Car brokers and local dealership not liking it

Golden321

Considering very seriously buying new car from online car broker such as Carfile. Wondering if anyone has bought from online car broker and had one or two teething problems with new car and when taking it to local dealership to sort them out has been not treated well. ( car bought through dealership miles away so not taken there).
Also any problems when taking it to local dealer when needs servicing or more major warranty work?

BeenThroughItAll

Golden321 wrote: »

Considering very seriously buying new car from online car broker such as Carfile. Wondering if anyone has bought from online car broker and had one or two teething problems with new car and when taking it to local dealership to sort them out has been not treated well. ( car bought through dealership miles away so not taken there).
Also any problems when taking it to local dealer when needs servicing or more major warranty work?

Why not get a price from the broker, then ask your local dealer to match it. Most will if the alternative is you taking your custom to another dealership.

Golden321

Thanks very much for that. Have you actually done that because from what I have read the dealer cant get anywhere near, especially on a car that is selling well anyway.

InsideInsurance

Golden321 wrote: »

Thanks very much for that. Have you actually done that because from what I have read the dealer cant get anywhere near, especially on a car that is selling well anyway.

So you have read about your dealer for this car for this month?

Commissions that dealers earn are complex and stepped. Speak to a dealer at the right time and you can get exceptionally good deals. I know my Mercedes dealer was cheaper than anyone else and even after agreeing the price with them they came back a few days later saying they'd managed to get it a bit cheaper still.

It wasnt my local dealership, though ironically they subsequently bought out my local dealership, but had no problems with the local garage fixing warranty issues or services. Same with my VW before that.

At the end of the day the franchise has to deal with you wherever you bought the car from as its a term of their franchise and ultimately they get paid by the manufacturer/ importer for doing the job. So they missed out on the sales commission, they arent going to bite their nose off to spite their face by also losing the service commissions.

jaydeeuk1

Citroen couldn't quite match drivethedeal on a 110 flair cactus but did manage to get within a couple of hundred and I got a full tank of fuel and some bit n pieces. Considering the supplying dealer could have been other end of the country I was quite happy with the price, and they beat the price offered by carquake (their cheapest was from a dealer in Sale) which was my min aim. Think the salesman just wanted to get rid of me at the end.

nidO

Golden321 wrote: »

Thanks very much for that. Have you actually done that because from what I have read the dealer cant get anywhere near, especially on a car that is selling well anyway.

This depends on a huge number of factors, but it wouldn't I would expect your local dealer to get at least somewhere vaguely close.

I just picked up my new Volvo at the weekend from my local dealer, when talking price I went in armed with DtD and Carwow quotes and while the dealer did say point blank they can't match those prices the quote they gave me was within a few hundred ££ of the DtD price and was cheaper than other nearby dealers had quoted through Carwow (the cheapest i'd got was the other end of the country), and the local dealer also ended up sorting me out with a few other freebies which pretty much negated the price difference.

If you do get a car from a broker though, the theory generally runs that sales and service are fairly separate from each other, the service dept are getting their payment from the manufacture for doing work to the car, it shouldn't really matter whether the commission for the sale went to the bods in their own sales dept or someone else.

Golden321

Thanks for the replies. Havent been into my local dealership yet armed with brokers prices as this is sort of what I am trying to establish, whether they would be less than accommodating if i had a problem with new car if i did buy from broker and they knew i had done so. Obviously going in to ask them to beat/match brokers prices is going to alert them to the fact I have used a broker if i then turn up with new car with fault. I dont find dealers accomodating at best of times even when you have bought from them if you go in with problems, so was/am concened they will be obstructive.
My dad bought new citroen from citroen dealership and had no end of alternator problems and had to carry spare alternator fuse in dash as electrics would completely pack up unannounced. Did they sort it out. No!
Dont you find generally once they have your money they are not exactly keen to look after you or am I being over pessimistic?

My local dealer is 3 miles away, then next nearest 20 miles, then 55, 60, 70 miles. The 3, 55,60 and 70 are all same dealership.

BeenThroughItAll

Golden321 wrote: »

Thanks for the replies. Havent been into my local dealership yet armed with brokers prices as this is sort of what I am trying to establish, whether they would be less than accommodating if i had a problem with new car if i did buy from broker and they knew i had done so. Obviously going in to ask them to beat/match brokers prices is going to alert them to the fact I have used a broker if i then turn up with new car with fault. I dont find dealers accomodating at best of times even when you have bought from them if you go in with problems, so was/am concened they will be obstructive.
My dad bought new citroen from citroen dealership and had no end of alternator problems and had to carry spare alternator fuse in dash as electrics would completely pack up unannounced. Did they sort it out. No!
Dont you find generally once they have your money they are not exactly keen to look after you or am I being over pessimistic?

My local dealer is 3 miles away, then next nearest 20 miles, then 55, 60, 70 miles. The 3, 55,60 and 70 are all same dealership.

You've obviously been to crap dealerships. I suspect that's coupled with a lack of confidence or an inability to challenge them when they're not performing.


If they think you're vulnerable, they'll take advantage - to put it less politely, if you come across as a doormat they'll walk on you.

neilmcl

You're local dealership's service centre couldn't care less where you purchased the car from. You will not be treated any differently if you buy a car from a broker, also a lot of these online brokers such as DTD simply put you in touch with a main dealer anyway to complete the car sale.

Golden321

Thanks for replies. My dad was no doormat but the citroen dealership did not fix the problem or citroen uk. (there are of course countless car buyers who have voiced their dissatisfaction with after sales at dealerships etc on the net)
I am not a doormat either but am just checking before committing to a large sum of money what peoples views are regarding using broker and service from local dealership having bought from non local dealership through broker. Must stress broker will be through a dealership but may be long way away.
I am surprised that the topic of buying from broker is not a hot topic on forums nowadays as more people become aware of them and with the fast communications of facebook etc would have thought a good number would be using or considering brokers as they hear of the discounts that people have obtained. Or have I missed the topic somewhere on here or elsewhere?

InsideInsurance

Golden321 wrote: »

Dont you find generally once they have your money they are not exactly keen to look after you or am I being over pessimistic?

Who is "they"?

Our sales guy was actually reasonably good. We had actually technically bought the same car from another dealership but had problems with the vehicle when we went to collect it so ended up rejecting it.

The guy at the dealership where we bought it from was very good at trying to ensure we didnt have similar problems again (and inevitably so they didnt get stuck with a secondhand car).

At the end of the day though he is a sales guy and his income is based on him selling new cars. Once our sale is in the bag for him he is understandably going to be wanting to move on to chasing the next sale.

The Aftersales at the place I bought it, well dont see them for services or anything but do seem to get a call every 6 months asking how I am getting on, any problems, when Im thinking of changing the car etc.

At my local dealership, now owned by the one I bought from, but the one that got stuck with a secondhand car have been fine. Did get a light scratch on the bumper whilst it was in for service which I didnt notice until the day after collecting it. Clearly they could have contested it didnt happen whilst it was in with them but they repaired it no issues - it was light so probably just polished out.