do I have unrealistic expectations of car dealers?

[Pierscoe1]

So I'm looking for my next car (350z or Z4 coupe)... and have had a contact with a variety of dealers, BMW Nissan & independent.. And with the exception of the BMW dealer every experience has been terrible.

BMW approved used seem to be £2k+ overpriced too (compared to Parkers/WhatCar/Average prices on auto trader & pH classifieds)

The others... Everything from the dealer asking ME:
"So is this the 370? How much power does it have"
To a car with a completely flat battery on an approved-used Nissan forecourt, to a place that says "we take pride in our cars and only pick the best" but one of the cars on the forecourt stinks of fags, and the one i'm interested in has an expired MOT (a month ago), and is overdue a service!

Admittedly I've only ever bought cars privately before... But this whole experience is just really off putting!

Is good service & well prepared cars too much to expect from dealers!?

/rant over

....and breathe.

[McWigglebum4th]

Pierscoe1 said:

So I'm looking for my next car (350z or Z4 coupe)... and have had a contact with a variety of dealers, BMW Nissan & independent.. And with the exception of the BMW dealer every experience has been terrible.

BMW approved used seem to be £2k+ overpriced too (compared to Parkers/WhatCar/Average prices on auto trader & pH classifieds)

The others... Everything from the dealer asking ME:
"So is this the 370? How much power does it have"
To a car with a completely flat battery on an approved-used Nissan forecourt, to a place that says "we take pride in our cars and only pick the best" but one of the cars on the forecourt stinks of fags, and the one i'm interested in has an expired MOT (a month ago), and is overdue a service!

Admittedly I've only ever bought cars privately before... But this whole experience is just really off putting!


/rant over

....and breathe.

Pretty much what i would expect

[Sealine South]

Is this going to turn into a salesman battering session?

I sell boats for a living and all it's ARE well maintained, problems sorted or divulged to buyer (a survey will find the faults anyway).

Not all salesmen are tossers.

I guess there are LOADS of professions out there with idiots in them.

[Sensibleboy]

and then you take the car home after the thorough pre delivery check up and all the tyres are 10psi below the recommended pressure.

[Pierscoe1]

Sealine South said:

Is this going to turn into a salesman battering session?

not intentionally.
as I say, I've been into two BMW official dealers too, and they were both knowledgable, helpful, accomodating, and the cars were nicely prepped... (most of that comes for free, so I don't think the "that's why they're overpriced" argument is fair)
I have just been shocked by how bad all the other places I've been to have been.

honestly wondering if this is commonplace...

I was (maybe mistakenly) under the impression that the premium you pay for buying through a dealer (these aren't tiny one-man-bands, they're generally big places that have lots of quite expensive cars for sale) ought to give you something...

[Dave_]

Pierscoe1 said:

and the one i'm interested in has an expired MOT (a month ago), and is overdue a service!

Why would they MOT and service a car to sit on the forecourt?

In my experience dealerships do the absolute minimum to prep a car for sale ie a quick wash until its actually sold.

[paranha]

That's Why you would buy from one of those BMW Dealers------They WILL still be there tomorrow IF you have a problem-

[Captainawesome]

Went to look at a car with a mate this week. Car had not a drop of coolant in it, one dipped headlight that only worked when the indicator was on and brake fluid that was dangerously low. He was unaware of any of this and didn't seem to know if the car had a turbo or not. He said that they only checked and MOT'd their cars after they were sold?!?!?!?

[Pierscoe1]

Dave_ said:

Why would they MOT and service a car to sit on the forecourt?

...so that the car is presented in it's best condition and potential buyers get the impression it has actually been cared for and looked after properly?

I see why they don't... as you say they do the bare minimum, but to me, I'd be much more enthusiastic if I went to see a car and it was all
"yep, that's done. fully serviced, plenty of MOT, been fully valeted"
rather than
"well if you like the car we'll sort out this this and this at a later date"

[Pierscoe1]

Captainawesome said:

Went to look at a car with a mate this week. Car had not a drop of coolant in it, one dipped headlight that only worked when the indicator was on and brake fluid that was dangerously low. He was unaware of any of this and didn't seem to know if the car had a turbo or not. He said that they only checked and MOT'd their cars after they were sold?!?!?!?

exactly!! it's just nuts isn't it!?!?

[andymc]

Pierscoe1 said:

Dave_ said:

Why would they MOT and service a car to sit on the forecourt?

...so that the car is presented in it's best condition and potential buyers get the impression it has actually been cared for and looked after properly?

I see why they don't... as you say they do the bare minimum, but to me, I'd be much more enthusiastic if I went to see a car and it was all
"yep, that's done. fully serviced, plenty of MOT, been fully valeted"
rather than
"well if you like the car we'll sort out this this and this at a later date"

use your brain mate, why would you MOT and service a car to perfection and then potentially have to send it to auction when it doesn't sell, its not rocket science

[andymc]

BMW AUC, of course its going to be more expensive, its 12 month warranty and has different check on the cars to "Fred in his shed", last time I checked their business model was working well although if you can improve it then ring them

[Dave_]

andymc said:

use your brain mate, why would you MOT and service a car to perfection and then potentially have to send it to auction when it doesn't sell, its not rocket science

Or to sit on the forecourt for 3 months doing zero miles to then be MOT'd again because a buyer (quite rightly) expects 12 months MOT

[Pierscoe1]

andymc said:

use your brain mate

thanks.

...so you'd be impressed to go see a car at an approved-used place to find it with a flat battery, overdue service, and no MOT?

each to their own.


edited to ad:
checks profile. now I see.

I wasn't saying all salesmen are useless, just that I had had a lot of unexpectedly bad experiences.
Never mind.

Edited by Pierscoe1 on Saturday 25th January 18:00

[andymc]

Dave_ said:

andymc said:

use your brain mate, why would you MOT and service a car to perfection and then potentially have to send it to auction when it doesn't sell, its not rocket science

Or to sit on the forecourt for 3 months doing zero miles to then be MOT'd again because a buyer (quite rightly) expects 12 months MOT

exactly and by the way what car is not worth the paper it's printed on

[mascord05]

Parker's etc are trade manuals, so you'll pay a bit over that for a retail car. My advice is bMW dealers are selling a lot of cars at the moment, the market place is booming, however been the time of year there are some great deals to be had. I'd find one you like, make sure the history is good, buy one from a franchise dealer though, on a specialised product such as that the warranty is piece of mind. Hope you get well looked after. Enjoy your car!!!

[anonymous-user]

Pierscoe1 said:

BMW approved used seem to be £2k+ overpriced too (compared to Parkers/WhatCar/Average prices on auto trader & pH classifieds)

You're kidding! What a liberty. A franchised dealer asking more for an approved used car than one sold on PH or through Joe Blow Motors. Whatever next! Just because he has all those certified technicians to inspect the car and put it in a condition the manufacturer approves of before putting the manufacturers approved used car warranty on it he thinks he can charge more for it. Robbing bd!

If I were you I would go straight back to Parkers or What Car or Bellend Monthly or wherever else you like to go, pick out the exact car you want to buy and send them a cheque pronto. Just because they're price guides and don't own any cars doesn't mean that they won't have exactly what you're looking for. They'll inspect it and put the manufacturers warranty on it for you too I'm sure. No doubt they'll also offer you way more for your trade so feel free to click the "print cheque" button while you're there and they'll mail you a Gregory by return of post.

[Captainawesome]

andymc said:

Dave_ said:

andymc said:

use your brain mate, why would you MOT and service a car to perfection and then potentially have to send it to auction when it doesn't sell, its not rocket science

Or to sit on the forecourt for 3 months doing zero miles to then be MOT'd again because a buyer (quite rightly) expects 12 months MOT

exactly and by the way what car is not worth the paper it's printed on

Fair enough about the MOT but surely it's right to expect a car to at least have been given a basic check over (fluids, tire pressures, etc) so that it is worthy of test drive.

[andymc]

and do these mythical multi nationals still stock Unicorn tears?

[Pierscoe1]

unrepentant said:

You're kidding! What a liberty. A franchised dealer asking more for an approved used car than one sold on PH

checks warrant £2k !?!? wow.