Have a good perusal of these full service histories (they might be ex renters and SH could be patchy), once you subject yourself to the production line hard sales format of some, not all car supermarkets, you might be well involved before you get to see any service history even if it isn't temporarily mislaid, and if that isn't perfect the makers warranty isn't guaranteed.

Also factor in high pressure sales for GAP, paint protection, aftermarket warranties etc etc plus high rate finance even if you need it (they really do not like cash buyers), though the finance aspect might well be the very first discussion before you ever set eyes on any potential car at some supermarkets.

The above does not apply to all such places of course, and it might well apply to smaller normal dealerships too.

If the car is coming from a main dealer and has an approved used Toyota warranty on it, you stand more chance of knocking a bit off without a trade in, you won't find an admin fee added to the bottom line or you might be able to get a years approved used cover chucked on when the maker's warranty expires.

Edited by gordonbennet on 16/03/2017 at 19:31

Edited by SLO76 on 16/03/2017 at 19:55

I think there are two "types" of car supermarket - those that are simply large dealers, and those specialising in nearly new and some new. I have bought cars from the latter for thhe last 12 years with no problems,

A few years ago I did challenge the local dealer to match the price on a 1 year old Focus. Screen price was £2000+ apart and he was never going to get close.

The reason supermarkets are cheaper is lower overheads - they seem to buy in volume, have sites with several hundred cars (not fancy showrooms), and generally the screen price is what you pay - all very simple.

I've come to the conclusion that they are just part of the way manufacturers get nearly new cars on the road after 5-15000 miles with a hire company, or to shed excess stocks. No issues with warranty either - readily honoured by the local main dealer when the water punp failed.

Avoid all the extras they may try to sell you - car mats, gap insurance, finance, paint treatment etc - these are all IMHO overpriced. Make sure any services have been done properly or you risk invalidating the warranty. With my last purchase the trade in price was not very good (140k Mondeo) - no problem - when you collect the car either bring the trade in or the full price and do private sale.

You've already heard the main reasons from the experts. But the buying climate can play a part too. I bought my present Peugeot from a Pug dealer soon after the credit crunch, just before Christmas - it was 9 months old with 13K on the clock, £5K less than new list price. The odd thing was that they had another example for £1K more - the only difference was it was black, not blue. Mine was ex-rental from the Pug internal auction system where dealers pick off the best cars, so I guess the black one was too.

Car supermarkets are like the others: stack 'em high, sell 'em cheap. Volume sales.

If buying one or two year old car--i would always go via dealer looking out for their "approved" stock. Agree with everything said so far in this post

Of course-it may well be the car you discuss with salesman is at a distant sister dealership ( say 50 miles) . Whether vehicle was present in forecourt or not--I would insist on sales accessing the service and maintenance history at an early stage--even asking for a print out. I would also ask what sort of use the vehicle has previously had eg demo, rental, company car, private use then traded in or private use and exchanged after an unusually short period--log book might help a bit here here. Be suspicious if log book unavailable .

After a money discussion-A really good way of getting a discount is just to say "this all looks good-I'd like to think about it for a day or so" . Then walk away. I guarantee dealership will ring you within 48 hours with a better offer.