Why do dealers waste your time?
Discussion
I may be being a little naive here but I decided to go and see a cheap E39 today.
Called up the dealer and asked him what the condition of the car is and the reply was "mint". I was surprised as the car was cheap so I asked him to confirm. We arranged a time and I turned up on time. Nobody there so I called him and he was half an hour away.
He finally arrives and I look around the car and question how the car has a full 1 year MOT when the front tyres are completely bald. He said "Oh we can sort that out". About the car being mint - scrathes all over the bodywork, interior cubby-hole not working, back door wouldn;t open from the outside etc etc.
Fortunately it's only half an hour from my house. Maybe I should have expected it given the price but it just annoys me that he wasted my time and clearly couldn't give a toss.
Ad: AT
Rant over.
Called up the dealer and asked him what the condition of the car is and the reply was "mint". I was surprised as the car was cheap so I asked him to confirm. We arranged a time and I turned up on time. Nobody there so I called him and he was half an hour away.
He finally arrives and I look around the car and question how the car has a full 1 year MOT when the front tyres are completely bald. He said "Oh we can sort that out". About the car being mint - scrathes all over the bodywork, interior cubby-hole not working, back door wouldn;t open from the outside etc etc.
Fortunately it's only half an hour from my house. Maybe I should have expected it given the price but it just annoys me that he wasted my time and clearly couldn't give a toss.
Ad: AT
Rant over.
Thanks for pointing that out, I was actually looking at that ad earlier!
I have no idea why. Some dealers are so full of BS it is unbelievable. I went to see a local garage about a 2004 Mondeo Zetec S V6, and he said "oh we hardly ever stock these, but this one is so nice I had to take it. It will be gone very soon!"
Said Mondeo is still there, 3 months later, with flat tyres, dust, and no tax.
I have no idea why. Some dealers are so full of BS it is unbelievable. I went to see a local garage about a 2004 Mondeo Zetec S V6, and he said "oh we hardly ever stock these, but this one is so nice I had to take it. It will be gone very soon!"
Said Mondeo is still there, 3 months later, with flat tyres, dust, and no tax.
Test drive booked in an X5... Arrived on site, dealer knew nothing about it, dug out a dirty X5, grass on the seats, dust on the outside, mud on the sills.
"Don't worry about the dirt, we will clean it up for you, this is how we got it in PX"
"Well that doesn't exactly give me a good impression that the previous owner has looked after it"
Oh, and the dealer backed it into a skip just before the test drive, dirty great crease in the boot lid... Oops! Quite an awkward moment indeed... Smooth.
"Don't worry about the dirt, we will clean it up for you, this is how we got it in PX"
"Well that doesn't exactly give me a good impression that the previous owner has looked after it"
Oh, and the dealer backed it into a skip just before the test drive, dirty great crease in the boot lid... Oops! Quite an awkward moment indeed... Smooth.
SD1992 said:
Thanks for pointing that out, I was actually looking at that ad earlier!
I have no idea why. Some dealers are so full of BS it is unbelievable. I went to see a local garage about a 2004 Mondeo Zetec S V6, and he said "oh we hardly ever stock these, but this one is so nice I had to take it. It will be gone very soon!"
Said Mondeo is still there, 3 months later, with flat tyres, dust, and no tax.
Wow...you weren't really thinking of coming from Scotland to look at it???I have no idea why. Some dealers are so full of BS it is unbelievable. I went to see a local garage about a 2004 Mondeo Zetec S V6, and he said "oh we hardly ever stock these, but this one is so nice I had to take it. It will be gone very soon!"
Said Mondeo is still there, 3 months later, with flat tyres, dust, and no tax.
freenote said:
Wow...you weren't really thinking of coming from Scotland to look at it???
Unfortunately most of the decent cars I am looking at are down South, so I will probably have to at some point! I would be in touch with the dealer much more though, getting them to send detailed photos etc. Shame, looks a nice car from the pics!
freenote said:
I may be being a little naive here but I decided to go and see a cheap E39 today.
Called up the dealer and asked him what the condition of the car is and the reply was "mint". I was surprised as the car was cheap so I asked him to confirm. We arranged a time and I turned up on time. Nobody there so I called him and he was half an hour away.
He finally arrives and I look around the car and question how the car has a full 1 year MOT when the front tyres are completely bald. He said "Oh we can sort that out". About the car being mint - scrathes all over the bodywork, interior cubby-hole not working, back door wouldn;t open from the outside etc etc.
Fortunately it's only half an hour from my house. Maybe I should have expected it given the price but it just annoys me that he wasted my time and clearly couldn't give a toss.
Ad: AT
Rant over.
You should have test drove it to a test centre and made sure it had a proper M.O.TCalled up the dealer and asked him what the condition of the car is and the reply was "mint". I was surprised as the car was cheap so I asked him to confirm. We arranged a time and I turned up on time. Nobody there so I called him and he was half an hour away.
He finally arrives and I look around the car and question how the car has a full 1 year MOT when the front tyres are completely bald. He said "Oh we can sort that out". About the car being mint - scrathes all over the bodywork, interior cubby-hole not working, back door wouldn;t open from the outside etc etc.
Fortunately it's only half an hour from my house. Maybe I should have expected it given the price but it just annoys me that he wasted my time and clearly couldn't give a toss.
Ad: AT
Rant over.
Arranged to view what was advertised as a s1 3.8 e type at an Aston Martin specialists a few years back. Got the same sort of dealer guff on the phone, yeah yeah come and see it first genuine viewer will buy etc. Arrived and the dealer principal pointed out a s3 v12 e type in primer and missing half it's bits. I asked 'is this a joke?' reply 'no, thats the etype you asked about'. He didn't know the difference between a s1 and a s3. Turned around and walked out. Fortunately only 10 minutes from home.
SD1992 said:
Unfortunately most of the decent cars I am looking at are down South, so I will probably have to at some point!
I would be in touch with the dealer much more though, getting them to send detailed photos etc. Shame, looks a nice car from the pics!
Funny, it always seems the cars I'm looking at are miles away oop north!I would be in touch with the dealer much more though, getting them to send detailed photos etc. Shame, looks a nice car from the pics!
2slo said:
Arranged to view what was advertised as a s1 3.8 e type at an Aston Martin specialists a few years back. Got the same sort of dealer guff on the phone, yeah yeah come and see it first genuine viewer will buy etc. Arrived and the dealer principal pointed out a s3 v12 e type in primer and missing half it's bits. I asked 'is this a joke?' reply 'no, thats the etype you asked about'. He didn't know the difference between a s1 and a s3. Turned around and walked out. Fortunately only 10 minutes from home.
I was surprised this dealer had no idea what a 200sx was when I asked on the phone about a p/x. He then asked if " that was my Celica that I wanted to swap? " when I arrived!!!freenote said:
nottyash said:
Should be an email, its probably no good as I am up North in Yorkshire.
Probably. Cracking garage you've got there though! Was going to ask about your RSK and how it is to run but then read the blog post. Have you got it yet??
When I was looking for a snotter a few years ago I saw a nice looking 306 xs on AT saying it was in great condition etc etc. I called up the trader (south london) to see if it was still there, and to enquire further about the condition of the car, MOT etc.
After a few question about history and condition, I finished by asking if there was anything not in the ad he feels he should mention, or anything that might put me off when I get there as it's a 1.5 hour drive for me. He said (in a strong cockney accent) "I'll be honest with ya guv, the drivers door is ever so slightly a different colour due to being re painted but you can't tell unless you look really hard, and the clutch pedal has a little squick - nothing to worry about". I thought for less than a bag of sand it's defantely worth the trip...
when I got there I met the dealer.. Bald head, several sovereign rings on each hand, trench coat and smoking a Hamlet. The car... on first glance all looked good. He was right about the colour of the drivers door, you could hardly tell. But then, on closer inspection when opening the door there was a fold in the vertical window frame part of the door, and you could fit your fingers in a gap at the top. Quite obviously been bent down and broken into! At this point I've decided I won't be buying the car, but think I'll carry on looking (the dealer had left us to it). get inside and press the clutch and hear the most almighty grinding, cruncing sound come from it. Oh dear. I take a cursory glance into the back and there are footprints on the roof!?!. Parts of the dash are missing. All in all, a pile of s
t.
So I saunter off to find the dealer. Being the polite person I am I start explaining to him that I'm veiwing a lot of cars this weekend etc etc... He interrupts and says "Look mate, just be honest with me if you don't want it. I wouldn't myself, it's a heap of st!"
Stunned, to say the least!
After a few question about history and condition, I finished by asking if there was anything not in the ad he feels he should mention, or anything that might put me off when I get there as it's a 1.5 hour drive for me. He said (in a strong cockney accent) "I'll be honest with ya guv, the drivers door is ever so slightly a different colour due to being re painted but you can't tell unless you look really hard, and the clutch pedal has a little squick - nothing to worry about". I thought for less than a bag of sand it's defantely worth the trip...
when I got there I met the dealer.. Bald head, several sovereign rings on each hand, trench coat and smoking a Hamlet. The car... on first glance all looked good. He was right about the colour of the drivers door, you could hardly tell. But then, on closer inspection when opening the door there was a fold in the vertical window frame part of the door, and you could fit your fingers in a gap at the top. Quite obviously been bent down and broken into! At this point I've decided I won't be buying the car, but think I'll carry on looking (the dealer had left us to it). get inside and press the clutch and hear the most almighty grinding, cruncing sound come from it. Oh dear. I take a cursory glance into the back and there are footprints on the roof!?!. Parts of the dash are missing. All in all, a pile of s
t.So I saunter off to find the dealer. Being the polite person I am I start explaining to him that I'm veiwing a lot of cars this weekend etc etc... He interrupts and says "Look mate, just be honest with me if you don't want it. I wouldn't myself, it's a heap of s
t!"Stunned, to say the least!
freenote said:
NoNeed said:
You should have test drove it to a test centre and made sure it had a proper M.O.T
To be honest the road was wet and the tyres were so bald I'd be surprised if they would get around a corner so I decided not to waste any more time...or risk my life for that matter.I got caught like this many years ago and fortunately it only cost me money, now I have every car I buy tested before I buy. If they refuse to let me test it I walk away.
NoNeed said:
freenote said:
NoNeed said:
You should have test drove it to a test centre and made sure it had a proper M.O.T
To be honest the road was wet and the tyres were so bald I'd be surprised if they would get around a corner so I decided not to waste any more time...or risk my life for that matter.I got caught like this many years ago and fortunately it only cost me money, now I have every car I buy tested before I buy. If they refuse to let me test it I walk away.
Needless to say I spend time checking every car I buy now and learn more and more as I go.
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