We’d like to remind Forumites to please avoid political debate on the Forum.
This is to keep it a safe and useful space for MoneySaving discussions. Threads that are – or become – political in nature may be removed in line with the Forum’s rules. Thank you for your understanding.
📨 Have you signed up to the Forum's new Email Digest yet? Get a selection of trending threads sent straight to your inbox daily, weekly or monthly!
Trying to buy a car from a main dealer
Comments
-
The issue was the salesmen's initial attitude. We have never got a chance to discuss how much money we had as a budget or whether it was a finance or cash deal
They prey on the weak and they're pretty sharp at figuring out whether they can lead you into their web.
I mean... If you walk into a dealership looking like your good with money and your eye's don't light up like a kid in a candy store, they're gonna be fighting over which salesman has to deal with you.
If you walk in looking like a bit of an idiot with too much money (perhaps a manager of some sort), they'll be climbing over each other to get to you first.“I may not agree with you, but I will defend to the death your right to make an a** of yourself.”
<><><><><><><><><<><><><><><><><><><><><><> Don't forget to like and subscribe \/ \/ \/0 -
My wife and I are trying to buy a new (to us) car with a budget of £12000. We like the renault megane coupe and have been to five main Renault dealers in our area and have left disappointed with the attitude of the sales staff. They don't seem interested with us being there. When we got the attention of someone at one dealership to ask about the coupe model, he actually said we haven't got one and walked off. We went to another renault dealer on a Tuesday, talked to a sales guy who said a colleague was driving a coupe but it was his day off (no problem). We rang up on the following Saturday morning to make arrangements to test drive the coupe (25 miles away) that afternoon. Once we got there, the coupe was not available but was told there was a couple of customer cars around the back if you want to have a look at one, but not test drive one. We walked out, after stating that they had just lost a sale.
Are we doing something wrong in dealing with these people? Are the days of the 'hard sell' gone? Is business that good that they don't really need any more sales?
I don't think this is isolated to just Renault dealers. If you went a Nissan, Volkswagen, Vauxhall, Ford etc. dealer you are likely to experience exactly the same, but you are also just as likely to experience the complete opposite from the same dealerships. It is a lottery as to who you end up dealing with, as individual sales executives are totally different, even within the same dealership.The greater danger, for most of us, lies not in setting our aim too high and falling short; but in setting our aim too low and achieving our mark0 -
They have done you a favour, Renaults are terrible cars, one fault after another, after another, after another.
Thats why they are cheap.
So are Vauxhalls, Nissans and Fords, so what would you suggest?NeverAgain wrote: »...They have done you a favour, Renaults are terrible cars...
A generalisation, but I fear it's a fair one.
A mate of mine is a salesman at a Ford dealer which also sells other makes used.
"Anything so long as it's not French," is the motto the dealership works by.
Now there's a surprise. :wall:The greater danger, for most of us, lies not in setting our aim too high and falling short; but in setting our aim too low and achieving our mark0 -
Sounds like the dealers you've been to have a reputation not unlike the cars they sell.
Pick another brand. Get some ideas of models that appeal to you and are likely to fall in your price range, then go to a dealer. I assume you're going to dealers because you're interested in decent quality aftersales service rather than the cheapest buy. In that case, sizing up the dealer is as important as test driving the car.
I had very good service from a Toyota dealer and I was buying a traded in car that was right on the borderline of the dealer selling it or sending it to auction.
Why? Do you think that every other franchise will treat them better?The greater danger, for most of us, lies not in setting our aim too high and falling short; but in setting our aim too low and achieving our mark0 -
Did the OP go in with the we have cash and want to do a deal attitude, I know that puts some dealers on the back foot.
Also is 12k a good enough bidget to get a Megane Coupe? I thought rarity makes them the most expensive to buy used.
What age are you looking to buy, just giving a budget is useless.
If your 12k is to buy a 5 yr old Megane Coupe then that is one thing.
If you are turning up at a franchised dealer with 12k to buy a 6 month old coupe then you are on a hiding to nothing.
Bit more info please OP, so we can be helpful.
That's the dealers' problem, not the buyers'. In which case the OP was right to walk.The greater danger, for most of us, lies not in setting our aim too high and falling short; but in setting our aim too low and achieving our mark0 -
...Now there's a surprise...
Flyboy,
A large Ford dealer will not retail French cars secondhand because in their experience, French cars develop lots of faults which is aggro for them and the customer.
That is a fact.
Deny it if you like, but it remains so.
And who might know more here?
Yourself, or a Ford dealer which retails hundreds of used cars a year?
On second thoughts, don't answer that.0 -
I quite agree with the OP, it's exactly the attitude I came across last year when buying a car.
Everywhere we went, people just ignored us, gave us short answers, said "here, take this brochure" then wandered off..I was just amazed...and very few, when pressed for some kind of service, actually seemed to know anything about their range of cars. Asking for a test drive, they just looked at me blankly, like I was crazy.
In the end, we went to Honda and the guy there welcomed us, shook our hands, showed us around the couple of cars, showed off their best features, seemed genuinely enthusiastic - and got a £16k sale out of it.
It really was the hardest way to spend money I've ever tried - people just weren't interested in taking it.
I will come clean and say that, a lot of the time, I was looking after work, so was going in when the salesmen were knocking off in half hour...but I'd still have thought they'd be a little interest in relieving me of my money...
I kinda see where Strider590's coming from about the buyer's attitude...But I was stood there, open minded, willing to be sold to, wanting to learn more and be talked up to things I couldn't afford - the ideal customer I'd have thought. Maybe they were put off because I'm relatively young (mid 20s) so they don't think I've got much credit (see, I was even buying on finance, like they like!)....whatever was going on, I felt like Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman - why won't anyone take my money!!0 -
NeverAgain wrote: »...Now there's a surprise...
Flyboy,
A large Ford dealer will not retail French cars secondhand because in their experience, French cars develop lots of faults which is aggro for them and the customer.
That is a fact.
Deny it if you like, but it remains so.
And who might know more here?
Yourself, or a Ford dealer which retails hundreds of used cars a year?
On second thoughts, don't answer that.
A long these lines, it's also very hard to get parts at reasonable prices. So unless you deal in that make of French car, the costs can soon spiral out of control.“I may not agree with you, but I will defend to the death your right to make an a** of yourself.”
<><><><><><><><><<><><><><><><><><><><><><> Don't forget to like and subscribe \/ \/ \/0 -
NeverAgain wrote: »...Now there's a surprise...
Flyboy,
A large Ford dealer will not retail French cars secondhand because in their experience, French cars develop lots of faults which is aggro for them and the customer.
That is a fact.
Deny it if you like, but it remains so.
And who might know more here?
Yourself, or a Ford dealer which retails hundreds of used cars a year?
On second thoughts, don't answer that.
Oddly enough, I hear many Citroen, Peugeot and Renault dealers say the same about Ford and Vauxhalls.
And that's a fact as well.The greater danger, for most of us, lies not in setting our aim too high and falling short; but in setting our aim too low and achieving our mark0 -
Strider590 wrote: »A long these lines, it's also very hard to get parts at reasonable prices. So unless you deal in that make of French car, the costs can soon spiral out of control.
Which is probably the reason why they don't like French cars. Also, oddly enough, it is just as expensive for Citroen dealers to buy Ford and Vauxhall OE parts as well.The greater danger, for most of us, lies not in setting our aim too high and falling short; but in setting our aim too low and achieving our mark0
This discussion has been closed.
Confirm your email address to Create Threads and Reply
Categories
- All Categories
- 352.2K Banking & Borrowing
- 253.6K Reduce Debt & Boost Income
- 454.3K Spending & Discounts
- 245.2K Work, Benefits & Business
- 600.9K Mortgages, Homes & Bills
- 177.5K Life & Family
- 259K Travel & Transport
- 1.5M Hobbies & Leisure
- 16K Discuss & Feedback
- 37.7K Read-Only Boards