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car dealers
Comments
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I bought my last car from McIlveen Motors in Newtonards and was very happy with their service. I saw the car listed on Autocar, called them up and they agreed to stay open later than usual so that I could get out to have a look at the car.
They must have been competitively priced as when I get a valuation from Autocar it is still worth pretty much what I paid for it almost 2 years ago.0 -
I bought my last car from McIlveen Motors in Newtonards and was very happy with their service. I saw the car listed on Autocar, called them up and they agreed to stay open later than usual so that I could get out to have a look at the car.
They must have been competitively priced as when I get a valuation from Autocar it is still worth pretty much what I paid for it almost 2 years ago.
I wonder are they the same McIlveen's who used to be in Donegall Pass. He used to sell a lot of imported Fiats and was very keen to deal if I remember correctly.Norn Iron Club Member No. 252 :beer:0 -
thanks for all the replies.
I was thinking of starting to search for a new car in the next 6 months or so but unfortunately a lorry ploughed into the back of me yesterday and I would imagine when the insurance company have the car looked at it will be written off.
So my car search will have to start sooner than I thought.
Thinking of a good sized reliable family car like an Avensis or Passat.
I know we have charles hurst (toyota) in mallusk nearby but i have heard mixed reports about it. I will have to look at the other suggestions especially Donnellys.
Also, another question on buying a car from a dealer....
Say you were to have the money for the car (so you don't have to take out a finance deal) does this offer you any extra clout when getting a good deal or haggling. Just wondered as bartering isnt something that I am particularly good at. Any experiences with haggling anyone?0 -
Sorry to hear about the bump.
As a rule I have never paid the asking price on a car regardless of paying cash or taking finance.
As you have cash to hand now, my advice is pick your car and visit every franchised dealer and play one off against the other, the independant dealers are well worth looking at too, www.usedcarsni.com is a good starting point.
The big thing is don't be scared to walk away until you get the price you are looking for.0 -
Definitely haggle, when you get to the point where you're feeling happy with the price, ask for another £100 off, or else some free servicing or an MOT check thrown in, particularly if the car you're buying has a few months MOT left. I've found dealers willing to throw in extras that are within their control, e.g. they have their own workshop so the MOT check is at cost price to them.
If you don't ask, you'll not get.Norn Iron Club Member No. 252 :beer:0 -
Say you were to have the money for the car (so you don't have to take out a finance deal) does this offer you any extra clout when getting a good deal or haggling
In a word No!
The dealer would rather sell you a car on a finance deal as he gets commission on the finance package he sells you especially if you fall for Payment Protection Plan which is a rip* off.
Haggle the deal first and then inform him of your method of payment
*http://www.ananova.com/business/story/sm_2881155.html0 -
ballyblack wrote: »
Haggle the deal first and then inform him of your method of payment
Totally agree. Dealers love to find out how much your 'budget' is per month, then put together the deal to surprisingly meet that monthly payment. You've then little control over discount, trade in price or APR rate.
Deal hard on the car, deal hard on the trade in if you have one, then deal hard on the finance deal.0 -
You are so correct. Car dealers are the scum of the earth esp the large franchises.....they get a bonus for selling finance and Gap insurance and any other kind of insurance that you dont really need.not to mention their over inflated prices for the year and model of car they are selling.
I have had 2 bad expereinces funny enough both with Charles Hurst. I have registered under another name as my hubby used to work for Charles Hurst and didnt want to be easily recognised. Its a disgrace the scams they used to pull.......0 -
pocketrocker wrote: »You are so correct. Car dealers are the scum of the earth esp the large franchises.....they get a bonus for selling finance and Gap insurance and any other kind of insurance that you dont really need.not to mention their over inflated prices for the year and model of car they are selling.
I have had 2 bad expereinces funny enough both with Charles Hurst. I have registered under another name as my hubby used to work for Charles Hurst and didnt want to be easily recognised. Its a disgrace the scams they used to pull.......
Would agree with this. The salespeople seem to work against each other in CH -you may have nearly agreed a deal with one - just sorting out the finer points & another salesperson who you've spoken to earlier about the car will have sold it in the meantime. I know from bitter experience. Never again.
Agree with earlier posts - treat each transaction as a separate negotiation. They will keep asking you how you are paying - just say you're getting a loan etc until you've got the car price sorted. We firstly negotiated the car price, then we negotiated the finance deal (btw, a separate loan from elsewhere is usually better if you can get one). At this stage the deal was done as far as the salesperson was concerned & we were honestly going to sell our old car privately through the paper but just rang him the next day just to check if he could give us a decent trade-in price - he could! All in all we got a good discount on the car, a good finance deal and a good trade in price. We also got other bits & pieces like a tank of petrol & 6 months road tax etc.
Edit: Ps if you're going for a second hand car, get them to thoroughly valet it & supply new mats etc
Just read your post again re haggling, once you've decided which car you're going for, you can have a hunt around to see which dealers are selling that model. Just play them off against each other saying things like you're not sure because Dealer A is selling a similar car for £x & the cars got air con/alloys/electric windows etc. Don't be afraid of silences while he's working out a deal. It's all a game! Thank them & say you'll get back to them after you've spoken to your mate/dad/wife/boyfriend...
Good luck0 -
I have read with interest on all the points made. With regard to the point raised of using dealer finance or not I would suggest that with the current lending conditions caused by the credit crunch some banks or building socieities will have harder underwriting for loans in place. Recently the best buy tables show the cost of loans from banks and building societies increasing.
My experience is that dealer finance can be competitive, do your research and make sure you know what is a good deal. With most dealer finance loans you can have it arranged immediately allowing you to take delivery of the car. This is not true of all banks or building societies.0
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