How does this work

simont_2

I've been looking at getting a new car, I'm fed up with Diesels (I'm on my fourth) so want something a bit sporty, a Golf GTi. I was hoping to get a good price on line and then challenge my dealer. i did this with my current car and the dealer got close enough for me to go with them. So when i was shopping round I was astounded to come across simpledeal.co.uk, and they have around 20% off the car I'm interested in.

So I'm wondering a few things, firstly are they ok to deal with? I've seen them recommended in magazines like Top Gear and papers like The Daily Telegraph but does that mean anything, or did they just do what I did and find the cheapest with no regard to service? Secondly, does this price represent close to the cost price of the car? i.e. can I go to my dealer and not be laughed off the forecourt if I try and push them down this far? And lastly, considering the low depreciation on this particular model, i could buy it, run it for two years and then sell it with little or no depreciation. That just doesn't seem right! And if I can do that, why don't I by five and sell them on for a healthy profit straight away?!?! And why doesn't everyone else! Although the main thing that's worrying me is that this company and one other are significantly cheaper than anywhere else. How come?

Has anyone got any experience with these, or this area? I'm apprehensive about handing over that much money to a company I'm not familiar with and can't find any positive (or negative) comments on. If anyone can shed any light, it would be much appreciated!

david29dpo

if its to good to be true, and it very much sounds like it, it is.

philhuff

The prices I've just looked at on their website aren't unrealistic. The likes of Motorpoint and Drive the Deal seem to be around the same kind of figures, so there may not be an issue.

Just check that a) it's actually new and not pre-registered and b) it's a UK model and not an EU import.

Neither of those things are necessarily bad, just as long as you know what you're getting, and you're getting it at the right price.

dnc1781

- EU imports:
http://www.simpledeal.co.uk/vehicles/faq.asp#15
http://www.allbrandsnew.co.uk/search_results.asp?manufacturer=VOLKSWAGEN&model=GOLF+HATCHBACK
- from UK dealer via broker:
http://www.cars4charities.co.uk/finance_details.php?ref=28654&source=NEW_AUTOTRADER

tali

car supermarkets are v naughty at hiding import/pre-reg info in smallprint

vikingaero

Plenty of places like Drive The Deal only use UK franchise dealers and have similar low prices (but probably not as low as EU imports) so there's no need to buy a EU import for the sake of a couple of hundred pounds.

Simple Deal only tax the car for 6 months and rely on the Euro 2 year warranty rather than the 3 year warranty for most UK cars.

simont_2

dnc1781 wrote: »

- EU imports:
http://www.simpledeal.co.uk/vehicles/faq.asp#15
http://www.allbrandsnew.co.uk/search_results.asp?manufacturer=VOLKSWAGEN&model=GOLF+HATCHBACK
- from UK dealer via broker:
http://www.cars4charities.co.uk/finance_details.php?ref=28654&source=NEW_AUTOTRADER

I found the FAQs late last night, which is a bit gutting (I guess the old too good to be true thing...). I've not heard of that cars 4 charities before, are they trustworthy? They seem to be at or around the same price as the importers. I tried the other main brokers and dealers (I've got a list of about 10) and before cars 4 charities none came within £1500 of the simple deal price.

Out of interest, are there any implications to buying an EU import. I've heard that some dealers refuse to service/repair them, despite EU legislation that says they have to. Also, I've heard that resale values aren't as good as UK cars, but I can't find any hard numbers.

Tali, I looked over the car details page on Simple Deal and managed to convince myself it was a UK car. There was no mention on EU importing and they kept saying UK spec, which I guess is a bit of clever wording.

Thanks for your help.

FlameCloud

They may not have the same underlying spec- UK spec probably refers to adding on any extras the same normal UK car have, for example air con as standard.

For others, it may affect the standard safety equipment for the car, a lower standard alarm etc. eg, a car from say Japan, wont have the same rust proofing as a car destined for here would have.

It will affect resale values simply because the demand for a Euro car will not be as high for a UK one, as alot of people will have reservations.

plane_boy2000

Also be aware that you will get 1 years less warranty on an EU import - they only come with 2 years plus UK dealers, although obliged to do the work, may be awkward about it such as getting you to get written authorisation from head office before work comences etc (happened to a friend of mine)

Probably no roadside recovery package

Resale value will be less, but how much less is difficult to say

Specs can vary - UK spec is usually pretty good compared to other parts of Europe so you can find things missing like alarms etc.

Guess you would not be able to reject the car very easily if you had major problems either.

From a personal standpoint I would avoid an EU import unless it was a lot cheaper than a UK sourced car.

tali

motorpoint were selling new vauxhall vectras which were in fact opel kadetts their german equivalent - no mention in ads though

simont_2

I had a look on the cars 4 charities website and even they weren't clear on whether the cars are UK specced or not. It says in their FAQ that "most" cars are from the uk, but some are imports. I couldn't easily see which though. I'll have to drop them an email to find out first.

I thought buying a car online would be relatively straight forward, I can't believe how much of a minefield it is.