Car Giant

bigjl

Woody. wrote: »

bigjl wrote: »

Ah , Woody the new sign in name for Scooby doo.

Think you have mistaken me for some one else my friend.

Really?

Then why do you have opinions on things said months ago on the forum but you have just joined, strangely at the exact same time that Scooby Doo was banned!

Now that is a coincidence, isn't it.

Woody._2

bigjl wrote: »

Then why do you have opinions on things said months ago on the forum but you have just joined, strangely at the exact same time that Scooby Doo was banned!

Now that is a coincidence, isn't it.

Please point out what you are refering to because I don't know what you are talking about.

Are you like this with all new members or have you just picked me out at ramdom?

Is bigjl the forum bully?

BM-AK

Going back on topic...I've bought two car's from Cargiant previously.

You need to be very careful. There are many turds there so picking a good car (which quite often exist) requires a good knowledge on cars. There are loads of cars with ropey bodywork and are in poor condition, so you need to have a good eye to filter through. I do like their approach to checking out cars. You walk in, ask for the key and they leave you to it. Buying from a dealer means you often have a salesmen lurking around and giving you the sales talk. The test drives are however a little poor. You barely get the car up to speed as they are not allowed on the main road - just around their industrial estate.

However, recently I recently changed my car again and see that since the last time i bought my car there, they do have fairly high priced cars, with ridiculously high mileage. I was better off buying from a dealer this time round.

Flyboy152

BM-AK wrote: »

Going back on topic...I've bought two car's from Cargiant previously.

You need to be very careful. There are many turds there so picking a good car (which quite often exist) requires a good knowledge on cars. There are loads of cars with ropey bodywork and are in poor condition, so you need to have a good eye to filter through. I do like their approach to checking out cars. You walk in, ask for the key and they leave you to it. Buying from a dealer means you often have a salesmen lurking around and giving you the sales talk. The test drives are however a little poor. You barely get the car up to speed as they are not allowed on the main road - just around their industrial estate.

However, recently I recently changed my car again and see that since the last time i bought my car there, they do have fairly high priced cars, with ridiculously high mileage. I was better off buying from a dealer this time round.

The problem is, the vast majority of consumers do not know enough about cars and are getting ripped off.

vikingaero

I quite like Car Giant. It's a good place to go and spend the day and consider cars that you wouldn't normally choose.

The buying experience definitely isn't a glass palace main dealer - if you want your arris wiped and mollycoddled then stick to the dealers. I also fail to see the problem with the £91 charge. If you didn't notice it on the thousands of price tags, letters and notices then you really really should hand back your driving licence and visit Specsavers.

As to the cars. Well they are rough and ready but honest. Whereas a main dealer will spend hundreds on tarting a car up at least you can see how the car has really been treated. I find there are more than a fair share of body dings although these are noted on the price sheets and with additional warning stickers.

The price of the vehicles are very good value in the mainstream sector. The BMW's/Mercs/Audis are the most sought after by the resident Asian/Middle Eastern members of the public and the prices aren't as keen. Honest John in his Daily Telegraph Motoring column bemoaned the introduction of extended consumer protection because Car Giant had to increase their prices to cover the cost of the 6 month implied warranty.

MandyMc

Has anyone from Northern Ireland had experience of Cargiant. I picked out a car this week, arranged a flight for Sat and ferry home but when I called them to pay by debit card they refused to accept a card from a Northern Irish bank. They say on their website that they don't accept payments by phone but then when you call them they say you can, EXCEPT of course if you are from the wrong part of the UK! The site clearly says they accept Visa debit, Visa etc.
I spoke to the sales guy Leon , then the manager on duty last night but the manager says the cashiers say no. Unbelievable.
I know they have a right to sell to whomever they please but they can't display on their website that they accept UK without specifying exceptions. I've lost a flight cost and they've lost a sale. Seems very bizarre to me.

NeverAgain_2

Car Giant produce very polarised opinions on here.

I wouldn't deal with them, and your experience supports that view.

Any decent business would try to help a customer, not hinder them, particularly a customer who has travelled some distance to buy something.

Buy a car from somewhere else, there are plenty of cars and plenty of somewhere eleses.

Vikidoc

Pew_Pew_Pew_Lasers! wrote: »

Overpriced rep cars sold to people who are generally clueless about cars. Steer clear IMO, and buy privately.

I bought a car from cargiant around 6 years ago. It was a Nissan and it worked well enough but needed tyre replacement and electronic nonsense which led to me part exchanging it. Since it was a decent buying experience and salesmen were not pushy when I purchased the Nissan I thought I'll give them a try again today for my second car. What a shocking change?! They have more cars now but customer service personnel have been replaced by street vendors. I went to area c which has the bmws and audis. The moment I entered the area there was a guy who approached me and took me to his desk. He took my details and started talking to me about what car I have to part exchange etc when I reminded him that I need to have a look at the car first. He then asked me whether I will buy the car today and I told him again that it will depend on whether I like the car. He finally took my car key as security and gave me the keys to the car on display. When I had a close look at the car it was a battered used car with loads of scratches and some glitches like electronics not responding well. I went to return the keys and the guy who first gave me the key was serving someone else. When I tried to return it to the counter staff the guy started talking loudly about why I should buy the car since it's value for money despite me telling him about the poor condition of the car. He kept engaging me in a conversation when all I needed was my key & not hard selling. When I took the keys and turned around to leave I could hear them laugh behind my back. It felt like I was in a primary school trying to make an important purchase. I thank heavens for this experience as it helped me make a decision about buying cars from these school kids. I would not want anyone to meet these street vendors. Such a shame on this car supermarket which should be recruiting decent people and not thugs to push their stock. I very rarely post reviews but I hope this review will be an eye opener for someone who wants a relaxed buying experience - 'Dont even go near cargiant'

Madferrit

I bought a car from Car Giant just this last weekend. My experience was good and bad, but having read about their reviews on this forum and others I was prepared for the worst. First thing was that I narrowed my choice of car to about 4 different makes/ models. I wanted to use the trip to see what i could get for my money, and if I liked something then I'd consider a purchase. I had already done my background research of the spec of cars I was interested in and this helped to make my decision about what I liked.

I wandered around the lot and noted 3 cars I liked, went to the sales area and handed over my keys for a set of keys for the 1st car. There wasn't any pressure at this point other than a quick hello, and to ask if I had a p/x (i didn't).

I looked around the 1st car (Nissan Note), checked inside and found a cigarette burn on the drivers seat. The boot appeared to have a cloth cover loose and when I started the engine it seemed the fan belt was loose. I immediately didn't like the car and went to return the keys. I enquired about the 2nd car (£400 more than the 1st) and was told it was reserved, and took the keys for the 3rd Nissan Note. When I inspected the car it had only done 2700 miles and was in mint condition inside. The body work had a few minor faint scratches and when I started the engine it sounded perfect. The same salesman who met me at the key exchange made his way over, and asked if I'd like a drive to which I agreed.

I have to admit the drive was very short, but knowing a little about cars I did a few checks (ie, steering swerve, brakes, suspension etc) and that all seemed to be perfect. The salesman wasn't pushy at this point and I was quite pleased. Despite being £500 more than the car I had originally anticipated to buy I was more than happy with the deal considering the car was just 3 years old and less than 3k on the clock. Some people have mentioned about the £91 admin fee, but this is posted everywhere so its hard to miss.

Here is where it all went a bit pear shaped:

We sat with the finance guy who was quite pleasant, he took the details and sorted out the finance. After that we sat with the salesman who tried to sell us the warranty insurance, GAP insurance and some product to protect the car from bird poo. At this point another salesman sat to the side, and initially I thought he was just mentoring the salesman I was speaking to.

I bought the warranty... however now I'm wondering if that was the right decision. One point to note is that they talk right away about the maximum warranty policy, not the cheaper options. You have to ask them to show you the comparison between the full policy and cheaper options to see the difference in cost.

The GAP insurance I refused, and at that point the 2nd salesman jumped in trying to explain how important it was for me. I explained I knew the risks and didn't feel it was something I needed to purchase. He was still persistent and in the end I had to be quite forceful that it wasn't something I wanted or needed to buy. I also made it clear that I wasn't happy we were discussing all this after the finance had been arranged. I stopped the video of the bird poo remover (can't think what else to call it) short, as it wasn't of interest to me. Also, the bag they were trying to sell me only had 4 small bottles in it, a sponge... and thats it. I was thinking it would be cheaper to buy Zymol or something similar which would do a better job.

I thought that was all the charges till I arranged to pick up the car the next day. The 2pm appointments had all been taken on the Sunday and the 2:30 (onwards) appointments incur a £15 charge!! I was also told that if I'm late for my appointment they may add an additional charge.. Again I said I was unhappy that I wasn't told about this earlier. The finance guy did try talking to a manager about waiving the charge but there was no positive outcome from that.

Overall, I felt with the car I was getting (low mileage and price) I was getting a good deal, so spending the extra £15 to collect the car although not ideal, was a small issue to me. I thought that was the end of my worries.

Yesterday I went back to collect the car, I got there 15 minutes early as I didn't want to incur any further hidden charges. The day before I was told to go straight to the collection centre. I went there only to be told to go see the finance manager. After 15 minutes I saw him, he completed the paperwork and sent me back to the collection centre. After 15 minutes I was called to a desk to hand over the documentation/ spare keys, and then sent to collect my car. I didn't get to leave till 3:40.. so much for having an appointment.

I'm not worried about the car I bought, but only because I researched what I wanted thoroughly and even with the costs thrown in I feel I've got myself a good deal. You do have to look around and be prepared to wait for a decent spec/ condition car to come along. There stock turns over very quickly.. the car I bought had not even made it to the website. There initial customer service is very good, it is when the selling of insurance policies comes into play that you realise that is where the salesmen get their commission/ hit their targets.

Would I buy from there again? most likely yes, but I will be very vigilant about what I'm buying. I'll make sure i've done my research properly and now I'm aware of their sales procedure I'll know when to say no and ask them to move on. But I won't rely just on Car Giant to find my next car. It all depends on what I'm buying and the availability on the open market.

vikingaero

Madferrit wrote: »

I wandered around the lot and noted 3 cars I liked, went to the sales area and handed over my keys for a set of keys for the 1st car. There wasn't any pressure at this point other than a quick hello, and to ask if I had a p/x (i didn't).

If you buy from Car Giant again then a tip is to take an old set of car keys for the key exchange. I took my Dads old 1980's Volvo keys.