Review - Buying My Aygo

[gordonh]

I've been looking for an Aygo.

Have decided what spec I want : Aygo+, 5-door, Carbon Quartz with Aircon

After a lot of visiting dealers, phoning dealers and being basically stressed out with the hassle of trying to get a deal. I find one that I'm happy with, it's a 50mile round trip but OK, but I had been offered a good deal for the new car and part-ex on my current car

On Wednesday I went to the Toyota dealer to sign the paperwork for my new Aygo. The new Aygo was available in 2 weeks but they were going to hold it until September for the new '58 plate, they assured me it would be no problem. I was going to give them my Ka mid-August and rely on using the motorbike for a couple of weeks, but it's summer so that should be less of a problem.

Then comes the phone call, the Aygo won't be available until mid-October. So I assume they will honour the deal but allow me to keep my Ka until the change over as the delay is caused by a screw-up at their end. But no, they want the Ka in August as originally agreed or they will take £300 off the value, there is no way I'm going to be without a car going into the winter months. So it looks like my only choice is to cancel the whole thing and start again somewhere else.

Then a friend, being helpful, says that they've just spoken to another Toyota dealer that will match or beat the deal. So I phone them up, they can't and the deal is worse unless I want to buy a blue one.

So why am I writing this ?

I know there are some Toyota dealers that read this forum, so a few points.

1. If the deal is going to fall through due to an issue at your end and you need to modify it, you are going to have to absorb some of the downsides yourselves. Don't expect a customer to be happy about all points being changed and made worse for them without some give from yourselves. If the value of the part-ex car has dropped by £300 offer to meet half way, £150 each.

2. If a customer has been calling around for a deal and you offer to beat it, don't offer them a cheaper car as a way to beat the deal. If they've asked for a Carbon Quartz and you've mentioned the Blue deal once and they say no, don't keep trying to bring it up as a way of getting the price down towards the previous deal.

3. See point 2, because this is really !Removed! irritating and will produce more ****** off customers.

4. Don't expect a customer to be happy being offered half the price of their car when compared to what dealers have second hand worse condition models of on their forecourts. The Ka is listed on Fords forecourts at £3k+, so £1800 for the car isn't asking too much.

So what now ?

A few options :

1. Stick with the Ka.

2. Find another Toyota Dealer that will do the deal, but I've had enough messing around in the last two weeks.

3. Take another look at the Peogeot/Citroen models, but they are French and the French aren't know for their customer services.

4. Come on these forums, vent a little, and put my thoughts in writing and see if another Toyota Dealer withn 150miles of London thinks they can do a good deal for me.

I went with number 4.

So here's the Ka details :

Dec 2002(52), 1.3 Ka, Panther Black with aircon, 26k miles, MOT Dec'08, Tax May'09

Serviced every year, have receipts for years 1, 2, 3, 5(can't find 4) and MOTs for years 3, 4, 5.

I want : Aygo+, 5-door, Carbon Quartz with Aircon.

So the challange to any dealers out there, do me a deal. Either post here and I'll call you or PM me and I'll call.

And the advice to potential customers, don't assume a deal is done just because you signed the contract, some dealers are pretty happy to try and increase the costs after the deal is signed. DON'T LET THEM.

[PaulT]

Then comes the phone call, the Aygo won't be available until mid-October. So I assume they will honour the deal but allow me to keep my Ka until the change over as the delay is caused by a screw-up at their end. But no, they want the Ka in August as originally agreed or they will take £300 off the value, there is no way I'm going to be without a car going into the winter months. So it looks like my only choice is to cancel the whole thing and start again somewhere else.

Honestly, you wonder how these people stay in business.

Go on, name and shame! :D

Paul.

[Lakeuk]

Is waiting for new plates in Sept that important nower days

[Scarface GTti]

We had the same problem with delivery date going back but the dealer just went round the whole network until he found a dealer that had one our spec and swapped the Aygo he had with the one we wanted and delivered on the due date. These dealers play swopsies all the time, they obviously just can`t be bothered. Have you tried www.drivethedeal.com? My Dads Jazz was a similar problem with availability, he bought through that website and picked the Jazz up from the dealer that couldn`t supply it and for a grand less!

[T.F.S.B.I.G.W.S.]

They want your Ka before supplying the new car? What a bunch of useless t*****s! What about courtesy car?

[gordonh]

They want your Ka before supplying the new car? What a bunch of useless t*****s! What about courtesy car?

I can understand them wanting the car as early as possible, and if it was just the lst 2 weeks in August it's not really a problem. I ride a motorbike all year round so rarely actually need the car, esp in the summer, but going into October there is a real possibility we could get some more severe weather.

I have no problem with the dealers making a profit but sometimes I think they take the *****.

I looked at drivethedeal, saw the price and was like wow. Then I saw the clause on their site.

Extra Information

The discounted price for all Aygo models includes a £500 bonus which is conditional upon you taking out finance arranged by the dealer. To discuss the terms and conditions of this offer please telephone us on Tel 020 8446 0800. Subject to Status. Written quote available on request.

If you do not wish to take out this finance then you will need to add £500 to the discounted price that we will quote you for those models.

Please note that Toyota are also offering an alternative PCP scheme at 5.9% typical APR. The Toyota dealer we put you in touch with can arrange this for you. However you will not be eligible for the £500 bonus as above and you will have to add £500 to our discounted price.

The prices quoted are for cars ordered after 3rd July and registered and delivered by 30th September 2008.

From what I understand about the Toyota deal is that if you pay off the HP agreement early you have to refind them the £500 discount. If it was like any other loan and allowed you to just pay the 3 months interest I would take the finance and pay off the bulk asap with the redemption penalty. I might make a few calls about the finance to Toyota tomorrow and see what the small print is.

The dealer that still wants me to give up my car in 2 months in advance even though the mess up is at their end is Inchcape(Sandhurst), but I've phoned lots of dealers over the last few weeks. One said they'd phone me back in 30mins and then called back 24hrs later. Inchcape(Guildford) never even bothered returning my call.

I'm now starting to shift towards going back to the original plan of the 3-door same spec as the 5-door for £6k + my car, which I could probably get by going back to Sandhurst but I really don't want to deal with them again. I'm a real believer in the fact that companies burn their bridges with me when they mess me around. If I'm to deal with them again they will need to come to me and sweeten the deal further.

I think I'm in a strong position, I have a working car (the Ka is A1 I just want a change) and the cash, the credit crunch is going to really start hitting the dealers soon (if it hasn't already).

Tomorrow whilst at work I will phone a few dealers, the script is :

I want : Aygo+, 3-door, Carbon Quartz with Aircon.

I have : Dec 2002(52), 1.3 Ka, Metalic Black with aircon, 26k miles, MOT Dec'08, Tax May'09

Serviced every year, have receipts for years 1, 2, 3, 5(can't find 4) and MOTs for years 3, 4, 5.

The deal is : £6k + my Ka, you have 1hr before I phone the next dealer on the list.

And I'll see who bites, should be fun.

Whilst writing this :

I just had Slough phone me back and ask if I was still looking, I gave them the deal and he didn't say 'no' right away. Instead he said he'd go away and run the numbers. So by the time you read this I might have a deal afterall.

[TheNissanMan]

Cap average on a '52 Ka 1.3 [70] is £1,561, cars at the moment are not gettnig average book so anything close to that and your doing well not forgetting that this will drop in about 4 days time with the end of the month. If a dealer has priced your car for Septemeber and they can not supply the vehicle due to delays outside of their control they don't have to pay the same amount for the px, they would have priced it for when it was comnig in. So 1,800 for a car that is worth £1,500 (realistically £1,250 without over allowance if tidy) is asking a lot.

Just because a car is on a forecourt for 3k does not mean it sells for 3k otherwise you wouldn't be phoning around for a deal as you'ld know what your paying!

From a dealers POV a phone call for a deal gets nothing as there is no commitment, if you sat in a dealership saying i have a px & 6k and want that car and I'll put a deposit on it now your a lot more likely to get a decent repsonse.

[Parts-King]

As Jim Royale would say..........Credit crunch my a"se!

There has never been a better time to buy from your dealer, for the first time in very many years, the high street lenders (and supermarkets) cant get anywhere near your dealers finance rates, because the people who finance them just dont want to lend money. Look at these rates, lifted from Tesco's website, and they think they are doing a good deal at 7.8% APR :lol:

Lender APR Typical 60 monthly payments of Total amount to be repaid Savings over 60 months

Tesco Loans 7.8% £150.18 £9,011.00 -

Lloyds TSB 7.9% £150.90 £9,054.00 £43.00 saving over 60 months

Halifax 8.4% £154.65 £9,279.00 £268.00 saving over 60 months

Marks & Spencer Money 8.9% £156.27 £9,376.20 £365.20 saving over 60 months

Egg 9.9% £156.27 £9,454.00 £443.00 saving over 60 months

First Direct 11.9% £164.32 £9,859.20 £848.20 saving over 60 months

Based on a £7,500 loan over 5 years without loan Payment Protection Insurance. Competitor rates: Details correct as of 14.07.08. Source Moneyfacts.co.uk - the money search engine.

So with many cars up for sale with 0% finance, leave your money in the bank, buy a car at 0% and be quids in

I keep telling people, if you havnt bought an Aygo by 1st September then forget it, you just wont buy one, they are now getting seriously short in supply for most models and when they're gone they're gone until 2009

PM me if your deal doesnt come off, we deliver Nationwide any new or used car

Kingo

[aygo_uk]

Hi

Have you tried Octagon toyota motors in Reading (Rose kiln lane).

I purchased my Aygo from them and they were excellent.

James

[TheNissanMan]

I used to use Octagon for my toyota bits when I ran them, always friendly and great aftersales :)

PK :) It's great atm, we're in the same boat on finance and it does help :)

[gordonh]

Well Slough never called back, so I called the other dealer that I was talking to the other week in Bracknell and they should get back to me monday morning.

I know the credit crunch isn't as bad as all the panicing public are making it out to be. It's like the knife crime stats, 99% of people have probably never seen a knife pulled in the street but over half the public are panicing about going out at night because they are scared of knife crime(and the press just keep making it worse). People believe in the credit crunch, people are worrying about negative equity(only really a problem if you need to move house), if people believe they are less likely to spend their money on a new car unless they need to. I expect that come the winter with christmas and the increases in gas/electricity etc, a new car is going to be pretty low on their list of priorities so the dealers might find the market starting to dry up a bit.

Yes the dealers can get very good deals on the finance(5.9%) atm, but why do you think Toyota are offering the £500 sweatner off the price if you get finance ?

But I don't need the finance, once I start making the calls tomorrow, the first person that says yes gets a card number over the phone for the deposit and away we go from there. This is essentially a cash deal.

I actually had one salesman tell me that if I wanted a better deal I would have to be willing to sit around the dealership for about an hour 'uming and ahing'. My response to that sort of sales technique is, I'm not going to do that but I am willing to walk out and go somewhere else.

My Ka is in very good condition, it will do me for probably another 10 years if I have to. When I bought it I bugeted for life of car cost of appx £1k per year including the purchase price and servicing, but not including fuel/insurance/tax etc. I'm probably not to far off that atm, but once the car looses too much px value it starts to be a case of better to keep the car until it dies or has a major problem

I can put the £8k for a new car in an account until the Ka dies and just buy a car then if I have to, I just feel like changing cars now.

[PaulT]

I keep telling people, if you havnt bought an Aygo by 1st September then forget it, you just wont buy one, they are now getting seriously short in supply for most models and when they're gone they're gone until 2009

Is it too much to ask, with Toyota's famous manufacturing system, to just build more cars? These days, Toyota will not be keeping six-months' stock, they are built almost to demand. Simply build more cars then more people will buy them. Not difficult! :D

Paul.

[gordonh]

I keep telling people, if you havnt bought an Aygo by 1st September then forget it, you just wont buy one, they are now getting seriously short in supply for most models and when they're gone they're gone until 2009

Is it too much to ask, with Toyota's famous manufacturing system, to just build more cars? These days, Toyota will not be keeping six-months' stock, they are built almost to demand. Simply build more cars then more people will buy them. Not difficult! :D

Paul.

I thought on another thread someone said that they were already starting to make some Aygos in Japan.

Also if the cars were selling so well that they had a shortage, why are pretty much all dealers offering around £1k of the list price when you are actually in there ?

[Lister2020]

Hmm, when I got a phone call to say my aygo was delayed until late july (was around the 12th of june, I had alreadybeen sent a txt saying 19th of june confirmed date to pick it up) I told the guy in plain terms it was completely unacceptable and that I would call back to arrange getting my deposit back.

The next day the manager called me to ask what the problem was and after I replayed the phone call to him he said "That's strange, sure your aygo is here right now!"

me ".....what?"

manager" Yea, you want the plate so you can get the insurance sorted?"

me" Sure".

Id say in my case they were gonna give the car to someone else who was taking finance which woudl have got them more money in the long run until i theatened tocancel the deal. Im not there to serve them, the dealerships are there to serve me. If they cant honour the deal they offered you, make sure you and everyone you know never does business with them!

[Parts-King]

Is it too much to ask, with Toyota's famous manufacturing system, to just build more cars? These days, Toyota will not be keeping six-months' stock, they are built almost to demand. Simply build more cars then more people will buy them. Not difficult! :D

Paul.

That is what has happened Paul, but there comes a limit on how many times you can do this. Factorys have an ultimate capacity and I think the Aygo capacity has been reached (for certain models) You cant just switch to another plant in order to satisfy a few more orders, the logistics are a nightmare. The rise in fuel costs has made people think about what they drive and demand for Aygo has gone through the roof

Kingo

[gordonh]

Well I've got a deal(not the exact numbers but still good), paid the deposit over the phone, just need to go in and do all the paperwork now.

It looks like we are still looking at a 10 week lead for the car, but I'll have my car until the exchange so don't mind the wait. Will give me something to look forward to.

Just need to look at the finance deals from Toyota now to see what the early redemption penalties are, 2-3 months of interest is a small price to pay for another £500 saving. But will have to do that in the showroom as TFS don't publish the T&C on the website it seems.

[aygo_uk]

Well I've got a deal(not the exact numbers but still good), paid the deposit over the phone, just need to go in and do all the paperwork now.

It looks like we are still looking at a 10 week lead for the car, but I'll have my car until the exchange so don't mind the wait. Will give me something to look forward to.

Just need to look at the finance deals from Toyota now to see what the early redemption penalties are, 2-3 months of interest is a small price to pay for another £500 saving. But will have to do that in the showroom as TFS don't publish the T&C on the website it seems.

Hi

Glad you got your deal. Where did you go i the end?

James

[gordonh]

I ended up going with Octogon(Bracknell) as I'd already spoke to them last week and they phoned me on Sunday to see what the situation was and the salesman phoned me on his day off before 9am this morning with an offer. I called them in the afternoon (and it really was the guys day off) and paid the deposit over the phone.

Just need to go in and fill out the paper work now, but the fact that I keep my car until the new one is ready saves me having to hassle friends/family for a lift back from or to the dealers.

One thing I have noticed in the dealers over the last couple of weeks is they have moved away from the old 'jump on you when you walk in the door', now it's hard work to find a salesman to talk to as they are all hidden.

[Red Yaris 54]

One thing I have noticed in the dealers over the last couple of weeks is they have moved away from the old 'jump on you when you walk in the door', now it's hard work to find a salesman to talk to as they are all hidden.

In my experience over the years Toyota dealers do not have to "jump on you when you walk through the door" like some other manufacturers.

All Toyota dealers that I have experienced have a "Non pressured" method of selling thereby creating a pleasant even enjoyable event when purchasing a car.

I have yet to experience the same courtesy from any other manufacturers dealer.

[aygo_uk]

I ended up going with Octogon(Bracknell) as I'd already spoke to them last week and they phoned me on Sunday to see what the situation was and the salesman phoned me on his day off before 9am this morning with an offer. I called them in the afternoon (and it really was the guys day off) and paid the deposit over the phone.

Just need to go in and fill out the paper work now, but the fact that I keep my car until the new one is ready saves me having to hassle friends/family for a lift back from or to the dealers.

One thing I have noticed in the dealers over the last couple of weeks is they have moved away from the old 'jump on you when you walk in the door', now it's hard work to find a salesman to talk to as they are all hidden.

I purchased my car from their Reading show room but have used bracknells bodyshop and the staff seem very friendly and nothing is too much trouble.

James

[gordonh]

Well went in and signed all the paperwork today, looks like the car will be mid-end of September in the end.

[Phoenix999]

Well done and I hope you enjoy the car when you get it

[gordonh]

Got a call yesterday, the car is two weeks early ! .... woohoo

So I can pick it up next Friday, will give them a chance to do the PDI checks and get it all ready first.

One question, can someone that has changed their head unit confirm that the plugs on the back of my new radio are the same as the ones built into the Aygo ?

I can't find anyone selling an adapter lead and the website says I may need an aerial adaptor.

[Jan van de Wouw]

The lower two plugs with 8 contacts each ARE the same, allthough you DO

need to swap two leads (Battery and ignition) with most aftermarket radio's.

If you need an antenna adaptor depends on what you buy; most Kenwoods

have the older style plug on the back, but provide an adaptor in the box.

Other brands may do so too, or not... Adaptor shouldn't be more than £3 or so...

[Ecoboy]

alpine :- aerial plug fits as is, need to swap red and yellow on the supplied harness (easy as bullet connectors) even the display dimmer etc works a treat.....dead easy install...after all, I managed it!

oops just read your post, if that is your radio, the aerial will fit!