What did I do wrong?

Ri_Nollaig

Hello all,
I posted a thread a few weeks back saying I was looking for a hatchback in the 6-8K range, preferably a golf, but would easily settle for an astra or focus or just about anything thats nice really.

But so far my experiences with car dealers have been a nightmare! It seems they dont want to sell cars...
For example, last Saturday. I ring up several dealers in the Cork area. Told them what I was looking for and made a map of a the route I would take to try and view as many as I can. Went to one, everything was fine, had a few cars of interest but wasnt blown away and wouldnt 'sweeten the deal' in anyway. Cars wherent even clean and was only offering the bare minimal 3 month warranty, wouldnt move on the price, etc.
But turns out this was the best and it only went down hill from here. Went onto the next dealer but first decided to ring and confirm the location. Said i was about 10mins out. When I got there i found a locked gate (this was at 1:30~) I assumed this was some kinda store area so i rang again and asked what the story was, he was on lunch... nice, didnt want to mention that when I said I would be there in a few minutes.
Went to another dealer, now in their defence this was clearly a dealer that focused on new cars but they still advertised that they had 2nd hands. I went in, no one came over to me so i went to the reception, said i was interested in X, she said grand let me get a sales man, she rings him up and then she said, yeah he says they are outside by the gate, thats all we have, didnt even bother to come out. (Lions match was starting i believe)
Went to another dealer, was round 4 ish now. He was locking the gate but asked was he still open (they where advertised to stay open till 5:30 btw) he said "you can have a look", drove in, had a look around, the entire time he was just standing there basicly waiting for me to leave... which I quickly did.

ok what am I doing wrong? I thought they where crying out for sales? and the 6-8K is only a rough estimate, If I saw a car I liked I would have easily went over that!

I am expecting a lot of replies to say "buy privately" but I dont know that much about cars and wanted the warranty/piece of mind from buying from a dealer.

ShadowHearth

Ri_Nollaig wrote: »

Hello all,
I posted a thread a few weeks back saying I was looking for a hatchback in the 6-8K range, preferably a golf, but would easily settle for an astra or focus or just about anything thats nice really.

But so far my experiences with car dealers have been a nightmare! It seems they dont want to sell cars...
For example, last Saturday. I ring up several dealers in the Cork area. Told them what I was looking for and made a map of a the route I would take to try and view as many as I can. Went to one, everything was fine, had a few cars of interest but wasnt blown away and wouldnt 'sweeten the deal' in anyway. Cars wherent even clean and was only offering the bare minimal 3 month warranty, wouldnt move on the price, etc.
But turns out this was the best and it only went down hill from here. Went onto the next dealer but first decided to ring and confirm the location. Said i was about 10mins out. When I got there i found a locked gate (this was at 1:30~) I assumed this was some kinda store area so i rang again and asked what the story was, he was on lunch... nice, didnt want to mention that when I said I would be there in a few minutes.
Went to another dealer, now in their defence this was clearly a dealer that focused on new cars but they still advertised that they had 2nd hands. I went in, no one came over to me so i went to the reception, said i was interested in X, she said grand let me get a sales man, she rings him up and then she said, yeah he says they are outside by the gate, thats all we have, didnt even bother to come out. (Lions match was starting i believe)
Went to another dealer, was round 4 ish now. He was locking the gate but asked was he still open (they where advertised to stay open till 5:30 btw) he said "you can have a look", drove in, had a look around, the entire time he was just standing there basicly waiting for me to leave... which I quickly did.

ok what am I doing wrong? I thought they where crying out for sales? and the 6-8K is only a rough estimate, If I saw a car I liked I would have easily went over that!

I am expecting a lot of replies to say "buy privately" but I dont know that much about cars and wanted the warranty/piece of mind from buying from a dealer.

Well buying privatly is not that bad as you think, if you dont know basics, then get a friend who does. Arrange a date to mett at your mechanic, so he could check it out.

trust me, buying at dealer even with warranty, does not mean car will be be good. As long as i know, dealer have same stock as in private sales, but you just overpay them for treating you like s*it!

I bought 3 cars privately so far, and got really good bargains, looking for 4th atm. And i moustly go for private sales.

Atleast when you go privately, seller is interested in selling car. So he will try his best.

Its prety sad to be honest. Car industry was hit, and alot of garadges are closing down, people loosing theyr jobs... That would be about time to increase level of service, but no...


Anyway godd luck in your search m8, and dont be afraid of private sales!

11811

For some reason Saturdays are pretty bad in car dealerships, the one or two sales people on duty always seem to wish they were somewhere else

Eric Cartman

if your looking for a golf theres a lad in work selling an 02 GTi with 80k on it, 6k, any interest ?

barochoc

I would never go near a dealer unless they had something going dirt cheap but that's rare unless they took an old car in as a trade-in & just wanted rid of it.

Carzone & CBG are stuffed with cars at the moment. I'm sure one of your friends must know something about cars. You should at least contact a mechanic to go with you if you really like the car. I'm sure the AA will provide a mechanic for a fee & he will inspect the car & tell you if he finds anything worrying or reasons to offer less than asking.

Either way, nobody ever gets asking price. If some one is looking for €6K at the moment there's a good chance you'll get the car for €500-€1K less.

Car auctions is another option. Lots of ex-fleet cars & repo's going for a fraction of the value. You can't test drive them but you can inspect them before the auction.

Anyway, what size engine do you want? What extras do you want also?

If I get a minute I might post a few ads that may interest you

robtri

Sounds like a bad day alright.....

A lot of dealers seem to have issues with working on Saturdays and try to get through the day as quickly as possible, which doesn't help when dealing with Joe Public...
I believe part of their dislike for saturdays is that if you are viewing cars on a saturday you are seen as "not a serious buyer" compared to the person who takes time off work to visit during the week.... absolute bull****...

Some dealers attitudes are changing on this, thank god, mainly the large franchisee.... but some are still stuck in the past.....

I know what youa re saying abiut the warranty ect.. piece of mind from buying with a dealer ect.... if you are unsure with buying cars, buying privately can be daunting and unsettling.....

But there can be big savings made, and if you do your homework you can get a good car...
1. have it inspected by a mechanic, or failing that use the A.A. ( expensive but if you not familiar with car mechanics, worth every penny)
2. get the car checked out with motorcheck or cartell.ie
3. look at service history make sure all work carried out in timely manner ( use google to find out at hat miles work should be carried out on the specfic make and model of the car you looking at)
4. test drive the car, make sure you would be comfortable witht he feel and look to the car

budhabob

robtri wrote: »

get the car checked out with motorcheck or cartell.ie

Some interesting stuff here. Quick question though. If a garage is offering a cartell check with the car this is obviously good, but what is the main function of this. Obviously proving the mileage is genuine is a serious plus. How can you get caught financially with buying a second hand car etc, and how accurate are the said sites. I know this is probably already on here somewhere, but didnt know what to search for so apologies.

Ri_Nollaig

barochoc wrote: »

Anyway, what size engine do you want? What extras do you want also?

If I get a minute I might post a few ads that may interest you

was looking (inorder of preference) for a golf, focus or astra but could have easily settled on another make/model had it suited, i.e. if a car salesman conviced me!! Diesel round 1.6-2.0. Not that pushed about extras but did want factory alloys (not tacky after market ones ). Something with good MPG aswell was going to be traveling from Cork-Dublin a far few times.

About the not likely to sell on a Saturday. If thats true that is some serious bullshít! As I am working Monday-Friday to try and pay for said car...

Seriously, now I know this is a nice sweeping statement and im sorry for anyone who does work in the industry and tries their best. But IF thats the attiude of all car dealers then im more then happy to watch their business fall in the coming months. As anyone who is buying a new car or used car worth 15K+ is going to the North or UK you would imagine they would be trying to focus on the under 15K market? ...no?

Ri_Nollaig

Eric Cartman wrote: »

if your looking for a golf theres a lad in work selling an 02 GTi with 80k on it, 6k, any interest ?

im 23 so big no no on the GTi, not gonna pay +1000 more on insurance for a badge. Thanks anyway!

Cogan

I think your dead right in what you said regarding the attitude of dealers, however I think the stock that is in demand is not necessarily the stock in the car lots. A lot of dealers are stuck with 08/07 cars that are not moving, this might contribute to the negativity of some dealers. Mind you, 6000 grand is still a lot of money to spend which should see you in a 2002 - 2004 Hatchback. If I see something of value I'll get back to you. Best of luck