Ask a car salesman anything...anything at all (Vol. 2).

[andymc]

Camelot1971 said:

HTP99 said:

Butter Face said:

BrabusMog said:

What are finance approvals like at the moment, on new or used? Any change from pre Corona?

No difference here. 2 declined this month from 50+ applications.

Same here, doesn't seem to be any change.

Had one this morning over the phone, I think he was declined before I'd even hit the submit button, it was that fast, I ran it by our area guy (always do with declined deals, just to make sure there wasn't a mistake or an alternative way round), his words were "I can’t imagine it will come as a surprise to him".

Do you get to see the actual credit report or is that based of the information put on the form by the customer?

officially no

[Mikebentley]

BrabusMog said:

HTP99 said:

Butter Face said:

BrabusMog said:

What are finance approvals like at the moment, on new or used? Any change from pre Corona?

No difference here. 2 declined this month from 50+ applications.

Same here, doesn't seem to be any change.

Had one this morning over the phone, I think he was declined before I'd even hit the submit button, it was that fast, I ran it by our area guy (always do with declined deals, just to make sure there wasn't a mistake or an alternative way round), his words were "I can’t imagine it will come as a surprise to him".

I shouldn't laugh but that did make me do so

+1. When I’m ever checked I just sit there feeling smug. It’s good that these checks are conducted though to protect them from themselves.

[blue_haddock]

andymc said:

officially no

But if you speak to finance company they will tell you they wouldn't lend them a pen!

[Bemmer]

blue_haddock said:

But if you speak to finance company they will tell you they wouldn't lend them a pen!

CIL.....

[HTP99]

Camelot1971 said:

HTP99 said:

Butter Face said:

BrabusMog said:

What are finance approvals like at the moment, on new or used? Any change from pre Corona?

No difference here. 2 declined this month from 50+ applications.

Same here, doesn't seem to be any change.

Had one this morning over the phone, I think he was declined before I'd even hit the submit button, it was that fast, I ran it by our area guy (always do with declined deals, just to make sure there wasn't a mistake or an alternative way round), his words were "I can’t imagine it will come as a surprise to him".

Do you get to see the actual credit report or is that based of the information put on the form by the customer?

We submit required info; name, address, DOB, employment, income, bank details and the finance company do the rest.

We don't see the credit report and we aren't told why anyone is declined..... to a fashion!

[bobsavage789]

Question for used dealers:

Is it reasonable to ask for tyres and/or brake pads to be replaced before buying a car? The used G30 5 Series I’ve my eye on is approaching 30k miles, which is when the brake pads need replacing (according to BMW)...

[DanL]

bobsavage789 said:

Question for used dealers:

Is it reasonable to ask for tyres and/or brake pads to be replaced before buying a car? The used G30 5 Series I’ve my eye on is approaching 30k miles, which is when the brake pads need replacing (according to BMW)...

If it’s anything like by BMW the on board computer should tell you how much life the pads have left in them. iDrive main menu, then select vehicle status, then somewhere (I forget where, but it’s obvious!).

[Fast Bug]

bobsavage789 said:

Question for used dealers:

Is it reasonable to ask for tyres and/or brake pads to be replaced before buying a car? The used G30 5 Series I’ve my eye on is approaching 30k miles, which is when the brake pads need replacing (according to BMW)...

It depends if they need replacing or not really. 30k in one drivers hands maybe on its second set of pads, 30k in another drivers hands might only be half worn. Same for tyres really

[bobsavage789]

Ah yes, I forgot about the old condition-based servicing.

What if anything does need replacing imminently? Would I have any sort of bargaining position?

[HTP99]

bobsavage789 said:

Ah yes, I forgot about the old condition-based servicing.

What if anything does need replacing imminently? Would I have any sort of bargaining position?

Yes, you ask them to replace them as part of the deal.

[4941cc]

Josman92 said:

Question re ford main dealers used car sales... I've never had to try so hard to buy a car!
Multiple dealerships all with different cars have lied to me, called me a lier, blanked me, been vague and rude, the list goes on. This is at the point of enquiring through to buying (paid for but not yet collected). I'm not sure why I'm still trying to buy a ford, well, I do, its the car.
Anyway, I'm currently at the negotiation stages and the salesman has told me all fords are price fixed by head office to ensure they are always a low fair price (i have been told this before), this means there is absolutely no haggling on price, the price is the price. Fine, but I then can't get anything else from them, no fuel, tyres, servicing unless it's actually due etc!
I have never experienced buying a used car in this way, where the salesman is just there to take payment if you want it and say goodbye if you don't. And I thought it was a buyers market at the moment!
Is this just a bad sales tactic or is this price-fixing and give nothing away policy a thing now?

Has been standard operating procedure for Bevans Foreshore for years now, price to bottom of market and let the lowest common denominator shift metal for you. Salesman paid a standard flat amount per car too, so they're often de-skilled to the pint of being an order taker.

The other PLCs tend to operate on a similar basis, unsurprisingly. Their premium brand outlets will try to retain more margin, but again will often tend to lead on price, which eliminates any need to build in a margin for negotiation as many people feel it is "unfair" as a buyer who is a better negotiator than another gets a better deal than one who isn't.

It's billed as operating transparently and following the FCA principle of Treating Customers Fairly (capitalisation deliberate).

mfmman said:

It's a sample size of one I know , but I bought a used Focus from a Ford dealer 9 months ago and the whole purchase was nothing like described above. Dealt with immediately as a walk in, test drive and purchase in one visit, no hard sell of finance or GAP etc, litttle bit of negotiation on price and p/x and a couple of extras thrown in. Could Ford have entirely changed their dealers process in less than 12 months?

Different dealers are run by different groups and only a small number by the manufacturer themselves (TrustFord). PLC run outfits will operate differently to a stand-alone independent/family run franchise. Do your homework and find out which type you are dealing with.

Of course, this has been deliberately obfuscated by many brands as rather than being signposted as ">PLC group< >manufacturer< >place<", they've dropped the first element so all you know is Manufacturer Place, supposedly to homogenise the customer experience, regardless of whether you're dealing with a multi-national PLC or a family run private company. The difference is made apparent via the customer experience.

I always try and deal with independents as much as possible. You may pay a little more, but the experience and goodwill as and when required tends to be better as a result...

Edited by 4941cc on Thursday 2nd July 16:26

[Blakewater]

Further to the comment about never selling Meganes, do the new car salesmen here find there are cars in their manufacturer's line up that they never sell? Are there cars that they really sell a lot of?

[Fast Bug]

Yup! I think every manufacturer that has a reasonable size range will at some point have a product that hardly anyone buys

[Butter Face]

Blakewater said:

Further to the comment about never selling Meganes, do the new car salesmen here find there are cars in their manufacturer's line up that they never sell? Are there cars that they really sell a lot of?

I haven’t sold a single new Koleos. Sold used ones but not a new one.

Sold loads of ZOE.

[HTP99]

Blakewater said:

Further to the comment about never selling Meganes, do the new car salesmen here find there are cars in their manufacturer's line up that they never sell? Are there cars that they really sell a lot of?

I've sold a new version of everything that we offer, however only 1 new Koleos, a few (handful) of Megane, a few Scenic and Grand Scenic (good cars, far better than Kadjar).

Do well with ZOE and Captur.

[Fast Bug]

I've only sold 3 or 4 X Class. Our broker person sold 20 of the buggers last month!

I think I only sold 3 or 4 B Class, and they were the electric ones! I never did well with the CLA either for some reason.

[talksthetorque]

Fast Bug said:

I've only sold 3 or 4 X Class. Our broker person sold 20 of the buggers last month!

I think I only sold 3 or 4 B Class, and they were the electric ones! I never did well with the CLA either for some reason.

Is that because generally it's a broker who deals witih sole trader/one manband types rather than a large fleet thing (I seem to remember you deal in large fleet)?

My thoughts are that they are a poor compromise that does nothing well comapred to either a van, a flatbed, or an estate car/SUV and if you have a decent sized fleet you get the right tool for each job.

[Fast Bug]

talksthetorque said:

Fast Bug said:

I've only sold 3 or 4 X Class. Our broker person sold 20 of the buggers last month!

I think I only sold 3 or 4 B Class, and they were the electric ones! I never did well with the CLA either for some reason.

Is that because generally it's a broker who deals witih sole trader/one manband types rather than a large fleet thing (I seem to remember you deal in large fleet)?

My thoughts are that they are a poor compromise that does nothing well comapred to either a van, a flatbed, or an estate car/SUV and if you have a decent sized fleet you get the right tool for each job.

Yup, there's no steel wheel white one with plastic seats to put in to fleet. All of the ones I've sold have been £45k + after discount and sold to company directors. It just doesn't fit in with what my customers take. Same with the MB cars, i did far more S Class than i ever did CLA

[Blakewater]

talksthetorque said:

Fast Bug said:

I've only sold 3 or 4 X Class. Our broker person sold 20 of the buggers last month!

I think I only sold 3 or 4 B Class, and they were the electric ones! I never did well with the CLA either for some reason.

Is that because generally it's a broker who deals witih sole trader/one manband types rather than a large fleet thing (I seem to remember you deal in large fleet)?

My thoughts are that they are a poor compromise that does nothing well comapred to either a van, a flatbed, or an estate car/SUV and if you have a decent sized fleet you get the right tool for each job.

Do you sell Mercedes Benz cars and vans then? I thought you were only doing commercial vehicles. Do you do lorries, buses and coaches as well?

[Fast Bug]

I was cars, switched over to our van side a couple of years ago. What I know about HGV could be written on the back of a stamp