Cargiant? Vauxhall Zafira

goz83

Considering upgrading the zaf. Currently we have a 2006 1.6 petrol, which has served us very well. We have had it 5, or 6 years.

Im actually looking to buy a 2016 phev mitsi outlander soon in the uk to replace my 2003 e200k. Will be importing from uk.

Journeys in the zafira are usually short, urban trips, so petrol is preference (no electric/hybrid option.

So, looking on autotrader at zaffys, I see some great value 2015/16 models with small miles and I end up seeing cargiant, where there are a few petrol zaffys from 2014-16 all going for £10k plus £99 admin fee. Does anyone know anything about this crowd? I want to buy a 2012 at the oldest, but if 2016 models are costing nearly the same, that's where I would rather be.

I also noticed that there are 2012 models with the new face, which I thought only came out in 2015 and there are 2014/15 models with the older face (same as our 2006 model). Whats the deal with that? Seems very odd.

As an aside.....the OH loves sliding door people carriers. Need minimum 7 seats. If anyone has any other suggestions, feel free to fire them out. Would consider jap import if that made sense. Trying to keep the spend under 15k.

colm_mcm

There's Zafira and Zafira Tourer. The Tourer (or Zafira C) is the current model. They did the old type like yours as well alongside the new one for a few years. The Tourer came out in 2012.

Have you considered a Prius+?

Marcusm

goz83 wrote: »

Considering upgrading the zaf. Currently we have a 2006 1.6 petrol, which has served us very well. We have had it 5, or 6 years.

Im actually looking to buy a 2016 phev mitsi outlander soon in the uk to replace my 2003 e200k. Will be importing from uk.

Journeys in the zafira are usually short, urban trips, so petrol is preference (no electric/hybrid option.

So, looking on autotrader at zaffys, I see some great value 2015/16 models with small miles and I end up seeing cargiant, where there are a few petrol zaffys from 2014-16 all going for £10k plus £99 admin fee. Does anyone know anything about this crowd? I want to buy a 2012 at the oldest, but if 2016 models are costing nearly the same, that's where I would rather be.

I also noticed that there are 2012 models with the new face, which I thought only came out in 2015 and there are 2014/15 models with the older face (same as our 2006 model). Whats the deal with that? Seems very odd.

As an aside.....the OH loves sliding door people carriers. Need minimum 7 seats. If anyone has any other suggestions, feel free to fire them out. Would consider jap import if that made sense. Trying to keep the spend under 15k.

Nothing wrong with CarGiant; I've never bought there myself but have helped on 4 different car purchases there. Most ex fleet cars from auction and transparent pricing. I seem to recall CiniO having a positive experience in a warranty issue after buying there (suspect it was Mapfre). Nice big site next to Wormwoid Scrubs although I suspect it won't be there in 5 years - the site is worth in excess of £1bn and will be adjacent to HS2 interchange.

goz83

colm_mcm wrote: »

There's Zafira and Zafira Tourer. The Tourer (or Zafira C) is the current model. They did the old type like yours as well alongside the new one for a few years. The Tourer came out in 2012.

Have you considered a Prius+?

Thanks. I was wondering.

Yeah, I looked at the prius+ but the tiny electric mileage doesn't make up for the fact that it's not a practical 7 seater. We have 5 kids, so a proper size yoke is needed. Looked at the Quashqai+2 briefly aswell, but it looks like the boot space is a bit less than the zafira and the 2 rear seats seem to have less vertical leg room. And if you recall from my other thread, I will also be driving the 7 seater, so something high up is needed. Other suggestions are welcome.

colm_mcm

I wouldn't look at he Prius as an electric car. It's not a plug in, so the electric only mileage isn't that relevant. You'll have to drive it using petrol to charge it up.
Just look at it as an efficient reliable petrol.

That said, if it isn't big enough, then that's it. Zafira aren't huge either though.

goz83

The Zafira is just about the smallest we could manage and would get away with another one for a few more years. We rented a vw caravelle in October in Spain and that was a spacious vehicle

The ford tourneo/transit or vw caravelle are certainly big enough, but i'm not convinced we need something that size. Besides...it will only make the OH want to fill the extra seats :pac:

Limbo123

Purchased from Car Giant before when living in UK. No issues at all. Would use them again.

What you see is what you get. Well established-been around for years.

One of the largest used car stocks I've ever seen at a car dealers- you could easily spend a day there looking at all the marques.

Don't expect a major long test drive as the fuel tanks are nearly always empty ( twice run out of fuel on two separate test drives up and down the estate).

Don't expect any real deals as they don't like moving on the screen price (which tends to be slightly cheaper than most forecourts).

bazz26

They buy most of their stock from large leasing companies so buy in volume which allows them to price them cheaper than a conventional dealership. However they are a car supermarket so treat them the same as you would going into Tesco trying to haggle on the price of a litre of milk or sliced pan. The price displayed is the price you pay, there is no negotiating. They will also charge an administration fee on top of that sticker price to do the sales paperwork. They will also charge extra for the likes of valeting the car, warranty, etc that you get from normal dealerships. As long as you are aware and happy with all this up front. Their business model suits alot of buyers who just want a no frills buying experience at a price that reflects it.

goz83

So I would not likely get a further discount if I walked in with cash?

I would most likely buy something less than a year old with small mileage. Woukd somthing that young be an ex fleet? I wouldn't have thought so myself.

bazz26

I've heard of people being left walk away for looking for even £100 off the marked price. I'd be very surprised if you get anything off but if you don't ask you won't get. Just don't bank on it.

Like here there are lots of short term leased cars in the UK. On anything less than a year old I'd be checking for signs it was not an ex-rental car. They probably also get their hands on a few privately owned cars but I'd imagine their buying power would be in the ex fleet volume stuff. Just remember that in order to avoid being stung for VAT here the car needs to be over 6 months old with 6000 km or more on the clock.

AMKC

OP If you want an MPV with sliding rear doors why not look at the Mazda 5 and the Ford Grand C-Max. Not that many MPVs out there now with sliding side doors unless you want to look at the smaller van based cars like a Ford Torneo or Renault Kangoo or bigger ones like the VW Carevelle, Opel Vivaro and Peugeot Expert.

testicles

This post has been deleted.

goz83

AMKC wrote: »

OP If you want an MPV with sliding rear doors why not look at the Mazda 5 and the Ford Grand C-Max. Not that many MPVs out there now with sliding side doors unless you want to look at the smaller van based cars like a Ford Torneo or Renault Kangoo or bigger ones like the VW Carevelle, Opel Vivaro and Peugeot Expert.

Will definitely be looking at these. A little more expensive, but not hugely so. The middle seat on the Mazda 5 looks a bit on the small side though. At least I can find petrol versions in the UK easily enough.

exaisle

I bought there a couple of years ago....no complaints at all. Flight to stansted, bus then tube to Willisden junction and less than ten minutes of a walk...bought the car (A4) then back to Holyhead in plenty of time for the ferry...all in the same day..

As earlier poster says, the price is the price, but they WILL accept a sterling bank draft drawn on AIB (as they have branches in the UK).

goz83

exaisle wrote: »

I bought there a couple of years ago....no complaints at all. Flight to stansted, bus then tube to Willisden junction and less than ten minutes of a walk...bought the car (A4) then back to Holyhead in plenty of time for the ferry...all in the same day..

As earlier poster says, the price is the price, but they WILL accept a sterling bank draft drawn on AIB (as they have branches in the UK).

Cheers. That's good to know. I would probably load up the Revolut card and pay that way.

Shlippery

goz83 wrote: »

Cheers. That's good to know. I would probably load up the Revolut card and pay that way.

Just back from there this weekend (very successfully I might add - luton/ferry from holyhead) - they'll take Sterling Cash & bank draft or UK Debit card ( I don't think Revolut will work)

There's also a 1% charge for paying in cash, which is minor but worth noting.

goz83

Shlippery wrote: »

Just back from there this weekend (very successfully I might add - luton/ferry from holyhead) - they'll take Sterling Cash & bank draft or UK Debit card ( I don't think Revolut will work)

There's also a 1% charge for paying in cash, which is minor but worth noting.

A charge for paying in cash? :eek: That is a first for me.

If they accept debit/credit cards, they should be able to accept revolut, especially if the currency is preloaded as sterling.

Can you tell me about the process you went through from looking online to driving away? Curious, what did you buy?

CianW5

Trust me don't buy a Vauxhall (Opel) or anything French.

exaisle

goz83 wrote: »

A charge for paying in cash? :eek: That is a first for me.

If they accept debit/credit cards, they should be able to accept revolut, especially if the currency is preloaded as sterling.

Can you tell me about the process you went through from looking online to driving away? Curious, what did you buy?

If you imagine the quantity of cash they take in, it has to be collected by armoured security van...for which there's obviously a charge. The 1% is effectively to discourage people paying in cash....

I spotted the car I wanted online...a 2011 Audi A4 2.0Tdi Tecknik with 26,000 miles on the clock....gave them a call and expressed my interest. The salesman said that they would hold the car for 24hours to give me time to get over there (but said that as I was coming from Ireland, to give them a call if I was going to be late as he would give me another 24hours if needed, which was handy).
I arrived at about 11.05am. The test drive and inspection took around 45 minutes and at that point I was happy that the car was exactly what it said on the tin. I told the salesman that i was happy to buy it and was directed over to the cash section across the road.
I should note here that Cargiant is HUGE. They have separate sections dealing with all of the main groups of cars....VW/Audi/Merc...Ford...Toyota..etc etc.
Check this out: https://www.google.co.uk/maps/place/Cargiant/@51.5269067,-0.2411823,495m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m5!3m4!1s0x487611cdb9bb28e1:0x24bf5c038919f0ee!8m2!3d51.5274641!4d-0.2403133

I went over to the cash desk and took my place in the queue...I wasn't long being seen to and paid for the car (I had a bank draft for the sales price but had to pay for the admin charge by credit card) and received the keys and documentation.
However, you can't drive the car away unless it's taxed but you can tax it online (you can claim back most of the tax from the DVLA when you send the proof of export) and you can insure it for 4 days for £20 (or at least you could in 2015) which I did. The whole process from start to finish took about 2 hours and I headed off up the M40...

If you have any questions...feel free to post them...

PS. Has anybody from Ireland been stopped on the A55 for speeding?? JIn a new car, one might be tempted to give it a nice fast run... The lady at the Stena kiosk mentioned that "you'd be ok doing 70(mph) but they mightn't like you doing 100...." Just wondering if there was any truth in that...

goz83

@EXAISLE : Thanks for that. Good write up

CianW5 wrote: »

Trust me don't buy a Vauxhall (Opel) or anything French.

I've owned a 2006 Opel Zafira for about 5 years and it's been great. Almost 200k klms on the clock. Only issues have had is a dead battery and a common issue where the boot lock stops working due to water ingress into the rear fuse board. Both I fixed myself. Oh and the recent recall to replace a resistor.

Also had a 2001 Opel Astra from 2003-2006 as my first car and it gave me no trouble other than a clutch replacement, which was totally my fault.

Will more likely be getting something with a sliding door though.