Looking to buy a car from a dealer and i asked the question on top of the asking price is there any other charges/fees i should be aware of. The salesman stated that there is a £49 fee which is to be used to see if there is any outstanding finance on my vehicle. Does this sound right? I can't rememeber paying such a fee when i bought my last car.
Also, when i bought i bought my last car, i part-exed and paid the balance in cash, i still have all the invoices, could i not produce these to the dealer to save paying this fee?
And last question!!! The car was first registered in Jun 06, but has covered 15,427, would you buy a car (diesel) with this many miles, or would you walk away?
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Never heard of this charge myself- but other backroomers may know more than I do.
15000 miles for a June 2006 car is a tad high, but i wouldn't have thought you should worry about it, it could be a good way of getting a bit of ££'s off the car.
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What many miles? if it was 150000 it should still be ok never mind 15000 and as far as the the £49 is concerned it costs the garage peanuts for this service and should be free to you.
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Cars that have done a lot of mileage in a short space of time like this from new are quite desirable in my book, cus not only can you get more money off, but it is good for the engine too. We bought a Focus that had done 13K in 8 months, and the engine is the smoothest quietest and rattle free engine I have yet come across.
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We might pay £30-£40 for an HPI check - garges pay a subscription and may pay another fee on top but all told it is a few pounds per enquiry.
He will undoubtedly want you to take Super Polish @ £400, GAP Ins @ £400, full set of mats/flaps etc @ £200....................
It is just another money making ploy.
15K in 8 months = <24K per year - fairly typical for a mobile worker - high milegae boys do 2 x that at least - car may be worth less but a well run (not tharshed) is better that 2,000 miles going to the corner shop & back every day.
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The dealer is extracting urine if he's charging you for the HPI checks when you are buying a 9 month old car. He has to be making money on the deal, so why make the customer sad by asking a silly amount for a low/free item?
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He is right and wrong.
.*******
However, now that you have asked the question, and the charge is being applied, are you still satisfied with the deal your getting? if so buy - or try saying this £49 charge is crazy and haggle him down £50.
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Torque means nothing without RPM
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He is asking for a HPI check to be done on my car not the new one (mine is 2002 registered and paid for cash).
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If he is messing around like this when you are attempting to buy a car off him (charging you a punter charge on his overheads) either invoice him for your time to view it, or go elsewhere. (He sounds like the type to charge £50 for a dynamic safety check at the first service which will amount to the apprentice kicking the tyres).
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Personally, I wouldnt deal with any salesman who tries on such a pathetic money-making scheme.
The HPi check would be costed into the reconditioning costs when your car is put up for sale.
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Say you know full well that they are trying it on and other dealers do not follow this practice.
See how much leverage this will give you - some salesmen are hardcases and wont care, others will jump as high as you like - worth a try!
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there are tens of thousands of good cars for sale, if you feel uncomfortable about something now but still go ahead then just think what you'll feel like when something goes wrong later and the garage give you the runaround
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Also, when i bought i bought my last car, i part-exed and paid the balance in cash, i still have all the invoices, could i not produce these to the dealer to save paying this fee?
His prudence in checking for outstanding finance is totally justified. He probably does it for all customers as a matter of course. In any case, even if you showed him the invoice he would have no reason to believe it was genuine ~ documents are easily forged. However, whether he is justified in charging you for the check is another matter. Just politely query the charge. It's nothing to get excited about.
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L\'escargot.
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When I bought my smart forfour recently the garage added a £75 HPI and administration charge. I also thought this was a bit strange but just figured it into the negotiations. Was printed onto the receipt already so assumed they charged everyone this.
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Its a bit like some of the dealers now starting to add 'oil disposal charge' on top of the price of a service.
They should factor the cost of HPI checks into their overall business costs. They will pay an annual subscription to HPI for the service - the cost per vehicle is tiny and certainly a lot less than £49. It really galls me when I see dealers adding 'administration charges' etc on the price of their vehicles - its just a way to squeeze a bit more out of the customer. I don't buy the week's shopping from a supermarket and then expect to get an admin charge applied to the total do I? For some reason a few car dealers seem to live on a different planet.
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It really quite simple and there is no need to get upset about it.
Tell him you are not paying the admin charge and if he insists then you tell him the car is not for you..
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TourVanMan TM < Ex RF >
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...I don't buy the week's shopping from a supermarket and then expect to get an admin charge applied to the total do I?
No - but then you probably don't get to the checkout and start haggling over the total, either!!
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I once stayed in a hotel that added the daily room cleaning charge to the bill.
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What about black cab drivers than earn 50k+ and expect tips
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No - but then you probably don't get to the checkout and start haggling over the total, either!!
Why not
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I'd argue about the total at the checkout if in addition to the prices shown on the shelf they had added further charges not previously advised.
The issue here is whether when offering a PX vehicle the OP was told "If we take a PX we have to check on outstanding finance, for which we charge £49. Are you happy to go ahead, Sir?"
My guess is that the sales person did not make such a statement.
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The issue here is whether when offering a PX vehicle the OP was told "If we take a PX we have to check on outstanding finance, for which we charge £49. Are you happy to go ahead, Sir?"
Don't let that £49 distract you from the bigger 'price to change' picture though. It may have even been put there for that very purpose. You end up arguing about £49, they knock it off, you're happy, only to realise later that you piad full price for the car.
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My guess is that this is a big supermarket that is already offering a competitive deal.
Is it usual for dealers to charge an admin fee? No.
Should the OP pay it? Frankly, I've no idea. My take on it is that I would just add £50 to all their prices. As long as the dealer has been upfront (i.e., they haven't concluded the contract, money has been handed over and now they're asking for £50) then the only thing that matters is the cost to change. If you think that the new car is the right one for you and you're happy that you can't get the same car elsewhere for your old car and (price + admin fee - p/x price) then do it regardless as cost to change is the only figure that matters once the finance is sorted.
As for the mileage - it wouldn't bother me in the slightest. The car is almost certainly ex-rental or short term fleet and will be sold on at 15k miles because that's what the contract says. One thing I would be concerned about would be whether the car had had its first service, if it is due by now. If it isn't due yet then no problem (but take the cost of the imminent service into account in deciding how much to pay); if it is overdue then there might be warranty issues further down the line so I'd find one that had either been serviced or was below the mileage where a service was due.
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You could always add a corresponding charge in respect of the car you are buying :-)
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I pick up the car next Thursday! OK:
1. I sourced the car via the 'net and there was no mention of this HPI charge, i queried the car via telephone again no mention of charge. I was then contacted by the site salesman of where the car was located who when asked about any additional charges mentioned the HPI charge. When i got down to negotiations i explained all this to him and he said as i had not been made aware of the charge from the offset the charge would be waived.
2. The car will be serviced prior to pick up.
3. As for the high mileage i was able to get £600 off the asking price.
Not sure if i got a good deal or not, but i love the car and am happy with the outcome. Anyone see any problems?!
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Not really. Just be aware that the 'service' might only be an oil and filter - so may not meet the manfrs. requirements for keeping warranty. I would check that one out and be prepared to pay for a service at franchised dealer, if necessary.
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Double-check - as mentioned above - that the car was serviced to manufacturer's specification at the last interval, if that fell due before 15,000 miles (as is the case for Toyota, Honda and VAGs not on the variable service programme, for example).
Otherwise, good luck and happy motoring!
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When I purchased my present car at 8 months old, the the dealer tried to charge me £300 extra for metallic paint. I pointed out to him that the original purchaser had already paid for this, when the car was new, to the supplier and I was not prepared to pay again for it. He made some feeble excuse that his supplier charged him this extra fee on metallic colours and I walked awy. Needless to say he phoned me back the next day and offered to waive the charge, rather than lose a £10,999 sale, so we did the deal.
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