evans halshaw admin fee to buy car

edd78

I was looking at a car from evans halshaw recently and noticed that there was a sticker on the car saying £99 fee for admin fee covering registering car with dvla,hpi check what a scam surely. The car i was looking at was a ford focus on a 13 plate which is coverd by ford direct which does a hpi check on the car i noticed the white sticker was placed over the ford direct sticker maybe they don't want you to see it
As ford are bringing out a new focus at the end of the year would that be a good negotiation tool to use to get a better deal,the car i saw was a focus 1.6 tdci zetec on a 13 plate priced at £11290 with 12000 miles on the clock

Richard53

It's not a scam. A scam would be when you found out about the 'fee' after you had paid. They are asking for an extra £99 on each transaction, and they are upfront about it. Choose to pay or go somewhere else, up to you. It's only part of the overall price and thus open to negotiation, anyway - the final price you pay is what matters.


Having said that, it is a bit of flummery designed to allow them to add a bit on for the unwary customer. A motorcycle dealer near me used to do this - each bike had a sticker price, and there was a notice on the wall to say that all bikes had an additional 'admin fee' of £35. You just had to be aware it was coming, and base your negotiations with that in mind. He is no longer in business.

forgotmyname

Autotrader have them listed from less than £10,000 with slightly more miles. But neglible miles for a diesel.

InsideInsurance

edd78 wrote: »

there was a sticker on the car saying £99 fee for admin fee covering registering car with dvla,hpi check what a scam surely.

How on earth is that a scam??

It doesnt really matter what the fee is there to cover its simply a fee that has to be paid and so just add it on to the total price and negotiate the total price down or walk away and go somewhere else where they dont charge a fee but the price on the windscreen just starts £100 higher

arcon5

Not a scam - just a shoddy way of doing business. Keep the prices low in the window then load them.

smjxm09

Didn't We Buy Any Car just get their advert pulled by the Advertising Authority for doing something similar? They quote you a trade in price except you then can't get it due to their admin fee.

Here this company quotes a price which isn't the real price.

poppasmurf_bewdley

It's not a scam but it is a dubious business practice.

They evidently do not have a very savvy customer relations department.

RMS2

edd78 wrote: »

As ford are bringing out a new focus at the end of the year would

Well buy that one then. Sales people are human beings as well and like to be treated just like you do.


Sit down, talk over prices and see if the overall price gets down to where you want. Much better to leave with a happy sales person, because that way, if you have any problems you are much more likely to get them sorted sooner.


If you already feel ripped off by this dealer, then don't do business with them, because whatever the outcome, you're not going to feel happy about it.

mad_rich

How much do you want the car?

Simplest approach: agree a price you're happy with, then when it comes to payment time and the admin fee appears, you just say you don't want to pay it.

Either the salesman will reduce the price by £100 to compensate, or he won't and you walk away.

motorguy

arcon5 wrote: »

Not a scam - just a shoddy way of doing business. Keep the prices low in the window then load them.

^^

This.

Their prices arent *that* low in the first place.

colino

A surprisingly clumsy way of making every one of their forecourt parc look around £100 cheaper than it really is. Everyone has their marketing tricks, but this funnels in the easy marks who either query it, or even worse, don't and simply cough up.