Mazda 3 - Worried about having extras forced on me by dealer | Motoring discussion | Back Room Forum

Mon 26 Sep 2016 14:27

Mazda 3 - Worried about having extras forced on me by dealer - Tc1980

I'm about to pick up a new Mazda 3 tomorrow. I ended up working with 2 dealers and eventually securing a pretty large discount off list price. Anyway, at the time of agreeing the deal and paying deposit the dealer added paint protection (£400) and gap insurance (£400) to the invoice. He said (after giving me the sales pitch), "dont worry, we can take them off when you pick up if you don't want them" I was a little suspicious and insisted on adding a ? Next to them, which I think went through the carbon copy but I can't remember for sure.

Trouble is I'm paranoid now that the dealer will try and force it through perhaps by claiming he thought I wanted it and the car has already been treated, and of course it can't be untreated... Hopefully he was just doing it to try to get me more likely to agree, and perhaps meet end of August sales targets (it was late August when I paid the deposit). Trouble is I don't trust him because he lied to me initially about the first discounted price that he offered, spinning some story about Mazda giving them a special deal so they could grow as a dealer in the area, when I know full well its just because Mazda have excess 2016 Mazda 3s they need to shift ahead of the imminent 2017 Mazda 3 launch.

Thoughts? If he does pull it I guess I can just flat out refuse to go through with the deal, but I've already paid £1000 deposit. Has anyone had something similar happen or am I just being paranoid? What are my rights in this situation?

Thanks

Edited by Tc1980 on 26/09/2016 at 14:30

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Mon 26 Sep 2016 15:42

Mazda 3 - Worried about having extras forced on me by dealer - craig-pd130

Stick to your guns, and remind the dealer that you have NOT selected these options, and you stated this clearly to them at the time. If you get any argument, insist on seeing the dealer prinipal / sales manager and relate the story to them.

For what it's worth, last year we bought a new Corsa. The salesman was desperately trying to sell us both Diamondbrite and gap insurance. I refused both, until the salesman said "if they were free, would you take them?" in which case I said yes, and both were done at no cost to me (I'd already negotiated a discount I was happy with).

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Mon 26 Sep 2016 15:58

Mazda 3 - Worried about having extras forced on me by dealer - scot22

I agree with craig. Pretend you are a politician and stick to your message : do not let him affect you.

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Mon 26 Sep 2016 17:15

Mazda 3 - Worried about having extras forced on me by dealer - RT

Have them both deleted before you complete the paperwork - the paint protection is a huge rip-off and you can do the GAP insurance for much less than that - most car insurance covers new-for-old in the 1st year anyway so you only need the GAP to start in year 2 - I paid £300 one-off for years 2-5 on a £50,000 car so a Mazda 3 should be a fraction of that.

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Mon 26 Sep 2016 17:44

Mazda 3 - Worried about having extras forced on me by dealer - SLO76

He's added it to the invoice so that his sales manager thinks he's sold it to you and will blame you later on for cancelling. Add-ons like these are heavily pushed by management and sales staff are hammered for not selling them. NEVER allow them to add anything to the invoice you don't want. Effectively when you signed it and paid a deposit you've agreed to buy them! If said salesman leaves you may find yourself struggling to back out of them.

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Mon 26 Sep 2016 18:14

Mazda 3 - Worried about having extras forced on me by dealer - Tc1980

Thanks for the replies all.

I'm hoping that I'm just being paranoid, and if I ask for them to be removed I may just have to listen to one more sales pitch (which I'll ignore) before they are removed. And if not, from the question mark by the items on the invoice makes it clear I'd not agreed to them to any reasonable person.

One other possibility is he tries to resolve the situation by offering them at a discount, I'm not interested in GAP, but am inclined to think the paint and upholsterery protection might be worth it for say £200, especially since it comes with a lifetime guarantee. Is this sensible, or is it still a rip off even at this price?

I can always call back the other dealer and see if i can take their deal (assuming tjey still have the stock) I still have the printout with it on. Just have to wait and see I guess. I'll let you know how I get on tomorrow.

Oh, I've decided I'll buy a set of mats. So he's got that at least!

Edited by Tc1980 on 26/09/2016 at 18:21

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Mon 26 Sep 2016 19:24

Mazda 3 - Worried about having extras forced on me by dealer - daveyjp

Mis selling insurance is a definate no no, PPI anyone?

If you were provided with all the paperwork and said no and it is on the invoice you have a potential mis sell. If you weren't given all the info and its on the invoice even worse. No dealer wants an FCA investigation.

However IIRC there is a cooling off period for GAP so this can be cancelled.

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Mon 26 Sep 2016 19:34

Mazda 3 - Worried about having extras forced on me by dealer - gordonbennet

Confess i'd have been on me way out the door once i'd refused the overpriced add ons and the twerp still put them on the order whilst still uttering garbage, slipping into the Dealer Principal's office to offer a piece of me mind on the way.

This new car buying lark sounds like some sort of mental endurance test to see how far you will go before resorting to extreme violence.

Edited by gordonbennet on 26/09/2016 at 19:34

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Mon 26 Sep 2016 20:56

Mazda 3 - Worried about having extras forced on me by dealer - focussed

A funny story when I was buying a new Civic.

I wanted gap insurance and the salesman said brightly "Oh we're doing a special deal - if you take the gap insurance you get Diamondbrite free!

Ok I said - but please check up that the gap insurance is applicable for a driving school car.

Went to pick up the car and he said " The gap insurance is not available for a driving school car - do you still want the Diamondbrite?"

No thanks I said - "Oh pity about that it's been done - are you sure you don't want it?"

No thanks I said.

So I didn't pay for it!

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Tue 27 Sep 2016 18:47

Mazda 3 - Worried about having extras forced on me by dealer - Tc1980

TL:DR yep, I was paranoid. everything was fine, didn't pay for any extras

OK, so I showed up to collect the car and it's sat out front. Introduced to staff member Ben who presumably deals with finalising paperwork / sales, my sales guy (Ian) is there and we say hello and have a quick small talk chat but then he disappears to his office.

Paperwork comes out, we start going through registration paperwork etc. In the folder on the desk I spot the paint protection (safeguard) brochure with a dealer stamp on it... "Uh oh" I think.

We finish registration stuff, then he starts going through the other papers.

"OK, first off, here's your confirmation of the GAP cover.."

I interrupt him "I didn't agree to GAP insurance"

"Did you call anyone to say that because.."

"Ian added it to the invoice when we agreed the deal, but he said it was just so I could see what the figures would be and it could be removed when I came to pick up"

"OK....... We'll get that taken off. Now, you've got your safeguard here..."

"I didn't want safeguard either." I produce the deposit invoice with the huge question marks next to those items "See, they were on the invoice but we added question marks because I hadn't made my mind up"

Visible look of annoyance on his face. "Hmm. It's already been applied. Bear with me a moment"

He disappears, a few minutes later a member of staff comes over to the desk I'm sat at and takes the car keys, he then walks out to my car, opens the passenger door and removes a sticker that must have been stuck on the inside, he then goes to the boot and removes a black bag (presumably the 'free' car care kit that you get with the paint protection). Another few minutes pass and Ben returns. He then works out a new invoice without those items and we complete the rest of the sale. I'm not subjected to a servicing plan or extended warranty pitch. Just before I leave I'm introduced to their sales manager who thanks me for my business and informs me that I'll receive a customer satisfaction survey from Mazda soon and he'd appreciate my feedback on how they were doing.

So all worked out fine. I've no idea if the treatment genuinely was applied or not, the car was clean but I've seen better detailed cars, there were still polish smears on quite a few of the panels.

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Tue 27 Sep 2016 11:25

Mazda 3 - Worried about having extras forced on me by dealer - peterb

This new car buying lark sounds like some sort of mental endurance test to see how far you will go before resorting to extreme violence.

It's way harder than it needs to be, isn't it?

I've just taken delivery of a new car and I'm really glad I'd made sure I had plenty of time to scrutinise the deal. I kept being asked if I was "happy with the monthly payment" which was necessary but not sufficient - the finance guy was a bit grumpy when I made him take me through all the calcs....

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