About to buy a car from motorpoint - some advice

abbas5001

Hello all,

I am looking to buy a car from motorpoint. This is the first car I am going to buy that is going to be for a substantial amount (£18k). I’ve been able to find a few threads on this site and other forums via Google about buyers being able to negotiate some discounts but they are old so not sure what the current position is. 

I found the car on auto trader and thought I was phoning the branch but was put through to a call centre and reserved the car. I asked if the price was negotiable and they said no as they have the lowest prices. I went to see the car and wanted to sleep on it. To my surprise the salesperson was very relaxed and said that’s fine, take your time. I was expecting a hard sell and perhaps even annoyance I wasn’t taking the car there and then. He again said they don’t negotiate the price as they are the cheapest. To be fair, they have been the cheapest for the car and year/mileage as far as I have been able to see. 

My questions are from people’s experience of motorpoint and similar ‘car supermarket’s’ are:

1. is the price negotiable? If so, how best to negotiate this? I can see myself asking for a discount to be told no and then leaving it at that (I am not the best at haggling). There were a handful of small cosmetic scratches which is to be expected. I pointed them out and they said they wouldn’t give a discount but could look to repair them

2. When I phoned the sales rep was trying to sell me carpets for the car. I was surprised they didn’t come with them but are these good quality and do people have experience of getting this included for free?

3. They also tried to sell me the ‘Williams synthetic coat at £429. I later read some reviews it isn’t worth anywhere near this. Again, have people have success in getting this included in the price 

Thanks in advance 

chapea

hi I bought one about five years ago they wouldn’t negotiate either tho was a good price

the only thing they didn’t mention was that the car (16 months old) was an ex lease car which didn’t bother me but do think they should have said. Think there was about 13,000 miles on the clock so didn’t make me think it was possibly ex rental.   

Lorian

 In my experience they dont negotiate but that hasnt stopped me trying.

Avoid the synthetic coat that's not value.

I always like genuine mats an typically buy them at a discount off eBay.

There is a VITAL thing to do

Check the SERVICE HISTORY is complete 

Incomplete or non compliant service history will void any balance of manufacturers warranty that may be on the vehicle and if it is an ex fleet/hire car the paperwork could get overlooked .

If you have reserved the car you may find you have paid a non refundable deposit unless you find some defect and you have agreed the price already. Check the terms.

Goudy

Car supermarkets tend to get their cars from all sorts of places, as already mentioned check the service history. In fact check all the car's paperwork, make sure they have the V5C as some cars come via repossessions and the V5C needs applying for when you buy it.
A sign it might be a repo is it's only got one key and it's a poor aftermarket clone as getting a replacement key can be very expensive. 

Car from fleets, like hire companies tend to not have a dealer stamped up service book or service receipts but can go through independent garages for servicing.
Quite often they are then sold with a flimsy printout of service dates and nothing else, this can be off putting for some as it can cause problems with any outstanding manufacturers warranty.

You can usually spot these cars while you are checking them out.
They often come with mismatched tyre brands, often fairly budget ones.
They tend to be slightly less than mint condition for year. You get the impression it's been a tool rather than someone's pride and joy.
If it's been a hire car, the boot is usually scruffy or the parcel shelf knocked about as people stuff the boots with cases etc.
A lot of fleet cars had hard wearing and easy to clean rubber mats fitted and when these go up for sale the dealers tend to throw them out, so they tend to get sold with bare carpets or you find the rubber mats thrown in the boot.

You don't often find supermarkets will negotiate on price, it's usually the reverse as some have the cheek to charge you an admin fee for buy it, anywhere up to £300 usually.

The last car we bought from a supermarket was also offered with expensive paint protection (and was ex fleet) and they were quite insistent when I kept refusing it.
When we picked the car up it had been done anyway for free.

400ixl

Look out for the costs of some of the things they try to add on.

The ceramic coating the will be offering will just be a hybrid ceramic spray which you can buy and apply yourself for £30 but lasts 6-12 months. What they are charging you could get a full paint correction and proper ceramic coating which will last up to 5 years or more.

Gap insurance is another, if you are thinking of taking this then get some independent quotes before you go. Likely they will be offering it at twice the price, but can often miraculously match your price. There is no need to go with their policy.

Things like car mats, what price can you buy them for online, often you can get good conditioned OEM used ones from the likes of Ebay.

Essentially don't allow them to make their margins on add ons.

Herzlos

IIRC Motorpoint try to charge an admin/buying fee that turns out to be optional if you argue against it enough.

Everything else they try to sell you can be sourced much cheaper, but you can always ask them to include mats or the coating to sweeten the deal though they will likely refuse. They aren't likely to discount any further because it'll already be priced low to appear in the searches, and they work on volume.

A lot of the cars are ex rentals, but it's virtually impossible to check now since it's not on the V5 and the names usually really obscure i.e. Banger Rental Co will buy cars as BRC or something generic. It being a rental should be fine as long as the service history is in place and it's in good condition.

Cloth_of_Gold

Goudy said:

Car from fleets, like hire companies tend to not have a dealer stamped up service book or service receipts but can go through independent garages for servicing.
Quite often they are then sold with a flimsy printout of service dates and nothing else, this can be off putting for some as it can cause problems with any outstanding manufacturers warranty.

Aren't service books a thing of the past? When  we bought our Golf, a few years ago, the chap at the dealership told us that VW no longer issues service books and it's all just recorded online. ours has a full MD SH but the only evidence we have is the invoice issued after each service which details what has been done. I would have thought that most companies did it like this now.

Desmond_Hume

A headed invoice is better proof than a stamped book. Anybody can buy the latter and a stamp from eBay and make their own up. 

As for the original question.  I just wouldn’t buy from Motorpoint or the likes to begin with. 

Cloth_of_Gold

Desmond_Hume said:

A headed invoice is better proof than a stamped book. Anybody can buy the latter and a stamp from eBay and make their own up. 

As for the original question.  I just wouldn’t buy from Motorpoint or the likes to begin with. 

Yes, we've never worried about not having a stamped service book.

born_again

Cloth_of_Gold said:

Goudy said:

Car from fleets, like hire companies tend to not have a dealer stamped up service book or service receipts but can go through independent garages for servicing.
Quite often they are then sold with a flimsy printout of service dates and nothing else, this can be off putting for some as it can cause problems with any outstanding manufacturers warranty.

Aren't service books a thing of the past? When  we bought our Golf, a few years ago, the chap at the dealership told us that VW no longer issues service books and it's all just recorded online. ours has a full MD SH but the only evidence we have is the invoice issued after each service which details what has been done. I would have thought that most companies did it like this now.

Not all Kia proudly state.
Kia UK do not maintain a centralised service record database, if the service record booklet for your car is incomplete you should contact the dealer that carried out the work or the previous owner (if applicable)

No stamp = No warranty.
If your Kia car is not serviced by a Kia dealer or Authorised repairer we recommend:
• The garage completing the service is VAT registered.
• The service must be carried out correctly as detailed in the owner’s manual.
• Only genuine Kia parts and lubricants as recommended by Kia or equivalent quality must be used.
• The part numbers used should be detailed on the service invoice.
• The oil type and grade used should be detailed on the service invoice.
• Service records in the warranty booklet must be stamped and dated.

Cloth_of_Gold

born_again said:

Cloth_of_Gold said:

Goudy said:

Car from fleets, like hire companies tend to not have a dealer stamped up service book or service receipts but can go through independent garages for servicing.
Quite often they are then sold with a flimsy printout of service dates and nothing else, this can be off putting for some as it can cause problems with any outstanding manufacturers warranty.

Aren't service books a thing of the past? When  we bought our Golf, a few years ago, the chap at the dealership told us that VW no longer issues service books and it's all just recorded online. ours has a full MD SH but the only evidence we have is the invoice issued after each service which details what has been done. I would have thought that most companies did it like this now.

Not all Kia proudly state.
Kia UK do not maintain a centralised service record database, if the service record booklet for your car is incomplete you should contact the dealer that carried out the work or the previous owner (if applicable)

No stamp = No warranty.
If your Kia car is not serviced by a Kia dealer or Authorised repairer we recommend:
• The garage completing the service is VAT registered.
• The service must be carried out correctly as detailed in the owner’s manual.
• Only genuine Kia parts and lubricants as recommended by Kia or equivalent quality must be used.
• The part numbers used should be detailed on the service invoice.
• The oil type and grade used should be detailed on the service invoice.
• Service records in the warranty booklet must be stamped and dated.

Perhaps they also issue a hard copy owner's manual too. VW didn't and said it was all online (which is fine for somethings but for others less so) but said we could have one for £70 but it would have to be ordered and would take several months to arrive! I couldn't find a second-hand one online so gave up. Anyway, I'm going off-topic (sorry).