Hi all [hopefully blueh, HJ, & all other sales people!]
We went out last week to buy Mrs Citroënian brand new car and found what looked to be an excellent deal on a website - through a main dealer I know well - lots of branches in the north east and throughout the country.
Spoke to the helpline, visited the dealer, agreed a good price with 0% finance - left a deposit and agreed to pick the car up Friday.
Salesman rings today and to say they're having problems getting the car in the Black - the colour (and only colour) we want. It's even on the order form that the car is to be black. Was passing dealer this afternoon and the options they've given me are:
a. Go for another colour
b. Wait for factory order (~8 weeks) but don't get the 0% finance. (Just read the manufacturer website and I think they should be able to get the 0% on a car reg'd before Sep 30th)
c. Pay another £1000 to go up to the next model variant and get the car in two weeks.
(a) isn't an option, we really like the colour and there's no guarantee we'd get a decent alternative if we did change
(b) Asked a couple of other dealers and there aren't many of this model in Black around, so factory would make sense but the finance is them just telling porkies
(c) We don't want to pay the extra - it's obviously better specc'd but is in total a lot more than we intended to pay initially. Would be extra be worth it when we come to sell the car - it's alloys/fogs/aircon as extras
I think I'm being seduced by the idea of a new car which is warping my judgement. I think I'll just get my money back, but would appreciate any advice from people who know about these things and could point me in the right direction.
Is August as silly a time as I think it is for buying a car? We could wait until the end of the year for the car and we're not too bothered if it's a 05 or a 55.
My head is hurting thinking about this!
Thanks in advance for your views
Lee.
-- Lee .. A festivus for the rest of us.
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I'd suggest going in and asking for your deposit back, and watch them grovel. They might, for example, meet you halfway on option (c) if they think you're going to walk away.
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Not a pro, Lee, but my parents were in this situation but went for option (a). However to get the colour they wanted would have been £2k (going from a Focus Flight to an LX) and other dealers had told us that the only colour available was red, so we were actually surprised to have been offered the choice even if we didn't get it in the end.
Option (b) would be the better one, obviously, and I don't know why the salespeople want to withdraw the offer - I suspect that it has more to do with not shifting the stock and you might be able to push harder for the offer if you make it clear that the alternative is getting your deposit back. You've got a contract and you could try to enforce it but it really seems like an awful lot of effort. By all means push for it but whilst you could theoretically sue on this contract, you're realistically not going to, are you? Negotiate hard and mention the ad/Trading Standards and see where that gets you; there's no harm in asking to speak to the sales manager, either.
Option (c) would be worth considering, depending on what the car is. On a small car, air con is not yet essential for resale but it might become so in a few years' time, in the same way that it wasn't in 1998 when my mum bought a Fiesta without it, but more or less was when she sold it in 2002.
From your name and your description of the offer and spec, I'm guessing that the car in question is either a Picasso or a C4. In that case, you should get most of the extra £1k back on resale - Picasso LXs without air really aren't popular and I don't see there being too much demand for the C4 VT/LX either. You won't get all the £1k back but that extra £1k should depreciate proportionally less than the rest of the car - and might make it viable to sell the car quickly, privately, rather than being forced to p/x when the time comes. In those circumstances, it may actually be the smarter decision, financially.
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That's exactly the sort of advice I was after - and yes, it's a C4 VT, good spot!
(b) I think they're trying to push me into the VTR they can get - and if they've met their targets for
this month, I guess they aren't in too much of a hurry to shift another. You're right, I can't be
bothered to pursue it to law - spoke to the Sales Manager who was a waste of time. He just wasn't
interested.
(c) is appealing but would be above our initial budget. You get a bit more kit and odd bits like nicer
bumpers and isn't probably too bad a deal - looking at the guides, it'd be worth about £6/700 more at
the end of 3 years and Quentin Wilson was saying only last weekend in some tabloid that the step up
from base spec makes selling a lot easier at the end of the term. Can't see that we will sell it until the
wheels fall off, but it would be nice to have the option.
Avant - It's for my lovely lady wife, her first new car and the colour is very important to her. I quite
like the Iron Grey but it's not my car! We saw the exact car in another dealer (was a customer one in
for service) and it does look great. My first ZX was a 3dr in black and it was murder to keep clean but
did look really cool - because the car was black and all the trim would have been black regardless of
the colour chosen, everything blended in well.
PG - we're keeping the Fabia, so I'll still be having a fabialous time!
DavidH - You're probably right - if they think we're desperate for the car there's no incentive to meet
us half way.
Having slept on it overnight, I think we'll just ask for the deposit back and see what happens.
The deal really was excellent - main dealer, £8995+paint - a discount of ~£600 on Citroen's already
discounted price and 0% finance. Am thinking that Citroen deals are like buses. Miss this one and
there'll be another along in ten minutes or so....
Hope I'm right! I'll let you know what happens but I'd still appreciate any advice/comments
Thanks again - I love the backroom - where else would one go for sensible advice from people who understand these things....and who won't try and sell you £398-worth of diamond brite!
-- Lee .. A festivus for the rest of us.
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I don't suppose you'll agree with me for a moment, Lee, but I personally wouldn't wait 8 weeks for a black car, or pay extra for the next model up to have it in black.
Black shows the dirt much more than you think. It feels hotter on a hot day in a black car. It's less visible, therefore more vulnerable, at night.
It might help to look for this model (you must tell us what it is - we're getting interested!) in other colours on the forecourts on on the road rather than in the brochure - like people, some look better in the flesh.
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My money's on it being an Ibiza, and they do look good in black!
How come you're not having a fabialous time anymore, Lee?
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I think you said that Polo is black, didn't you PG? (Trying to put away thoughts of a liquorice flavour Polo mint - yuk!)
Tell a complete square like me what it is about black - obviously it's very popular but I can't see the attraction. I know Henry Ford favoured it but I think he was after economy rather than style!
After that someone is going to come on and say you can't beat a Momdeo TDCi in black....
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Black makes a lot of sense right now, it's about to, or may already have, overtaken silver in the popularity charts.
A black car that is kept nice will be quite easy to sell on. I remember before leaving Ford that if we got a black Focus in we normally barely had time to clean it before someone was sniffing around it.
Blue
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My money's on it being an Ibiza, and they do look good in black!
My daughter has one of those! I think black looks good on Ibiza (and other cheaper cars) because all the non-coloured bits - the mirrors, side impact strips etc, are also black. So they effectively become body coloured for free.
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If they're telling you porkies over the finance and the sales manager is useless I wouldn't be giving them my money. If they don't give two hoots when you're a potential sale, what chance is there that they'll be any good if you have a problem? Walk away.
I wouldn't buy a new car without aircon either. Most people expect it these days if you do want to sell.
If you can wait until around Christmas you'll probably get a better deal. If you're in no rush, you hold all the cards.
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I agree with Nick, Plus if it is the dealer that I think it is I would take my deposit back and run a mile.
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Had a black car once, would not have another, shows every little mark, blemish, ding etc, difficult to gett to even look clean, plus, as has been said, gets very hot in the sun.
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I don't think it's appropriate to mention them by name, but as a Newcastle fan, it's the last company you would think I'd walk through the door of.
MrsH has spoken to them, they'll return the deposit so now need to have a think.
I take on board the comments about black, but it _does_ look nicest in the colour, and MrsH has agreed to keep it clean!
-- Lee .. A festivus for the rest of us.
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If it's black I'd suggest aircon will be essential. The car will be like an oven without it.
VTR with A/c will, without doubt, sell better than a VT without. I'd think about the extra £1,000 if I were you.
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I set out to buy a new black C5 and like you, found it very hard to source. Each and every Citroen dealer I went to looked on 'the system' and said there was nothing available. Then I came across the dealer I eventually bought it from and they sourced one within minutes and said it could be delivered within a couple of weeks - it was 'lying at Calais' apparently.
Well sure enough it was delivered as promised with the full discount and great trade in for my old Xantia. I only found after taking delivery however that the car was almost a year 'old' when I got it (be sure to check the number on the driver's door post or better still ask the build date when ordering - there's a code on all Cits as you probably know that gives precise date of build - there's a website for checking the code which I forget at the moment but could dig it out for you if required.)
All of this hasn't been any real problem - the car has now done nearly 50,000 miles and has settled down into total reliability -as did the old Xantia (I'll regret saying that!)
Beware black though!!! It's beautiful when clean and polished but looks mucky in 5 minutes flat. The Citroen black is also very easily scratched (like most cars nowadays I suppose, but black shows it badly) You must remove bird droppings almost within the hour to prevent permanent damage and polish like crazy to build up a skin.
Note that black trim disappears into the paintwork and this can distort the lines of the car for better or worse (the C5 looks much more 'slabby sided' eg)
The upside is that it's really easy to touch in! Even a black marker or a gallon of tar does the trick!
Good luck!
Graeme
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Go for the higher spec car. It amazes me that people still buy cars without aircon these days.
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I would also be inclined to spend the extra £28 per month (okay, it'll be less than that with £350 more on the depostit) to get the one with air and alloys, assuming you ever want to sell rather than scarp the car.
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So, not black then?! Mrs Citroënian is keen on the colour, and it's becoming my first choice too!
I can see the sense in the aircon arguement, but we wouldn't be getting rid of it just because we'd paid for it. The opposite in fact.
My better half had a good way of putting it - over the three years, the aircon (& alloys & fogs) would cost around the same as her gym membership. It's a good point - all year pool/sauna/jacuzzi and equipment for the same money. Got to say I agree with her - yes we can't sell the extra value of the gym membership but she'd really not use the aircon. In the fabia it's a constant battle with me trying to make the car a fridge and her making it an oven. She (& I) does'nt think she'd use it.
Was lucky enough to get a new VT & VTR next to each other in Citroën Manchester today and I think the VT is the way to go. Both cars are really nice but there's not enough extra in the VTR to spend the extra £££ (IMHO). However, they did have an exclusive with the sunroof which is brilliant. It's a shame you can't get it on any C4 costing less than £15k, it makes the cabin even lighter and air-ier.
We're now thinking of getting the black VT somewhere else for delivery with a 55 plate.
Again, any comments appreciated but the black/aircon side of things is probably put to bed now. :-)
Thanks for the comments/advice so far,
-- Lee .. A festivus for the rest of us.
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I don't think it's appropriate to mention them by name, but as a Newcastle fan, it's the last company you would think I'd walk through the door of. MrsH has spoken to them, they'll return the deposit so now need to have a think. I take on board the comments about black, but it _does_ look nicest in the colour, and MrsH has agreed to keep it clean! -- Lee .. A festivus for the rest of us.
Well, I'm not a Newcastle fan but I still wouldn't want to walk through their doors to buy a new car if I could help it. I know someone who works at this particular garage's Citreon franchise actually, but I doubt it's the one that you used as it's a bit further south.
Blue
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I'll be telling everyone I know/meet/sit next to on a train how rubbish they are - will spend Monday telling a colleague at work who was looking at a C1/C2 to avoid them like the plague.
A rum do altogether
-- Lee .. A festivus for the rest of us.
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I take on board the comments about black, but it _does_ look nicest in the colour, and MrsH has agreed to keep it clean! -- Lee .. A festivus for the rest of us.
Are you holding out on us? Earlier you mentioned Mrs C and now it's Mrs H. Is it 2 cars for 2 wifes: 1 car for 2 wifes, or what?
I think we a right to know
(How do you spell the plural of wife? I think I have a mental block this morning)
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One is plenty~! Our surname begins with H, was trying to keep some consistency with my username. I would use SWMBO but as she's reading this thread now & again, it would be a very bad idea!
-- Lee .. A festivus for the rest of us.
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I know that it isn't what you had intended but why not take a look at a fleet auction and see if you can find a fairly recent low mileage one? You would make a massive saving over the new price and cut out all the dealer hassles while still getting a car covered by the new car warranty. As long as it has a full service record and is still under warranty you shouldn't go too far wrong.
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I think the main problem with an auction would be finding the right car - they have a very exact requirement and i doubt you could find a match very quickly
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I think you are right Blue Haddock, but it is going to cost them big money compared to what they would pay if they were more flexible. If they checked out how many thousand more they might decide to compromise a bit and enjoy a huge saving.
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