Car Buying Easy - Not!

[Duffryn]

Toying with the idea of changing my Avensis, and rather fancy a (used) Prius. Went into dealership, had test drive etc., all very pleasant - until started talking money.

Mr. Sales Exec, and Mr. Business Manager did their absolute best to convince me that I 'needed' to take out a PCP. I wanted to know the bare fact of how much it would cost me to change. No chance of getting that information out of them. I heard all about Deposits, Flat Rates, Monthly Payments, Delivery Packs, Additional Warranty, Superguard etc etc etc, even though I emphasised that I could sort my own finance out, and would possibly be a cash buyer anyway, if the deal was right for me.

I did eventually get a (insulting to me) p/x offer for my car, but came away empty-handed and thoroughly cheesed off with the whole business. I had several more phone calls as soon as I got home (still talking PCPs of course), but by that time my eyes were glazing over and I'd had enough.

Questions though - Why do they insist on pushing PCPs to the extent that the prospective customer gets so p'd off he goes home, and why would they not tell me, when asked, the APR on a proposed PCP, insisting they could tell me only the 'Flat Rate'? Thought APR info was a legal requirement.

For the life of me I cannot understand why buying/changing a car is such a hassle. Surely dealers should be encouraging prospective buyers, not putting'em off? I must say though that Mr.SE & Mr.BM were both very pleasant chaps, the coffee was nice...... and so was the Prius!

[t-spiritpete]

Hello, how right you are,

these guys have a job to do like everyone else BUT when a customers says no or even hints that way they should back off. There are people in this world that will fall for or get talked into anything but when Mr SE & Mr BM meet Mr Sensible they try all sorts of confusing tactics and for one I'm not comfortable with that. They tried it with our last car and I told them I would walk away if I didn't get the deal without all that stuff as a cash buyer ... I got the right deal and 12months club Toyota for free. I felt pressured and peed off but I'm a strong person when it comes to stuff like this ... when will they learn, there must be a lot of pressure from above OR commission in it for them.

Rant over but you brought it all back .. .... Pete.

[Parts-King]

Your dealer will want to maximise his profit, but they should understand a customer walking and buying elsewhere wont produce any profit at all! Maybe you should go to another dealer?

PCP's are not all bad, especially if you get a low rate, check the TGB website, Prius T Spirit on 4.9% APR with £1000 finance contribution. Ask for a written quotation, they have to provide you with one and the figures will be on it

There MIGHT be a 0% offer on where you can take out finance and leave your nest egg sitting there. Finance (especially low or 0%) is no bad thing if you can afford it. As Martin Lewis says, debt is not bad, only bad debt is bad

Get all the options in writing, finance, cash deal, PCP and walk away and work out what is best for you. It is not just your Toyota dealer who will push a particular product, some manufacturers ONLY sell cars through various schemes, they hardly do a cash deal. Cash is not always king, a deal on say a PCP where the dealer makes a bit of profit out of the finance MIGHT be better for you too, as they add all ALL the profit in the deal (finance, profit on the car, any bonus paid by the manufacturer) and with all this added up you might be able to get a better P/EX

It's all about the profit in the deal and for you the cost to change, don't get too hung up about APR's and the like til you know what the bottom line of the deal is for you

Kingo

[t-spiritpete]

By Gingo, Kingo you must transfer to sales without a moment to spare :D .

Pete.

[Parts-King]

By Gingo, Kingo you must transfer to sales without a moment to spare :D .

Pete.

Not on your Nelly!

37 years in the job and you get know a bit.........thankfully, most of it on aftersales

[Jamesbelfast]

One of the golden rules when buying a car from anyone. During negiotiations never disclose how you are going to finance the purchase - lets be honest are they going to disclose their likely profit margin. Insist on the bare bones deal - any extras (if you want or need them) such as HP, PCP, extra warranty, etc can be nogotiated thereafter.

Many sales people will then try to add a sweetener or two to close the deal.

Never forget - they may have what you want or would like but you have what they need. Keep that idea in your forethoughts at all times and also remember you can always vote with your feet and wallet.

[Duffryn]

Thanks for your comments/advice guys - I would just emphasise that I was certainly not the first to mention a PCP, they,did, and pushed it from the word go. I eventually said that all options were open to me, including a cash buy. As P-K above suggested, I may well prefer to sit on my nest-egg, and as reasonable monthly payments would be manageable for me the PCP route may well be an option.

My bone of contention was mainly that I could not readily elicit from them a cost-to-change figure, they just kept filling my head with what seemed to me like unnecessary complication (comes easy when you're in your late 60's!). If that strategy is set by higher authority (I'm sure it is) then it's very disappointing in my admittedly old-fashioned view.

However I probably shan't give up. Armed with the above experience and advice I will be more forthright in any future contact I have with them or any other dealer.