When shopping in Tesco, do you squeeze your plums ??

[SGHOM]

There is a load of cr&p being talked about on this forum regarding where, or where not you should buy your car from.

As my heading suggests, If you went into Fortnum & Masons, would you not check if the goods you wanted to buy were up to standard ?? same if you went into Netto !! you'd do the same, correct ??
but in Netto, It's probably a lot cheaper !!

Do you buy your Hotpoint 7126 from a major, out of town, reputable outlet, or from "Bert's discount store" for £100 less ?? It's the same machine !!

And............ when It comes to cars........... the same scenario exists ! It is up to the customer [ you & me ] to decide If the car we want to buy is the right car for us, & If we are satisfied with the condition, the mileage, the drivability etc.

Dont be fooled by the plush showrooms, the sharp suited "sales assistants" the free coffee !! load of bollox !! they have major overheads, & targets to achieve, & ALL these are passed on to the customer.

Once you drive that car away, they dont give a f*&k !! warranty or no warranty !! believe me, I used to be in the car game !! :lipsrseal :$

You need to satisfy yourself, that the car you are buying is the car for you, regardless of where it comes from. by all means, have it inspected, & If you feel the need for a full cover warranty, never get one from a dealer. they are not worth the paper they are written on.

At the end of the day, a car is a car. dont get sucked in to believing that because it came from a "reputable" dealer, It must be good.

[Kieran]

I agree.... I presume you are talking about Keighley Trade centre and the continual bashing it gets, yes?

To be honest, the place where both Hordak and my Mighty GLS came from looks like one of the dodgiest places ever! Not even a fourecourt! Just a industrial warehouse on an industrial estate!

But both cars are fine! Not without their issues, but they were all easily sorted, and one "reputable" dealer (not a 'bishi one) tried to offload a REAL nasty rover on me in the past!!


And.... When I was buying the GLS, I did look at one at Chris Variava's in Nottingham. Something just wasn't right with it, but couldn't put my finger on what. Absolute truth here - They've still got it. A 'Y' plate Burgundy GLS.... No one will buy it!!!

Makes you think!

[SGHOM]

I agree K !! I've been to KCTC, & from a prospective customers point of view, I dont think they would be impressed.

But, as I said on a previous thread, I'm not buying a dealer, I'm buying a car.
I sound like I'm promoting them !!! but I'm not, I'm just saying that potential car purchasers, should look at the car, not the prats selling them !! :lipsrseal :$ :$

[Big Ian]

"the luck of the draw"........"good can come from bad!"........

all i seam to hear lately are folk in my work saying
"you won't catch me buying second hand,i'm a new car man everytime"
well 6 out of 11 guy's in my work have all bought rover's :laugh: !!!in the last month...so far,lock's have broke,panel's out of line,swimming pool in the boot,faulty imob/alarm,1 guy never even noticed he had an odd alloy wheel??,2 day old MG-ZR had it's ECU burn out!....ther's more but we gave up listening to them...
does'nt matter how old the car is or from who you buy it or it's history..ther's one (or 2) bad one's and they can be on any forecourt...even brand new,


(the other 5 bought nissan or toyota,with no prob's...yet?)

[Brind]

Do I sqeeze my plums in Tescos? bit personal isn't it? :wow:

I agree to a degree.
You can buy a Friday built car anywhere, so yeah you could buy a car from a dodgy looking dealer and it will last forever.

But there is good in main dealers too, they give you a proper warranty, the history is usualy sound.

You could buy a car with good intentions from a dodgy dealer, think the car is sound, check everything you can think of, but once you've signed the bottom line and walk away you could be lumbered with no come back, the company could go bust or change names.

At least you have 'some' chance of getting a problem sorted by a main dealer.

[Kieran]

At least you have 'some' chance of getting a problem sorted by a main dealer.

Now, were we talking something more run of the mill, I would totally agree with you. When we're talking VR-4s however, I think the goalposts move a bit.

Say the automatic gearbox unit goes BOOM after a month. Even at a Mitsubishi dealer, I can foresee a long and protracted argument about whose fault it is and who will stump up the cash to fix it - because it's such a big job on these cars.

[venomboy]

This is a complicated area, a lot depends on context;
would you buy a rolex from the market?
Obviously it is likely to be from their little known Taiwanese factory, or maybe it is two Rolexes welded together, or a stolen rolex with the serial numbers ground off and new ones courtesy of honest Al's home stamping kit.

But would you buy from an independant jeweller not a Rolex main dealer?
Well that depends a lot on you; are you a competent watch spotter, or do you have a mate who works in the watch trade? Do you have stacks of "Time Monthly" and their handy "what to look for in a used Rolex " guide? Do you know a local jeweller you trust who can fix Rolexes.
If so you might want to risk buying for the saving it represents over a main dealer, knowing that should it go tits up you may have a long route to a satisfactory result.
If none of these apply or you don't want the hassle, you might want to simply stump up the extra cash knowing you can sling it back when excrement strikes fan, and yes I worked in the trade as well, (I was fired for being honest, well, that and racing a Saab Turbo and XJS off the fourcourt round the North Circular)and I know salesmen don't want to know you the second you walk out the door, but in main dealers they're bound by the company directors big ideas on service and repeat custom so reluctantly they'll take it back and sort it. I really must breathe between sentences. VB

[ritch_w]

good points all round from a variety of perspectives!! :-b

i guess it comes down to 3 things;

the individual
the car
and who you feel comfortable to buy the car from

i cant fault my mitsi dealer - i have bought cars off them for over 15years - all problems have been fixed without issue, sometimes bending the rules so that the warranty would cover it (when it really shouldnt have ;) )

i have had bad experiences from "small" traders - 70K volvo that was really 170K so it comes down to personal judgement as much as everything.

for a specialist car, i wouldnt hesitate to use someone like KTC - even if there service is pish - i would just be more carefull and shell out for an AA inspection..

anyway that my 2p worth!! :D

[Big Ian]

i think everyone know's off someone (or themselve) who have been "stung" in the car trade......it's all about personal judgement? and like ritch say's if your not sure off what your looking-out for,then pay a man who does.

the owner of the garage i bought my car from have been freind's of our family for year's i know Colin (owner and buyer) goes out off his way to get the best second hand car's he can..(a true salesman who would'nt sell his granny)
but folk who dont know him or have never used his garage,alway's seam to have useless gossip! ive heard folk say..."i would'nt buy from him...his garage is full of write off's"...and "He's only selling car's as a front so as to cover up his under world deal's?"
if i did'nt know him i may have thought this gossip was true!
in my view of"personal judgement",if the sale's man hound's me, wont answer me with a straight answer or tell's me that it's got a good stereo (turning it on/up as you start a test drive!) then i'll walk

it's nice that we can come on-line for advice,but at the end of the day..still go see the /a car and take the advice with you...as it could be wrong? and the car could be a good one.
(and full member's have the plesure of even more info in the member's section :D )

[Brind]

Now, were we talking something more run of the mill, I would totally agree with you. When we're talking VR-4s however, I think the goalposts move a bit.

Say the automatic gearbox unit goes BOOM after a month. Even at a Mitsubishi dealer, I can foresee a long and protracted argument about whose fault it is and who will stump up the cash to fix it - because it's such a big job on these cars.

Bought mine from a Mitsubishi main dealer with Red Zebra warranty as standard.
Sent the car back for an oil flush as it was ticking when we actually received it, no problem.
Had the car a month if that and the AYC pump failed, pump replaced by warranty within days of mentioning it.

Can't say better than that.

[Brind]

Having said the above, I'd like to say I have more respect for the warranty company than Mitsubishi themselves.
Mitsubishi have to be at a standard where a good warranty company will step in, if the little independant dodgy dealer had the same relationship with say, Red Zebra, I'd buy from the dodgy dealer irrispective of their table manners.

[chris g]

If you have been to KTC you can see the 'quality' of the cars and how they have been 'prepared' for sale

The people are not that friendly but as has been said you are buying a car not the people - you look at the cars and makes your choice but an independent inspection is really a must for that place

For myself, having visited a few times I can say that as far as the cars are concerned I would NOT buy a car from them!

[simpsonm]

A mate of mine who lives quite close says the place looks like a front for drug running.