Will a dealer transport a car from another?

[ehyouwhat]

Hi all,

i'm interested in a used car that I've seen on the autotrader website, being offered by the dealer Evans Halshaw. However, the car is being offered by a Peugeot dealership in the North East of England, and as I live in Dorset I won't have a realistic opportunity to visit that dealership.

What are the chances of Evans Halshaw transporting the car to another of its dealerships closer to me (there are numerous ones, a Ford dealership just down the road for example)? If they are likely to do this, what sort of a charge would they make to me? The car itself is only of relatively low value (sub £5k), but if it is as described then I would definitely want to buy it (I'm not just after a tyre-kicking session).

Any help would be gratefully received.

Regards,
EYW

[curlie467]

Highly likely if they want to sell it, you really need to ask them, not us!

[Fast Bug]

They might want some kind of commitment from you. Say a refundable deposit if the vehicle isn't as described, otherwise they can go to the cost of getting the vehicle there and you say 'nah I don't fancy blue'

[Monty Python]

Last time I asked I was told in no uncertain terms that unless I was going to buy it, they wouldn't (and this was from another garage of the same chain). After all, the car doesn't belong to your local dealer, so if you decide you don't want it they'll have to ship it all the way back to where it came from.

A car "belongs" to the garage that has it, even if it's part of a larger chain. It's their job to sell it, otherwise you'd end up with dealers trying to pinch the best cars from each other.

Edited by Monty Python on Thursday 24th February 14:18

[boredofmyoldname]

Ring the dealer with the car in stock, ask for more pictures, ask for copies of any history etc you want to see faxed to you, buy it over the phone.

[kmc1]

It shouldn't be a problem but you have to prove you're serious about purchasing.

I almost bought a civic once and the one I wanted (spec,colour,etc) was at the other end of the country. The dealer wanted a deposit which was fully refundable if the car was not as described but not if I simply changed my mind.

Went out for testdrives with the said dealer to ensure I liked the car and sorted out finance as well so he was happy to transport the car if I decided to go ahead which in the end I didn't.

Evans Halshaw are massive and I imagine they have transporters constantly ferrying cars around so shouldn't be too much of a bind for them.

[TomJackUK]

Ask the dealer.

[va1o]

My experience with Evans Halshaw would suggest probably not. I've found them very hard to deal with, its like they don't want to sell any cars.

[ehyouwhat]

Many thanks for the comments so far.

I'm going to call a local Evans Halshaw dealer this morning and explore the possibility of having the car transported down here.

[tezzer]

I had a similar thing when I was buying a Street Ka from Evans Halshaw for my youngest. Despite having bought 3 cars from them (new) in the past, they wouldn't do it. They had 1 street ka on their forecourt, but the miles were too high for my liking, but theyhad anither one 40 miles away, with a much more acceptable mileage covered. They offered to get the car brought over, BUT only once I had paid a non returnable deposit !

Stuff that, I drove the 40 miles and looked at it myself, and eventually bought it.

This added to lots of other "issues" meant that it was for sure the last business dealings I have or will ever have with that chain of stealers !

[waterwonder]

They can and probably will do it. However as others have said it will almost certainly involve leaving a deposit (£100 should do it).

I.e. you've bought it on the basis that it is as described, so agree the price etc as well before hand.

I don't really understand the problem with leaving a non refundable deposit. If you were selling a car privately you wouldn't drive from one end of the country to the other to see a prospective buyer unless they gave you a solid commitment which these days = cash.

[ehyouwhat]

I've got no problem with leaving a deposit, and I don't expect it back should I fail to buy the car...I'm the one who wants to shift it here, no-one has had to sell the idea to me. Luckily, my Dad is passing the (possibly) supplying dealership today so he's going to pop in and check the car out for me.

[waterwonder]

That will be handy if he can.

Just make sure you are clear on what you are buying and on what terms.

The way i used to do this kind of thing any time i had to cover used cars (from my days working at a stealership) was to ring the salesmanager of the supplying site on loudspeaker and ask him/her to walk round the car and describe it the customer. This then gives you an opportunity to ask any questions about the car as well.

Basically if you assume the dealers stance is "ask no questions and i'll tell no lies" you won't go far wrong.

That way if the car is sold as a minter but arrives and it has every panel scratched and runs like a bags of nails you have every right to refuse and get your deposit back.