Idiot car buyers - a rant

[speedwell]

It appears I saved on proofreading too. (first post - duh). Better for me to keep silent, when people think I may be an idiot, than say something which confirms it.

 

[HowardD]

I Hate "calling birds" with a passion.

So many dealers do this and it is plain out of order, car supermarkets are the worst.

An example, they advertise a very popular car, say a late focus, at 2 grand below what it should be, a customer phones the dealer and they say they still have it. The customer arrives only to be told "we just sold that a moment ago but we have...................."

This is disgusting but so many of the big-boys do it as routine.

The other dirty trick is mileage on autotrader, Rather than advertising a cars mileage the just put "30 miles" or something regardless of actual mileage. People assume this to mean 30k and then turn up on a 100,000 miler.

Again this is a common scam.

What with the "no finance application refused", trade-sale bargain and minimum p/x scams, it is a minefield.

Something else that is really annoying, is if you are searching by price on Autotrader, and a £20k car is listed with a really low price like £8k, you look at the listing and it will either be: -

• £8k deposit, followed by 48 monthly payments.......

Or one of the:

• You can only contact me by email scams.....

I don't expect a £20k car for £8k, but it's still an annoying manipulation of the search tools.

 

[spanner]

Indeed Yiddo is free to rant all he likes, as am I.
I simply don't understand why Yiddo thinks that whatever experience he has of other (local?) dealerships qualifies him to know everything there is to know about all other proprietors of all businesses that fall under the motor trade umbrella and tar them all with the same brush.I just don't see what useful purpose it serves.
If one is trying to create a positive atmosphere around one's brand then to make critical comments about the competition rather than relying on the positive feedback of satisfied customers smacks of unprofessionalism or naivety or both.
How long, Yiddo have you been doing this? Perhaps you're young and inexperienced, or maybe old and jaded?

 

[ackee911]

HowardD is right, those ads are the worst!!!!!! Really gets on my big ones! Or the idiots that advertise a car as £999 and in the ad say actual price is £2500 or something-just so they can save a few quid on the advertising costs.

And correct me if I'm wrong, spanner, but ranting isn't supposed to serve a purpose! Its supposed to let off steam!

I'm sure everyone will agree, there are good dealers and there are bad dealers.

 

[Deleted member 11979]

Indeed Yiddo is free to rant all he likes, as am I.
I simply don't understand why Yiddo thinks that whatever experience he has of other (local?) dealerships qualifies him to know everything there is to know about all other proprietors of all businesses that fall under the motor trade umbrella and tar them all with the same brush.I just don't see what useful purpose it serves.
If one is trying to create a positive atmosphere around one's brand then to make critical comments about the competition rather than relying on the positive feedback of satisfied customers smacks of unprofessionalism or naivety or both.
How long, Yiddo have you been doing this? Perhaps you're young and inexperienced, or maybe old and jaded?

I thought he was just sharing his expriences with us all? Since I, and I suspect many others, am /are unaware of Yiddos business, and he doesn't refer to his competition by name, surely he's not trying to gain an advantage.

Anyway, surely if what he says offends you so much as to get personal you don't have to continue to "contribute" to the thread.

 

[Colin_b]

Like this. I've been looking at a new car for the past three months (C class estate)

I live in the middle of nowhere, so buying what I would like involves traveling some distance, at least a 150 mile round trip.

Problems with dealers, non-MB franchised.

1. Appalling optimistic descriptions. You say 80k miles, the odometer says 97k.

2. You say excellent, I look and see badly worm tyres, treacly oil and "We'll get the FSH when we get it(!).

3. Got Xenon lights - no it *******hasn't.

4. Its gone, but we've got one 'like it'. Why thanks, it hadn't gone 3 hours ago and a 100 mile journey (each way) would have been saved. And no, an Audi Isn't like a merc, by the way.


Problems with buyer....

1.MB cars are great, They should n't be so picky about a few miles, it doesn't really make much diffference. Fussy tyre kicker.

2.Xenon headlights aren't that good, stick to the standard ones, which are world class... Fussy tyre kicker.

And this is before we even start price discussion.

So as a buyer to seller, please describe the car you are selling with a some accuracy.

Don't waste my time, and I won't waste yours. I'd like to buy a car, possibly yours, in a way that leaves us both happy. Not that hard, I'd hope..

What I want is a car that is as described, properly priced. No pi55 take with prices on trade ins. Should be easy, but isn't.

I don't know if the recession is causing a wave of desperation that leads to bad practice, or a fall in standards generally.

Ho hum,.

 

[The G.F.P]

ive nothing against stealers

but as with most things in retail life they kiss you ass whilst buying then ignor you when something goes wrong

watchdog point this out atleast once a month

if you know what your doing then there i no need to goto a stealer

 

[ackee911]

Or buy wherever you want, just make sure you get an independant inspection!

However, I find the AA inspections a tad pricey.

 

[Smiley]

I agree with you GFP; like you I buy privately and at auction - prefer privately. But if you dont know what you are doing then you come unstuck pretty quickly and there are plenty of unscrupulous sellers out there. One of the best pieces of advice I would offer is to figure out who the seller of the car is; I have bought cars from a specialist dentist, a partner in a City law firm and a millionaire entrepeneur. Admittedly not the sort of people who normally sell cars privately but they all had to for a reason - the dentist because he was not buying another car and the beemer dealer (from where he had bought the car) offered him such a silly low price, the City lawyer again because the Audi dealer offered him a silly p/x price for his low mileage SL500 and the entrepeneur was because he was embarassed to take his "ageing" MB to the Bentley dealer from where he was buying a new Continental convertible. What did these sellers have in common - they had all bought the cars from main dealers, they all had the original receipt for sale, all had paid cash and all lived in houses (penthouse flat in the case of the entrepeneur) worth millions; it meant that they had the cash to look after the cars properly - not a guarantee that you are not buying a lemon.
These sorts of sellers are rare but they are out there and in my experience they are a much better place to buy from than anywhere else.

 

[mikeouk]

This is an interesting thread for me as an ex motor trader and also having worked for a main mercedes dealer.
I think a lot of the general public miss the point when it comes to buying a used car. Do these people buy their weekly shop at tesco/asda etc or take the trouble to go buy their meat and veg from their local farmer to cut out the middle man?
Basicly there is two ways to buy a used car.
1.you go to a dealer, yes you will pay a premium, but hopefully, you will get back up and the piece of mind that car has been checked and made good. There are good and bad motor traders, as there are with anything you buy retail, its down to the buyer to do his homework and also to assess if the product the seller is offering is upto standard. If the buyer chooses to buy from a trader they have to accept that a car the dealer bought at auction or traded in acrues costs ,i.e, advertising costs, transport costs, warranty costs, refurb costs, plus profit to keep their business going, pay their sales man, pay the work shop, pay the rent or mortgage etc etc.
2.they buy privately and get it cheaper, but take the gamble that the car isnt a shed disguised as a mansion.
Personally,since leaving the motor trade I have bought vehicles at auction, privately, from traders and from main dealers, and ive been able to change my expectations with each purchase.

 

[Smiley]

This is an interesting thread for me as an ex motor trader and also having worked for a main mercedes dealer.
I think a lot of the general public miss the point when it comes to buying a used car. Do these people buy their weekly shop at tesco/asda etc or take the trouble to go buy their meat and veg from their local farmer to cut out the middle man?
Basicly there is two ways to buy a used car.
1.you go to a dealer, yes you will pay a premium, but hopefully, you will get back up and the piece of mind that car has been checked and made good. There are good and bad motor traders, as there are with anything you buy retail, its down to the buyer to do his homework and also to assess if the product the seller is offering is upto standard. If the buyer chooses to buy from a trader they have to accept that a car the dealer bought at auction or traded in acrues costs ,i.e, advertising costs, transport costs, warranty costs, refurb costs, plus profit to keep their business going, pay their sales man, pay the work shop, pay the rent or mortgage etc etc.
2.they buy privately and get it cheaper, but take the gamble that the car isnt a shed disguised as a mansion.
Personally,since leaving the motor trade I have bought vehicles at auction, privately, from traders and from main dealers, and ive been able to change my expectations with each purchase.

Strange analogy - I don't see a car dealer in the same way as an Asda for the weekly shop - buying a car from different places depends on what you are comfortable with and what suits your circumstances - and as you say that leads to different expectation levels.
But we do buy our (local) meat from the local butcher

 

[pjs]

as the op

Sounds like I'm one of the few private sellers that doesnt take the pisss, I try to make sure that if they turn up, they will buy because it is Exactly as described - so they have no excuses, and nothing much to knock me down on price too much.

I've never bought privately, but usually bought £20k+ cars where finance is needed and warranty essential for big miles. Anyone buying from me gets a main dealer serviced, and warranty balanced motor

But this year is something else with the phone calls, not just daft questions, but really stupid people, and loads that stuggle to speak english. Maybe because its a merc?? Any other private sellers having similar problems or just me?

 

[mikeouk]

Strange analogy - I don't see a car dealer in the same way as an Asda for the weekly shop - buying a car from different places depends on what you are comfortable with and what suits your circumstances - and as you say that leads to different expectation levels.
But we do buy our (local) meat from the local butcher

thats exactly what it was , an ,analogy. So you buy your weekly shop from the supermarket and pay for the convenience,,,,or go buy it from the guy who grows or rears your veg/fruit or meat and be prepared to gut it, peel it, wash it ,or whatever it is you do with produce you but from farmers,,,,,maybe im bein too deep here

 

[hawk20]

You've only got to breakdown miles from home once for the membership to be worth it.

You'd have to be crackers not to be in the AA, more so now cars are too complex to be fixed at the roadside.

MobiloLife is fine by me. And free with MB servicing. And it covers any driver unlike the AA. And it covers you in Europe as well as the UK (extra from the AA).

 

[Dryce]

MAnd it covers any driver unlike the AA. And it covers you in Europe as well as the UK (extra from the AA).

The famously touted advantage of the cover being with the member was that you were supposedly covered even if you were a hitchhiker in a stranger's car!

 

[James Rothwell]

I always describe my cars accurately over the phone as I don't want to spend 2 hours of my life showing someone round a car that they aren't going to buy as it's the wrong spec or colour. I always take my cars off sale as soon as I can once they are sold and I never try and force people into buying something else if we don't have what they want in stock, if I've got something similar I'll mention as a possible option but I won't point someone in the direction of a Alfa Brera when they came in on a Skoda Octavia.

For the record it does happen in the trade also, I bought a used Focus for a customer from another garage in Wickford guy told me that it had done 28k with full history and that is was immaculate as it had already been prepared for his forecourt. When I got it delivered back to me on the lorry it was a proper shed, every single panel was dented, scratched, marked, badly repaired, the sill was mullered the interior was awful and stank. So it went back to him, hope he has still got it. Cost the cost of delivering the car to me and back to him again and the cost of a chaps payment. It annoys me when it happens to me so I try to ensure it doesn't happen to anyone else.

 

[ALFIE CONN]

Try doing it for a living mate!

We get so many idiots its unbelievable. I regular get offers of £2500 on £6000 cars and the like.

This week we had a call on a car we have here, it is priced at trade money nearly and is low mileage, rare as hell and totally immaculate. The car is £9k and I had an "offer" of £5000.

I really do get the **** with these people, last saturday I literally told a bloke to F-Off from our site, he came in on a new-shape Octavia 2.0TDI with 60k, Full Skoda History, Leather, Everything. It is the cheapest in the country at £6995 at present, the nearest is a 90,000 miler at £7495.

Anyway, the guy was an arrogant git, said he liked the car but then said "I aint paying that though, I read the papers and I know youre desperate to deal"

I offered to show him the prices of others and he said "Im not effing interested in that, all I want to know is what Im getting off."

I then said that I didnt want him as a customer with that attitude, he said he didnt want to buy my stupid car anyway and then, he approached another customer on site and told them not to buy a car from us as our cars are rip-off prices. At this point the F-Off moment came.

I just get this so often, I have people trying to p/x cars that are scrap that they think are worth fortunes, I have boy-racers wanting to drive anything lairy and I have people who expect a £995 p/x to clear to be as new.

It really does wind me up.

Yiddo Man, that is not quite correct what you said about the Skoda.
The first same model at a dealers i looked at on Pistonheads, was exactly the same miles, only one owner (which you dont state) and on a 55 plate, instead of your 04 plate.
It is up for £200 less and is a Laurin & Klement, (which i assume is a better spec?).

You have P/M though cos i am interested.
Ring me.

 

[Big_Jon]

I need to start looking on pistonheads!

Will have a butchers at my stock-book when I get in at 10 and gve you a shout.

 

[DSLiverpool]

Well I have had to list the SL on autotrader (with trepidation) its years since I have used the trader gawd help me.

SL`s seem to be depressed right now so I may have to sit on it which is no hardship as it owes me nothing but 4 cars in the house is one too many

Pistonheads got me mainly people very far away who told me they were very far away (I wasnt sure how to react really ?)

Ebay cost a packet and it never got over £7k (I want £8k min)

Like others I have accurately described the car and I know its a good buy but the next week will be an interesting throwback to my yoof I am sure ...

 

[peterg1965]

Ebay cost a packet and it never got over £7k (I want £8k min)

.

Ebay, classified ad is about £15 and is a 28 day listing. You can also specify a fixed price and opt to take 'offers' which you can accept or decline. I have sold two cars using Ebay classifieds and had a decent response to both. As you say, so long as the advert is accurate and pictures good and the price competitive you should generate interest. It is considerably cheaper than the 'Trader too.