VERY dodgy Vauxhall offer - Help!

jimpix12

Hi all

Some of you may remember I was looking to lease, but I think I'm back to buying outright now.

I have found a great car with a Vauxhall dealer (part of Network Q etc so all legit?) and it's very reasonably priced. The only issue is the dealer asked me "how I'm going to pay" I said cash, and he said that to get this price (about £4k under the list price) I need to get finance through Vauxhall. He said it was part of their "SBA "or something. He then went on to say that if I didn't get the finance (minimum £1500) then I'd have to pay £2k more on the list price. Something to do with a promotion Vauxhall are doing.

Is this legal? Should I walk away? Any advice welcome guys. I was shocked to hear this from a reputable Vauxhall dealer.

vikingaero

Walk. If it's not right walk every time.

Or have fun. Get the finance quote and papers and tell the salesman you're going to make a complaint about him and walk off with your copies as evidence.

Lemonade_Pockets

You are not supposed to differ between cash and finance deals.

However however dubious there probably isn't alot a you can do about it. I would guess that if they ever came to given you a written offer they would show the £2k as a deposit contribution which would get round the problem (from their point of view).

The reason is because Vauxhall and or the Finance Company (GMAC probabaly) will give the dealer a extra bonus if you buy it on finance. They are passing all or some of this bonus onto you hence the price difference. N.b. I very much doubt it would be £2k ontop of the list price i'm guessing they meant £2k on top of the discounted finance price.

I would personally say they have been open and honest and laid the options on the table as it is, more than a lot of dealers do. I would rather have this than them try make a extra £2k out of selling me finance!

mikey72

I've seen it before.
They make a good profit on the finance deal, so the car is cheap. No profit on cash, so the car has to be dearer.
If the overall price is good, buy it.
Likewise the dealer though, if there's no profit for them, they can't afford to sell it you, so they'll walk away.

jack_spratt_2

Some manufacturers do this as a incentive they offer a deposit contribution if you buy on finance!! whether this is what Vauxhall are doing I do not know !! phone them or look on the website to find out .

The dealer would prefer you to buy on finance as they get more commission so he my be trying to pull a fast one or this is a genuine Vauxhall offer

jack_spratt_2

Taken from Vauxhall website

Vauxhall will be happy to help contribute towards your deposit up to £2750 on a new car if you take out a selected GMAC finance agreement. Please note that FDA can be used with GMAC Hire Purchase contacts (excluding 0% finance) or Choices (Corsa only, excluding 4.9% choices). For full offer details and availability please see the Finance Deposit Allowance table for cars..

Terms and conditions
Finance Deposit Allowance can be used with selected GMAC Hire Purchase agreements and Choices Finance (selected Corsa models only).
Finance Deposit Allowance cannot be used in conjunction with 0% Finance or 4.9% Choices Finance Offers. Eligibility
Offer applies to private individuals, Vauxhall Partners and small businesses 1-24 vehicles (purchase only excl. B2B). All other customers are excluded.
Availability
Available at participating retailers only. Available on Agila Club and Design, Corsa Active, Active Plus, Design, Design inTouch, SXi, SXi inTouch, SRi and VXR (excl. Arctic Edition), all Tigra models, Meriva Active, Active Plus, Club, Design and VXR, Astra Hatchback Active, Active Plus and Elite, Astra Hatchback and Estate Design, SXi and SRi, Astra Sport Hatch Active, Active Plus, Design, SXi, SRi and VXR, all Astra TwinTop models (excl. all Exclusiv models), Zafira Active, Active Plus, Design, Elite, SRi and VXR, all Insignia models. Offers may not apply to all retailer stock.

Lemonade_Pockets

There you go then thats where the extra £2k comes from.

Simple buy on finance you get an extra £2k chucked in on your behalf.

If you don't buy on finance you don't get it.

All legal legit etc etc. The dealer obviously just fudged his words a bit when trying to explain it.

You could always buy it on finance get the benefit of the deposit contribution, then settle immediately. You might incur a few charges but you'd get the lions share of £2k.

jimpix12

Hi all, Thanks for the advice. Per the above, that's exactly what I did. He said the early settlement fee and the interest if paid immediately would only be around £250. So I've still saved a lot, and have paid the £500 deposit. Assuming it all goes through, I should have the car by 7th May

Their part exchange price was also very fair, so I'm a happy bunny.

Lemonade_Pockets

Good happy outcome for all. Except GMAC who will be spitting feathers when you settle. Never mind. If GM go under we can all blame you.

Cazza

FYI, main dealers generally prefer you not to pay with cash, they're too large to need / want to do anything "clever" with VAT and, as most people want to pick up cars at the weekend, they've got to find somewhere safe to put the cash until the admin people are back in on Monday morning because no one in the sales office will have a clue where the keys for the safe are kept (for experience...... :rolleyes:)

mikey72

spunko2010 wrote: »

Hi all, Thanks for the advice. Per the above, that's exactly what I did. He said the early settlement fee and the interest if paid immediately would only be around £250. So I've still saved a lot, and have paid the £500 deposit. Assuming it all goes through, I should have the car by 7th May

Their part exchange price was also very fair, so I'm a happy bunny.

Hope you got that in writing, and they don't want the finance deposit back as well.