I have used What CAr to find a used car valuation - dealer price - and it's miles out.
They are wanting £6100 for a 4-year old car worth £9500 new... should be £4450.
Edited by CarNovice28 on 12/01/2009 at 15:54
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Yes but it may be the case that a full franchise holder, selling new cars as well, has higher overheads than someone selling secondhand (no big show room, no company cars for employees, fewer staff etc).
Edited by Armitage Shanks {p} on 12/01/2009 at 15:56
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Yes but it may be the case that a full franchise holder selling new cars as well has higher overheads than someone selling secondhand (no big show room no company cars for employees fewer staff etc).
Exactly my point. You buy from a main dealer, you pay his price.
Bit like buying flour from Waitrose, compared to buying Tesco value flour. You wouldn't expect them to be the same price, would you?
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OP wanted ideas about buying from a dealer but not a 'main' dealer. I am suggesting that a franchise with a showroom full of new cars and snazzy salesmen will prove more expensive than a dealer who just sells second hand cars. Warranty of some sort still available but lower overheads might mean lower selling prices, or not!
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www.autoquestdirect.co.uk seems a good place to buy an approved used car at a sensible price.
Anybody heard of them or have any reports?
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Hi Carovice, not heard of the link you've posted but don't forget Cargiant in north London. Their prices are among the best you can get from a dealership.
I've said before that two colleagues of mine have used CG in the past and have been impressed with their service (protection of their reputation)
At the moment there are a few 05 Yarises. There are plenty of new-shape ones but you need to take your time and look each day. The idea is that you cannot haggle because the prices are so good anyway.
Good luck with your search, the Yaris is holding its value incredibly well though.
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Thank you.
Don't live anywhere near London but yes, prices do seem very reasonable there.
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You'll need to add the cost of a warranty on top of Car Giant's prices - there isn't one included. Plus their "administration fee". They also won't have had any "prep" apart from a quick clean - they come direct from auctions "as is" so if you're fussy about such things you might need to allow something for some dent/scratch/chip removal.
They also have the odd "ghost" car but the presentation is simple and up front most of the time. There's the car, there is the price, these are the terms - take it or leave it.
Edited by pd on 12/01/2009 at 18:21
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Thanks for adding that pd, you obviously know them. Their admin fee is about £91 so just add that to the price you see.
I should emphasise though that I've witnessed CG being extremely careful to preserve their reputation. My colleague's Jaguar, in which a warning light came on about two weeks after he bought the car, was replaced with no fuss whatsoever! Just a warning light. He didn't have an extra warranty...
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I think you are misunderstanding the 'approved' bit.
If you buy an approved car from a franchised dealer then you get warranty from that manufacturer.
Autoquest have the text Franchise Quality Approved. I'm not sure what that means. They dont say BMW approved, or anything. I would want to be very sure that what you think they mean is what they actually mean.
AutoQuest claim on that link to be part of a successful group. However they do not tell you who that group is. Nor do they give a company number (which I thought was obligatory on web sales sites)
Personally I find the wording on their web site a little.... well strange. But then I am a cynic.
I assume that it is these people:
AUTOQUESTDIRECT LIMITED
415/419 MANCHESTER ROAD
PADDINGTON
WARRINGTON
CHESHIRE
WA1 3LR
Company No. 01952870
Status: Active
Date of Incorporation: 04/10/1985
Country of Origin: United Kingdom
Company Type: Private Limited Company
Nature of Business (SIC(03)):
5010 - Sale of motor vehicles
Accounting Reference Date: 31/12
Last Accounts Made Up To: 31/12/2007 (FULL)
Next Accounts Due: 31/10/2009
Last Return Made Up To: 16/10/2008
Next Return Due: 13/11/2009
Last Members List: 16/10/2008
Previous Names:
Date of change Previous Name
28/11/2006 MAINLAND VEHICLE CONTRACTS LIMITED
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That's them.
Might be a good idea to get a car at a realistic price and go through Warranty Direct for the warranty itself.
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415/419 MANCHESTER ROAD
PADDINGTON
WARRINGTON
CHESHIRE
I don't know a Paddington in Warrington, but I do know a Padgate, which I believe Manchester Road penetrates?
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It is Padgate.
I don't really know who I can trust is the main problem I have, if I bought independently or privately.
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Paddington in Warrington is where Manchester Road and Kingsway North meet - just south of Padgate.
HTH
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Presumably this car:
Toyota Yaris 1.3 VVT-i Colour Collection 5-Dr
Finished in Eclipse Black with grey cloth interior.
Registered May 2005
Registration DA05CZD
Mileage 15,601
Fuel Petrol
Transmission Manual
Price £4,995
Have you actually seen it? Is it in good condition/service history etc?
does it have aircon? cd player?
remember that buying new through dtd or another broker will give you a three year warranty so factor that in when you consider prices.
You need to go look at a few and see how they compare, what deals they will do you etc.
Edited by adverse camber on 13/01/2009 at 08:38
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Not been to see any cars yet, apart from test drives.
Trying to find one that's reasonably priced before viewing.
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>I don't really know who I can trust is the main problem I have ..
Purely in terms of 'trust' I doubt that independent or franchised will be a good indicator, as other threads have shown about VW dealers. But if you mean where to get a better deal financially, I used to find that buying the model you want from a 'foreign' dealer's forecourt can be worthwhile - for example a Peugeot from a Ford dealer. The seller doesn't really want a foreign car on his patch, but the fact that he is selling it should mean it is a decent car. And the warranty should be equally good.
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Purely in terms of 'trust' I doubt that independent or franchised will be a good indicator as other threads have shown about VW dealers.
6 Honda dealers went bust in the north east last week, would he have been better off buying from them? I wonder how these VW dealers survive without repeat sales from sattisfied customers?
OP has champagne taste and beer money, to be constructive I suggest he asks family and friends where they bought from and what the experience was like.
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>>OP has champagne taste and beer money,
I suggest he buy a car from an auction, spend £250 at Warranty direct (they'll ring you up and offer you a better deal if you ask for a quote from the website but don't buy it there and then), and budget £1,000 (that he won't actually have to pay) for sundry repairs.
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Not sure about champagne taste and beer money! I can afford to pay what the dealer asks - I just don't think it's worth it.
If What Car and Parkers aren't realistic valuations then I've got no chance!
Auction - I did think about it after watching Quentin Willson last night but don't know anyone with sufficient knowledge to advise me.
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If What Car and Parkers aren't realistic valuations then I've got no chance!
Amateur at best, trade us CAP or Glasses and in the current climate they're far from accurate. Take a parkers guide into auction ring and the auctioneer will make your pockets bleed money for a duffer.
If you don't want to pay dealer prices buy privately, you'll either fall on your feet or your face.
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>>I can afford to pay what the dealer asks - I just don't think it's worth it.
Exactly. You're offering a dealer beer money for champagne. It DOES cost £7k instead of 5k to buy from a dealer.
And if the dealer has been sitting on the car for a few months, he may well want 8k for it. You won't get the car until the liquidation auction sale...
So, go somewhere else. Three choices:
1. Auction.
2. Private sale.
3. Small-time from-his-front-drive dealer who will be charging £500 more than he paid for it.
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He does'nt know the front of a car from the back, he should use a dealer
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If you are looking for a fairly new specimen of a newish model, most examples will have been fleet, rental or staff cars for their first 6 months or so. They are resold through auctions and the better ones go to dealers (hence their prices), the others may reappear at car supermarkets or non-franchises. You may get lucky and find a privately-owned one, but if you buy purely on price you are more likely to get what you pay for. But it may be very satisfying to cheat the market, as it were ...
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Looking for the old model Yaris specifically.
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Have you considered an auction buyer?
They know the market, are much more likely than you are to spot anything wrong, and will get you a good price.
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Like him?!
Yes, just search for his name in the discussion forum to see how well he is regarded here, and you won't be disappointed!
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Have emailed him and I'll keep you informed of progress.
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Joe has come back with 5 cars, the most appealing of which is in Blackbushe, which is miles away - Surrey vs Manchester roughly.
I don't know how much they would charge for delivery! Will have to check.
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What happens when I choose a car. Does Joe go and inspect the car to see if it is worth buying or something?
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Another twist after I spotted a well-priced car at a dealership.
I have contacted the dealership concerned by email and they should call me to discuss tomorrow.
It's a 2005 (05) 1.3 5dr Colour Collection with A/C as an added extra. 33,000 miles.
I have used the AA website to get a Glass's Guide and CAP price for the car and I am happy with it.
Hopefully this is the start of the end!
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Another twist! Found another car that a lady is selling via a friend of hers (trader).
Only done 15,000 and is an 05-reg. She wants £4995 for it. The dealership want £4987 for the same spec car but that's done 33,000 as stated above.
No offers on the trade car though...
What do you reckon? Obviously, she's using her friend to get more money for it but seems reasonable enough.
Edited by CarNovice28 on 16/01/2009 at 18:29
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Went to see the car that had done 15,000 miles today.
Not the seller's name on V5 (her partners) , the couple aren't married etc.... quite a few things that would make you think twice and walk away. Drive wasn't as good as I'd had at Toyota dealers when trying their cars. Service book had 3 stamps but one wasn't dated and the mileage wasn't recorded. HPI check said that when transferred in May 2008, car had covered 16,000 miles but MOT certificate from June 2008 stated 11,500.
I walked away - too many niggly things that didn't seem right.
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Seems to me that in looking for the best possible price you may be reaching the point where one has to ask why the car is that cheap. Luckily for you, you asked enough of the right questions and decided accordingly. But of course the car COULD have been perfectly OK ...
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If you didn't restrict yourself to a USED Toyota Yaris..........
.........for similar money you could buy a NEW 5 door car AND have 3 years warranty:
autotrader.co.uk (used car search):
08 58 Kia Picanto 1.0, 10 miles, £35 road tax, £4990 OTR
autotrader (new car) search:
Fiat Panda 1.1 Active Eco, £35 road tax, £5100 OTR
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