Car Giant to close
Discussion
Came across news that they are due to close at the end of the month
Not familiar with them but their location in White City rang a bell and after some thought, remembered buying a car from them in the late 90's/early 2000's when they were called Great Trade Centre.
The site was huge and a day out in itself - think I was charged a buyers fee which I hadn't come across before - the car I traded in had a potential head gasket issue but the only check they did was a quick start to see if the car ran.
I think they were very popular back then and probably feature in a lot of PH'ers car buying journeys.
Not familiar with them but their location in White City rang a bell and after some thought, remembered buying a car from them in the late 90's/early 2000's when they were called Great Trade Centre.
The site was huge and a day out in itself - think I was charged a buyers fee which I hadn't come across before - the car I traded in had a potential head gasket issue but the only check they did was a quick start to see if the car ran.
I think they were very popular back then and probably feature in a lot of PH'ers car buying journeys.
"Owner Geoffrey Warren has been weighing up his options for the site after the land was valued at nearly £100m."
I bet he has. The site has always been a bombsite in a really s
tty neighbourhood. I wonder what he paid for it, must be a fraction of the value now.
But with the new HS2/Elizabeth Line station coming online soon, it's suddenly prime real estate for property development. Expect thousands upon thousands of flats.
I bought several cars there over the years, never had a problem and they were always keenly priced. Sorry to see it go.
I bet he has. The site has always been a bombsite in a really s
tty neighbourhood. I wonder what he paid for it, must be a fraction of the value now.But with the new HS2/Elizabeth Line station coming online soon, it's suddenly prime real estate for property development. Expect thousands upon thousands of flats.
I bought several cars there over the years, never had a problem and they were always keenly priced. Sorry to see it go.
Shame, but I imagine it doesn't have the right image these days, not enough glass and lattes.
Oh wow, my dad used to take me there as a kid. It was a great day out. Cars everywhere across various different buildings and levels
I remember they had a load of Mazda Xedos 6s once, presumably a fleet lease ended. Weirdly, every single one had some mould on the drivers seatbelt.
Laterly I nearly bought a yellow Sierra there one day for £99
Oh wow, my dad used to take me there as a kid. It was a great day out. Cars everywhere across various different buildings and levels
I remember they had a load of Mazda Xedos 6s once, presumably a fleet lease ended. Weirdly, every single one had some mould on the drivers seatbelt.
Laterly I nearly bought a yellow Sierra there one day for £99
More of these big players will leave the market - it’s by design and as intended by the govt. The CRA that allows customers to reject cars within 30 days upto 6 months, was the death knell for the secondhand car market.
It is too easy for folk to buy cars, change their mind and give the thing back leaving dealers and their sales staff facing losses as a result.
When they’re gone they’re gone, leaving the market to private sellers, auctions and “approved used”.
It is too easy for folk to buy cars, change their mind and give the thing back leaving dealers and their sales staff facing losses as a result.
When they’re gone they’re gone, leaving the market to private sellers, auctions and “approved used”.
Hereward said:
They had a car I wanted so I booked a test drive slot on their website.
Turned up the next day - "Oh sorry, we have literally just sold the car".
The fact that they had literally just sold the car is probably why they didn't call you and tell you it had been sold.Turned up the next day - "Oh sorry, we have literally just sold the car".
Or had you reserved it and paid a deposit prior to test drive and they went back on the deal?
What a shame. Car Giant is/was my favourite place to buy cars for the family. After Covid their stock shrank from 5,000 vehicles to 1,500. A combination of lower supply and higher prices put paid to stock. And I can understand why the land, even though it's a wasteland is worth so much.
Some people don't get Car Giant. In it's original iteration as The Great Trade Centre, you had cars with zero prep. If the alloys had huge gouges they were left and you got a really good idea of how a car really was treated and not covered up compared to all the prep with used cars. When they changed to Car Giant they started doing limited smart repairs. With 5,000 cars it was a good place to waste a day and they had cafes on site.
As the GTC cars were 20% cheaper than dealers and still 10-15% cheaper as Car Giant. I used to go prepared with a redundant spare car key which you exchange for the keys for the car you want to look at and a torch to inspect the cars.
One time I was looking for a Nissan Note for my Mum and they were around 10k at most dealers. At Car Giant I found the Holy Grail, an 8,000 mile ex-Motability Note, that looked like it has been polished every week, garaged, no car park dings, not even a single stone chip for £8k. And because I had bought a car from them in the preceding 12 months, the £99 admin fee was waived.
Some people don't get Car Giant. In it's original iteration as The Great Trade Centre, you had cars with zero prep. If the alloys had huge gouges they were left and you got a really good idea of how a car really was treated and not covered up compared to all the prep with used cars. When they changed to Car Giant they started doing limited smart repairs. With 5,000 cars it was a good place to waste a day and they had cafes on site.
As the GTC cars were 20% cheaper than dealers and still 10-15% cheaper as Car Giant. I used to go prepared with a redundant spare car key which you exchange for the keys for the car you want to look at and a torch to inspect the cars.
One time I was looking for a Nissan Note for my Mum and they were around 10k at most dealers. At Car Giant I found the Holy Grail, an 8,000 mile ex-Motability Note, that looked like it has been polished every week, garaged, no car park dings, not even a single stone chip for £8k. And because I had bought a car from them in the preceding 12 months, the £99 admin fee was waived.
souper said:
I bought from there and as said the only hard sell was warranty.
Car Giant, was the old Rolls Royce Factory. Shame it's closing, I was surprised as I thought it was a popular place to buy from, but the land it's on is worth a fortune.
Theoretically there were no discounts on the sticker price. And to be fair they did reduce prices if a car stayed longer than normal and also moved them to "Managers Specials" after that.Car Giant, was the old Rolls Royce Factory. Shame it's closing, I was surprised as I thought it was a popular place to buy from, but the land it's on is worth a fortune.
I always used to get discounts by playing hardball and 30 minutes of my time. I'd ask for a discount and get knocked back, but eventually they would offer £400 discount if I took out GAP and the £799 three year Platinum AA warranty. So I did, but as a regulated product I would cancel them within the 14 day cooling off period and get a cheque back. £400 for 30 mins work. Not bad.
I used to decline their Supaguard snake oil product.
Took my mother-in-law there to help find a car, she had no idea what she wanted but it had to be 4WD and she wanted a pretty car. After an hour of looking around she was getting frustrated until we stumbled across a Hyundai ix35 in a metallic pale purple-blue colour. She smiled and we bought it for her.
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