Car Giant

darkmatter101

Car Giant literally has thousands of cars all in one place and it's a good place to have a browse around to see which car make and model suits you.

However, buying from them is another matter. Most of their cars are high mileage ex fleet cars, often without dealer service history but their own service history. Due to the volume of cars I would doubt any of them are really inspected properly (if at all) before they're put out on sale.

Don't expect first class customer service. Firstly the sale reps generally aren't knowledgeable on any one brand of car, as they deal with literally all makes and models. I remember going there with a friend of mine looking to buy a BMW 3 series and we test drove one in the M Sport guise. The sales rep stated that the 'M Sport' has more power over the standard SE. Complete !!!!!!!!. Secondly they just don't the time to deal with each and other customer query; it's pretty much like, "You have test drove the car? So do you want to buy?" Conversely, at a dealership you're actually treated like a customer and they have the time, knowledge and facilities to explore the car of your choice.

Car Giant comes with a standard 3 month warranty. Buying from a dealership it comes with a comprehensive 1 year warranty.

Finally, Car Giant caters for the average customer looking for a car in standard trim. Don't expect to find BMW M3's, Audi S3's, Toyota GT86's let alone an ordinary 3 series with a good specification. Majority of their cars are ex fleet, therefore most are 2 litre diesels with the standard spec.

Car Giant does fool clueless people in thinking they are getting a good deal but the reality is that it isn't at all cheap.

albionrovers

Not being cheeky here but I wouldn't expect clued up people to go any where near Car Giant? Their demographic is surely youngsters and ...well... folk who don't like cars who just need any old car?

Johnnytwostep

darkmatter101 wrote: »

Car Giant literally has thousands of cars all in one place and it's a good place to have a browse around to see which car make and model suits you.

However, buying from them is another matter. Most of their cars are high mileage ex fleet cars, often without dealer service history but their own service history. Due to the volume of cars I would doubt any of them are really inspected properly (if at all) before they're put out on sale.

Don't expect first class customer service. Firstly the sale reps generally aren't knowledgeable on any one brand of car, as they deal with literally all makes and models. I remember going there with a friend of mine looking to buy a BMW 3 series and we test drove one in the M Sport guise. The sales rep stated that the 'M Sport' has more power over the standard SE. Complete !!!!!!!!. Secondly they just don't the time to deal with each and other customer query; it's pretty much like, "You have test drove the car? So do you want to buy?" Conversely, at a dealership you're actually treated like a customer and they have the time, knowledge and facilities to explore the car of your choice.

Car Giant comes with a standard 3 month warranty. Buying from a dealership it comes with a comprehensive 1 year warranty.

Finally, Car Giant caters for the average customer looking for a car in standard trim. Don't expect to find BMW M3's, Audi S3's, Toyota GT86's let alone an ordinary 3 series with a good specification. Majority of their cars are ex fleet, therefore most are 2 litre diesels with the standard spec.

Car Giant does fool clueless people in thinking they are getting a good deal but the reality is that it isn't at all cheap.

Sorry to hear you got fooled

Monument

I am a Merc nut and and for the last three months have been looking for a powerful 3.5L E350 cgi petrol estate 10 plate £15k to replace my aging 12 year old 2.6L petrol model. Contrary to what some claim, Car Giant DO stock rare cars. Out of 900 Mer E class estates on Autotrader, there were are only two on Autotrader nationally under 5 years old. One was at Car Giant, with the price spot on but not cheap. They will not haggle. If you did want a diesel CG had quite a few. I know a lot about these cars, and with FSH it drove just dreamlike. Exterior very good for 67k miles. CG do not bother much with presentation, especially inside. That is up to you to sort out. What marks CG out is what happened next (early Feb 15). On the way home from CG the rear air suspension gave out. This is a service item eventually and a large bill. CG repaired it quickly with Merc parts no questions asked, and rang me personally - without me asking - at every stage of the process to let me know what was going on. I now have free new part rear air suspension (compressor and osr sensor) and the car is suberb. I don't think you can ask for more - except a better clean inside and to stop trying to sell you all the add ons. I will be back for a cheaper runabout too...

Hoof_Hearted

I find it odd that three cars on this page that were driven -- the two bought ones had serious problems and the one test driven was clearly not fit to be sold.

I would be gutted if I bought a car and it had a serious problem in the first few months.

Monument

Hoof_Hearted wrote: »

I find it odd that three cars on this page that were driven -- the two bought ones had serious problems and the one test driven was clearly not fit to be sold.

I would be gutted if I bought a car and it had a serious problem in the first few months.

....But if you know cars you know luxury and hi perf cars need looking after as they get older. Thats part of the deal. I spent £15k for a car that cost £45k new 4 years ago. That is the deal. Budget for maintenance or buy a cheaper car. I am well up on this car so far - remember the failure is a known wear item and not serious at all. :beer:

Hoof_Hearted

Perhaps it's me, but I expect faults to be rectified before I take the car but then most reputable dealers allow for a proper test drive not a quick round the block.

vikingaero

CG will haggle a little if you take out GAP & Warranty - Just cancel within 14 days for a full refund.

Monument

Hoof_Hearted wrote: »

Perhaps it's me, but I expect faults to be rectified before I take the car but then most reputable dealers allow for a proper test drive not a quick round the block.

Yes, you are right about that. And of course the CG geography doesn't help with the A40 nearby often jammed and not higher speed driving difficult. Still, there have enormous choice...

Monument

vikingaero wrote: »

CG will haggle a little if you take out GAP & Warranty - Just cancel within 14 days for a full refund.

Thanks for that. Very interesting and will do that next time on a second small run about