cargiant - intrested but unsure

cookiewoo

Hi

I'm interested in getting a car from car giant .

I have bought a car before a couple of years ago but I think I was lucky and its was a former Motability car so I knew that it wouldn't of been driven hard and it would of been taken care of .

The car I'm thinking of buying is a BMW 7 series , and I would imagine that they would of driven a bit more harder -

The one im interested in has done 30 k miles . I've done a test drive which was short at that and as far I cant see any major issues with the interior / exterior and the engine sounded ok .

I've been reading the reviews on this site and others and I'm concerned making a high cost mistake that I should get a RAC inspection .

The question is are the RAC checks worth it ? I know it would be approx.£300 but I think if im spending that much that in the long run it would be ok . Or shall I take out their own warranty ?

Im unsure and some advise would be appreciated .

Thanks

motorguy

cookiewoo wrote: »

its was a former Motability car so I knew that it wouldn't of been driven hard and it would of been taken care of .

The car I'm thinking of buying is a BMW 7 series , and I would imagine that they would of driven a bit more harder -

Sorry but you've got this totally the wrong way round. Motability cars tend to get the minimum of care and are generally unloved by their owners. Thats the best case scenario. The worst case scenario is their driven within half an inch of their lives by some deadbeat relative of the little old lady who got the car.

A 7 series is not a sports car. It tends to be driven by older drivers and has probably spent the bulk of its life hushing along a motorway at 60mph on cruise control.

Personally i'd be wary about buying something so complex as a 7 series from car giant though. Firstly any work it has needed will have been done with the cheapest of parts and secondly their warranty / aftercare is renowned for being fairly crap which is the last thing you need on a car like that.

If i was making that level of investment, id be getting one from BMW with a full year BMW warranty thats extendable. It might not cost as much extra as you thing.

Can you post a link for the car you're looking at?

cookiewoo

Hi

Yes that's another thing picked up from the reviews I read about the poor parts replacement .

Hmmmm I was looking at BMW used , and there were a couple of intresting cars .

The link Im a new user I cant post links , but if you go to CG website and go to the bmw series 7 there are only a few .

motorguy

Another thing to bear in mind with Car Giant is that what you would expect to get as standard, you will pay extra for with them.

eg, your car is due a service - oh thats extra. You want a full warranty, oh thats extra. Valet? Extra.

Also, you wont get a discount on their prices.

You WILL get all of the above with a BMW main dealer AND they should be fit to discount the car for you.

Bearing the above in mind, assuming this is the car you're looking at...

http://www.cargiant.co.uk/BMW/7-series/details-579095-BMW-7-series.asp?viewtype=0

Heres one from a main dealer...

http://www.approved.bmw.co.uk/bmwuk/bmwauc/details/0,,1156___ask-16%40adm-xx,00.html?ch=_V0JBS00yMjA4MENZNzUxNjU=&btp=1x24-price_ASC|list

I'd be expecting an easy £500 off BMWs price, whereas the cargiant price is actually + £99 admin fee, so that brings even the paper difference down to just £400, and thats before you consider the standard of preparation and the years warranty.

neilmcl

cookiewoo wrote: »

Hi

Yes that's another thing picked up from the reviews I read about the poor parts replacement .

Hmmmm I was looking at BMW used , and there were a couple of intresting cars .

The link Im a new user I cant post links , but if you go to CG website and go to the bmw series 7 there are only a few .

How old is the car, does it still have any BMW warranty left?

cookiewoo

Hi

Thanks to both replys ,

The car is approx. 2009 - I think the original warrenty is finished ,

I hate dealerships , but you are right I guess , the cars are pretty clean and as far as I know , there is a definite £99 charge and the warranty is £300 . My issue with the warranty is again through the reviews which state its useless , but that would depend on what the issue was in the first place /

neilmcl

I'd go with an approved used from BMW in that case. Although, if it were me I much prefer the older E38 7 series, something like the 740i. for example.

bigbulldog

BMW warranty is so much better than CG imo.:)

CrazyRed

From what I recall of the 7-series, in all blunt honesty, I'd go main dealer unless the car was very old and you were mechanically competent to repair it.

The 7 is a very complex car, with plenty of ECU's, twin batteries and a whole host of other, innovative technology that has the potential to bite you in the backside, hard if your warranty isn't up to scratch, or your pockets very deep.

Most third-party warranties are generally accepted to be about as much use as toilet paper when you actually come to use them.

Also, not wishing to be offensive here, but can you afford the running costs of a 7? Even a decent BMW Independent (forget main dealer for servicing!) will charge a significant sum for even a basic service and fuel consumption and insurance are likely to be significant outlays, too. Remember, when new, the car would have been at least £40k, and the car will have a £40k car's servicing/repair requirements for life - it won't suddenly have the servicing and repair needs of a £10k motor, just because depreciation's taken a chunk out of the screen price.

Frankly, if you're in the position where you are seriously looking at a 4-year old 7-series as a car, then I would respectfully suggest buying an approved used one from BMW with their superb bumper-to-bumper warranty. Don't take a chance on CG and their 'warranty'.

Edit : 4 years old and only 30k on the clock? Why? That's not 'normal' usage for a 7-series imo. At 4 years old, on a 7 that's been used to waft the MD around his various outlets, I'd be expecting to see around 80-100k.

cookiewoo

Thanks again for all the replies ,

Thanks for the concern , but I have the means to care for the car , I'm useless when it comes to cars and what to look for when buying , but Im not a total numpty to think the cost ends at buying the car


I think the overwhelming and correct thing to do is to buy from the dealership , in fact just looking at some now and I see a couple of under 30 mileage at a not to dissimilar price .

cb1979

Yes the dealer is a far better option, places like CG are a rip off when they advertise a car for £1000's and still want to charge a admin fee and want extra for a normally worthless warranty, A main dealer will also be in the position to do a proper inspection on one of their used cars and also have the latest data available to fix any items subject to any recalls