Car Giant

CB1878

It may not be very MSE but if you are looking at a used vehicle then two examples of the very same 1 year old, 10k mile models can actually be very different. One may be an ex day rental vehicle, the other could have been from a private individual. I would always pay a bit more for the right car, regardless if that was from the main agent, Car Giant or anywhere else.

As for 'admin' charges, as long as they are up front about it then I would not have an issue. If the fee is the same for every vehicle then that would seem fair enough to me.

motorguy

CB1878 wrote: »

I would always pay a bit more for the right car, regardless if that was from the main agent, Car Giant or anywhere else.

+1

It was only when i started to look around at all these seemingly identical cars that i realised how much variation there was. It seems that main dealers get the Grade A stock, and the stuff thats a bit scruffy gets bought up by the big car supermarkets and non franchised dealers.

Its wholly blinkered just to assume Car Giant are "the best" when theres a lot of evidence and personal experiences on here and elsewhere to the contrary. I would certainly go along and have a look if they had the right car at the right price, but you do have to look at the big picture.

:money:

reporter512

I just purchased a car from cargiant, having looked at cars at four other dealers first. I had a very positive experience there - the best of all of the places I went to. (The first tried to sell me a car which may have been clocked - the HPI check threw up some suspicious mileages; the second didn't show up at the agreed time; the third showed me a car which made my legs shake - there was something clearly wrong with the clutch; the fourth tried to sell me a car which was a category C write-off due to "vandalism" - the AA report told me that the car had actually been involved in a major accident instead.)

cargiant, on the other hand, didn't push me towards any particular car (though they of course offered to sell me every extra bit of insurance etc going - see other threads here for more information on car warranties!), nor did they rush me, though they didn't offer particularly much in the way of useful advice (which was OK, as I had advice from a friend beforehand). I had seen a very reasonably priced car on AutoTrader available from cargiant, remembered to add on the £99 fee (which is clearly listed in the car description) and went to test-drive it. I also looked at several other cars while I was there. The test-drive route is short, but when I explained that I wanted a longer test-drive, they were happy for me to drive the route multiple times, so I got a good 15 minutes in the car. (They wouldn't let me go outside of the industrial estate because of their insurers' requirements; the manager was very polite and apologetic in explaining this, and we agreed upon this compromise.) I did get the AA to check the vehicle, and the report found that there had been some minor damage to the rear of the vehicle which had been repaired well, and basically everything else was ok, with just a couple of issues which needed attention, and cargiant dealt with those. The car was an ex-lease vehicle and perfectly good for my needs - I was not looking for a "perfect" car.

So overall, I am very happy with my purchase, and would be perfectly happy to recommend them. It is worth getting the car checked over, though, by someone else (I used the AA) - I'm not sure I would rely on their checks.

reporter512

Update on the car. The first time I drove it on the motorway, it shuddered terribly and I was stuck 50 miles from home. I spoke to my regular garage, who told me that I needed to get the steering geometry checked and the wheels rebalanced, which I did before returning. When I got home, my wife told me that I shouldn't have to pay for that - duh! I remembered the Sale of Goods Act, and wrote a letter to cargiant yesterday based on the example from the Citizens Advice Bureau (search for: sale of goods act citizensadvice.org.uk to find the example - I can't post the link here as I'm a new poster).

I was astonished - they phoned me at 11:30am today and said they'd received me letter and will be sending me a cheque to cover the bill within 14 days. I was fully expecting to write on this forum saying that my opinion had changed, but it hasn't (assuming that the cheque does arrive).

Rodney_Trotter

reporter512 wrote: »

Update on the car. The first time I drove it on the motorway, it shuddered terribly and I was stuck 50 miles from home. I spoke to my regular garage, who told me that I needed to get the steering geometry checked and the wheels rebalanced, which I did before returning. When I got home, my wife told me that I shouldn't have to pay for that - duh! I remembered the Sale of Goods Act, and wrote a letter to cargiant yesterday based on the example from the Citizens Advice Bureau (search for: sale of goods act citizensadvice.org.uk to find the example - I can't post the link here as I'm a new poster).

I was astonished - they phoned me at 11:30am today and said they'd received me letter and will be sending me a cheque to cover the bill within 14 days. I was fully expecting to write on this forum saying that my opinion had changed, but it hasn't (assuming that the cheque does arrive).

Are you for real or just joined up to plug car giant?

N._King

We have just endured a very poor experience with Cargiant, and those people who are rushing over there to take advantage of the prices, should be aware of their less than customer-friendly business practice.

We wanted to buy a Nissan Qashqai, a reliable car judging by the reviews. We found one at Cargiant for £9k, which seemed like a decent deal. From the moment we made our interest known to the staff, we were encouraged to immediately put down a deposit because "the car would sell at any minute".

I phoned back during the week to arrange a test drive and was again given the spiel that the car could go at any moment. The salesman told me that all the cars are put through a proper internal examination. Although nervous about handing over the £200 deposit, I did it, and arranged for a test drive.

We drove the Qashqai around the block, but it didn’t feel right. We are no car experts, but on handing the car back to the salesman, we could hear an audible grating noise as the car idled. The noise got even louder as the car was driven around the corner. We relayed our concerns about the poor condition of the car to the staff. The salesman said he would put the car into their garage to see what the problem was. We were promised a phone call within an hour. Five hours later, having heard nothing, I phoned back to be told that the front and rear discs had been loose. Not a good thing on a car. Throughout this phone call, the lady at Cargiant repeatedly informed me that the £200 deposit was NOT refundable. This is the mantra of the company. She even suggested that the reason the car was in poor condition was because ‘it had stood still for so long on forecourt’. This verdict was slightly at odds with earlier claims that the “car would sell at any minute".

However, we want our deposit back. The car we were on the verge of buying is not fit for re-sale. Cargiant claim to test all the cars they sell, but all they had to do with the Qashqai was turn the engine and the problems would have been immediately evident. Either the car was not properly checked, or they put it out for sale hoping to get away with it. You decide.

Their intransigence regarding our deposit is extraordinary. Cargiant is a slick used car operation where the sales rhetoric is hollow and the motors on sale are decidedly dodgy.

Hoof_Hearted

No surprised by what you say. I don't like them. Possible small claims as nobody has told you that the deposit was not refundable. As a rule, never pay a deposit on a car you haven't even seen. There are always plenty of other cars for sale.

System

I quite like Car Giant. They have a wide spectrum of cars in each model from the good condition, low mileage ones through to the scruffy stuff. Price reflects this. Usually very good saving to be had one the good quality and low mileage stuff compared to similar stuff at main dealers. Main dealers do however come with warranty and freshly serviced which the CG ones don't so that need to be factored into the cost when comparing.

llllllllllllllllllllll

N._King wrote: »

I phoned back to be told that the front and rear discs had been loose.

I have heard it all now, the discs are loose, there is a retaining screw/bolt then the wheel holds it firm to the hub

N._King wrote: »

Throughout this phone call, the lady at Cargiant repeatedly informed me that the £200 deposit was NOT refundable.

Firstly never give a deposit before driving and being happy with the vehicle (but I bet your kicking yourself for that already), secondly and in normal circumstances a deposit is non refundable if the car was of satisfactory condition, the deposit is acceptance of the contract.

If, and using their words the "discs were loose" then they have broken the terms of the contract by trying to sell you a car that any "reasonable" person see as un-satisfactory/un-fit for purpose

ie
For the purposes of this Act, goods are of satisfactory quality if they meet the standard that a reasonable person would regard as satisfactory, taking account of any description of the goods, the price (if relevant) and all the other relevant circumstances.

They didnt explain that the discs were loose before you handed over the money...thus they have broke the terms of the contract.

Reeceymc

I have returned from a visit to Car Giant, which wasted a whole day off and the only word I could describe my experience is disgraceful. After doing lots of research I decided it was worth the two hour journey in London traffic to be able to view five cars on the same site, with the aim to exchange my car and buy today.

The first car I asked about had no service history and only one key as it was a repossession. I decided there was no point and moved on. The other two cars again had no service histories at all even though was a mobility car for which servicing is done free. Feeling frustrated I asked about the last two cars. The first issue was the body work which was shocking (dents and scrapes on almost every panel) as well as the interior. It even had bird mess on the bonnet and it was indoors!! To make things even worse when we started the engine it sounded terrible, rattling loudly. The last car was a lower spec and very basic but otherwise first impressions were good; full service history, one owner, no obvious scrapes or dents. I started the car and the engine and coil pack orange warning lights came on as well as the message "start go error". I checked the manufacturers website and it said get the car to a garage immediately with these warnings.

We went to view five cars having researched them and on good faith from the information and photographs they provided on their website. There was an issue with every single one. I feel the information they provided was misleading particularly when it came to bodywork and mechanics. Most worryingly, they market themselves on having done many vehicle checks so that you can buy in confidence yet if this was the case then how was a major engine fault missed?!! The cars didn't look like they had even been cleaned let alone mechanically checked.

I was extremely annoyed and went to voice my concerns with the manager. He didn't seem at all surprised at all and just commented "well sometimes these things get missed, thanks for the feedback"!!!!!

I would never buy from this company and would urge anyone who is planning to, call before hand and get them to tell you the specific history as well as an accurate description of the bodywork of the car and what checks have been done.