Car Supermarkets.. an unplesant place to be

[philoldsmobile]

having some idle thoughts, i decided to look in a local car supermarket to get a feel for a car i'm considering buying..

i'm looking for an ALfa Romeo 147 2001 - 2003 with around £4000 to spend, cash.

i stopped by the car supermarket in northampton, not wanting to bother anyone really, just to have a quick look, and sit in one to see if I liked the feel of it etc..

the guy came over (before I'd got out of the car!) introduced himself and we went into the office.. I asked him if he had any alfa 147's and he proceded to fill out numerous forms.  I had to tell him several times that it was only an alfa 147 I was looking for, and no, I would not consider any other models. I had to explain I wouldn't be putting any deposit down, it would be the full ammount, no finance..

eventualy after many questions (well, the same questions asked over and over) he went away to check stock.. guess what. they didn't have one in the age and price bracket I was looking for, but they did have a 2005 model for a rather ridiculous £10k (£10k buys an early 07 car from a main dealer with 5000 miles) guess what... would i like to finace the difference?!?

no.. I would not.. I politely declined his request to take my contact details in case one came in, and I left..

I was considering a change of car, now I dont think i'll bother..

[55starchief]

Those places are always the hard sell, your lucky to have escaped

[philoldsmobile]

10k for a 2005 147 is cookoo, that is about the right price for a 2005 GT! the GT costs 30k new, the 147 costs £14k!

book for an 05 147 is about 6.5 - 7k!



shock horror, all they wanted to do is push finance, and their "never wax your car" finish (£300!)

i absolutely hate the way they try and "take your details" while filling out all the forms, hoping you'll fall for the "with just a signiture here you can drive away now" line..

[art b]

lots of desperate idiots for a newer car to show the neighbours, love them sh!te holes

[philoldsmobile]

isn't it amazing how expensive they are too!

thats before you think that most people will be adding on their 25% APR finance!

my next door neighbour (now moved on) bought an omega from one of those places, he paid £5k (at the time worth £2k) omega V6, and had it on their finance because he had CCJ's and couldn't get any other finance..

its a good deal he said, only 3%... i looked though the figures, and worked out the interest,(i was working in the finance industry at the time) and of course, that wasn't his APR but his monthly interest, in fact the A.P.R was in fact 36%! when i worked out how much it was actualy going to cost him, the £5k he paid for the car was pure proffit, the interest alone came to more than the market value of the car!

[55starchief]

Thats ok, my dad told my brother that he should change his company car, a 2 year old golf gti with 49k on it. My brother decides he wants an audi A5 so starts looking around. He eventualy finds what he is after and starts to do the deal, now the golf had 9k outstanding on the finance and audi offered him £1500 for the golf, so a 2 year old golf gti in mint condition is worth £10k needless to say they have decided to keep it for another year

[philoldsmobile]

yah, best way to buy a car is either cash sale (if you can) of often a personal loan.. you may pay a percent or two more for the car, but if you decide to change you aren't tied in with what THEY want to give you back for the car..

dealer finance is ok if you plan on definatley keeping the car for more than the term of the finance..

the mustang was not financed, so if i wanted to release some cash, i could, without having to worry about still paying for a car i no longer have..

of course, on the flip side i could sell it, and take out a loan, and realisticly have about £10k to spend..

[55starchief]

Quoting: philoldsmobile

dealer finance is ok if you plan on definatley keeping the car for more than the term of the finance..

Its a company car though so there are tax advantages in financing it. They just bought a 2007 mitsubishi L200 and financed that even though they could have paid cash for it

[philoldsmobile]

true, there is a load of tax incentives isn't there? we did the same with our transit at work, with the tax breaks on vans, you pay almost nothing for them.

[55starchief]

Quoting: philoldsmobile

true, there is a load of tax incentives isn't there? we did the same with our transit at work, with the tax breaks on vans, you pay almost nothing for them.

Indeed and now they have the L200 and have sold the little van i think its time i start looking for a trailer

[philoldsmobile]

can you tow a trailer on your license?

[Rob]

Quoting: 55starchief

Those places are always the hard sell

Not for the weak minded idiots that are suckered in by a big colourful advert

[55starchief]

Quoting: philoldsmobile

can you tow a trailer on your license?

Yes sir, i even have the 7.5ton

[EDGE]

they usually SUCK... we went in to one when a mate of mine was looking for a car, we took some BMW out for a test drive, with absolutely NO intention of buying it as it was around £5k over book price.... but he could have it on finance, would have been cheaper to put it on a fu**ing credit card with the rates they charge...

mmmmmmmmmmmm... SUB PRIME......

[55starchief]

Quoting: EDGE

PRIME......

Rib ?

[Cunning Plan]

Quoting: philoldsmobile

can you tow a trailer on your license?

If you got your licence within the last 15 years, everyone can tow up to a combined weight of 3 ton irrc, if you want to tow more you need a difference licence, although Im not sure where you would take a 'trailor test' or lessons to that point.

If you have an older licence, you can do what you want when you want.

Quoting: philoldsmobile

the guy came over (before I'd got out of the car!) introduced himself and we went into the office.

Yup, we had a quick look at that one on the A45.  I was looking for a Navara but wow, they are so stuck in the rehearsed sales pitch its untrue.  The words 'think outside the box' they have never heard!

If you are thinking of going there just to look around, DO NOT bother..  You cant do this, they farm you off to the offices, try and pry information from you and sell you something that you could get new.  For example, A Brand new Navara with everything on it and 0 miles from the dealer = @ £20k.  They wanted £16.5 for a 2 year old one with 40k on it.....    

This is a bad stratagy because you are so p1ssed off with the whole experience, all you want to do is get back in your car and drive the fcku out of there, where as on a normal forecourt you could browse around the cars and might even find another car that you like but didnt initially intend to look at.

[55starchief]

Quoting: Cunning Plan

If you got your licence within the last 15 years, everyone can tow up to a combined weight of 3 ton irrc, if you want to tow more you need a difference licence, although Im not sure where you would take a 'trailor test' or lessons to that point.

Car driving licence first obtained since 1 January 1997

Drivers who passed a car test on or after 1 January 1997 are required to pass an additional driving test in order to gain entitlement to category B+E and all larger vehicles. In addition to the new driving tests, drivers of vehicles which fall within subcategories C1, C1+E, D1 and D1+E also have to meet higher medical standards.

As for taking the trailer section you have to go to your local test center and bring your own trailer

[Cunning Plan]

Car driving licence first obtained since 1 January 1997

Shit.


f^cking DVLA.

[Cunning Plan]

Quoting: 55starchief

As for taking the trailer section you have to go to your local test center and bring your own trailer

Not having a go at you 55, just thinking out aloud - Thats so stupid.. How can you get to a test centre with a trailer if you arent allowed to legally tow one in the first place?!  And why would you buy a trailer unless you could legally tow it

Ive towed loads of trailers in the passed, the biggest being a 17' car transporter.    But apparently I need to give the DVLA more money and my time to do it legally..