Carshop.co.uk - any experience?

[hixster]

Has anyone had any experience buying from Carshop.co.uk? Usually I steer clear of the supermarket style dealers, but went to see this today -> Used AUDI A5 2.0 TDI Black Edition 2dr [start Stop] (2011 For Sale - YR11UYY | CarShop as it's the best value car i've seen.

The car was clean and as specified, 1 owner FASH - thing is they wouldn't budge one penny on the price, so we didn't come to any agreement.

Looking at their site they have a strict "no haggle" policy :-) and the sales guy said this is because they do compare their cars and offer the lowest price. Looking on Parkers this car is booked at ~£23,450 even with the mileage of 30k on a 2011 plate.

So, my question is, has anyone here ever bought from these guys and did you manage to get anything off?

Edited April 6, 2013 by hixster

[Twinspark]

All looks really good.

Then you look at the tyres - 'Mayrun MR500'.

You have to wonder how many more corners have been cut.

[hixster]

That's an incredibly good spot and point! I'm glad I posted this now, thanks. I checked the car over thoroughly and the tread depth (which was good) but didn't think to look at the brand...doh!

You're right - it does make you wonder - their sales process did seem dodgy - i'd paid a £99 reservation fee before seeing the car (to remove it from Autotrader) which I was told was refundable, but when I got there they didn't think it was. I got them to commit to refunding it before we even began to try negotiating. They were reluctant to show me the service log before talking money too, which I always find suspicious, why hide that?

Edited April 6, 2013 by hixster

[Ian_C]

The £99 you've paid clearly hasn't removed it from being advertised as you can still link to it on the website!

As Twinspark mentions, a set of same-again 19s (Michelin, Dunlop, Conti, Pirelli usually) are pricey, this you wonder what other corners have been cut. Oil light on when it came in? Ahhhh doesn't matter, top it up with any random grade of oil lying around to turn the light off...... etc

The first brake fluid change isn't until three years now for some reason (and then every two years after that) so the service record should be one AVS stamp at 18-20k and no other visits to Audi since.

[hixster]

Hey Ian, yep that ad had gone (booked it Thursday) until this evening - I walked away from the deal, so they put it back on. Yep the tyre issue does allude to some seriously cheap corner cutting. Funnily enough, even though they wouldn't budge a penny I've just had a voicemail from the Sales Manager who wants me to call back. How much are a set of Michelin PS3 these days?

[Booster]

Any dealership that tells you that a deposit you have paid before seeing the car is not refundable is not worth dealing with. Not only is it sharp practice it is illegal under distance selling regulations.

[Busby]

Any dealership that tells you that a deposit you have paid before seeing the car is not refundable is not worth dealing with.

This

[Twinspark]

Just realised who 'CarShop' are - there's a branch in Cardiff.

I went there when I opted out of my company car scheme - looking for an S-Type / 300C / Saab 9-5 or 159.

They check your trade-in as you drive in - so they have a starting point for the monthly payment calculations.

When you walk in, they jump on you - I told them I was just browsing, but looking for a company car replacement and was 'allowed' into the showroom bit without a sales-bod escort.

However, I paused to look at a 5-series they had right at the front of the showroom and was pounced upon after less than a minute.

The cars aren't important to them - they're merely security for lending you money.