Ford's hard sell >>> "we will only speak to you in the showroom"

InsideInsurance

Paully232000 wrote: »

Guess which one we went with.

Thats the skill of the seller, to spot someone's priorities and focus your sales patter on that.

There was a program on TV the other night where two used cars salesman swapped jobs but one was a high end £50k+ type place and the other was an under £5k type one. The one from the budget place struggled with exactly this when someone came in wanting to buy a classic car as an investment but the sales guy was still talking about the practicality of the boot space and performance etc.

Was at a Maserati/ Ferrari dealership the other day, namely as we were just passing and never seen the inside of a Maserati but the Mrs likes the looks of them, and said to the dealer that we'd in the not too distant future need another car with more than two seats. He went off totally the wrong tangent for us though talking about NCAP, leg room, reasonable fuel economy etc whereas when the time comes we will be looking to get the nearest thing we can get to a two seater convertible that does have a rear seat and can squeeze a pram/buggy into the back.

Paully232000

InsideInsurance wrote: »

Thats the skill of the seller, to spot someone's priorities and focus your sales patter on that.

There was a program on TV the other night where two used cars salesman swapped jobs but one was a high end £50k+ type place and the other was an under £5k type one. The one from the budget place struggled with exactly this when someone came in wanting to buy a classic car as an investment but the sales guy was still talking about the practicality of the boot space and performance etc.

Was at a Maserati/ Ferrari dealership the other day, namely as we were just passing and never seen the inside of a Maserati but the Mrs likes the looks of them, and said to the dealer that we'd in the not too distant future need another car with more than two seats. He went off totally the wrong tangent for us though talking about NCAP, leg room, reasonable fuel economy etc whereas when the time comes we will be looking to get the nearest thing we can get to a two seater convertible that does have a rear seat and can squeeze a pram/buggy into the back.

That's what we both thought at the time, and unlike more recent car purchases, we were in agreement::)

The sales person clearly didn't listen to us at the start of our meeting when we said that we wanted a car for a new baby and our priorities.

Nodding_Donkey

Paully232000 wrote: »

A few years ago when my other half was (obviously) about 7 months pregnant with our first child we went into Fords and got the hard sell.
We were torn between an astra or focus as had five doors and the car we had at the time only had three.

The saleswoman showed us their selection and kept going on about this particular car that had sporty this and sporty that, goes this fast in this speed etc etc.
Then went to Vauxhall and he told us about the Astra and its NCAP rating, size of boot for a pram, how it is easy to fit a carseat in with the clips in the back etc etc.

Guess which one we went with.

If you bought a Vauxhall then ultimately you lost.

Paully232000

Nodding_Donkey wrote: »

If you bought a Vauxhall then ultimately you lost.

No didn't, had for 5 years with not a thing go wrong and sold for 40% of purchase price. And was perfect for what we wanted the time and for 5 yrs.

marlot

daveyjp wrote: »

If it took three hours it is because you let them.

I was looking to buy a £28k car from a dealer. The car is rare-ish so I'd driven about 120 miles. Even so, I walked out after an hour of the stupid routine - making me wait ages for the keys, then for them to find the paperwork, then to 'consult the manager' etc.

They were on the phone the next day, offering to bring the car to me. I said no way.

I bought a near identical car from another dealer (ironically even further away). Negotiation was about 2 mins. Paid £24k - and both sides were happy.

Spendless_Dosh

Sterlingtimes wrote: »

Having been through a three hour hard sell from Ford a couple of years ago, I felt exhausted and worn down even as a chartered purchaser. Never again!

I keep receiving postal promotion from Allen Ford, but upon 'phoning I get told "we only deal with customers in the showroom; not by 'phone". Goodbye Ford. I'm sure that there are better way of negotiating a deal.

Is internet only buying reliable?

Know the specification you want and then get a quote from one one the internet options (e.g. drivethedeal, etc.) then e-mail a couple of dealers with the details of the car you're interested in and ask for a quote. If they won't try someone else, there are no shortage of dealers and most will deliver nationally for a small fee. You'll have exactly the same rights and protection as using the local option.

We did exactly this last summer and ended up making a purchase from a dealer in Edinburgh (we live in the North West) it was very simple and straightforward.

Good luck, hope you get the deal you want.

marlot

Our local toyota dealer were clearly not going to get close enough when I was buying a nearly new for my wife last year. I found a good priced car on autotrader, at a Toyota dealer 100 miles away. Rang them up. That one had sold, but they had another, this time with the satnav my wife wanted. Did a deal over the phone, including trading in her old car - which I described honestly - warts and all while walking around it. Turned up there the next weekend. They checked the trade-in was in the condition I said, and we signed the paperwork. Away in less than an hour.

colino

While all traders worth their salt are contactable by phone, email and social media, not one of them in their right minds will, "deal" over the phone. The exception is the broker type deals where they know they have, or are about to have delivered a standard car that they are fairly going to be compared to with another delivery miles only car from any other part of the country. Even then it will be a discussion with one of the many brokers, or if a privateer calls, they will be asked who and where they are being compared to. If they want a sale and the margin is still OK, they will check the deal quickly and either say yea or nay. If the suggested deal turns out to be bogus, the caller doesn't go into the crackerbox, their details are passed to a shopfloor salesman to follow up.
Two other scenarios exist; selling a collectors car or selling used. The collectors potential buyer will be forwarded all of the details the pre-selling assessment has found - no matter where the potential buyer is, they may be a genuine prospect. The secondhand buyer of a run of the mill car will be asked what time they would like to book an appointment to view.

Hoof_Hearted

Been looking for a car for my son and been to a whole range of dealers and some private. I have to say that the attitude and practice of salesmen are much improved. We had very little pressure but the expected gloss is still there on any little negatives we comment on. Most warranties are cr*p. They promise to cover everything but in the small print there is a cost limit of £500 inc VAT -- i.e. £400 or similar. The grander the warranty name, the worse the terms seem to be. SOGA offers better protection but checking the car over thoroughly is the most important thing.