cars and car salesmen!

bubblepop_2

Hi,
Myself and my partner are looking to buy a car, had gone to Skoda and had a quote for a Fabia 2 on the VAT free deal they're promoting at the moment. However once they added on the GAP insurance and Service plan it just got too much for us to be able to afford (£185 per month as opposed to the original £162 without the extras they'd quoted on the PCP scheme) and we simply can't afford more than £175 a month.
The salesman has got really quite arsey with us when we've questioned the price - as if we're being rude by not appreciating the offer he's given us (the vat free deal, spare tyre, mats and reduced gap insurance - and it has since turned out that the metallic paint he said he'd included for free to begin with is actually just a higher price car with the metallic paint cost included!)
We know this is a good monthly payment in relation to what else we've seen but it doesn't seem to me its the best, best deal they could do - am i right?
He's also insisting that we need to decide by 6pm tonight to get the VAT free deal also as we'd have to recieve the car by 31st March deadline - when the website says "orders must be taken before 31st march" - surely this just means placing the order with a deposit?
I absolutely refuse to give the sale to this man with the attitude he's had with us today - but am not sure whether it's worth going to an alternative dealer - or if we have any hope of getting a decent car for those monthly payments!
Help!

LandyAndy

I would definitely be sounding out another dealer.

In fact, try emailing a few saying

"This is the car I want, these are the extras I want included and this is the price I want to pay, can you do it?"

daveyjp

Provide full details of the car you want please.

Never let the salesman know what you can afford - or at least tell him 25% less than you know to be true. He'll work all the figures to meet what you are prepared to pay, not what he can sell the car for.

Throw in a PCP agreement and the whole thing gets complicated for you as a buyer as there are so many figures flying around you never really know what's going on.

Lemonade_Pockets

Some car salesman aren't very good at their Job unfortunately. Evidenced by you having so many unanswered queries.

I think what he was getting at is that orders have to be completed by the 31st of March. I.e. it is techincally possible to order on that day but only if there are cars in stock ready to go. I would imagine whatever spec it is that you are looking at has a lead time (its needs to be built or transfered from stock elsewhere) which is why the order has to be placed earlier in order to meet the deadline. They key words in the advert are subject to availability.

Having said that the by 6pm tonight bit is almost certainly 100% bull, its very unlikely that even if you placed an order this evening that physically order the car before monday morning, its just designed to stop you going elsewhere shopping around this weekend.


Either way a few quick calls to some other deals will confirm how available the cars are and therefore how much urgency is on your order, likewise with the deal the only way to find out is get on the phone and see if it can be beaten.
If your sure it is a good deal already, the immortal words of if you can do XYZ for £175pm i'll buy it now. Should get someone jumping up and down.

A final option once you've done a bit of digging is to ring the salesmanager at the original dealership, explain the situation and deal with him/her direct, this is not that unusual.

If the guys let you walk out of the showroom like this, he doesn't deserve the deal.

LandyAndy

LandyAndy wrote: »

I would definitely be sounding out another dealer.

In fact, try emailing a few saying

"This is the car I want, these are the extras I want included and this is the price I want to pay, can you do it?"

daveyjp wrote: »

Provide full details of the car you want please.

Never let the salesman know what you can afford - or at least tell him 25% less than you know to be true. He'll work all the figures to meet what you are prepared to pay, not what he can sell the car for.

Throw in a PCP agreement and the whole thing gets complicated for you as a buyer as there are so many figures flying around you never really know what's going on.

Sorry, didn't make myself clear.:cool:

dogshome

Hi bubblepop - Go find yourself another Skoda dealer and by the way the deal ain't VAT free - that's just a marketing ploy to get confirmed orders in by March 1st - and it seems your salesman having already spent his commission in his head, had stopped hearing what the customer was saying

When you get to that other dealer keep quiete whilst the salesman does his spiel on the particular car you want and tells you the On-thr-road cost, then you tell him what your maximum spend is

I can't see any special finance plans listed on Skoda's web site, and the fact is that unless it's a manufacturer led credit deal, a dealers credit deal is likely to be less than the best.
I don't know what GAP insurance is, but if it's Payment Protection Insurance, look on the British Insurance web site for a better deal.
Good Luck

Lemonade_Pockets

http://www.skoda.co.uk/offers/offers.aspx?section=1#offer289

I agree it technically won't be VAT free, unless HMRC have given Skoda special dispensation, however for the customer the semantics really don't matter.

bubblepop_2

Yes sorry I do realise it's not actually VAT free - but the price is close to the target price in What Car - not sure if I can push them any further.

Think we'll go to another dealer and not mention our experience so far but say this is what we want - can you do it for £165?

It's for the Fabia 2 1.2 70BHP

bubblepop_2

by the way GAP insurance is the insurance in case the car gets written off - so you get the full invoice price not what it's at the time - is this correct?

LandyAndy

bubblepop wrote: »

by the way GAP insurance is the insurance in case the car gets written off - so you get the full invoice price not what it's at the time - is this correct?

That's almost correct. It covers the gap between what your normal insurers pay out and either the remaining outstanding finance or the original invoice price (depending on the type you take) if the car is written off. You don't have to buy it from the dealer (or at all). I've never taken it.

daveyjp

If you are on a PCP you need finance shortage gap as the car is never yours unless you pay at the end. Don't buy it through the dealer. Take your time and do some research first. Most 3rd party sellers allow time between buying the car and sorting out GAP.

You will be paying interest on the GAP.

Remember in the first year your insurance company will provide a new replacement car should it get written off.

BTW the car is £8,864 through drivethedeal