Car dealers

[Chris Harte]

What is the best and worst car dealer you have been to in the north east?

I am looking to buy my first car and want to choose a reliable and honest dealer. I have heard many a tale about stoneacre so they are out the question already.

Chris

[Col]

Do you mean main dealers?

[Chris Harte]

Yes either main dealers or franchasied dealers or small independent dealers.

[Col]

So anybody that sells cars really...

Always cheaper to buy privately.
Do you have a particular type of car in mind, and what's your budget?

[Chris Harte]

I have done my facts and figures and its down to either a diesel 1.4 citroen c3 or the 3 door version the c2.
A ford fiesta 2002 to 2008 model either in petrol or diesel as the costs work out the same roughly over a 4 year period.
My third choice would be a vauxhall club or above in the new funky shape, so 2006 onwards.
My last choice would be something that looks cool and runs well and isn't something I have considered.

My budget is 5k to 6k

Chris

[bodgit]

Why not take a look at private cars. You are paying well over the odds for a second hand car at a dealers for probably just a three month warrenty. A good private car with full service history would save you a lot of cash that could if in the unlikley event of a breakdown arrives be used to pay for any repair. I got my C-max 2.0Tdci ghia privatley with history saved over £1000 on dealer costs 16 months ago its not missed a beat. All its cost me is the usual service and wear and tear items.

[Chris Harte]

I will also be looking at private dealers however the risks outweigh the positives of buying privately. The major offputting areas for me are:
1. Full service history is not always available.
2. Must of been registered properly in the first place, could of been written off or crashed and repaired and the chassis bent.
3. Higher risk of been stolen or on HP/finance which puts me off, plus no warranty or gurantee on it!

I have decided to use a dealer mainly because:
1. It always checked for outstanding finance and the cars are always left with a clean bill of health, i.e point checked, exhaust repairs and MOT done on it.
2. Yes it is more expensive but most dealers offer a gurantee or warranty on the used car which often overruns the lenght of the manufacturers warranty.
3. It is just less hassle because you don't have to worry about the private seller sending documents off and cash being taken and not getting the car.
4. Finance is available.
5. They often have a garage that uses genuine parts so you can take it to them to get work done.

[PaulRotheram]

Any astra should be dirst cheap right now, I bought mine in september and i'm quite gutted now cause even 08 plates are cheaper than I bought my 07 plate for, due to the fact astra have recently announced they are releaseing their new astra in september this year.

most 08 plates in the life and design are around the 6k mark which is really good considering theyre next to new!

My astra is great, its the CDTI 1248 CC + turbo does about 340 miles to 3/4 of a tank ( i never go below the last quarter ) so i'd expect it to do about 440 to a full tank, it runs great, nice balance of comfort and sporty, lots of space, great looker, and had 3 years left on the original warrenty so it's still covered to 2010, which I can choose to extend if I wish to.. couldnt ask for more

[Craig]

You thought about a private lease?

Some good companys round now offering nice rates.

[PaulRotheram]

Just to add on one of your points.. i've found that I should NEVER take it back to the main dealer unless 100% neccessary, The labour is way too much per hour and you come out with a heavy bill. even for a simple 10 minute job your still charged the full hour remember.

You can take your car to a trusted garage which is VAT registered and get the work done and your books signed. I take mine to the garage my dad uses for his taxi and theyre willing to work on the car for alot less than asked at the dealer.

[AndyF]

Sorry Chris, I think you are wrong

I will also be looking at private dealers however the risks outweigh the positives of buying privately. The major offputting areas for me are:
1. Full service history is not always available. - Not from a dealer either
2. Must of been registered properly in the first place, could of been written off or crashed and repaired and the chassis bent. - For £3 you can do the check, not all dealers will - AA will do car checks too
3. Higher risk of been stolen or on HP/finance which puts me off, plus no warranty or gurantee on it! - For £3 you can do the check, not all dealers will plus who cares about warranty if you have £1500 to spend on possible repairs. Dealer will do cheapest repair possible under warranty, you can choose with your saved cash.



I have decided to use a dealer mainly because:
1. It always checked for outstanding finance and the cars are always left with a clean bill of health, i.e point checked, exhaust repairs and MOT done on it. - Again at the cheapest price they can

2. Yes it is more expensive but most dealers offer a gurantee or warranty on the used car which often overruns the lenght of the manufacturers warranty. - Again, better for you to ask for a repair with the saved cash in your hand than rely on a dealer doing it because of your bit of paper with more loop holes in it than a string vest

3. It is just less hassle because you don't have to worry about the private seller sending documents off and cash being taken and not getting the car. - Don't hand over the cash until you have the keys and docs, make sure you use their toilet (so you know it is their house), do the £3 HPI/Crash/Stolen check. You can check MOT status free now.

4. Finance is available. - At a higher rate than the Mafia

5. They often have a garage that uses genuine parts so you can take it to them to get work done. - Don't you believe it!



Seriously. 50% of the time a private seller will try rip you off, 100% of a time a dealer will!!!

[rcmadd]

if you buy privatly you have no comeback if there is something wrong (legally) whereas if you buy from a dealer no matter what warrenty the say if a car has something wrong within 6mth then they have to put it right

i know as i was informed by trading standards a while ago

[Chrislong]

Changing cars is always full of risks. Do your homework and research and you can minimise the risks by being aware of them.

Do your research, know what you want down to the car make/model/trim and exactly what it should have. Know about all its problems and common faults, know about all its areas of corrosion and weak points...

Then go viewing, don't buy with your heart.... have a thorough poke and prod and crawl underneath, and buy with your head. If something seems wrong and your uncertain - just walk away, there are plenty of choice of all cars, so certainly don't buy the first you view without seeing more, no harm in going back to the first you viewed if by viewing more you have only proved that the first one was the best.

A Full manufacturers service history is shite, I have had cars serviced at manufacturers to maintain warranty and then found loads missed. They just employ kids to tick boxes rather than actually do the work - take the car to a one man independent garage and he'll do a proper job as his "bread and butter" is in you going back again and again.

Also, some big cars have depreciated really fast compared to small, yet the big diesel cars can be as cheap to run as small. I was looking for a 1.6Tdci Fiesta and after not finding any bargains, stumbled across a Mondeo 2.2Tdci for peanuts and now have a lot of car in comparison to a Fiesta for the same money, which costs me a heck of lot less to run than the Focus I had before it.... parkers.co.uk/reviews is good for comparing stuff like this.

[mark christopher]

Originally Posted by AndyF

Sorry Chris, I think you are wrong

I will also be looking at private dealers however the risks outweigh the positives of buying privately. The major offputting areas for me are:
1. Full service history is not always available. - Not from a dealer either
2. Must of been registered properly in the first place, could of been written off or crashed and repaired and the chassis bent. - For £3 you can do the check, not all dealers will - AA will do car checks too
3. Higher risk of been stolen or on HP/finance which puts me off, plus no warranty or gurantee on it! - For £3 you can do the check, not all dealers will plus who cares about warranty if you have £1500 to spend on possible repairs. Dealer will do cheapest repair possible under warranty, you can choose with your saved cash.



I have decided to use a dealer mainly because:
1. It always checked for outstanding finance and the cars are always left with a clean bill of health, i.e point checked, exhaust repairs and MOT done on it. - Again at the cheapest price they can

2. Yes it is more expensive but most dealers offer a gurantee or warranty on the used car which often overruns the lenght of the manufacturers warranty. - Again, better for you to ask for a repair with the saved cash in your hand than rely on a dealer doing it because of your bit of paper with more loop holes in it than a string vest

3. It is just less hassle because you don't have to worry about the private seller sending documents off and cash being taken and not getting the car. - Don't hand over the cash until you have the keys and docs, make sure you use their toilet (so you know it is their house), do the £3 HPI/Crash/Stolen check. You can check MOT status free now.

4. Finance is available. - At a higher rate than the Mafia

5. They often have a garage that uses genuine parts so you can take it to them to get work done. - Don't you believe it!



Seriously. 50% of the time a private seller will try rip you off, 100% of a time a dealer will!!!

all of the above also applies to independants too, there there for one thing to make money!!!!



have a look at new on somthing like ford options, set price per month, not extra cost and you have a new car, can be cheap, downside is its not yours at the end of the contract, but if your happy with the payments chop it in for another new one and keep paying same outlay

[jcb]

I just bought my Clio 182 from a Renault Garage rather than going private, part of the reason was backup incase things go wrong but more surprisingly in the long run it will work out cheaper.

Going private I would have needed to at some point during the year got an MOT, Service, Road fund and Cambelt (they only last 4 - 5 years on clio's) which going by Renualt garage prices is the thick end of £900. Well thats unless your really lucky and someone has left you with 12 months MOT and recently serviced it etc etc all a bit unlikely when it comes to buying privately.

Also into the deal I got 2 new tyres, and a few other bits and bobs that a private sale simply wouldn't have been able to do.


There are advantages for both, but I know in the East Anglia area you can get some pretty good deals from garages at the moment!!

[Chris Harte]

I take all your points on board and have decided to buy with my head, giving the car a good once, twice or even a three times over.
I have been suprised by how nice dealers have been in letting me test drive knowing that I am going to buy in the summer hopefully if all goes to plan.
The dealer versus private changes all the time, in the height of summer I expect the private market to be cheaper but at this current climate it could be the dealer thats cheaper for once!

[Jonathan]

My piece of advice.

When buying from a dealer, get all of the things you pick up on and they promise to put right, supply or do for you in writing, no matter how small.

When you turn up on the day, insured and with the cash, eager to drive your car away, without those things in writing I will guarantee they wont have done them all, or the man who promised it to you will be on his day off or some other excuse.

[big air]

some dealer warranty's arent worth the paper they are printed on,
plus you can buy warranty.
my advice is buy a car for around 3/4k that way the car as lost most of its value and sell it after a year maybe loss £500 then buy another for 3 /4k,
buy it for the right price and you will loss nothing.
Trust me you will get sick of paying for it when the buzz wheres off and its lost 1.5k as soon as you drive it home then another 1k 6 months later,

or there the other option buy a banger with loads of tax test for £500 use it till it stops or the t and t runs out
if it breaks down
get the aa to take it to a scrapyard "say you work there"
get £150 back , buy another

[Chris Harte]

I have analysed the data for a citroen c2 with some interesting results. If I bought a 2006 petrol model with 30k miles on it, I would get 3 years usage of it before the cost of it is less then what it cost to run it.
However if I bought the equivalent diesel version I would get 4 years out of it and i would save 2K on the petrol model.
I also did the same thing with the new shape corsas and was very dissapointed. A 2006 year model would only last me a year in value wise and the petrol was just as expensive as the diesel.