supermini test drive
Hello again, as you would have guessed,I really want a BRAND NEW car.
Some people never listen, do they? ;0)
Well, I\'m pushing 30 and the thought of a new kitchen doesn\'t excite me as much. Excuse excuse...
After agonizing between Renault and Nissan, I decided to go for the Nissan, but the dealer wouldn?t bring down the price to the internet price(difference of £200).
Now I feel guilty to buy off the net as salesman did all the work, just to lose the customer to an internet shop ( in my case AUTOBYTEL). Is there any reason for me to spend £200 more and buy through a local dealer in terms of after care etc, or anything else? Are there any reason I should feel guilty about?
Having test driven a few super-minis, I\'d like to review the cars I\'ve tried, hoping it might help someone who?s seeking small hatchbacks.
I tried Ford fiesta zetec, Nissan Micra SV, Renault Expression, Skoda Fabia classic. (all 1.4litre automatic)
I\'ve ruled out Vauxhall Corsa ( very dull to drive), Daewoo Matiz ( just didn\'t like the look),
Hyunadai Getz ( intereror and overall feel is too tinny).
I?m 5?3?? female and my bf is 6?2??, and we agreed on most of its contents. lol
1. Ford Fiesta zetec
Ride: quite comfy but seats are a bit hard 3 2/1
Drive: ok, nothing special 3
interor: cabin looks cheap and basic 3
I was very disappointed with this. In and out, every thing looks dated, and it doesn?t feel as though any effort has been put into it.
Drive was not special either.
2. Nissan Micra
1. ride: very smooth and comfortable 4
2. Drive: Very easy to drive, precise handling, break and acceleration responsive. very impressed 5
3. interior: upmarket feel,very well designed superb sound system too(blaupunkt cd player) 5
Great stuff. I think I\'m in love. Although the look can be too much for some.
3. Renault Expression
1.ride: most comfortable of 4. generous space and comfy seat. 5
2.Drive: pretty good. break was the sharpest of all but power steering wasn\'t as good as Micra, and handling is a bit on the dull side. but still very good 4
3. interior: very well designed and thought of, decent stereo 4
It was spacious and comfortable, with lots of extras for the price. close seond. Would have matched the Nissan, if not for the drivability.
4. Skoda Fabia
1.ride: very smooth and solid 4 2/1
2. Drive: easy to drive, great handling, all good 4
3. interior: well made but felt a bit empty and basic 3
It was a very solid. quality car, but missing a bit of character. I can\'t pinpoint what.
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For the sake of £200 I think I would choose the local dealer who I could get at directly, rather than someone who would ignore my emails.
(does he know you refer to him as \'bf\'?)
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No. Does it make any difference? Sorry, if my internet language was offensive...
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No. Does it make any difference? Sorry, if my internet language was offensive...
It was intended as a (alright, feeble) joke.
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My money would be with Autobytel, but it\'s a personal thing and to get within £200 of the internet price is extremely good of your local dealer - most aren\'t discounting at all and even drivethedeal.com doesn\'t come as close. Autobytel is currently doing £750ish off the 1.2S 5 door auto, which is the model I believe you wanted.
In the unlikely event that you have any problems with the car your local dealer will still carry out the warranty work, as he\'ll be paid by the manufacturer at a standard rate. Autobytel is well funded, has been around for a while and supplies through UK dealers, so I can\'t see you\'ll have any problems on with regard to delivery.
The other thing that might put some people off - not me - is that the car will have \'out of state\' licence plates; e.g., if you live in London, instead of the L at the start of the number plate, it might easily have an S for Scotland or a C for Wales. It doesn\'t matter but it did stop one friend of mine ordering from a broker.
Oh and congratulations on doing the research and looking into all the options; this looks like a model first purchase and not just a case of jumping for the only one that looks cute and never mind the deal as long as the repayments are good...
One last thing: why not buy the the car from Autobytel and give the difference to me? Of course you wouldn\'t - but salespeople are used to being played off against different dealers and it shouldn\'t cause you any problems, or make you feel guilty.
Good luck with the new car.
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>\'out of state\' licence plates, it did stop one friend of mine ordering from a broker
Why? what possible difference could it make?
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>\'out of state\' licence plates, it did stop one friend of mine ordering from a broker Why? what possible difference could it make?
It can make a difference in some instances.
My son purchased a Skoda Octavia in London. Not long afterwards he was worried by a strange noise from under the bonnet so telephoned local dealer where he lives in South Yorkshire to book it in for investigation. "No problem Sir" was the initial response. He was then asked for the registration number. As soon as he quoted it the receptionist's tone changed. "Well Sir, we are snowed under with work at present so couldn't book you in for several weeks"! Fortunately, another dealer took a much more welcoming attitude. I suppose it is a chance one takes.
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Thanks for another kind reply.
The model I\'m buying is 1.2 auto 5dr,(autobytel price is £8654).
I think I\'ll push the dealer another hundred pound, which he might do with metallic paint. If not I can always resort to Autobytel.
\'Out of state\' number plate doesn\'t put me off at all.
Lastly, I would give you the difference if the cause was right.Yes, I would.
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Just to throw a spanner into the works - you don\'t seem to have tested the new Seat Ibiza. If that one can meet your requirements (don\'t know whether it\'s available with automatic or not) then it would certainly be worth a test drive. It\'s also one of the ones that has a year\'s free insurance still going.
I would guess that it may be possible to squeeze at least some of the £200 difference from your dealer by negotiating discounts/freebies on future servicing. As you\'ll most likely be going through the dealer for that anyway, it might help to get them treating you as one of their own valued customers. That\'s assuming they\'re any good for providing good customer service.
Good luck, whatever you choose.
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There is no auto Ibiza, unfortunately. There is an auto Polo, but that was about £1500 over Impey's budget.
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When I investigated bying from the internet, the car offered was an import. The pan european guarantees are good, but only if you can get your car on the UK computer network, a lot of dealers are reluctant to do this.
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True, but that's not what Autobytel do. A lot of internet brokers are importers; some aren't. Autobytel, drivethedeal.com and ukcarbroker.co.uk, for instance, don't do imports.
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Have you tried the other broker carfile - www.carfile.net
A couple of relatives have used them and found them to have even better prices than autobytel.
Let us know what deal you go for.
good luck!
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I\'m getting very close to the deal. One option is to buy from the local dealer at £9050( including metallic paint, have you ever seen the aruba blue on the road? :D). The other is from Autobytel at £8800. But the problem is when it comes to yearly servicing(or every 10,000 miles), I don\'t think I can get the service by the dealer, as it\'s too embarrassing to face them again. Another Nissan dealer is about 30miles away, which will be a chore. Can I get a service done by a local garage of good reputation? If that\'s fine, I will just go and order it from Autobytel.
Thanks, Martin, but carfile.net didn\'t store Micra, yet.
£250 will be very useful for my well deserved( I\'d love to think so) Spring break. But on second thought, servincing...Oh.
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I collected new Nissan from local dealer and very pleased with overall service-Allowed an hour to show me over whole car -all things radio aircon oil etc,and it was polished. They did match best internet price and I didn't have to sort out registering warranty (£75)as some imports require -I,m Pleased and happy that I chose this route.
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But the problem is when it comes to yearly servicing(or every 10,000 miles), I don't think I can get the service by the dealer, as it's too embarrassing to face them again. Another Nissan dealer is about 30miles away, which will be a chore. Can I get a service done by a local garage of good reputation? If that's fine, I will just go and order it from Autobytel.
No - get it done at a Nissan dealer if you want to keep your warranty valid. To be honest they'll be glad to get your custom for servicing I think. Actaully if the sticking point is £250 why not get the local garage to throw in some free servicing - it'll cost them a lot less than the price they charge you - or maybe some accessories you wanted??
In terms of carfile - did you email or phone as the list on the website isn't that comprehensive - normally they beat Autobytel by some margin...
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