Second-hand car dealers- who's in the wrong?
Discussion
Hi PH, first time post so apologies if in the wrong place.
Just come back from a frustrating day looking for a Mazda 3 MPS for the other half- she currently has a cooking model and fancied seeing if the 2.3 turbo was worth the hype. It's been a couple of years since I last went to a non-main dealership so wasn't sure what to expect. I wanted to gauge opinion on here about the trustworthiness of the used car 'supermarkets' that are little more than a car park with a portakabin in them. The first place we tried had the salesman giving us the hard sell about it being 'the cleanest one on AT right now' even though I had pointed out a couple of bodywork and mechanical issues to him. Now don't get me wrong, with any used car you're going to get a stone chips, but there were marks on every panel, which we felt would have meant potential negotiation on pricing. The second car we drove was from a 'dealer' that basically operated out of his own house and had the car parked outside, and again, we felt there was room to negotiate on price due to the condition of the car, plus the fact it had a non-standard air filter meant we had to consider the potentially increased insurance quote. My other half just got a text of the second guy, after we'd exchanged a couple of messages about a part exchange etc, saying he 'felt insulted that we'd gone and taken his car for a joyride' to then suggest it wasn't worth quite as much as he put in the ad. Given that we knew an MPS isn't exactly slow, we took nothing but the utmost care when driving it to make sure we returned it in exactly the same condition. Not only do I feel personally insulted, but my confidence in the whole used car industry is now shaken somewhat. Are all place like this or are there some diamonds in the rough?
Should add, we were in a position to potentially make a deal today, given that the model we were after is fairly uncommon. Would it be better to wait until another one goes on sale that fits better with our budget?
Just come back from a frustrating day looking for a Mazda 3 MPS for the other half- she currently has a cooking model and fancied seeing if the 2.3 turbo was worth the hype. It's been a couple of years since I last went to a non-main dealership so wasn't sure what to expect. I wanted to gauge opinion on here about the trustworthiness of the used car 'supermarkets' that are little more than a car park with a portakabin in them. The first place we tried had the salesman giving us the hard sell about it being 'the cleanest one on AT right now' even though I had pointed out a couple of bodywork and mechanical issues to him. Now don't get me wrong, with any used car you're going to get a stone chips, but there were marks on every panel, which we felt would have meant potential negotiation on pricing. The second car we drove was from a 'dealer' that basically operated out of his own house and had the car parked outside, and again, we felt there was room to negotiate on price due to the condition of the car, plus the fact it had a non-standard air filter meant we had to consider the potentially increased insurance quote. My other half just got a text of the second guy, after we'd exchanged a couple of messages about a part exchange etc, saying he 'felt insulted that we'd gone and taken his car for a joyride' to then suggest it wasn't worth quite as much as he put in the ad. Given that we knew an MPS isn't exactly slow, we took nothing but the utmost care when driving it to make sure we returned it in exactly the same condition. Not only do I feel personally insulted, but my confidence in the whole used car industry is now shaken somewhat. Are all place like this or are there some diamonds in the rough?
Should add, we were in a position to potentially make a deal today, given that the model we were after is fairly uncommon. Would it be better to wait until another one goes on sale that fits better with our budget?
Coupie94 said:
plus the fact it had a non-standard air filter meant we had to consider the potentially increased insurance quote.
C'mon though.
But yeah, there are idiots, anyone can buy and sell cars, no training, no qualifications needed.
BUT, they can ask what they want, refuse your offers if they don't want to take it. Texting you afterwards is a bit odd though, I get loads of people who I know just come in for a drive, but whatever, it's a hazard of the job.
You have to realise that you're not going to find a factory fresh car and that your evaluation of a price will be different to the person selling it. Buy it or don't, fix the issues or don't. Pretty simple.
Butter Face said:
C'mon though.
Coupie94 said:
Already done that! The only thing was, he was perfectly nice when we met him in person- am I just being naive?
Maybe he was nice in person (he was trying to sell you a car), but realistically what are you going to do? Go back and buy a car? Send him a snotty text? Meh, just block his number and get on with your life. Coupie94 said:
I know I know, it's not the be-all and end-all. The only thing is, I asked the guy if there were any other mods and he didn't think so. With a car like that, chances are it's going to have a bit more going on under the bonnet if the air filter has been upgraded and I don't fancy taking my chances with the loss adjusters if the worst was to happen and then it turns out half the car isn't standard. Point taken though, there will be more out there, and maybe we were being a bit ambitious with our evaluation- I just thought negotiation was more common on the second hand market.
He won't have checked the car any more than running a gritty sponge over it and putting a for sale sign on it. It's up to you to do your due diligence on a used car.Coupie94 said:
Monkeylegend said:
How could the first guy have possibly personally checked all the other Mazda 3's on AT to know that.
He took great pleasure in telling us all about the 'system that I pay 8 grand a month for'- not sure what, some kind of valuation program? You usually get a feel for the people and traders selling as soon as you see their set up and you clearly didn't feel comfortable so you did the right thing by walking imo.
bobtail4x4 said:
send him a text back apologising for the speeding camera you passed.
Wish we had done now! Did get me thinking though- suppose he did have a tracker of some sort on the car- would this come back to bite me on the proverbial assuming I did stray above the speed limit at any point?Monkeylegend said:
You usually get a feel for the people and traders selling as soon as you see their set up and you clearly didn't feel comfortable so you did the right thing by walking imo.
Totally agree! I suppose the best way to describe the place would be 'seedy'- it just felt off. And the guy was all 'sales sales sales- if you aren't going to buy it then go'- not much in the way of people skills. But we didn't know that until we turned up, and all the online reviews seemed good... Chalk it up to experience I suppose.
I don't know how he could have expected you to assess the car properly without trying it out first. If the car had an open air filter (like a K&N Typhoon or similar) then I think you were right to check with your insurance and also suspect other mods such as re map & posibly exhaust/cat mods.
I've looked at cars from small dealers like that and usually found them pleasant even if I didn't buy the car. It is in their interest after all as they may have the exact thing I want next week/Month/year.
I've looked at cars from small dealers like that and usually found them pleasant even if I didn't buy the car. It is in their interest after all as they may have the exact thing I want next week/Month/year.
You met the lazy dealer/salesman who thinks that they are doing you a favour. Everyone has a bad day but there's no need for BS.
My favourite trick is asking to see the V5C on a nearly new car to see if it's a hire or ex-Motability car - there isn't a problem with a hire/Mota car, but eyes wide open and it's a test to see how open the salesman is.
My favourite trick is asking to see the V5C on a nearly new car to see if it's a hire or ex-Motability car - there isn't a problem with a hire/Mota car, but eyes wide open and it's a test to see how open the salesman is.
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