CarGiant

motorguy

Deleted_User wrote: »

I would walk if they ask for £99 on top of the screen price. That is like doing your weekly shop and being asked for another £20 at the checkout.

That £20 at the checkout would be the "admin fee" for someone sitting there swiping the groceries through!!

Local chain here have started advertising "no haggle" prices along the lines of "if you arent very good at haggling dont worry, come to us as we dont knock a penny off our prices!" - like thats a good thing.

oliverr

motorguy wrote: »

That £20 at the checkout would be the "admin fee" for someone sitting there swiping the groceries through!!

Local chain here have started advertising "no haggle" prices along the lines of "if you arent very good at haggling dont worry, come to us as we dont knock a penny off our prices!" - like thats a good thing.

If they are using a no haggle policy one would hope that the cars are priced to sell and are competitive, though from what you've described thats probably not the case

motorguy

oliverr wrote: »

If they are using a no haggle policy one would hope that the cars are priced to sell and are competitive, though from what you've described thats probably not the case

Indeed. They're saying things like "we check our prices daily" but against what? other peoples undiscounted prices? - no "cheapest" guarantee or anything like that.

vikingaero

motorguy wrote: »

Indeed. They're saying things like "we check our prices daily" but against what? other peoples undiscounted prices? - no "cheapest" guarantee or anything like that.

I agree that car supermarkets may not be the cheapest. But for Londoners being London centric and not wanting to travel hundreds of miles for the cheapest price buying from Car Giant will be a local purchase for them.

motorguy

vikingaero wrote: »

I agree that car supermarkets may not be the cheapest. But for Londoners being London centric and not wanting to travel hundreds of miles for the cheapest price buying from Car Giant will be a local purchase for them.

Yes, there are many benefits - lots of cars all in the same place and reasonable "no haggle" prices. Theres a lot to be said for it.

I guess the car supermarkets - like their grocery counterparts - like to portray themselves as the cheapest, which they're not.

But then as you say, convenience plays a big part too.

vikingaero

The other thing I forgot to mention was that Car Giants prices are probably linked to the value of the land in London so they will be higher than elsewhere. Then comes the problem to the land being more profitable than car dealing so could the end be in sight for Car Giant?

oliverr

vikingaero wrote: »

I agree that car supermarkets may not be the cheapest. But for Londoners being London centric and not wanting to travel hundreds of miles for the cheapest price buying from Car Giant will be a local purchase for them.

True, but we travelled up from brighton because it was much cheaper than the other cars we saw on Autotrader within a 60 mile radius, but yes I suppose most of their customers are fairly local.

LeeF_2

So, Car Giant texts me to say the car I've been waiting for is in, verbally confirm and set an appointment to see it (in one hours time).... isn't it a bit wrong for an employee to buy it while you're on the 45mile journey to get there????

When I complained I had a call from their customer service who said that employees don't know what's on the forecourt and they have to go through the sale process like everyone else. WHAT?? - although it would explain an enlightening lack of product knowledge.

This place is like RyanAir.. The prices are not bad to begin with (remember to add £99 to everything) but they will try to up sell like crazy and their finance packages are NOT competitive.

warehouse

They sell some utter garbage at that place. After the admin fee and addons, you're 100 times better off going to a decent independent dealer and haggling a bit.

Would you buy a car at a car boot sale? The experience is similar.

Alpha58

I wonder how many contributors have actually bought a car from Car Giant (or the Great Trade Centre as it used to be)? I have had five cars from them over the years and whereas the latest (in 2011) was made slightly annoying by the attempt to sell everything but the furry dice to hang from the rear-view mirror, the prices were always competitive and you are allowed to crawl all over the car to check it. Caveat emptor - and if you don't like the car or the £99 admin fee (which is very prominently displayed on the website) you always have the option to walk!