Buying your new car on carwow.co.uk

warrenthewindmill

I've just bought my new car from Liverpool Mercedes after trying and failing to find a deal on carwow.co.uk. Carwow and other similar sites invite you to post your requirements so that participating dealers can offer you the best price. I was offered a price that looked good and even asked what colour I wanted only to be then told that all colours had sold out. I was then offered the diesel version of the same car which after some thought I decided to go for. I negotiated a part ex price for my old car and then sent a final message to confirm all the details of price less part ex etc. Their next message said they had not actually quoted for the diesel version and it was several thousand pounds more expensive. I felt I had been drawn into the sales process by the offer of a car that they discovered very quickly they couldn't source. They then offered me an alternative which I now know to be more expensive but at the time I assumed was the same price. I'll post the thread below and leave you to make up your own minds. All I would say is if you are using carwow or anything similar make sure you understand exactly what is being offered. I wasted several days negotiating on the basis of, at best, a misunderstanding:

If you want to read the thread start at the bottom of this page.

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I feel completely misled by your company. If you read the whole of this thread you may understand why. I asked for quotes on the E200 and you quoted competitively. Your colleague asked me to confirm colour and then told me you didn't have any petrol models at all.
You then offered me the E220d, without any mention that the price was any different.
You should have said so when you offered the alternative model and not continue a discussion about part exchange, that was irrelevant without quoting the actual price for the car.
In my opinion this reflects very badly on Mercedes Benz Grimsby and carwow.co.uk
I'd like you to discuss that with whoever runs your dealership as I feel you have involved me in a sales conversation that was, at best, mismanaged. The price quoted was implicitly carried over to the E220d since there was no mention that the actual price would be any different. Laura sent a message

1 day ago

Hi David,
Unfortunately no, the quote for £30280 was for the petrol. We never quoted for the diesel but the numbers are below.
If you are part exchanging you will have to drive the car to us to swap over.
E220D AMG LINE EDITION COUPE
IRIDIUM SILVER
BLACK LEATHER INTERIOR
PANORAMIC GLASS SUNROOF
RRP £41325
OFFER PRICE £32993
Hope this helps, when you are wishing to proceed please can you call me on 01479 722034

Thanks Laura

You sent a message

2 days ago

Your quote was £30,280 and the spec of the car was:
E220D AMG LINE EDITION COUPE
IRIDIUM SILVER
BLACK LEATHER INTERIOR
PREMIUM PACKAGE
PANORAMIC GLASS SUNROOF
£1,300 off that price for our 2005 E320, spec and photos as supplied, leaving a net price of £28,980.
My understanding is that you will deliver at no additional cost and presumably your driver will take our part ex for the return journey?
How would you like me to proceed?



Laura sent a message

2 days ago

Hi David,
I have asked my manager for you and the best is £1300, was worth asking for you :-)
Thanks Laura
You sent a message




2 days ago

Is that your absolute best offer?



Laura sent a message

2 days ago

Hi David,
Thanks for that info, the value of your car for now is £1200. Please can you advise if you would like me to look for a car in stock for you in diesel?
Thanks Laura
You sent a message




2 days ago

It's been regularly serviced but book not up to date last work at mb wirral indie merc garage at cost of £2k


Laura sent a message

2 days ago



Is there any service history for the car?
Thanks Laura
You sent a message




2 days ago

Dy05 tcu I'd say better than average condition for mileage 1 scuff rear offside otherwise clean. Wheels undamaged. Tyres about half worn. 2 keys



Laura sent a message

2 days ago

Hello,
Thank you for your message.
Yes we do accept part exchange, I will need to obtain the following information from you in order to get you the best possible value for your car!
Registration Number
Service due date and service history details
Condition of the vehicle- chips/scuffs/scrapes or scratches (as accurate as you can be)
Alloy condition
Tyre Depth
2 keys
Any questions do not hesitate to ask-we are here to help!
Thanks, Laura (Colleague of Zeinab)




You sent a message

2 days ago

Morning Zeinab,
We are considering the diesel option.... Please advise best price with part ex on E320 2005, 188k miles, I will be paying in cash and if the price is right will order today.
Regards
Dave



You sent a message

3 days ago

OK. I'll look elsewhere

Zeinab Salem sent a message

3 days ago

Im terribly sorry I dont have any petrols left now.
Kindest regards, Zeinab
You sent a message




3 days ago

Hi Zeinab, I want petrol thanks David

Zeinab sent a message

4 days ago

Hi David
I have the following car available
E220D AMG LINE EDITION COUPE
IRIDIUM SILVER
BLACK LEATHER INTERIOR
PREMIUM PACKAGE
PANORAMIC GLASS SUNROOF
Would this suit?
Thanks






You sent a message

5 days ago

Iridium silver

Zeinab sent a message

5 days ago

Good afternoon David, yes we are happy to buy your car as part of the transaction. Which colour E Coupe are you looking for so I can check stock for you please?
Thanks, Zeinab
Is this response helpful?




You sent a message

5 days ago

would you take a 2005 E320 in part ex with balance in cash?

Initial quote of £30,280 for E200 7G-Tronic AMG Line Edition



Zeinab sent a message

10 days ago

Hi, I’m Zeinab from Mercedes-Benz in Grimsby, Lincolnshire.
Thank you for making an enquiry with regards to buying a brand new, unregistered Mercedes-Benz.
I pride myself on delivering excellent customer care, timely responses and going that extra mile to ensure my clients are delighted with their new car both at point of sale and in the following months and years.
Feel free to call or message me with any queries you may have – we can do similar discounts on cars we have in stock which means we may have a vehicle you can take delivery of almost immediately, especially if you're flexible on colour and options etc.
The procedure for ordering a new car with me is very straightforward, regardless of your choice to pay cash or finance for the vehicle. Finance is simple, with minimal information required for approval. I need your annual mileage, desired cash input and preferred length of agreement for a quote. Please don’t hesitate to ask me for a quotation, or to ask me to run though the ordering procedure with you. I'm here to help! I do occasionally have some assistance when replying to queries online when I'm having particularly busy days. Laura or Simon may reply asking for extra information etc. This helps me answer your question as fully as possible.
In most cases our reservation fee is just £500 – you don’t pay the balance due until 4 working days before we deliver it, or upon collection.
Kind regards,
Zeinab

Tiddlywinks

Oh come on.... really?

I've bought through CarWow and if you change spec then they have to get you to submit a new quote request so that they can prepare a new offer on the system.

When I bought mine I changed my mind several times over the spec as I decided I wanted an uprated engine and more features after a test drive of my initial choice. Each of the three garages nearest to me asked me to resubmit my desired spec and then sent a new offer accordingly.

How you think that they were going to give you the more expensive diesel for the same price is just beyond me.

No one cheated you... it's a pretty transparent process.

wgl2014

What do you want?

Ask for a price on one car then change what's offered and go on a rant, carwow as with any other dealer or broker offer a price, if you want it then crack on if not go elsewhere.

daveyjp

After the reading the whole thread I can't make out whats going on. No wonder it became confused.

Have people totally lost the ability to pick up the phone and have a conversation?

warrenthewindmill

If I'd changed my mind I would have done exactly that, but when the seller says we haven't got x but we have got y then I would expect that to include "but y is a different price". I didn't realise it was until further down the line. I assumed they were offering a straight alternative and in the absence of any mention of a higher price, that they were pitching the alternative at the same price.

neilmcl

daveyjp wrote: »

After the reading the whole thread I can't make out whats going on. No wonder it became confused.

Have people totally lost the ability to pick up the phone and have a conversation?

^^Exactly this.

The first thing I would have asked when discussing an alternative vehicle, indeed I have done exactly that, is what's the price on that one.

Also, just because they didn't have stock vehicles doesn't mean you could've still gone for the petrol model at the quoted price, it would've been a factory order and therefore a longer wait that's all.

G_M

Agree with others -

Firstly the way carwow works is you put in a spec and get prices back. You like the prce for that spec, you confirm direct. You don't like, you ignore.

If you decide to change the spec, you have 2 options
* either negotiate direct with your chosen dealer (based on the original quote), and of course the price will change or
* put a new spec into carwow and invite new quotes from all dealers

Getting new car prices, however you do it, is about defining what you want and negotiating a price.

I ordered a new Audi 2 weeks ago. Test drove at local dealership, then went on carwow and got prices for the (close) spec I wanted. Went back to the dealers and when the salesman started talking money I showed him the carwow quotes. He immediately said they'd match them. When we then refined the spec, he (reluctantly) used the carwow discount to discount the new options I chose.

When it came to the final price I was still free to try elsewhere, go back to carwow or buy from him.

It's just negotiation. You're getting worked up over nothing.

bigadaj

G_M wrote: »

Agree with others -

Firstly the way carwow works is you put in a spec and get prices back. You like the prce for that spec, you confirm direct. You don't like, you ignore.

If you decide to change the spec, you have 2 options
* either negotiate direct with your chosen dealer (based on the original quote), and of course the price will change or
* put a new spec into carwow and invite new quotes from all dealers

Getting new car prices, however you do it, is about defining what you want and negotiating a price.

I ordered a new Audi 2 weeks ago. Test drove at local dealership, then went on carwow and got prices for the (close) spec I wanted. Went back to the dealers and when the salesman started talking money I showed him the carwow quotes. He immediately said they'd match them. When we then refined the spec, he (reluctantly) used the carwow discount to discount the new options I chose.

When it came to the final price I was still free to try elsewhere, go back to carwow or buy from him.

It's just negotiation. You're getting worked up over nothing.

It was nearly a year ago.