|
Internet car brokers - who's the best/worst etc..
|
|
Well in the past i've had professional dealings with and/or supplied vehicles to drivethedeal, broker4cars, Carfile, UK Car Broker and broadspeed. If i was buying for myself i'd have no qualms about buying from any of them. Only one i would point blank refuse to use would be Auto Ebid.
|
I'd second the drivethedeal recommendation; we've bought 2 cars through them now and they've been faultless. Clear communication, good prices and delivered on time.
Can't be quite as positive about buynewcars4less; ordered a car from them last year, and the delivery date just keeps slipping... Hope to be able to post a more positive update soon though!
From a purchasers perspective the key difference between the 2 seems to be that with DTD your order is passed on to a dealer, and from then on all contact is direct with the dealer. The buynewcars4less model has your order handled by a fleet managment company, and so no direct contact with the dealer. The more people involved the worse the comunication...
HTH
Peter
|
|
Thanks for the info- however, none of these seem to offer part-exchanges. Have seen plenty that do i.e. UK Car Discount, New Car Discount - any ideas on the best ones that offer part ex ?
|
I'm looking for a Skoda Octavia 1.6 Elegance - best price I've been quoted on the net is from AutoFinders; anyone had any dealings with them?
Muchas gracias !
|
|
|
|
|
I had pleasant and easy dealings with UKnewcar.com a couple of years ago. They just passed me straight through to the dealer, who would have given me a part ex had I not sold privately. I'd have no qualms about using them again.
|
Continuing this seems like the best way to ask my related question.
After lengthy consideration, some of it logged here, we're at last ready to move on a Toyota Verso. (MichaelR doesn't approve, so I feel confident we're doing the right thing. };---) ) There is, of course, price to consider; based on the recommendations of HJ and sundry others on this site, I asked DriveTheDeal for a quote, and the figure it came back with was astonishing, some £4600 off list - although, on closer inspection, £1000 of that would come from Toyota UK and was conditional on taking out finance through a dealer; something I'm not keen to do. Even so, that was still less than dealers appear to be asking for 12-18 month old examples.
So I put this to my local Toyota shop, in the hope that they'd come somewhere close to matching it. If they'd come within a few hundred, I'd have signed today; instead, the difference was £2000, so I came home with pen full and hands empty.
So, my question: do others here have experience of using broker quotes as negotiating tools with dealers? I'd be happy to pay a little extra for the simplicity of dealing locally and face to face, but at this price should I just grab the DTD offer?
Thoughts and experiences welcome,
WdB with chequebook in hand.
}:---)
|
I got somewhat involved in ordering a new car for some relatives of ours. Drivethedeal came back with a good price - very prompt and excellent communications.
Two local dealers were not interested in competing with the price when we mentioned it. One simply said that DTD could not offer the car at that price, after the usual nonsense of 'going to talk to the sales manager' numerous times. There was a lot of talk about DTD not being able to get the car, we might have problems with it and so on.
The car was ordered through DTD and was collected (by me) from a very helpful and friendly dealer about 100 miles away. A slight pain having to get there by train etc (although they would have delivered the car, but the new owner wasn't keen on having someone 'unknown' driving it when brand new). The car actually arrived about 2 weeks before the promised date! It was a factory order. A full tank of fuel and a full set of OE mats were also included, which was a nice surprise. All in all excellent service, although of course it could vary a lot depending on which make of car you were buying.
I would also like to put in a good work for Allbrandsnew who last year supplied my new (EU-import) Subaru as a factory order from Japan via Subaru in Malta. A truly massive discount over the UK dealer price, very helpful and kept their patience despite my numerous enquiries. The car was in perfect condition and all the documentation sorted out for me. Could not have been easier. No problems with it to date - touch wood. In fact I would now buy from these people even if my local dealer offered the SAME price!
|
|
|
I have done this with the last three new cars, all Vauxhalls, but each one came from a different local dealer.
I do my research go in say what I want, ask for a quote. After a bit of doopey salesman talk I say so and so is offering at X - I can buy today if you can match it. If they say no I say thank you very much and walk (saves time), and move on. Towards the end of the month seems to be a good time.
Don't over egg it though - they all know what the best price is roughly. I have seen someone being told 'Go on then'. When they retracted they were offered a price £1000 more that we had negotiated, and they paid it!
|
|
FiL had a bad experience chasing the V5 which finally appeared 12 months after purchasing a new, pre-registered car from a broker. The road tax had in fact expired by some days before the V5 arrived. My chasing involved countless telephone calls, e-mails and letters over a 6 month period resulting in as many undelivered promises to rectify things which just about led me to conclude that something sinister was going on. I even rang Swansea on FiL's behalf where there was no record of the vehicle in his name and they suggested he consider registering the car as an import! Never again.
|
I wouldn't worry too much about the toyota finance deal, you can make a big saving by signing up for it and then cancelling pretty much straight afterwards. When i sold toyotas through brokers a large number of my customers used to do it and it was pretty much hassle free.
|
Quick update on this - I was impressed by Drive the Deal's courtesy and responsiveness to my various emails and phone calls. But I was also impressed by my local Toyota dealer - sorry, Toyota Centre's response when challenged on price. Not quite as low as the DtD price, which was apparently based on a bulk purchase, but close enough for me and significantly below the 'target price' suggested for that model by a well-known national motoring monthly.
The dealer did remind me from time to time how hard they were working to achieve the right price, but they were consistently courteous and good-humoured in the process.
So there's a new Verso T3 in our garage now and first impressions (two days on) are very positive. I'll compose and post a few more notes as time allows; this week is half term, and I'm in charge at home, so I hope the weather will allow us a couple of good day trips to try it out properly.
Thanks to all here who've offered opinions and encouragement - including those whose advice I eventually didn't take. It all helps with the full picture, and a challenge to one's own reasoning is always a useful check.
Going to bed now - busy week ahead!
}:---)
|
Will de Beast said in his thread on his Yaris >> We have lost all confidence in the car, Toyota and especially the dealer. >> .
Amazing contrast with what WillDeBeest (presumably no relation) says above.
Same manufacturer. Main dealer in both cases. Same customer service department.
How can one deal go so right and one go so wrong?
|
Nope, no relation at all, Optimist. Mods please take note!
}:---)
{have done, and requested that the new Will De Beast change his username}
Edited by Dynamic Dave on 26/05/2008 at 14:45
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
In Australia we have Mazda Discounts. One of the best
Cheers!
|
|
Is this an undertaker - ressurecting a thread from 7 years ago ?
|
|
|
|
