Finding a good car dealer

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Wed 3 Feb 2010 11:27
Finding a good car dealer - teabelly
With all the mention of dodgy car dealers, poor service and other horrors I was wondering how you actually find a decent dealer to buy from? One site I have found is called www.compareyourdealer.com but it doesn't have many reviews on it.

The motorcodes thing is sorting out poor garage services but there doesn't seem to be much in the way of finding out which selling dealers are duff.

There are quite a few out there that are showing car reviews but I am struggling to find decent dealer reviews.

There are things like reviewcentre but I wanted one that is kind of motoring only rather than a general review site.

Have I missed any obvious ones?
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Wed 3 Feb 2010 11:30
Finding a good car dealer - Sofa Spud
A car dealer is only as good as the last bad car they sold. What I mean is that even good dealers occasionally sell cars which they truly believe to be good but go wrong soon after someone's bought them.
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Wed 3 Feb 2010 15:38
Finding a good car dealer - CraigP
A car dealer is only as good as the last bad car they sold.


I don't buy into that at all. Some cars will go wrong once the customer gets them home for a week or 2.

It's how the dealer handles the resultant contact from the customer.

Problem is, people aren't interested in writing up good experiences on forums, etc. so you'll only ever find the bad experiences.

If you do find a lot of good experiences, the suspicious part of me would be asking who really wrote the reviews.
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Wed 3 Feb 2010 11:37
Finding a good car dealer - maltrap
Are you looking to buy new or used? What area do you live in?
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Wed 3 Feb 2010 11:59
Finding a good car dealer - teabelly
I'm not looking to buy really. It's more of a train of thought thrown up by recent discussions.


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Wed 3 Feb 2010 20:49
Finding a good car dealer - spikeyhead {p}
I found the one I msotly use in a pub.

Still drink with him when I'm in the UK and often go to the auctions with him when I'm between contracts.

If only we all spent more time in the pub life would be so much simpler.
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Wed 3 Feb 2010 21:23
Finding a good car dealer - Rattle
If we spent more time in the pub nobody would have any driving licences left!
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Wed 3 Feb 2010 21:27
Finding a good car dealer - The Melting Snowman
The local pub is a hugely underestimated resource for finding contacts - at least amongst the regulars anyway. In our local there is nearly always someone who will know of someone else who can do a job, whether it be a car repair or a job on the house etc.
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Thu 4 Feb 2010 07:38
Finding a good car dealer - L'escargot
I've never had any problem with franchised dealers. They know that if they don't meet the manufacturer's standards then they risk losing their franchise. There are other controls in place as well. For example, Ford Authorised Repairers are subject to RAC inspections, and subsequent counselling if their service level has fallen. tinyurl.com/yku3fs8

Edited by L'escargot on 04/02/2010 at 07:41

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Mon 25 Oct 2010 20:22
Finding a good car dealer - barney100

I think you have to bear in mind that the dealers are there to make profit and that putting right your every complaint is going to eat into that. If you are buying new then fine you should have plenty of comeback for any faults but secondhand buyers ...like me... need to ask people who have bought from a particular dealer what they are like on aftersales or better still have some previous experience yourself. In my area I was less than impressed with a main dealer who tried to rob me on the part ex price and would not accept responsibility for worn discs a week after buying. Needless to say they will not see me again. My best deals have been from indies who charge less than the man dealers, put some of the money saved into a good second hand warranty and you stand a chance!

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