When did car traders change?
Discussion
I may be wrong but I am sure that many years ago when I used to go car hunting the dealer would see little chips on the front etc and would get those fixed, along with other issues wrong with the car.
Nowadays though I am seeing for sale at dealers with emission lights on (easy fix apparently), usual chips and scrapes, small dent in door/wings and I've even seen turbo rattles etc etc.. And they won't be fixing them before sale.
When did it become the norm for dealers to not actually remedy the issues with the car when selling it?
Nowadays though I am seeing for sale at dealers with emission lights on (easy fix apparently), usual chips and scrapes, small dent in door/wings and I've even seen turbo rattles etc etc.. And they won't be fixing them before sale.
When did it become the norm for dealers to not actually remedy the issues with the car when selling it?
I think it coincided with the internet going mainstream. Suddenly the for sale price became the biggest draw and people could travel nationally to find the best deal, and could easily compare prices from their arm chair. Dealers can draw punters in more easily with a low price, and the quality of prep suffers. All imo.
Codswallop said:
I think it coincided with the internet going mainstream. Suddenly the for sale price became the biggest draw and people could travel nationally to find the best deal, and could easily compare prices from their arm chair. Dealers can draw punters in more easily with a low price, and the quality of prep suffers. All imo.
I'm with you on this.People predominantly buy cars on price now, so lower standards of prep. £250 will make the difference between the phone ringing and it not.
I've been very bemused by my recent experience of several dealers. Some just wanted to simply magic up a monthly price 'I could afford' - we didn't get very far. Eventually I bought a poorly prepped but very sound car for a better price and have put my choice of warranty, tyres, Indie specialist service and detailing (all of which it needed) on it. I reckon I was many thousands better off and also have a bloody pukka motor now with a 3yr warranty no other spend needed for ages. I guess that re-inforces what you are saying as the franchised car would have been perfectly prepped...but you are SO paying for that...
On another note I just bought my parents a new Golf - online... EEK! £3k off list - local dealers would barely deal and the notion of £500 off a new (but tired looking) A3 that would be here by Xmas was pathetic!
Never has shopping around been more worth it.
On another note I just bought my parents a new Golf - online... EEK! £3k off list - local dealers would barely deal and the notion of £500 off a new (but tired looking) A3 that would be here by Xmas was pathetic!
Never has shopping around been more worth it.
Codswallop said:
I think it coincided with the internet going mainstream. Suddenly the for sale price became the biggest draw and people could travel nationally to find the best deal, and could easily compare prices from their arm chair. Dealers can draw punters in more easily with a low price, and the quality of prep suffers. All imo.
Interesting. I suspect you are quite right too now that I read it.Ken Figenus said:
On another note I just bought my parents a new Golf - online... EEK! £3k off list - local dealers would barely deal and the notion of £500 off a new (but tired looking) A3 that would be here by Xmas was pathetic!
Never has shopping around been more worth it.
Very similar experience, we went to our local Audi centre for a TTRS, wouldn't budge on list price and a near 6mth wait...chatted to a decorator at a neighbours in passing about my TT-R (prior to write off) and he mentioned using orangewheels.com to source his TT,. Went online and immediately managed 5k off list at the time with Audi finance deal thrown in, and a faster lead time, all sourced from a dealer in the midlands, no grey or parralel import nonsense and very straight forward!Never has shopping around been more worth it.
Dealers will take a gamble with what they can get away with,
some people are willing to accept a lot of advisory type stuff needing doing for a small-ish discount,sometimes thinking they have had a good deal and their mate will fix those bits for five bob.
Some people don`t even notice a lot of stuff,so why spend a lot of money doing stuff that you might get away with? if you have to do it to secure a sale then so be it but you might not.
And guess what?It seems to work.
To be honest,If I were to buy a car from a dealer I would rather see it in the state it arrived in and deal as is.
At least then if it needs a set of pads,a leak fixed or a new belt you know it will get done.
some people are willing to accept a lot of advisory type stuff needing doing for a small-ish discount,sometimes thinking they have had a good deal and their mate will fix those bits for five bob.
Some people don`t even notice a lot of stuff,so why spend a lot of money doing stuff that you might get away with? if you have to do it to secure a sale then so be it but you might not.
And guess what?It seems to work.
To be honest,If I were to buy a car from a dealer I would rather see it in the state it arrived in and deal as is.
At least then if it needs a set of pads,a leak fixed or a new belt you know it will get done.
Recently bought my daughter her first car. I couldn't believe the state of some of the motors on the used car pitches. Trashed alloys, dents and scratches everywhere, filthy interiors.
That just shouts to me that the car hasn't been loved and looked after, and the dealer doesn't give a s
t either.
That just shouts to me that the car hasn't been loved and looked after, and the dealer doesn't give a s
t either. Jezzerh said:
I couldn't believe the state of some of the motors on the used car pitches. Trashed alloys, dents and scratches everywhere, filthy interiors.
Yes this is exactly it. I am seeing cars with kerbed alloys, rust holes and all sorts and the dealer just seems content to point them out rather than rectify them?!!? Jasandjules said:
Yes this is exactly it. I am seeing cars with kerbed alloys, rust holes and all sorts and the dealer just seems content to point them out rather than rectify them?!!?
They would only rectify them on the cheap though so the rust would probably return. Like someone else said, better to see the car how it has been looked after rather than hiding behind a layer of paint and a can of interior plastic spray! Mechanical/electrical issues should be sorted though.Codswallop said:
I think it coincided with the internet going mainstream. Suddenly the for sale price became the biggest draw and people could travel nationally to find the best deal, and could easily compare prices from their arm chair. Dealers can draw punters in more easily with a low price, and the quality of prep suffers. All imo.
100% agree.I've just spent £5k on a used Subaru and I was able to scour the country for the cars available and very quickly came back to the price. I'd have gone up north toget the right car as there was £1000 variariation in the asking prices for the same spec and model and year, that's a lot on a £5k asking price.
I did also drive out to the local car lots and the smaller dealers on the whole were dissapointing.
It must be a very tough gig for a used car lot now to return a profit.
Codswallop said:
I think it coincided with the internet going mainstream. Suddenly the for sale price became the biggest draw and people could travel nationally to find the best deal, and could easily compare prices from their arm chair. Dealers can draw punters in more easily with a low price, and the quality of prep suffers. All imo.
I'd go further to say it was when the mainstream car buying public stopped caring about value and instead concentrated purely on value.The first thing most buys do when looking for something boring is to sort the list of cars from low price to high. Those offering a proper service and prep and charging decent money don't get a look in whilst those wiping it off with an oily rag and ignoring the massive list of MOT advisories get rung up.
Then the car goes wrong, because it hasn't been prepped right, and the buyer goes bleating onto an internet forum where all the "experts" chant SOGA like a mantra and tell the hapless buyer that it doesn't matter that they've bought a worthless s
tter right at the end of its life from Fred in a shed with a gate warranty, that the pads that have worn out, and the electric window which squeaks a little will all be sorted by the mythical SOGA warranty which exists from anything from 3 months to 6 years depending on which incorrect idiot is spouting their "knowledge".Luckily there are segments of the market where the buyers have some discernment and are prepared to pay a little more for good service and the backup of a long established dealer with a hard fought reputation to maintain.
shoehorn said:
Dealers will take a gamble with what they can get away with,
some people are willing to accept a lot of advisory type stuff needing doing for a small-ish discount,sometimes thinking they have had a good deal and their mate will fix those bits for five bob.
Some people don`t even notice a lot of stuff,so why spend a lot of money doing stuff that you might get away with? if you have to do it to secure a sale then so be it but you might not.
And guess what?It seems to work.
To be honest,If I were to buy a car from a dealer I would rather see it in the state it arrived in and deal as is.
At least then if it needs a set of pads,a leak fixed or a new belt you know it will get done.
I think dealers have reacted to a price driven market whereby people are more interested in the sticker price than the quality of the car. some people are willing to accept a lot of advisory type stuff needing doing for a small-ish discount,sometimes thinking they have had a good deal and their mate will fix those bits for five bob.
Some people don`t even notice a lot of stuff,so why spend a lot of money doing stuff that you might get away with? if you have to do it to secure a sale then so be it but you might not.
And guess what?It seems to work.
To be honest,If I were to buy a car from a dealer I would rather see it in the state it arrived in and deal as is.
At least then if it needs a set of pads,a leak fixed or a new belt you know it will get done.
Look at how successful the big car supermarkets are - oh you want it serviced? Thats +£250. You want the wheels refurbished? Thats +£300. Want a warranty? Thats +£500. Discount? No, no, we dont do discounts. Oh and theres a +£100 "admin fee" for buying the car. But people will drive past a main dealers charging £500 more with all of that done as standard to buy from a main dealer to buy from a car supermarket.
Matt UK said:
A lot of dealers now want to prep after the deal / as part of the negotiation.
Personally I tend to set the classified filters to 'private'.
And they'll do the prep that people wantPersonally I tend to set the classified filters to 'private'.
Customer "i want a £500 discount"
Dealer "ok, but for that price i cant repair those dents and i cant fix the alloys"
markmullen said:
Codswallop said:
I think it coincided with the internet going mainstream. Suddenly the for sale price became the biggest draw and people could travel nationally to find the best deal, and could easily compare prices from their arm chair. Dealers can draw punters in more easily with a low price, and the quality of prep suffers. All imo.
I'd go further to say it was when the mainstream car buying public stopped caring about value and instead concentrated purely on value.The first thing most buys do when looking for something boring is to sort the list of cars from low price to high. Those offering a proper service and prep and charging decent money don't get a look in whilst those wiping it off with an oily rag and ignoring the massive list of MOT advisories get rung up.
Then the car goes wrong, because it hasn't been prepped right, and the buyer goes bleating onto an internet forum where all the "experts" chant SOGA like a mantra and tell the hapless buyer that it doesn't matter that they've bought a worthless s
tter right at the end of its life from Fred in a shed with a gate warranty, that the pads that have worn out, and the electric window which squeaks a little will all be sorted by the mythical SOGA warranty which exists from anything from 3 months to 6 years depending on which incorrect idiot is spouting their "knowledge".Luckily there are segments of the market where the buyers have some discernment and are prepared to pay a little more for good service and the backup of a long established dealer with a hard fought reputation to maintain.
Many of the good dealers are shutting their doors, too much hassle, not enough profit to do the job correctly, not enough walk on enquiries, just internet best price, or no enquiries if you a few hundred more expensive than the "benchmark" cheapest.
That leaves dealers fighting their way to be the cheapest, and anyone sensible knows overall thats bad news for the consumer.
Decent size garages selling 5K-15K cars, for £500 margins, it just does not work.
markmullen said:
I'd go further to say it was when the mainstream car buying public stopped caring about value and instead concentrated purely on value.
The first thing most buys do when looking for something boring is to sort the list of cars from low price to high. Those offering a proper service and prep and charging decent money don't get a look in whilst those wiping it off with an oily rag and ignoring the massive list of MOT advisories get rung up.
Then the car goes wrong, because it hasn't been prepped right, and the buyer goes bleating onto an internet forum where all the "experts" chant SOGA like a mantra and tell the hapless buyer that it doesn't matter that they've bought a worthless stter right at the end of its life from Fred in a shed with a gate warranty, that the pads that have worn out, and the electric window which squeaks a little will all be sorted by the mythical SOGA warranty which exists from anything from 3 months to 6 years depending on which incorrect idiot is spouting their "knowledge".
Luckily there are segments of the market where the buyers have some discernment and are prepared to pay a little more for good service and the backup of a long established dealer with a hard fought reputation to maintain.
The first thing most buys do when looking for something boring is to sort the list of cars from low price to high. Those offering a proper service and prep and charging decent money don't get a look in whilst those wiping it off with an oily rag and ignoring the massive list of MOT advisories get rung up.
Then the car goes wrong, because it hasn't been prepped right, and the buyer goes bleating onto an internet forum where all the "experts" chant SOGA like a mantra and tell the hapless buyer that it doesn't matter that they've bought a worthless s
tter right at the end of its life from Fred in a shed with a gate warranty, that the pads that have worn out, and the electric window which squeaks a little will all be sorted by the mythical SOGA warranty which exists from anything from 3 months to 6 years depending on which incorrect idiot is spouting their "knowledge".Luckily there are segments of the market where the buyers have some discernment and are prepared to pay a little more for good service and the backup of a long established dealer with a hard fought reputation to maintain.
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