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Car supermarkets seem an attractive alternative to main dealers for new cars. However, I notice in the small print that as the cars are imports, they are not necessarily to UK specification. Apart from the obvious differences there might be such as radio spec etc what other differences could there be? For example, is rustproofing likely to be to the same standard? Also, what disadvantages are there of buying from a car supermarket - what about warranty work?
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When I considered buying a "new" car from a car supermarket, it was stated quite clearly on the "salesman's" desk that mine would be the second name in the V5 and only one key would be supplied.
That coupled with the lack of colour choices and the general - take it, orleave it, attitude - made me decide to leave it.
However I did find it a useful experience to quote when dealing with a main dealer. I left out the negative aspects and concentrate on the price quoted by the supermarket, this helped me to get a good discount. I bought a new car from the main dealer (choice of colours, two keys, first name in the V5 and generally good quality sevice) and haven't regretted it.
May I say, that it probably comes down to horses for courses. The Main dealer route suited me, but, you pays your money and you ..... etc.
Good luck
Don drbe
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I'm very happy to report buying mine from Trade Sales as I saved over 3 grand on list price. 11.4K as opposed to 14.6. The only negatives were no stereo and 12 months warranty. The car is full UK spec. but imported from Germany.
I bought the same model stereo that the manufacturer fits, and paid £450 for an extended warranty with a specialist warranty company. (The manufacturer wanted £995.) After everything was sorted out it eventually cost me 12.4K on the road. I had 2 small faults in the first few months, both fixed with no problem under warranty at a local dealer.
So far there's been no downside. Even if it breaks seriously and the warranty fails I feel that I have £2,000 'in hand' as it were, and it would have to be a pretty serious fault to get that high.
Three other people in this building bought from the same place and out of the 4 of us the only complaint is that one had a mix-up over the colour. The colour she thought she'd ordered didn't arrive. Turned out to be due to an unclear discussion about the names of colours at the time of ordering.
All you need to do is ask the questions you asked in your post at the car supermarket.
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PS - I got 2 keys and 2 remotes, a choice of colour if I was prepared to wait, and my name is the 2nd on the V5, but that doesn't worry me. The cash does.
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Just to be argumentative - Grumpy, surely the 2 grand saving once you'd added on the warranty and stereo etc could've been got very close to by haggling with the main dealer? Noone pays list, not even on the German marques anymore. You'd then also have had the added backing of the dealer and be first on the V5!
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At the time they were trying to sell me an ex demonstrator for £13,995. The new price was £14,6ish. They wouldn't haggle for what was then a new model although they're cheaper now of course. I paid less for a car with no miles then they wanted for a used one. Would they have really come down from £14,6ish to £11,400? I doubt it. Without the stereo and warranty I could have actually put it on the road for about £11,500 plus road tax.
Unless I have a serious breakdown in the next 18 months or so and the warranty company don't or won't sort it, the dealer backing isn't worth anything really. I pay the same for dealer servicing and parts as anyone else so I don't see a loss there. Maybe on a model where 'free' servicing is included in the purchase price there could be a loss though.
Being second on the V5 doesn't make much difference surely? It certainly wouldn't make any difference to me if I was buying, except perhaps if there were 2 indentical models to look at and the number of previous owners was the only difference.
FYI Quentin Wilson of TG fame bought 4 cars from the same place and sold them for a profit. That was one of the several reasons I used this particular place and so far I have absolutely no regrets. I've even been back to let them know how happy I am with the car and the deal.
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"Even if it breaks seriously and the warranty fails I feel that I have £2,000 'in hand' as it were"
That's a really important point. It's best only to mentally accept the £2k "profit" once you know that you didn't need the UK warranty!
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In many cases, the saving is far more than £2K. I picked a Mondeo estate Ghia tdci for £14K from Trade Sales in March, and, at the time, the list price for the equivalent from the main dealer was about £19.5. The other internet supermarkets were offering only basic spec models (still estate) for about £15.5K. My car had all the bells & whistles the UK spec cars have; just 2 years warranty. I also could buy either a blue one or a grey one (!)- no winter evenings wasted with a colour swab chart and upholstery book...
I see that TS are still doing this offer (or very near to it) and Motorpoint are not far behind. You can even get the Ghia X for just over 15K. I expect its the older model still and 5 speed, not 6, but these are small things for a saving of over £5K. I had no intention of buying "new" but found this deal too tempting. I'll hopefully keep the car for about 10 years (150-200K miles) so the fact I'm the "2nd owner" is of little consequence.
From what I can see people go to main dealers, amongst other things, for peace of mind but these pages show that there is no guarantee of good service. On current experience, I'd recommend supermarkets.
Splodgeface
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With some cars eg Toyota you get the full 3 year warranty and, as with my wife's car, to full UK spec in every detail. It came with 3 keys, 2 remotes, English handbook and in addition to UK spec a fire extinguisher and a luggage net - Wow
The car is registered with Toyota UK and was recalled for a(free)brake modification with other Yaris Versos
The car was registered to Trade Sales(as new) on 06 Sept and a change of owner(to SWMBO) on 08 Sept. I hardly think that being the second name on the V5 will have a huge impact when it is sold by her.
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