Buying a brand new car but not through the main dealer
Discussion
Long back story to start (or jump to the next paragraph for my main query). My work pay me a car allowance since 2023 and company policy is that from January 2025 this has to go towards an EV or switch the allowance for an EV company car. The latter makes more sense with the tax benefits etc that come with it. However the cars on the list are truly dreadful despite all being £40-£60k, 90% are SUV's and crossovers which I despise and the only car I half like on there is the BYD Seal. I work remotely and have been able to blag it for well over a year now but the time has unfortunately come. I am currently in a 6.2 C63 estate which couldn't be more opposite to an EV! The only EV that ever remotely interested me despite being much cheaper than what is available through work is the Renault 5. I was won over as soon as it was announced just by it's design charm (the baguette holder accessory is silly and I love it) and the 200 mile real world range still works for 95% of the time. My work install a home charger for free too so no costs there. Despite driving a C63 I am not even fussed by speed, it's all about the sound for me and as an EV can not offer that I am interested in its design over anything else. The R5 was not on the company car list and it will never be. Their provider (JCT600 I think) do not supply them with EV's with a range of less than 260 miles. Despite it not making full financial sense I would rather take the allowance, lose the tax and put it towards a car I actually like and will enjoy. And yes I am going pop yellow with the yellow interior! I can still claim 45p business miles and as long as I do 4k business miles a year (which I always do) it becomes cost neutral with some man maths. It's relatively cheap enough I'm not even concerned with depreciation as the allowance and mileage will both cover that and I plan to keep for 5 years. I will hold onto the C63 until the end of summer I reckon as I only bought it in August and I already have a DC5 Type R as a weekend/fun car. As absolutely incredible as the C63 is, it is an amazing daily and it will not get used enough to justify keeping. Plus with 3 cars, 4 with my wife's it takes up all space on the driveway.
I thought the Renault 5 was a bargain (in the modern world) when it was £30k (top spec). They announced the first grant which took off £1.5k in August and it now qualifies for the full £3,750 grant. Iconic + in yellow is a list price of £26,745. As I knew this was inevitably coming I was going to get a 1 year old low miler used which are popping up around £24-£25k in limited quantities but from December the R5 now gets an upgraded speaker system which I would much rather have so I would rather pay the extra and get new. I am looking to buy it as a full cash purchase. Although I do not intend to sell my current car until much later in the year it will cover around 80% of the purchase cost when sold and I can cover the purchase through savings in the meantime. The best discounts I have seen so far are around £600 through Carwow but I have found another website that a few Facebook group owners have bought through which is only £24,430 as a cash purchase with April delivery. No payment due until 3 days before delivery and dropped off at my front door.
So my main query is this - if I bought this direct through Renault if something somehow was catastrophically wrong and couldn't be sorted through warranty and required a full rejection of the car, I do not envisage an issue if that was all through the dealer. Obviously this car comes with full factory warranty but if it was an unfixable lemon, how would any rejection proceedings go ahead? Would I then have to rely on section 75 stuff (which I've never used) as I do not have finance company to fall back on and fight with. It's a brilliant price at £2.5k off list but not sure if I am overthinking how any problems could be dealt with being a cash buyer and not through a main dealer. The company I am buying from primarily are a lease provider but also sell brand new cars direct for a full purchase so they aren't a traditional brick and mortar dealer.
I thought the Renault 5 was a bargain (in the modern world) when it was £30k (top spec). They announced the first grant which took off £1.5k in August and it now qualifies for the full £3,750 grant. Iconic + in yellow is a list price of £26,745. As I knew this was inevitably coming I was going to get a 1 year old low miler used which are popping up around £24-£25k in limited quantities but from December the R5 now gets an upgraded speaker system which I would much rather have so I would rather pay the extra and get new. I am looking to buy it as a full cash purchase. Although I do not intend to sell my current car until much later in the year it will cover around 80% of the purchase cost when sold and I can cover the purchase through savings in the meantime. The best discounts I have seen so far are around £600 through Carwow but I have found another website that a few Facebook group owners have bought through which is only £24,430 as a cash purchase with April delivery. No payment due until 3 days before delivery and dropped off at my front door.
So my main query is this - if I bought this direct through Renault if something somehow was catastrophically wrong and couldn't be sorted through warranty and required a full rejection of the car, I do not envisage an issue if that was all through the dealer. Obviously this car comes with full factory warranty but if it was an unfixable lemon, how would any rejection proceedings go ahead? Would I then have to rely on section 75 stuff (which I've never used) as I do not have finance company to fall back on and fight with. It's a brilliant price at £2.5k off list but not sure if I am overthinking how any problems could be dealt with being a cash buyer and not through a main dealer. The company I am buying from primarily are a lease provider but also sell brand new cars direct for a full purchase so they aren't a traditional brick and mortar dealer.
Edited by Goatwidcoat on Tuesday 3rd February 15:00
Firstly your warranty is with Renault so if it did go wrong & it would go to the main dealer to be fixed.
If it turns out to be a lemon then you reject it back to the dealer you bought it off.
Also if you have an Audio specialist near you you'll be able to have a speaker upgrade carried out (& it'll sound better than the new upgrade ask me how I know) it'll cost you less than buying the newer car.
52kwh's start from around 21k.
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202512198...
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202512248...
If it turns out to be a lemon then you reject it back to the dealer you bought it off.
Also if you have an Audio specialist near you you'll be able to have a speaker upgrade carried out (& it'll sound better than the new upgrade ask me how I know) it'll cost you less than buying the newer car.
52kwh's start from around 21k.
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202512198...
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202512248...
Edited by ZX10R NIN on Tuesday 3rd February 21:11
macron said:
f
k me that's a lot of words to worry about absolutely nothing.
You're buying an R5 with a full manufacturer warranty. Few are lemons thus far, not that many are out of course, so stop worrying and buy it.
Haha you're not wrong. I always over think everything and expect the worst for some reason!k me that's a lot of words to worry about absolutely nothing.You're buying an R5 with a full manufacturer warranty. Few are lemons thus far, not that many are out of course, so stop worrying and buy it.
ZX10R NIN said:
Firstly your warranty is with Renault so if it did go wrong & it would go to the main dealer to be fixed.
If it turns out to be a lemon then you reject it back to the dealer you bought it off.
Also if you have an Audio specialist near you you'll be able to have a speaker upgrade carried out (& it'll sound better than the new upgrade ask me how I know) it'll cost you less than buying the newer car.
52kwh's start from around 21k.
I specifically want the Iconic trim and in yellow though which are still £24-£25k when they do pop up. There is only one used yellow with the bigger battery and iconic on Auto Trader at the moment. I figured brand new for £24.4k for the same price as used makes sense and an extra year warranty.If it turns out to be a lemon then you reject it back to the dealer you bought it off.
Also if you have an Audio specialist near you you'll be able to have a speaker upgrade carried out (& it'll sound better than the new upgrade ask me how I know) it'll cost you less than buying the newer car.
52kwh's start from around 21k.
Edited by Goatwidcoat on Tuesday 3rd February 21:14
I bought a Kona EV for cash through a broker - I never gave rejecting it a second thought. However, if I'd needed to, the broker was the supplier and I paid them, so they would have to deal with it.
Wife's mate had Renault 5 that packed up - it just died on the road. Was a bit fraught as it was recovered to the local dealer (who supplied the car new) and they told her they couldn't look at it for 3 months! She was given a courtesy car (Hyundai Tucson, which she hated) in the meantime. They actually fixed the car in about a month - turned out a wire had pulled off a fuse. As best I can gather this isn't a common issue - I hunted around and couldn't see any other reports of this happening, or indeed of Renault 5's packing up at all.
Wife's mate had Renault 5 that packed up - it just died on the road. Was a bit fraught as it was recovered to the local dealer (who supplied the car new) and they told her they couldn't look at it for 3 months! She was given a courtesy car (Hyundai Tucson, which she hated) in the meantime. They actually fixed the car in about a month - turned out a wire had pulled off a fuse. As best I can gather this isn't a common issue - I hunted around and couldn't see any other reports of this happening, or indeed of Renault 5's packing up at all.
Sheepshanks said:
I bought a Kona EV for cash through a broker - I never gave rejecting it a second thought. However, if I'd needed to, the broker was the supplier and I paid them, so they would have to deal with it.
Wife's mate had Renault 5 that packed up - it just died on the road. Was a bit fraught as it was recovered to the local dealer (who supplied the car new) and they told her they couldn't look at it for 3 months! She was given a courtesy car (Hyundai Tucson, which she hated) in the meantime. They actually fixed the car in about a month - turned out a wire had pulled off a fuse. As best I can gather this isn't a common issue - I hunted around and couldn't see any other reports of this happening, or indeed of Renault 5's packing up at all.
A Renault with wiring loom quality issues? Sacre bleu! Who could have guessed?Wife's mate had Renault 5 that packed up - it just died on the road. Was a bit fraught as it was recovered to the local dealer (who supplied the car new) and they told her they couldn't look at it for 3 months! She was given a courtesy car (Hyundai Tucson, which she hated) in the meantime. They actually fixed the car in about a month - turned out a wire had pulled off a fuse. As best I can gather this isn't a common issue - I hunted around and couldn't see any other reports of this happening, or indeed of Renault 5's packing up at all.
Sheepshanks said:
I bought a Kona EV for cash through a broker - I never gave rejecting it a second thought. However, if I'd needed to, the broker was the supplier and I paid them, so they would have to deal with it.
Wife's mate had Renault 5 that packed up - it just died on the road. Was a bit fraught as it was recovered to the local dealer (who supplied the car new) and they told her they couldn't look at it for 3 months! She was given a courtesy car (Hyundai Tucson, which she hated) in the meantime. They actually fixed the car in about a month - turned out a wire had pulled off a fuse. As best I can gather this isn't a common issue - I hunted around and couldn't see any other reports of this happening, or indeed of Renault 5's packing up at all.
There have been a handful of odd stories like this on the Facebook groups but they have sold over 100k of them already so there will always be the odd unlucky ones. Not surprised by the warranty wait but at least it was all sorted out.Wife's mate had Renault 5 that packed up - it just died on the road. Was a bit fraught as it was recovered to the local dealer (who supplied the car new) and they told her they couldn't look at it for 3 months! She was given a courtesy car (Hyundai Tucson, which she hated) in the meantime. They actually fixed the car in about a month - turned out a wire had pulled off a fuse. As best I can gather this isn't a common issue - I hunted around and couldn't see any other reports of this happening, or indeed of Renault 5's packing up at all.
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