CarGiant - another rather happy customer. (long)

NIMAN

This has been an interesting thread to read as I am considering changing car in the summer and have been looking at a lot of Irish and UK sellers, and CarGiant is one I have checked out and regularly seen cars I would be interested in.

Disappointed to hear that they sell dirty/not clean cars. Of course I understand that they are working on fine margains and the price would be higher if they valet'd them all, but surely a basic clean would help?

Also, I thought most of the cars looked in great nick on their photos. Most of the paintwork looks good too, so I would be instantly put off if I travelled over and found a dirty and scratched car.

But for most of the cars I have on my list of possibilities, it would still be cheaper to buy from the UK, pay the VRT, travel, petrol, ferry etc than buy from most Irish dealers. I would love to support Irish dealers, but unfortunately with a big purchase like a car you gotta go with whatever saves you money, as long as equal service is provided.

galwaytt

....I just wanted to add to my earlier musings..........

Even if an Irish dealer had the perfect car, perfect condition, warrantied up the wazoo, and well presented - at the SAME price as the Car Giant route, it is still my experience the buyers here would want to give you less for it anyway, try and strip things out of the sale (mats/mudflaps/valet/whatever...).........and THEN haggle. Car Giant otoh hand tell you straight up: No Haggling. Anyone who's ever bought a car in the UK will tell you: trying to get £50 off a car costing 1000's is a Big Deal. Not so, here.............

@MidlandsM - VRT is being set 'low' ?? - I nearly spat out my lunch when I saw that, based on VRT quote for a 99 car I saw this morning.........!!

CiniO

NIMAN wrote: »

This has been an interesting thread to read as I am considering changing car in the summer and have been looking at a lot of Irish and UK sellers, and CarGiant is one I have checked out and regularly seen cars I would be interested in.

Disappointed to hear that they sell dirty/not clean cars. Of course I understand that they are working on fine margains and the price would be higher if they valet'd them all, but surely a basic clean would help?

I suppose there is basic cleaning done.
There was no rubbish on the floor or sth.
It's just it's not a proper valet. They probably give every car a quick vacum, take off rubbish, and quickly clean dash with a cloth. Something like 5 minutes work.
That's my assumption from seeing few cars in there.

NIMAN

I appreciate that you can give the car a good cleaning yourself after you buy, but 1st impressions and all .....

CiniO

galwaytt wrote: »

@MidlandsM - VRT is being set 'low' ?? - I nearly spat out my lunch when I saw that, based on VRT quote for a 99 car I saw this morning.........!!

What I hate about VRT is that it's calculated as percentage of OMSP, which OMSP already includes VRT. So effectively VRT is caluclated on price already containing VRT, which makes effecive VRT rates higher.

Comaring f.e. to VAT.
If you have a can of drink worth 1 euro netto.
You can sell it for 1.23 which price will include 23% of VAT. All correct.

But if we wanted to use VRT way, they would say that can value is 1.23 so VAT should be 23% of this price, therefore making VAT rate (23% * 1.23) at 0.28.
Then you would need to sell a can for 1.28, and effective VAT rate would be 28% not 23%.

I know VAT is completely different thing, but I just used it to show that it's just a mathematical trick which revenue is using to hide the fact that effective VRT rates are higher than revenue shows them.

MidlandsM

galwaytt wrote: »

..............

@MidlandsM - VRT is being set 'low' ?? - I nearly spat out my lunch when I saw that, based on VRT quote for a 99 car I saw this morning.........!!

on aul' stuff like that, no, but on fresher low emmssions 2007 onward stuff i find omsp lower than in the real world, to make them attractive to import and clear......

testicle

Leprechaun77 wrote: »

I had recently been looking on Cargiant with a view to purchasing, however this does seem a bit off-putting for me. Whatever about not washing/valeting etc to give a competitive price, it seems farcical that they do not offer a warranty. I don't mind the cosmetics that can be done myself however when buying from a dealer, they are basically saying that they cannot standby the quality or condition of the car.....CARGIANT off the list for me

What good is a warranty to you when you've to go to London to avail of it?

galwaytt

Leprechaun77 wrote: »

... they are basically saying that they cannot standby the quality or condition of the car.....CARGIANT off the list for me

...they say no such thing - you need to go back and read it again. As befitting ANYTHING bought from a person in the course of normal trade, the Sale of Goods Act gives you basic rights in terms of merchantability of goods, and goods being fit for purposes. This is standard everywhere - but it's not a warranty.

A warranty in the context of a car is specific. What Car Giant are doing is telling you that the level of protection above the Sale of Goods Act, and covering car-specific issues is priced separately, and you can take it or leave it. Most other garages (but not all), do not treat warranties like this and you must take them, and it's built into the price of the car. Whether the garage warrantees it from it's own pocket and covers any potential cost from it's own purse, or buys a warranty (e.g. Mapfre or Warranty Direct) is entirely up to them. Either way, there IS a cost, and it's in the price already - you just don't see it. Car Giant are merely telling you how much that is, and ask if you want it. As the famous saying goes, your statutory rights are not affected one way or the other.

testicle wrote: »

What good is a warranty to you when you've to go to London to avail of it?

Exactly. And this underlines the point above where it's useful for the warranty cost to be shown separate and elective. You do need to weigh up whether it's practicable to even call on it even if you did need it. For me, I've always foregone, and done the calculation that the money if needed would be better, and more likely spent here, locally.

Henry Ford III

testicle wrote: »

What good is a warranty to you when you've to go to London to avail of it?

Precisely. It's about the same value as quoting your consumer rights in Ireland under the SOGA to somone in London where you bought a car.