CarGiant - another rather happy customer. (long)

CiniO

As cargiant was mentioned here mostly positively on this forum many times, I decided to get a car in there as well. I went earlier this week.

In general, while not everything was perfect, generally it's a place worth visiting when someone is looking to buy a car in UK.
I found the model in which I was interested on their website at the afternoon, and gave them a ring. They confirmed some facts (f.e. who was the previous owner/ if it has full service history in main dealer, etc). Eventually I reserved a car (no deposit) as they said they can hold any car for Irish customers for up to 24h. (also it would be bit risky to put deposit on a car you haven't seen yet).
Anyway - I booked a flight straight away for next morning (Knock to Luton) - came up about 50quid with ryanair so I was really happy.
From Luton to Cargiant you can get pretty easy. One of the bus companies to Central London for 10 pounds + Bakerloo tube line. Took me less than 2h to get to Cargiant.

In there I was taken care by one of their sales staff. He showed me to the car. And let me stay with the car for as long as I wanted. I took a really proper look, but I wasn't happy with few things. Generally on the pictures car looked flawless, while in reality is wasn't as great. Few scratches. Interior pretty worn. Strange smell (maybe someone was carrying animals in there).
Prices at cargiant are not negotiable, so all this wouldn't let me haggle the price. The guy said that interior and exterior can be cleaned and valeted up to the greates shine, and I wouldn't notice a difference to brand new car, but this service is extra 250 pounds.
I took keys to few other cars, and I viewed them. Sales person was all the time helpful and very patient, considering it took me few hours looking around those cars. Eventually I chose between two, and we took them for a test drive. Unfortunately test drive could be done only on local roads, so speeds of 50km/h are pretty much maximum. Test drive however pretty much gave me a good overview, and I eventually decided which car I want to take (it was actually completely different model than the one I looked at initially, but they store around 5000 cars, so there was plenty to choose from).

After I made a decision, we completed the paperwork. Generally very good athmosphere. I got some free drinks. In the end general manager came down to congratulate me my new car. Sales guy also tried to convince me to some extra options, like full valet for 250 pounds, or warranty for 300 or more. Generally those things are not included, so if you don't pay for it, you get dirty car (maybe not dirty, but not clean either), and you get no warranty, unless car still has manufacturers warranty. It's a huge place, procedures are quite complicated. Once sale is agreed, he had to put me down for a slot to payment and pickup. He said that unfortunately they have plenty of customers taking cars today, and nearest slot is a 9pm (it was around 5pm then) - he said that even though their cars go through 114 point checks when they arrive, they still need to check many things before giving it down to customer as cars might have been standing parked for a while. Also extra valet would take time, but I didn't go for it.

I first though that I go to the city centre to do some sightseeing, but it was late and cold. It's 15 minutes walk to the tube + another hour in the tube to the centre so it didn't really made sense.

I just went to the other side of the street to eat something.

I rang my insurer to swap the cover. They provide facility with internet access and printer for free, so I could print up the confirmation.

I asked again if I my car couldn't be picked up ealier, as my ferry is at 2:30am in Holyhead and it's quite far - I won't make it from 9pm.
5 minutes later I was already signing documents. Guy informed me, that most cars come without road tax, and it's up to me to pay for it (they can arrange it) but generally as I'm not UK resident and don't have UK issued insurance for the car, it will be quite impossible to tax it. He also mentioned that most Irish customers don't really bother with taxing vehicles anyway, but that it's my risk. (additionally it was written on receipt that "customer was informed that car in not taxed" so they made sure they are on the safe side).

They required passport and two proofs of address.
He gave me service book, spare key, V5C, receipt, and MOT cert.
I went to pay. I used bank draft which I had ready from Irish bank. And paid remaining in cash. Generally it's possible to pay whole amount in cash, but over 5000 sterling it costs extra (not much though).

I went to pick up point, where a person gave me the vehicle key and showed me where is it parked. I spend another 30 minutes looking around the car, made sure everything is really OK. Generally it was, but as I said - it wasn't cleaned really, and the worse, they left the glue and tape leftovers on the windscreen which was used to advertise the price when vehicle was displayed at their parking. I think this should be cleaned. It was mostly on passenger side, so it didn't obstruct my vision too much, but it took me literally 30 minutes with cif to clean it once I got home. This definitely shouldn't be the case.
Also as cars come with 114 points check, they forgot to check numberplate lighting, as one bulb was blown.

I set for journey around 8pm. I didn't really know the way (I didn't take the map), as I was planning to get a vehicle with satnav, but eventually got one without. The worst part was to get from London to M1, but I managed somehow, and then M1, M6, M56, A55, A5 to Holyhead.
I made it there at 1:30, so it was just about time to buy a ticket and board the ferry. Eventually back in Mayo around 9:30am


Generally conclusion is, that I'm quite happy.
Not everything is so perfect, but car I got I consider very good price for what it is. Procedures are straight forward.

In general:
Pros:
- they have huge amount of vehicles on site, and they allow Irish customers to reserve a car for free up to 24h.
- no one is forcing you to buy in there. You can take as much time as you wish to view the car.
- cars are mostly ex-leasing cars and they usually have full service history very often main dealer.
- They guarantee (and take responsibility), that vehicles are not clocked, were't in any accident and are not stolen or on finance.
- service is very nice, helpful and professional.

Cons:
- cars might look better on the pictures, than they really are.
- cars come not fully cleaned, and valeting is extra service which costs 250punds.
- they don't provide a warranty for free. You can pay for it, but I don't think it's worth anything in Ireland. (however if car still has remaining of dealers warranty it still applies)
- preparing vehicles for customer is not perfect (those glue and tape on windscreen from ads and not working bulb). Maybe it was because I asked them to have my car ready sooner, but still it made very bad impression.



But in general, after doing over 1000km in the car, having a proper look on it, I must say I'm really happy with what I've bought, and I assume most of their cars are worth the price.


Hope this few words might help someone who is planning to buy anything from cargiant.

Any questions - ask me.

Harcrid

Just the obvious question. What did you go to buy and what did you end up with?

Sobanek

I've got a simple question. What did you buy?

ba_barabus

What did you end up getting?

The Pontiac

CiniO wrote: »

.Any questions - ask me.

What car did you buy? How much did you save?

bazz26

Great post OP, well done and good luck with the new motor.

MuppetCheck

And mandatory pictures - I'm guessing the insight? Well wear with the new motor.

CiniO

Celtxx wrote: »

Just the obvious question. What did you go to buy and what did you end up with?

I went to buy a Prius, and I end up with Civic 2.2 i-CTDI.

BigEejit

I had the very same problem with my last car from cargiant. Flipping price stickers left a mark on the windscreen and it took ages to clean it off .... all lights etc were working though.

My sister got a 2.2 civic from them as well, great motor. Well wear with yours!!

George Dalton

CiniO wrote: »

Cons:
- cars might look better on the pictures, than they really are.
- cars come not fully cleaned, and valeting is extra service which costs 250punds.
- they don't provide a warranty for free. You can pay for it, but I don't think it's worth anything in Ireland. (however if car still has remaining of dealers warranty it still applies)
- preparing vehicles for customer is not perfect (those glue and tape on windscreen from ads and not working bulb). Maybe it was because I asked them to have my car ready sooner, but still it made very bad impression.

In other words you may as well be buying from an auction.

Why is it that people will accept these kind of cons from a big concern like Cargiant but would call a smaller dealer a "cowboy" if they tried to operate the same way?

Xpro

George Dalton wrote: »

In other words you may as well be buying from an auction.

Why is it that people will accept these kind of cons from a big concern like Cargiant but would call a smaller dealer a "cowboy" if they tried to operate the same way?

Exactly.

99% of Car giant stock comes from Bca or Manheim auctions, which is the very same stuff that is offered for sale by Irish dealers.

knifey_spoonie

Xpro wrote: »

Exactly.

99% of Car giant stock comes from Bca or Manheim auctions, which is the very same stuff that is offered for sale by Irish dealers.

I think what he is trying to get at is the fact that if you buy the same car off a decent dealer here, you will get a valeted, serviced and with a warranty, and have somewhere to go back to if you have an issue.

bbability

Xpro wrote: »

Exactly.

99% of Car giant stock comes from Bca or Manheim auctions, which is the very same stuff that is offered for sale by Irish dealers.

They might look the same but the Irish Car Dealer is still more expensive.

Take a 2010 Nissan Qashqai +2 1.5dci. Irish dealer price around 21k. UK car supermarket price plus vrt, flight and sail home from 17k.

Mar4ix

so, how much did you save, after registration in Ireland, compare to similar cars for sale here ?

The Pontiac

The buddy bought a BMW coupe from car giant a few years ago. The car was 'as new' with FSH. All the usual extras and he saved a few grand.

What's the big deal about a valet? Just bring the car back home and get it done for €100. Or do it yourself.

CiniO

Mar4ix wrote: »

so, how much did you save, after registration in Ireland, compare to similar cars for sale here ?

Assuming VRT which I'll have to pay will match ROS calculator price, I reckon I saved about 2500 euro.

CiniO

George Dalton wrote: »

In other words you may as well be buying from an auction.

Why is it that people will accept these kind of cons from a big concern like Cargiant but would call a smaller dealer a "cowboy" if they tried to operate the same way?

I wouldn't really know how to go about buying in an auction.
Would I have such choice as well, possibility to inspect and test drive a car beforehand, and could all this be done within 24h?

bazz26

I'm sure dealers over here big or small, don't prep or valet cars for free either, it's built into selling price of the car just like the warrenty. Car supermarkets can undercut these prices by removing these add ons similar to the original business model that Ryan Air had when introducing cheap air fairs.

If a buyer is not happy with the condition of a car on inspection then it is up to the buyer to reject it. The problem with importing though is that a buyer feels obligated to come home with something after making the journey which is why a buyer should always have a number of different cars to go see when you are there.

cena

Went on there site after seeing this and I can buy golf for around 11,000 euro 2011 reg. this doesn't seem right. That is not including vrt etc.

copacetic

CiniO wrote: »

I wouldn't really know how to go about buying in an auction.
Would I have such choice as well, possibility to inspect and test drive a car beforehand, and could all this be done within 24h?

Absolutley not. Buying from auction is absolutley nothing like buying from cargiant.

Buying from cargiant is just like buying from most second hand dealers, where the 'warranty' is mostly useless anyway, except they aren't also trying to price gogue you as much.

Henry Ford III

CiniO wrote: »

I wouldn't really know how to go about buying in an auction.
Would I have such choice as well, possibility to inspect and test drive a car beforehand, and could all this be done within 24h?

Big auctions will have hundreds of cars. You can look all over them beforehand, and carry out as many checks as you wish.

You won't get a test drive. You can however see the car running and driven.

Buying is simple. Bid, and if you are successful you'll win.

After completing the paperwork you can go for a drive. Not sure about problems at that stage. Check the t's & c's of the auction.

The big attraction is the price. It'll be significantly cheaper than Car Giant or similar.

copacetic

George Dalton wrote: »

In other words you may as well be buying from an auction.

Why is it that people will accept these kind of cons from a big concern like Cargiant but would call a smaller dealer a "cowboy" if they tried to operate the same way?

That's rubbish, nothing like buying at auction. Exactly like buying from any Irish dealer, except price is much better. The OP has given a great honest review and gets the usual pot shots.

The issues outlined you would find and do find with most of not all dealers in Ireland as the myriad of boards thread on them point out. only real difference is the money saved and access to honest feedback on the dealer.

Henry Ford III

copacetic wrote: »

That's rubbish, nothing like buying at auction. Exactly like buying from any Irish dealer, except price is much better. The OP has given a great honest review and gets the usual pot shots.

The issues outlined you would find and do find with most of not all dealers in Ireland as the myriad of boards thread on them point out. only real difference is the money saved and access to honest feedback on the dealer.

I think you've missed George's point.

What value to Car Giant add? The cars come from the auctions so is there any advantage in not buying identical cars directly?

Feardorca

The Pontiac wrote: »

What car did you buy? How much did you save?

Great Post ! Will you please tell us how the VRT transaction went. Thanks.:)

Xpro

Henry Ford III wrote: »

I think you've missed George's point.

What value to Car Giant add? The cars come from the auctions so is there any advantage in not buying identical cars directly?

From my experience, Car giant are Bca Black Card holders ( means they buy 1000+ car annually to qualify for black card, in other words little auction fees)

From speaking to some of the car giant buyers in auctions, they add approx. 1000-1500£ on top of the auction price and therefore there are able to have a quick turnover.( buy-sell-replace)
Thats why warranties, valets and servicing is charged at an additional price.

goochy

Do cargiant really buy at auction ? thought they buy directly from finance companies and dealers as they are so big they offer test drive and at least you know what u are going to pay b4 hand at a

MidlandsM

goochy wrote: »

Do cargiant really buy at auction ? thought they buy directly from finance companies and dealers as they are so big they offer test drive and at least you know what u are going to pay b4 hand at a

they all do, and some finance houses only release their cars to BCA for resale.

I buy a lot of cars and commercials out of BCA, and the "fresh" stuff they sell is decent gear, and easy for the likes of cargiant and the large car supermarkets to shift on...very easy infact.

MugMugs

George Dalton wrote: »

Why is it that people will accept these kind of cons from a big concern like Cargiant but would call a smaller dealer a "cowboy" if they tried to operate the same way?

Majority rules, stereotypes stick and you reap what your brethren sew. Act accordingly.

Henry Ford III

goochy wrote: »

Do cargiant really buy at auction ? thought they buy directly from finance companies and dealers as they are so big they offer test drive and at least you know what u are going to pay b4 hand at a

STG£1500 is the most expensive test drive you'll ever take.

George Dalton

bazz26 wrote: »

I'm sure dealers over here big or small, don't prep or valet cars for free either, it's built into selling price of the car just like the warrenty. Car supermarkets can undercut these prices by removing these add ons similar to the original business model that Ryan Air had when introducing cheap air fairs.

Nobody does anything for free when running a business. As you say servicing, valeting and warranty all have to built into the asking price. Cargiant obviously strip out as much cost and risk as they can and then sell the cars cheaply and make their money on sheer volume, a la Ryanair as you say.

The question I asked is why is this business model ok in the case of Cargiant in the UK and not ok in the case of a dealer here in Ireland? Why are things like a service, valet and warranty considered add-ons when buying from Cargiant but are assumed to be part of the package when buying from a dealer?

My point can possibly be best explained by giving an example. Imagine if somebody came on here tomorrow and posted a thread saying something like the following and asking for advice what would they be told?

"I am looking at a car being sold by a small dealer in Dublin. The car seems really good with full history and is well priced. However there are some conditions attached to the deal:

1. No negotiation on price.
2. Can only be test driven in the industrial estate at speeds up to 50km/h, he won't let me take it on an extended test drive up to motorway speeds.
3. The car has not been serviced.
4. The car has not been valeted.
5. There are some minor faults with the car such as blown bulbs which he will not sort out before sale.
6. There is no warranty with the car, if I want a warranty I must pay extra for a third party warranty which does not cover many common failure items like turbo or EGR valve."

If that scenario was posted on here the high horse brigade would be posting in the thread quoting the sale of goods act within minutes. The imaginary OP would be advised to walk away from the "shady dealer" if he isn't willing to stand over the car or service it.

So why the double standards? Why is it considered ok for Cargiant to sell cars to private consumers on their own terms while it is not ok for Irish dealers to do so?

People seem content to sacrifice things like warranty, before sale service, valet etc when they are saving money buying from Cargiant, but if they are buying a car cheaply from an Irish dealer they still expect the full before and aftersales package regardless of how cheap the car is.

For the record, I have no problem with Cargiant or how they operate, I think dealers of all kinds should be able to sell cars to the public on whatever terms they choose once said terms are up front and made clear to the public.

mickdw

It does sound terrible when you put it like that george. I wasnt aware that they were shifting all those cars without warranty (or charging for 3rd party warranty). It does make them a relatively pointless operation really if that is the reality.
I do however remember the guy who posted here last year re a 520d he had bought off them. It need 6k worth of work according to bmw dealer here - chain and sprocket issue as is common on them. Car gaint certainly were happy to help the customer in that case. I dont know what warranty he purchased from them but it appears that cargaint were directly involved as in the end, after they couldnt sort out a reasonable cost repair here, they took the car back and gave a full refund. This car had been registered here too and vrt paid. The Irish owner managed to get his vrt back and have it deregistered. 3rd party warranty or not, at least they were happy to communicate and resolve the issue.