Buying a car from the large online type sellers

[CopperBolt]

Hi

I'm searching autotrader for t-rocs, ateca's, tiguans. Most of the results I see now seem to be either "carshop" "sascron", "cinch", "sparshatts" and so on. very few actual physical showrooms seen selling.

Ive also done a search on this sites car buying section and similar names are coming up.

Ive always avoided these car supermarket type outlets before. Should I be? Are any of them actually ok? Anything I should consider before thinking about following up with one of them on a car?

Thanks all

[EDIT wtf? seelers should be dealers obviously in the title!]

Edited by CopperBolt on Thursday 30th May 08:16

[Truckosaurus]

'Actually OK' is probably as good as it gets.

As you say, these dealer chains always seem to appear high up in the Autotrader results as they can get their nationwide stock listed under every local branch.

How easy it would be to get them to ship a car across the country for a speculative test drive with no pressure would be interesting to see.

The likes of Cinch are part of the BCA/WBAC/etc group, and Sparshatts are a big local group with several physical dealerships so not a fly-by-night organisation either.

[Ken_Code]

I think if you are buying a mainstream car that sold in large numbers then there’s no problem buying from them. They’ll get all manner of stuff at the end of a lease or sold to “We Buy Any Car.”

If you know the model you want then it’s fine.

[CopperBolt]

Ken_Code said:

I think if you are buying a mainstream car that sold in large numbers then there’s no problem buying from them. They’ll get all manner of stuff at the end of a lease or sold to “We Buy Any Car.”

If you know the model you want then it’s fine.

Cool. I just need to test drive a local t-roc/ateca before following up with a distant sascron/carshop I guess.

[twing]

Sascron are a physical place though, just up the road from me. I work with a few lads who moved from there because they're open for so many hours.

Edited by twing on Thursday 30th May 09:53

[Ken_Code]

CopperBolt said:

Cool. I just need to test drive a local t-roc/ateca before following up with a distant sascron/carshop I guess.

I bought a Seat from one a while back. Not having been to one before I was a bit surprised at the staff neither knowing or caring what the car was, and then again by the test drive being 100m (meters not miles…) inside the site, and then again by them demanding £99 from me in top of the advertised price, but if you know how it works it’s a good way to get what you want.

[Davie]

It's a bit "white goods" as far as a selling / buying process goes thus I'd be amazed if any of the sales knew or cared about every model they have or could sell... that's impossible, there's just too many options. Plus I suspect a majority of buyers don't really care beyond "How much a month" and is the colour / spec right? A test drive... it's a car, it'll start, stop, turn... for many, that's as far as it matters. Ditto those who do click & collect on a car they've only seen online... click, pay, collect, done. I couldn't, but many do. I suspect if you want the full one to one service with a salesperson who has encyclopedic knowledge of the car in question, with an extended test drive, warm cuddles etc... these aren't the places to get it. But they are cheaper.

[edc]

Carshop have various sites too and are associated with Sytner. Realistically these aren't dealer level or spec cars but that is why they are cheaper than main dealers.

[Ken_Code]

edc said:

Carshop have various sites too and are associated with Sytner. Realistically these aren't dealer level or spec cars but that is why they are cheaper than main dealers.

What are you thinking is wrong with them? This is like saying Heinz Beans from Tesco aren’t right.

[ALawson]

twing said:

Sascron are a physical place though, just up the road from me. I work with a few lads who moved from there because they're open for so many hours.

Edited by twing on Thursday 30th May 09:53

Their reviews on AT put them in the avoid category. Shame as some of the pictures of their stock look ok.

[edc]

Ken_Code said:

edc said:

Carshop have various sites too and are associated with Sytner. Realistically these aren't dealer level or spec cars but that is why they are cheaper than main dealers.

What are you thinking is wrong with them? This is like saying Heinz Beans from Tesco aren’t right.

I am not saying anything is wrong with them. I have bought a car from them. It's not perfect but I would have paid more to have the same level of car as from a main dealer.

[SteBrown91]

Ken_Code said:

What are you thinking is wrong with them? This is like saying Heinz Beans from Tesco aren’t right.

There will be nothing wrong with them but the supermarkets dont get the prime Manufacturer ex-Head Office low mileage cars via closed portals that main dealers do, and more likely to have been lower grade auction cars that have been tidied up.

Just have to go in with your eyes open.

[LightningBlue]

Ken_Code said:

What are you thinking is wrong with them? This is like saying Heinz Beans from Tesco aren’t right.

They’re quite likely to be missing services, have paint blemishes, maybe cigarette burns on the seats and that type of thing

[macron]

The only one worth considering is Cinch, as they do at least identify blemishes, and they tend to be on the conservative side.

Take car shop, I drove 2x Minis they had this week, one was quite old, looked great in the pics, nothing at all about damage. Hood wear, significant bolster wear, marks through the lacquer all down one side (like a literal dragged through a hedge). None of this is mentioned anywhere, none of it is in the glossy pics.

So if you pay them the £200 or whatever to bring a car to your closest branch, if you don't take it, tough. Thanks for your money.

Same with carbase, blah, blah

At least with Cinch that second hand cars are not perfect is very much ack'd, and you get pics, and can take that or leave it, and i there's anything worse/ not mentioned you can challenge it.