Reputable online car dealers (new car)

semi_artificial

Firstly sorry if this is an old chestnut, but I checked the stickies and ran a quick search but didn’t see any obvious results in the first five pages.

The last time I bought a car (new) was 8 years ago – a Toyota Verso. At that time I found a couple of online car dealers that seemed to have a good reputation. I was prepared to buy from them but in the end the quote I got helped to drive a good price from a local dealer (several hundred pounds cheaper than first quoted).

My wife’s car needs to be replaced in the near future. I don’t know if we can afford or want to buy new, or even what make/model yet but I would like to check out online dealers, preferable those that are reasonably accessible from the North West (e.g. north down to midlands ok, south east not so good).

Any advice as to how beneficial it is to buy online these days and/or recommendations for reputable sites would be very welcome. Thanks.

forgotmyname

Drive the deal.

matty17r

I second drivethedeal. Use the showrooms to find which car you like then get the price from drivethedeal. See if your local dealers will match their price. When buying fords we find that manytimes they can't touch the price. Let us know your results!

hollie.weimeraner

matty17r wrote: »

I second drivethedeal. Use the showrooms to find which car you like then get the price from drivethedeal. See if your local dealers will match their price. When buying fords we find that manytimes they can't touch the price. Let us know your results!

Good advice there but if you have a p/ex drive the deal don't take them any more. Some car brokers do but having just gone through the process whilst looking for a new focus titanium found that the brokers that do take p/ex a bit of a mixed bunch.

In the end I started ringing Ford dealers myself finding that the larger dealerships (lookers etc) were pretty much willing to sell a car but would only give poor p/ex rates. I then started ringing smaller dealerships and ended up doing a deal over the phone with a small rural dealership in Lincolnshire that offered me a price for the Focus that even the brokers couldn't match plus they offered me a p/ex price on my own car that was £1700 better than anyone else had offered. I offered to drive the 80 miles so they could see the car but they weren't bothered. Deposit paid and car ordered within 30 minutes! (I spent the best part of 2 days and made about 20 calls before I landed on the deal)

At the end of the day all I've done is what the brokers do - they know the dealers that offer the best deals (usually the less busy smaller independent dealerships).

I have used brokers before but a lot seem to have fallen by the wayside now for some reason.

TradePro

hollie.weimeraner wrote: »

I then started ringing smaller dealerships and ended up doing a deal over the phone with a small rural dealership in Lincolnshire that offered me a price for the Focus that even the brokers couldn't match plus they offered me a p/ex price on my own car that was £1700 better than anyone else had offered.

Definitely something wrong with that situation - did you buy an old model that they were getting shot of or something?

hollie.weimeraner

TradePro wrote: »

Definitely something wrong with that situation - did you buy an old model that they were getting shot of or something?

No, I'm waiting for delivery in September. Car will be 63 reg and waiting list is 8 to 12 weeks which was standard at all dealerships.

TradePro

matty17r wrote: »

See if your local dealers will match their price.

This is critical. Please don't use the dealer for brochures, test drives and so on and not even give them an opportunity.

If everyone did, they won't be around next time you need them...

artichi

I had a good experience with Drive the Deal on a VW in 2005. The car came from a VW main dealer (Specialist Cars in Aberdeen).

For my most recent car I did a bit of Google work and found the DtD supplying dealer for that manufacturer. There is only one dealer per manufacturer via Drive the Deal which keeps that dealers volumes up and their trade prices low. As the online broker receives around £500 from the dealer, they were happy to strike a deal directly.

One thing to watch on any online broker is "quota". It may be called other things but it is an allowance each dealer is given by the factory for orders per month and per model.

Imagine the Ford dealer for an online dealer can order ten Mondeos a month. By the 25th July he's sold all ten at low margins but then someone walks in off the street and wants to pay top price for a Mondeo. The other ten orders haven't gone into production yet, so the specificiation can still be amended. The dealer can then change one of the ten to meet the new customers needs and the other online order goes to the back of the queue. This can go on for several months.

I read about a lot of people on forums seeing their orders pushed back and back, even when others who went to another local dealer had their car on time.

Check out the manufacturers forums for feedback on lead times. If you do go to an online dealer, get a date by which you can cancel in full if they don't deliver (helps make sure yours isn't the order they bump down the waiting list).

Finally don't feel restricted to your local dealer. Most will deliver cars anywhere in the country for about £1 per mile if driven or £2 per mile if on a trailer.

TradePro

hollie.weimeraner wrote: »

No, I'm waiting for delivery in September. Car will be 63 reg and waiting list is 8 to 12 weeks which was standard at all dealerships.

Well, it sounds good based on that, but it still doesn't seem right.

Smaller dealers don't have any particular 'buying power' (in fact, I think smaller Ford dealers get their cars via the bigger dealers - they did at one time anyway), and it sounds like overall you are paying £2000 or so less than anywhere else.

I would double check exactly what they have on order for you.

hollie.weimeraner

TradePro wrote: »

Well, it sounds good based on that, but it still doesn't seem right.

Smaller dealers don't have any particular 'buying power' (in fact, I think smaller Ford dealers get their cars via the bigger dealers - they did at one time anyway), and it sounds like overall you are paying £2000 or so less than anywhere else.

I would double check exactly what they have on order for you.

I have a signed confirmed order that has been emailed to me with all the correct details including amount outstanding after p/ex and the finance deal as Ford are currently offering £2000 discount for taking their finance. Deposit paid by credit card so at the moment I am extremely happy.:T

TradePro

hollie.weimeraner wrote: »

Ford are currently offering £2000 discount for taking their finance

That's great, but I'm sure that offer isn't exclusive to the rural dealer you have ordered the car with...

For the car to be cheaper than all of the brokers, and then for you to get a huge over-allowance for your part exchange, something really, really can't be right - unless you have a theory on how they are doing it?