Dodgy Dealers: Check List Here!

jayjay2010 · 15-05-2010 9:47pm #1

I think we should make this thread a sticky, simply because there are too many dodgy car dealers out there. Ranging from cowboys to absolute scum, I know MANY people who have bought cars from dealers and have had NOTHING but hassle and sometimes threats from them.

This thread can basically be about your bad experience with any dealer. It will act as a point of reference for anybody planning to buy a vehicle of a not well known dealership that someone in this forum may have experienced.

I'd like to see how many people are interested in making a thread like this.

Personally, I haven't had a major issue with any car dealership. However, my brother has had a horrible experience from the cowboys at <snip> in North Dublin. BEWARE!

Stay Away From: <snip>.

Hope this will help some people if more people write about their experiences!

15-05-2010 9:50pm

Won't last long I imagine

guil · 15-05-2010 9:51pm

nope a few mins and bye bye

jayjay2010 · 15-05-2010 9:53pm

My friend bought a 07 POLO last year off <snip>. I was with him at the time of purchase.

About a month ago, the dealer who recognised me, refused to show me ANY vehicle because he claimed to have remembered me NOT buying a car from him.

He actually said: ''I'm not letting you look at my cars because how many times have you been here and NOT bought any cars off me?''.

Highly insulted, I reminded him about the POLO that my friend had bought off him a year earlier. He shrugged his shoulders and refused to deal with me. I was horrified.

Stay Away From: <snip> on the <snip> Road!

Shane732 · 15-05-2010 9:53pm

In theory it's a good idea but actually monitoring the legitimacy of the claims made by posters. Having negative information available about dealers, which in some cases may be incorrect and ill-founded could lead to problems for the mods and the website as a whole.

Who's going to be the first mod to get it?!!

jayjay2010 · 15-05-2010 9:54pm

RoverJames wrote: »

Won't last long I imagine

Why not? Am I not allowed to create a thread like this?

15-05-2010 9:56pm

jayjay2010 wrote: »

He actually said: ''I'm not letting you look at my cars because how many times have you been here and NOT bought any cars off me?''.

so how often do you go in there and how many cars have you bought there ?

quarryman · 15-05-2010 9:57pm

jayjay2010 wrote: »

Why not? Am I not allowed to create a thread like this?

One word: Defamation.

jayjay2010 · 15-05-2010 9:59pm

RoverJames wrote: »

so how often do you go in there and how many cars have you bought there ?

I was looking at a car that I liked one day, but I found a cheaper one elsewhere so I didnt buy it.

A month later, I advised my friend to go there and check out their cars. He ended up buying a 07 POLO.

The salesman was really nice to me then. But it seems all he car remember is the time I didnt buy his car -even though I never said to him that I would.

15-05-2010 10:03pm

He seems a knob end

In fairness there are some clowns who endlessly wander around 2nd hand car lots with no intention of buying anything.

quarryman · 15-05-2010 10:06pm

RoverJames wrote: »

He seems a knob end
In fairness there are some clowns who endlessly wander around 2nd hand car lots with no intention of buying anything.

What's wrong with that?

Do I have to buy a TV every time I go into the Sony Store?

15-05-2010 10:11pm

quarryman wrote: »

What's wrong with that?

Do I have to buy a TV every time I go into the Sony Store?

Did I say you did ?
Are you a clown who is in there regularly without buying anything :rolleyes:

Shane732 · 15-05-2010 10:14pm

God the mods most all be on a night out or something..... The enjoys of not having exams!

pajero12 · 15-05-2010 10:17pm

Shane732 wrote: »

God the mods most all be on a night out or something..... The enjoys of not having exams!

I see your studying very hard anyway:D Off my horse now!

Owen · 15-05-2010 10:27pm

quarryman wrote: »

Do I have to buy a TV every time I go into the Sony Store?

There's a fundamental difference between buying a TV, and a car. TV salesman meets you for 5 minutes, and if he thinks you're serious, he'll pander to your needs, if not, he'll let you do your own thing and enjoy the ambience or lack of in the showroom.

In most modern dealerships, if you come in looking to kill time, this is the sort of hassle you'll cause for the salesperson.

The receptionist will usually get your name, and log in in a diary. This is read by the sales manager, and if the assigned salesperson hasn't logged that he met you, he'll be in trouble.
The sales person will have a responsibility as part of his job to get as many of your contact details as possible, and log them into the CRM system. If he misses things like your address, or email, or phone number, he gets punished because the dealership is financially penalised by the distributor for not keeping adequate CRM records.
The sales person will need to give you a value on your part exchange - tha's a good 20-30 minutes by the time he's appraised your car, given the details to the sales manager, phoned trade buyers, and been given to go-ahead to give you a price based on the individual car you're buying.
The sales person will have to offer you a test drive, and come with you for insurance purposes.
The sales person will have to introduce you to the finance/business manager, if he doesn't, he'll be penalised financially for not having a good referral rate.
The sales person will be under extraordinary pressure to close the deal, and if you are just looking for a test drive, he'll be hounded by his sales manager again and again to keep following you up to try and close the deal.
The sales person must contact you in at least 24 hours after you've visited the dealership, as the distributor checks customers entered into the CRM system at random to make sure the dealership is doing its job.
The sales person will forever have your details in the CRM system, and every year, it'll remind him to call you to try and get some new business from you.

So yes, it is annoying for a sales person when someone comes in just having a browse, or just wanting a test drive.

I'm glad I'm not in sales and management anymore for those reasons exactly

mullingar · 15-05-2010 10:27pm

quarryman · 15-05-2010 10:30pm

RoverJames wrote: »

Did I say you did ?
Are you a clown who is in there regularly without buying anything :rolleyes:

lol, sad.

I never go to car dealers, ever. But if I did I'd like to think I could browse without having to buy.

Touched a nerve with you on this topic I reckon.

-Chris- · 15-05-2010 10:59pm

Shane732 wrote: »

Who's going to be the first mod to get it?!!

Me!

jayjay2010 wrote: »

Why not? Am I not allowed to create a thread like this?

quarryman wrote: »

One word: Defamation.

Bingo!

Shane732 wrote: »

God the mods most all be on a night out or something..... The enjoys of not having exams!

Report the post please!

-Chris- · 15-05-2010 11:09pm

And to give a more complete answer, we try to avoid name-and-shame in this forum unless it's backed up with verifiable, first-hand experience. An internet forum is a fairly anonymous place where it's very easy for people to soapbox and rant with no necessity to back up their assertions.

If you google a business name, quite often one of the top results you'll see is an instance where they were mentioned on boards. If that's a negative reference then it could be quite harmful to their business.

There's also the possibility that a new user has just signed up with the intention of bad-mouthing a garage (possibly a competitor).

We'll let people name-and-shame if the experience happened to them and it can be verified, but otherwise it's just a minefield.

Dodgy Dealers: Check List Here!

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