Car Giant

braddyboy

Hi All,
This is my first forum post so please be gentle.

Ok, so to start off with, I would like to say I have no links with CG at all and in fact hadn't even heard of them until last week when I found a car I liked on AutoTrader but I'll get to that.

I work for a commercial property insurer and have a company car (BMW 518d, 64 reg), and I have to agree with the general views above of fleet car drivers. I very rarely slow down for speed bumps, don't park down at the quiet end of supermarket car parks or generally pay much attention to car washing unless it becomes difficult to determine the colour. On the other hand, the fleet cars are serviced with main dealers, never want for tyres, balancing, tracking, wipers, oil or anything else as it's all expensed to the company, so I'm not too afraid of buying one so long as the miles are reasonable and it's not wheezing it's last breath; especially since I'm essentially buying it as a workhorse/family pet combo.

Having just resigned from this job and heading to another company that gives car allowance rather than an actual car, I started the search. I was considering various options and eventually came down to a BMW 3 or 5 GT. From searching on BMW approved used and Autotrader, and also viewing a few at my local garage I was really starting to get a feel for the vast array of options, engine, trim, gadgets etc I was looking for and was finding it hard to get what I wanted for a price I was happy with.

This is where Car Giant came in. Late one night searching through AutoTrader app while my wife snored as gently as a freight train beside me, I spotted a car with my both of my top options, Sat nav and Active Cruise control. I had all but given up on this mystical combo as of the 200+ cars I'd found within budget, most had sat nav, only 2 others had ACC, one was moon taxi mileage, and the other somehow slipped the sat nav net.

The interesting part about this car was that the ACC wasn't even listed in the spec. I just happened to spot the two additional buttons on the steering wheel. This car seemed to be everything I was looking for, with the slight exception of brown leather instead of black. Obviously I discussed this crucial automotive deal breaker with my DW, and while she wouldn't budge on Ivory or Beige, she was willing to consider Brown rather than Black but only because "it is your car after all". (It's compromise that keeps a marriage together eh?) Plus point #1, it was the only place with the car I was looking for, not only that but it was at least £1500 less than the next nearest comparable car for age, mileage, condition.

With this I rounded up my most hawk eyed friend and we set off on the 100+ mile drive from Dorset to North London last night. Traffic was a nightmare and it took us over 3 hours to get there, further reinforcing our views that we much prefer living near the beach than anywhere near the M25, but I digress. Although I was wary it may be some sneaky marketing ploy to bump the price up or warm the engine up etc, before we set off I booked a test drive. It turns out I had grossly overestimated the tradesmanship on display at CG. What it did do however was register me for instant text and email updates if the car should happen to sell while I was en route. Plus point #2.

Now obviously I didn't embark upon this mission lightly. I researched the cars, and CG themselves and found a mixed bag for both, but felt that unless there was something really wrong with this car I would probably buy it and it was worth the trip which ended up taking 7.5 hours including a quick late dinner.

When we arrived at CG surprised just how big it is. It's massive and there seem to be thousands of cars. I was only interested in one and didn't have the time to browse even if I wanted to. I think from the sounds of the reviews above this is where the danger lies with these places and you could lose a day of your life and still end up with a turkey. For me, the fact they aren't engaging in any tradesmen style tricks like touching up blemishes or warming up engines before you arrive was exactly what I wanted. I queued up in the vast reception area and approached the desk. After 3 minutes, some low level information exchange and my own car key I was given the keys and pointed in the general direction. This IMHO is the very best way to view a car, it was even indoors. I've been to many different glass palace dealerships looking at cars I've researched extensively, and can tell you that even those sales guys don't have all the answers, not correct ones anyway (they'll normally try and blag something to keep you happy and interested though). The ones at CG just don't even pretend, that's the difference. Plus point #3.

Looking around the car and on the very short test drive there were several surprises. The bad ones were a few scratches on the paint a small trolley dent and some slight knicks in the rear leather. Nothing that I wouldn't expect to have on my current 518 in 2 years and 32k miles anyway and based on the price more than acceptable. The good ones however just kept coming and are all down to the fact that CG deal in volume and have no idea what they're selling unless it's given to them on a plate. Very long story, slightly less long, there are over 4k (list price) of options on the car that they haven't even bothered to detail on the particulars, never mind reflect in the price. ACC, reverse parking camera, anti-collision safety thing and best of all, I found out when I checked the BMW website, it has servicing included at BMW for 5 years or 60k, including guaranteed MOT pass.:T Plus point #4.

Being cautious and having waited until nearly closing time I didn't put down a deposit but slept on it. A £10 MyCarCheck showed nothing untoward and so today I phoned and paid the deposit. Something they don't advertise is that it is possible for them to hold it for up to 2 weeks for you. There is a sliding scale of deposits.
£200 = 3days,
£400= 1week,
£800 = 2 weeks.
Since these obviously come off the price of the car there's not much to lose by giving yourself some breathing space. The phone call took just over half an hour where I just declined all that was offered and Bob's your uncle. I'm booked in to collect the car and will report back if there's anything major but I'm expecting to be there an hour or two and then drive away.

Conclusion: If you know what you want and CG happen to have it at a reasonable price then go for it, you may even be pleasantly surprised with teh spec because they really don't have any brand knowledge. If you need to discuss, browse and learn, it may not be the place for you. This is the difference between Tesco and your local butcher, everything under one roof with unskilled workers banging through deals set by others, or an expert in their field providing a personal service. I got lucky and the saturday boy priced up a fillet steak for the price of rump, I hope you manage the same.
Yes the £99 admin is irritating, but it's no surprise so just factor it into your costs before you go. For a £21499 car it's less than 0.5% and besides, in my case this car would have cost me at least £26k from anywhere with half a clue as to its value so I'm not worried, and that is after all what MSE is all about.

I hope this helps anyone with the patience to read it. Good luck.

gabitzul

Braddyboy, +1 just for the very well articulated write-up.

On the thread, my experience with them was generally positive, see my earlier posts re: the Honda Civic I bought from them.

Totall agree with the mantra: do your homework. At CG they do not know about cars or seem to care. They might as well sell potatoes. But that's not necessarily a bad thing.

motorguy

gabitzul wrote: »

Totall agree with the mantra: do your homework. At CG they do not know about cars or seem to care. They might as well sell potatoes. But that's not necessarily a bad thing.

Totally agree. My wife bought a 370z a couple of weeks ago from a car supermarket.

We genuinely bought it "in spite of" the salesman, rather than "with the aid of". He was clueless about the car, kept us waiting for ages, then was condescending about whether or not my wife had the ability to drive the car.

Fortunately the car was mint, very low miles and a very low price - a very rare combo in a car supermarket.

RS2000.

motorguy wrote: »

Totally agree. My wife bought a 370z a couple of weeks ago from a car supermarket.

We genuinely bought it "in spite of" the salesman, rather than "with the aid of". He was clueless about the car, kept us waiting for ages, then was condescending about whether or not my wife had the ability to drive the car.

Fortunately the car was mint, very low miles and a very low price - a very rare combo in a car supermarket.

I've had a positve experience like that once before too. But with volume sales at those places it's no wonder customer service isn't what it should be if you have a problem.

motorguy

RS2000. wrote: »

I've had a positve experience like that once before too. But with volume sales at those places it's no wonder customer service isn't what it should be if you have a problem.

The one thing that swung it for us was that the car is still under manufacturers warranty so we wont need to go near the car supermarket again.

I certainly wouldnt rule using a car supermarket out as an option next time, but it wouldnt be my "default" choice

Baileyborough

Quick question about their pricing:

I'm looking to get a cheap first car (I'm talking 1500 or so cheap). Does car giant stock at that price range or is it all the 4k and up (as it seems on their website)?

Thanks,

C

loskie

buy private for that money. You will be paying a dealer 1500 for a 800 car