Used car shown on dealer's website but not in

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Thu 11 Oct 2012 18:37
Used car shown on dealer's website but not in - cerebros

Hi folks, my first post here

Looking for a used car at the moment and this is the first time I've done so on my own as it were.

I've narrowed down the make/model and trims I'm interested in and today I stopped by a garage that had that model listed in stock to take a look only to be told that they still hadn't received the vehicle from wherever it is they'd bought it from.

Fortunately I was in the area today anyway as the missus and I had taken our daughter out for her birthday but if I'd made a trip especially I'd have been mightily peeved - bearing in mind that this car had been on their website since at least Monday (which is when I found out about it) and I double-checked the website before we set off.

Is this likely to be the case for a lot of used dealers or a one off? Obviously, having been burnt once, I'm going to be phoning in advance if I'm going to a dealer who's not local but has anyone else found this?

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Thu 11 Oct 2012 18:43
Used car shown on dealer's website but not in - Ed V

I think I'd always call in advance - even if it's 'in', it might be booked 'out' to several different people.

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Thu 11 Oct 2012 20:49
Used car shown on dealer's website but not in - madf

Always ring in advance to check it's available or not sold or not "in preparation" etc..

Never tell them when you are arriving exactly tho... no time to warm it up to disguise faults when cold.

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Thu 11 Oct 2012 21:40
Used car shown on dealer's website but not in - pd

Always phone - you have no idea if it might have sold.

It always amazes me people think they are the only person in the world who could possibly be interested in a car. As a dealer I get people phone on Monday and enquire, then I never hear from them again then they pitch up on Saturday having driven 100 miles for me to tell them it went Friday evening. Needless to say I have done a terrible thing by not holding it on the off chance a random enquiry might turn up and buy it!

As for not telling them the time, fine, but when the car is out on a test drive, been given out as a loan car, the person who is dealing with it has taken the afternoon off, it is blocked in by 25 other cars and it will take 2 hours to get it out or has not fuel in it to drive it don't complain! Warming up cars for viewings went out with sawdust in the gearbox.

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Thu 11 Oct 2012 21:51
Used car shown on dealer's website but not in - cerebros

I've no problem with it potentially being out on test drive when I turn up but is it really common practice to say you have a car at branch X when in fact you've not taken delivery of it?

Maybe the used car sector still isn't fully up to speed with the internet (I base this view primarily on the poor search functions on the dozens of identikit sites I've come across while searching for cars) but I could have forgiven them if I'd missed something on the website saying "coming to branch soon" rather than giving the impression that it was a vehicle they had on site

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Thu 11 Oct 2012 23:36
Used car shown on dealer's website but not in - pd

I've no problem with it potentially being out on test drive when I turn up but is it really common practice to say you have a car at branch X when in fact you've not taken delivery of it?

Yes. Many dealers will use "multiple branch" stocking or even share stock with another dealer in a different geographical area. If two dealers promote the same car it (a) makes their stock look larger and (b) increases the exposure of the car.

Also, most dealers will want to get a car advertised quickly so may well advertise a car they know is coming in shortly, is in prep or on their way to them via a delivery service to get some interest on the car and maybe even pre-sell it.

Most dealers will take a phone enquiry far more seriously than email, not because of their ignorance of the internet but because experience tells them a call has about a 20x possibility of leading to a sale.

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Fri 12 Oct 2012 00:25
Used car shown on dealer's website but not in - bathtub tom

>>It always amazes me people think they are the only person in the world who could possibly be interested in a car.

I can accept that and all your other comments, but when I turn up to view a car as arranged and I get a 'ditzy' receptionist telling me they can't get it out because it's blocked by other cars. She won't give me the keys to view the interior (I ain't gonna nick it, it's blocked by other cars). You'll understand why I walk away and look at the others on my short list.

My time's also valuable.

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Fri 12 Oct 2012 13:36
Used car shown on dealer's website but not in - Engineer Andy

I wonder if they use the same techniques as some employment agencies who advertise jobs (weeks or months after) that have already been filled? As some have said (about using multiple dealers' stock etc), making your stock level look larger and more prestigeous may give the impression of a larger, more "professional" dealership than is actually the case.

I would steer clear of dealerships that a) make promises they can't keep and b) don't give you fair warning/notice of problems/delays to viewing/buying a car (new or second-hand). That sort of dealer may be the type who says "I'm sorry, its been sold - we've got another model X which you may want to look at" which is a difficult to shift and/or more expensive model which was their intended target in the first place.

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Fri 12 Oct 2012 15:12
Used car shown on dealer's website but not in - TeeCee

I wonder if they use the same techniques as some employment agencies who advertise jobs (weeks or months after) that have already been filled?

I remember seeing a job in the IT press which was of a particularly plum nature for anyone with my experience at the time. My colleagues smugly pointed out that it was a job that didn't really exist and only there to get you on the agency's books.

They were slightly less smug when I resigned after getting it.

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Fri 12 Oct 2012 16:10
Used car shown on dealer's website but not in - pd

If Apple can get away with selling iPhone 5s they haven't made and Amazon offering Kindle Fires for pre-order I can't see why a dealer shouldn't pre-advertise a car they haven't physically received yet.

n.b. to the poster above ref. turning up to a viewing by appointment and then the car being no where I quite agree.

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Fri 12 Oct 2012 21:04
Used car shown on dealer's website but not in - cerebros

There's a difference between a brand new product that's still on board a cargo ship when it's announced as opposed for pre-order (that is, will be available at a future date) to a used product that is listed as in stock when it is not.

I note that from other adverts I've seen in this week's local car papr that other dealers do state particular cars as "coming into stock soon" which is more likely to make me trust a dealer that does so.

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Sat 13 Oct 2012 11:07
Used car shown on dealer's website but not in - pd

There's a difference between a brand new product that's still on board a cargo ship when it's announced as opposed for pre-order (that is, will be available at a future date) to a used product that is listed as in stock when it is not.

I can't really see the difference. Dealers get cars from all over the place - sometimes it can take over a week for one to be delivered in even if they've bought it. They might know a px is coming in shortly as well. On top of that, once a car comes in it will probably need something painted (most do), a valet, a MOT...it can take 2-3 weeks sometimes to prep a car for sale properly.

What's the difference with a used car in a national delivery system somewhere or gone off to have the bumpers painted to being on a cargo ship?

Anyway, a quick phone call before travelling seems by far the most sensible option. Even if it is in stock when you leave, it might not be when you arrive. I had 3 people queued up for a car yesterday - one at 10, one at 11 and one at 12. I made sure the second two didn't leave home until I called them and told them the result of the first viewing (the 10 people bought it and it was driven off at 10.45). The second two were sorry they missed it but at least by liasing with me they didn't waste their time.

Sometimes it seems with cars normal communication between seller and buyer seems to go out the window! (and both dealers and buyers are often to blame).

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Sat 13 Oct 2012 11:24
Used car shown on dealer's website but not in - Avant

"Sometimes it seems with cars normal communication between seller and buyer seems to go out the window! (and both dealers and buyers are often to blame)."

Yes, that says it all. Dealers like PD and Tony G are transparent and honest, and one would hope that encouragees customers to be the same. There are examples quoted in posts above of unresonableness on both sides, perhaps the worst example being the receptionist who wouldn't get a car unblocked or lend the customer the keys.

I've never foujnd a receptionist at a dealer to be any use at all: (s)he can't free up a salesperson or a service adviser, so provided that the employee deals with the customer as soon as they are free, no need for the receptionist. One such at our nearest Audi dealer a few years ago couldn't find either a salesman or a brochure, having not tried very hard - with the result that I will never go there again.

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Sat 13 Oct 2012 11:36
Used car shown on dealer's website but not in - pd

e never foujnd a receptionist at a dealer to be any use at all: (s)he can't free up a salesperson or a service adviser, so provided that the employee deals with the customer as soon as they are free, no need for the receptionist. One such at our nearest Audi dealer a few years ago couldn't find either a salesman or a brochure, having not tried very hard - with the result that I will never go there again.

A lot of the larger, "prestige" dealers seem to have adopted the "Doctors receptionist" approach where the initial reception contact is designed primarily to prevent the customer actually getting to talk to the service manager, salesperson or whoever the customer actually needs to talk to.

It is deeply frustrating for the customer I agree.

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