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Wed 12 Sep 2012 01:10

Any - Autotrader - Ethan Edwards

Was asked to help a find a new car for a friend. Much searching on Auto trader some phoning after cars. And we had a couple of possibles.

From rural Efficks we drove 60 miles to NW London as the Focus TDCi advert said 'one owner, perfect condition'. Price was OK, photos looked OK, not too cheap sounded good so off we went.

One owner eh? Well he must have been a soldier because this 'shed' was very battle scarred. Not a panel was undamaged and it was smelly and dirty.. The dealer said we were being too picky and a touch up paint was all this metallic silver car needed. Can you REALLY touch up dents? Who knew! Rummaging in the boot revealed 'He Man dual control' pedals. Walk don't run far far away! Do some of you Lunnon 'communities' have unlicensed driving instructors? Country don't mean dumb people! We left in a small huff.

It was with a sinking heart that the next day we went to see a Megane 2 1.5 dci 110. Yes it had been really prepared for sale, yes it's probably not as 'desirable' but you could see right away it was a proper honest car. After a VERY thorough look / drive and HPI check we bought. My friend is utterly thrilled. He put 12months ticket on it and if anything needed doing he would take care of it. Gave us a fair price for our horrid trade in, OK he's a small dealer operating out of a lock up but imo a credit to the business.

Moral is keep plugging away. There really are some diamond geezers out there in Auto trader land...I just wish they weren't so hard to find. Mr D Geezer is very likely to get repeat business from my friends other friends too.

Oh and if you sell via A/T or online auction sites ...be aware that I automatically ignore all adverts saying 1 mile or 50 miles etc. If you cannot be upfront about the mileage then I don't want to do business with the likes of you. I hope more of us punters do the same.

Cheers.

Edited by Avant on 16/09/2012 at 01:30

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Wed 12 Sep 2012 01:40

Any - Autotrader..what a nest of sharks. - unthrottled

I agree that dodgy advertisers are annoying but it' not really autotrader's fault though, is it?!

(Edit - no, indeed it isn't. I've altered the heading of the original post as it gives a wrong imprssion which I don't think the OP meant.)

Edited by Avant on 16/09/2012 at 01:32

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Wed 12 Sep 2012 05:00

Any - Autotrader..what a nest of sharks. - motorprop

It can be their fault as it seems the only requirement to place ads on their platform is the possession of a credit card. They have no editing of ads whatsoever. A pub landlord cannot serve drunks / underage / obnoxious, Tesco can't sell after 5 pm on a Sunday, a mechanic shouldn't pass your MOT if brakes worn etc etc , but A/T can take adverts stating , inter alia ; ' Communicate by email only as I'm very busy ' and / or advertise cars that are priced at 40% of all the other comparables for the model / year, often from people who are ' very busy ' and ' very far' so no viewing possible , car will be delivered after Western Union transfer

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Wed 12 Sep 2012 08:16

Any - Autotrader..what a nest of sharks. - unthrottled

Well it's only the naive and greedy who would bve suckered into such scams anyway. A private vehicle sale isn't for those who need to be spoon fed.

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Wed 12 Sep 2012 09:43

Any - Autotrader..what a nest of sharks. - TeeCee

Not just Autotrader and not just the UK.

When we first moved to NL, we looked for a Zafira A. I vividly recall that one of the ones we looked at (a silver one) was outwardly immaculate. The giveaway was the overpowering smell of polish inside and a shiny appearance on all the plastics. Looking through the impressive tarting up job revealed a rather tatty car underneath. Icing on the cake was a sudden inability by the dealer to lay his hands on its history. Thanks, but no thanks.

The one we bought was a car imported from Germany. Sat on the lot, looking a bit shabby, with the dings and scratches you'd expect on a car of the age. Interior was as its previous owner had left it, but generally tidy and in good condition. Everything worked. History showed that it was slightly overdue for a service and also due a cambelt. Obviously traded in somewhere before the big service bill - a "genuine reason for sale" if ever there was. Price meant that I could buy it, pay for the servicing work and still be within budget, getting a "known car" as a result. Money changed hands on the spot.

My dad always used to say that "the right one will speak to you". That one did and it's still going strong five years down the line.

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Wed 12 Sep 2012 10:17

Any - Autotrader..what a nest of sharks. - madf

I like Autrotrader. It makes finding cars much simpler.

Yes the 1/50 mile bit is annoying but only the naive get taken in and it is just to grab attention.. (it grabs mine: I ignore them). Ditto the car advertised at £900 but the text says the real price is £1900.

Ditto the cars sold very cheap under a genuine garage name but with a hotmail address and "email don't phone " messages. For those who believe a nice person in Nigeria is going to give you $20 mill if you send them £5k.

But the secondhand car market is full of thieves - always has been.

I assume these scams work. But then there are always the naive and muppets around who will want to waste money.

As for Autotrader vetting ads, the reality is they would always be one or ten steps behind the fly boys (or girls).

Anyone with any nous... would see behind the ads ... which excludes a fair number of people seeing how they believe that money grows on trees.

of course if you believe a nanny state works...:-)

Edited by madf on 12/09/2012 at 10:19

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Wed 12 Sep 2012 14:42

Any - Autotrader..what a nest of sharks. - Happy Blue!

My dad always used to say that "the right one will speak to you".

How true. When it didn't for me and I still bought it, I knew within 5 seconds I had made a mistake. I was very foolish. I learn't my lesson.

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Wed 12 Sep 2012 14:02

Any - Autotrader..what a nest of sharks. - tony g

( Mr D Geezer is very likely to get repeat business from my friends other friends too. )

Sadly repeat business is very rare in the car trade these days .Price is the major factor in car buying .I've just had a buyer travel from Anglesey to buy a Clio from me ,it was a day long trip ,the saving was £150 ,on a £3495 buy .They could have bought in Wrexham 20 miles from home but were prepapared to travel a total of 180 miles and spend all day to save £150 - fuel .

Service history is a secondary enquirey ,as is the amount of life left in tyres etc .

The first question I get from most buyers is what's the best price or what will you give for my part exchange . Price is 99% of the buying decision these days .

Loyalty to a dealer and customer service are low priorities for most car buyers

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Wed 12 Sep 2012 21:17

Any - Autotrader..what a nest of sharks. - 72 dudes

( Mr D Geezer is very likely to get repeat business from my friends other friends too. ) Sadly repeat business is very rare in the car trade these days .Price is the major factor in car buying .I've just had a buyer travel from Anglesey to buy a Clio from me ,it was a day long trip ,the saving was £150 ,on a £3495 buy .They could have bought in Wrexham 20 miles from home but were prepapared to travel a total of 180 miles and spend all day to save £150 - fuel . Service history is a secondary enquirey ,as is the amount of life left in tyres etc . The first question I get from most buyers is what's the best price or what will you give for my part exchange . Price is 99% of the buying decision these days . Loyalty to a dealer and customer service are low priorities for most car buyers

A few years ago there was a trend among some franchised main dealers, that they would not let you out for a test drive in a car you were interested in until they had appraised your trade in and arrived at a p/x figure. No doubt to discourage the casual weekend test drivers, but wonder how many genuine buyers walked away like I did.

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Wed 12 Sep 2012 22:02

Any - Autotrader..what a nest of sharks. - tony g

Hi 72 ,
Can you explain why you have reposted my post with yours ,thier doesn't seem to be any connection between the two .

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Thu 13 Sep 2012 12:04

Any - Autotrader..what a nest of sharks. - 72 dudes

Hi 72 , Can you explain why you have reposted my post with yours ,thier doesn't seem to be any connection between the two .

Hi Tony,

Only agreeing about what you said about price vs customer service and quality of product really.

Just bringing in my own experience when car dealers try to address the price issue before the buyer even knows whether he/she is interested in the car on offer, which you don't know until you drive it.

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Wed 12 Sep 2012 22:05

Any - Autotrader..what a nest of sharks. - madf

w years ago there was a trend among some franchised main dealers, that they would not let you out for a test drive in a car you were interested in until they had appraised your trade in and arrived at a p/x figure. No doubt to discourage the casual weekend test drivers, but wonder how many genuine buyers walked away like I did.

Anyone try that on me would lose me as well...

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Wed 12 Sep 2012 18:37

Any - Autotrader..what a nest of sharks. - SteveLee

Nothing has changed, I remember being on the phone to a guy selling a Triumph Dolomite Sprint he swore it was mint, I confirmed several times on the phone that his description was accurate because I was travelling a long way and will not be happy if he's lying - of course it was a complete shed - I chinned the guy for my trouble and walked away.

Go to a large car supermarket, there's plenty of choice and the prices are usually only a few percent above private prices, I and my friends and family between us have bought dozens of cars from CarCiant (used to be called Great Trade Centre) in white City London over a 20 year period, never had a problem with any of them.

www.cargiant.co.uk

Not affiliated in any way - just a very happy repeat customer.

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Tue 18 Sep 2012 01:36

Any - Autotrader..what a nest of sharks. - mark45

Call me cynical but any place that doesn't accept credit cards for large purchases won't get my custom...such as CarGiant.

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Tue 18 Sep 2012 11:11

Any - Autotrader..what a nest of sharks. - tony g

(

Call me cynical but any place that doesn't accept credit cards for large purchases won't get my custom...such as CarGiant. ) I'm sure it's not the credit card that's the issue ,it's the charge that credit card companies levy that's the problem ,typically 3% . Typically a company like car giant will have a gross margin of £500 ,net after vat about £420 .On a typical sale of say £8000 after part exchange you will be looking at approximately £5000 ,3% = £150 .More than a third of the net profit . I take credit cards ,but only if the buyers willing to pay the 3 % ,it's very rare any buyer is willing to pay the 3% . Most buyers pay with a debit card ,which has a flat fee of £1.50 ,obviously we don't charge that to the customer . The debit card fee of £1.50 ,is a typical fee .How do the airlines get away with charging a fee of £25 . Tony g
Edited by tony g on 18/09/2012 at 11:13

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