Don’t trust a main brand car dealership!

[mickd1961]

In 2020 i helped my daughter buy a 2015 Range Rover Evoke from Land Rover in Wolverhampton which is owned by Jardine Motors.

On Saturday she took her car to We Buy Any Car to get it valued and was gobsmacked to be told the car was a CAT D insurance write off.

She phoned Jardine and they’ve tried to fob her off and told her there must be some “mistake” and that they can’t help.

I didn’t think a main dealer could sell CAT cars but apparently they can as long as they informed you at time of purchase.

We were neither informed or was the car advertised as CAT D on Autotrader.

I’ve contacted my solicitor and he’s told me that when dealing with even a main dealer that you should always do your own HPI check on the vehicle you’re buying as they can’t be trusted.

We’re now putting this in the hands of the Motor Vehicle Ombudsman and Trading Standards.

A mate of mine worked for Jardine for many years but walked out of a good job at a local Audi dealership a decade ago after telling me what a bunch of b a s t a r d s they were.

Just be careful when buying any used car, always do your own HPI check and don’t rely on the dealership one like the one Jardine gave us from Experian as it’s not worth using as toilet paper.

Stay away from any dealership of theirs is my advice.

[Omegstrat6]

For years I have heard numerous examples of main dealerships over-charging and giving poor customer service but never really had the money to afford to buy off them anyway and was fortunate to have a company vehicle for several years. When I changed job we then tended to buy second-hand off independents and the situation was then very much the same as with builders, plumbers etc-ie finding a garage you trust and stick with them!

More recently, with our sons needs, we have a motability car and so have to go through main dealers and must say the service we have received through our local Vauxhall dealership has always been excellent. Due to the recent availability issues we had to change to a local Hyundai dealership for our latest car but, again, customer service has been very good so far. Maybe it's because we get our motability vehicle from them rather than actually buying from them but can't think this is the case?

Would have thought that with the current competitiveness in the car market good salesmanship and customer service would be a pre-requisite but maybe not. A friend recently purchased a new car and the MG dealership was so outstandingly rude and unhelpful afterwards that she chose to change to another one a bit further away where the service has been excellent. Like chalk and cheese. Buyer beware eh.

[Omegstrat6]

Cant figure out how to edit! Forgot to add that I hope you can resolve your issue with the dealership soon. Surely they are clearly at fault for not making it clear at the time of sale that the car was a CAT D and even if this was an oversight or genuine error (and not a deliberate attempt to mis-lead) then this points to lack of due diligence. In either case they are in breach of Trading Standards.

[Barrera]

Coincidentally I went to a car dealer yesterday. Bought a car from them less than 12 months ago. Car has been sitting in the drive as I rarely use it ... so thought I might as well trade down. Get a smaller runaround and free up some cash. Was gobsmacked when the dealer offered me £10k less than what I paid for it ... it’s only a second hand MB GLE ... with very low mileage .... not some flash sports car. Needless to say I didn’t go ahead .... scandalous rip off.

Probably happening to a lot of people who are forced to sell to generate some cash. Luckily I am not desperate .... but these b******s are clearly making the most of it.

[mickd1961]

Coincidentally I went to a car dealer yesterday. Bought a car from them less than 12 months ago. Car has been sitting in the drive as I rarely use it ... so thought I might as well trade down. Get a smaller runaround and free up some cash. Was gobsmacked when the dealer offered me £10k less than what I paid for it ... it’s only a second hand MB GLE ... with very low mileage .... not some flash sports car. Needless to say I didn’t go ahead .... scandalous rip off.

Probably happening to a lot of people who are forced to sell to generate some cash. Luckily I am not desperate .... but these b******s are clearly making the most of it.

It’s worth putting your reg into We Buy Any Car.

I did this with my X5 recently and with 16,,000 miles on the clock and 18 months old I was being offered just £5k less than I paid for it.

[Omegstrat6]

Having worked for a few years with a main dealer my step son was head-hunted by a local independent who he has now worked for for several years. They deal in a range of second hand vehicles and he says the market is still buoyant at the moment due to the continued shortage of new cars caused, in part, by both shortage of chips and post-covid production issues. In the current situation you should be getting much better prices for second hand cars than you would normally so anyone offering that sort of depreciation in money is taking the proverbial. As Mick says, We Buy Any Car are pretty good and I know a few people who were pleasantly surprised by their offer.

[TipperaryBaggie]

Mick, you should have bought the car off Sunglasses Ron and Paddy the Greek from their lockup under the arches!

[abbobrom]

This makes interesting reading. My wife traded in her car, a few years ago now, and a week later in was on the forecourt with a £3,000,00 mark up. Thieving barstewards.

We lease our cars now, no car tax to pay, no breakdown cover to fork out for, no M O T to worry about, no tyres to replace. After a year we take on two brand new cars. We set the milage at 12,000 a year and make sure we don't go over it. You do need to make sure you do not get any bumps or scratches on them, or you are charged for it. We have had five now and only one had a scratch on it, someone with a supermarket trolly. It cost us £200.00. My next new one is due on the 8th of November. The new ones like everything else are costing us more though.

[mickd1961]

This makes interesting reading. My wife traded in her car, a few years ago now, and a week later in was on the forecourt with a £3,000,00 mark up. Thieving barstewards.

We lease our cars now, no car tax to pay, no breakdown cover to fork out for, no M O T to worry about, no tyres to replace. After a year we take on two brand new cars. We set the milage at 12,000 a year and make sure we don't go over it. You do need to make sure you do not get any bumps or scratches on them, or you are charged for it. We have had five now and only one had a scratch on it, someone with a supermarket trolly. It cost us £200.00. My next new one is due on the 8th of November. The new ones like everything else are costing us more though.

To be honest Abbo I have no problem with the dealer price mark up, they have to offer warranty and have running costs like anyone else.

It’s the miss selling that I’m p I s s e d about and the subsequent fobbing off.

Personally I prefer to own my cars, the loss in value for both my car and my wife’s Range Rover Evoke is minuscule in reality, both have only lost value at the rate of about £60 a week which is peanuts compared to the cost of leading etc.

[abbobrom]

Mickd1961, just a few more details of our leasing. I had a brand-new Kia Sportage for £320.00 a month, no car tax to pay, no breakdown cover to pay and no M O T to worry about. My wife had a brand-new Kia Exceed for £282 per month with exactly the same benefits. However, the prices have gone up this year because of all the shortages.