for under £100

as said.,... 'fools and their money!'

[em177]

As long as the dealer has sat them down, explained all the options and the prices of them. I don't see how its their fault!?

The reason the salesmen have to talk about them as it only takes one in every 10 id enough to pay for them for it to be more than worth their while.

[FranzKlampon]

Get a grip, surely she has a mind of her own? Don't be so condescending. Not everyone has the confidence or time to go scouring the classifieds, wading through piles of st, to find the odd gem? As long as she likes the car, it's reliable, and the staff friendly and knowledgeable, I'm sure she will enjoy her purchase experience.

If only it wasn't for the knob on the next desk who reckons she's got a st deal...

[Deluded]

As much as yes, they are ripping people off, you have to remember that they are a business and people like your colleage are the exact sort of people they want walking through the door.

If you walk into a main dealer and agree to everything, they will take you for a ride. Any sales person would be stupid not to... Your colleage should know better and do some research.

Why would you just buy stuff someone told you to without having any idea what it is or what its worth?

[Alucidnation]

I had dent and tyre insurance in with the deal and certainly didnt pay for it.

Even if i did, it would have been worth it as i have used them both.. regularly.

But then i would not pay dealer prices for it.

[Piersman2]

It annoys me as she's genuinely a nice lady that just doesn't know how it works, an innocent abroad if you like.

If anyone thinks the car really ever was up for sale at £1400 then you're being niaive too.

All the extras are just sharp selling pratices, it was the admin charge that particularly annoyed me. An admin charge? To sell you a car? From a car dealership? FFS!

[Piersman2]

FranzKlampon said:

Get a grip, surely she has a mind of her own? Don't be so condescending. Not everyone has the confidence or time to go scouring the classifieds, wading through piles of st, to find the odd gem? As long as she likes the car, it's reliable, and the staff friendly and knowledgeable, I'm sure she will enjoy her purchase experience.

If only it wasn't for the knob on the next desk who reckons she's got a st deal...

Ha ha, that thought did cross my mind as I was getting increasingly wound up on her behalf.

[Blib]

Shirley,

Dent insurance £500
Tyre insurance £500

are merely ruses designed solely to screw money out of the naive?

[Butter Face]

The admin charge is the only thing on that list that I would take offence to.

The rest is optional, if she doesn't want it, she can just say no. If she's happy with the deal she's got, what does it matter?

And if you think that sometimes cars aren't reduced from 14k to 11k then you're the naive one.

[Deluded]

Blib said:

Shirley,

Dent insurance £500
Tyre insurance £500

are merely ruses designed solely to screw money out of the naive?

How much do the tyres on this car actually cost?

I know its a newish BMW and they are expensive but surely a £500 premium is a bit excessive?

Tyres on my car are only £40 each for a decent brand It is a 99 Punto Sporting running 14s though

[FranzKlampon]

Piersman2 said:

FranzKlampon said:

Get a grip, surely she has a mind of her own? Don't be so condescending. Not everyone has the confidence or time to go scouring the classifieds, wading through piles of st, to find the odd gem? As long as she likes the car, it's reliable, and the staff friendly and knowledgeable, I'm sure she will enjoy her purchase experience.

If only it wasn't for the knob on the next desk who reckons she's got a st deal...

Ha ha, that thought did cross my mind as I was getting increasingly wound up on her behalf.

I'm glad you took that in the light hearted way it was mean't.

[djfaulkner]

Piersman2 said:

Tyre insurance £500

Was there a tread about this a while back???
Where you could only claim for once for each corner?? Or something like that.

[ajb85]

When I worked for dealerships we tried to implement an admin charge of £60 +vat, had it printed on an A4 piece of paper stuck on my desk. The general instruction from the bosses was to 'try your hand' with it, and if customers really grumble, say you'll speak to the manager and get it waived as a special privilege to you, Mr. Jones.

I could sell GAP insurance because I believed in it, but that was at £299. When we tried £499 the conviction in my sales delivery wore off somewhat.

[ajh38]

Piersman2 said:

It annoys me as she's genuinely a nice lady that just doesn't know how it works, an innocent abroad if you like.

If anyone thinks the car really ever was up for sale at £1400 then you're being niaive too.

All the extras are just sharp selling pratices, it was the admin charge that particularly annoyed me. An admin charge? To sell you a car? From a car dealership? FFS!

As a dealer I can tell you that we quite often have significant price reductions, I've seen one month in "the book" write £1000 off a Ford Focus so I'm more than sure that 5 or 6 months in stock could write that out of a BMW. Also many dealers are on a stocking plan so are keen to part with an old piece of stock at close to or even below cost in order to bring a new piece in.

[markmullen]

Also if a car is coming up to 90 days (or whatever plan the dealer works on) and might have to go to block a dealer will out it at or even below what it cost them, to cut their losses.

[EDLT]

Pixelpeep said:

yeh we used to automatically add GAP and paint protection to all quotes - charging a staggering £450 for each but we would do a 'deal' and let you have the two for £700

the paint protection was superguard which is about £60 in materials and 2 hours labour for the valeters and i think you can get private GAP policies for under £100

as said.,... 'fools and their money!'

The last time I worked in a garage the cost of Superguard was much less than that, I think it was <£10 for the materials.

Still charged about £50-60 though.