Finding the motivation to get out and buy a car.

[andy118run]

Now, I like my cars and it's a lovely feeling travelling to pick up a new car, or driving away from the dealer in a lovely fresh car.

However, it's been months of looking now, I have a short list of 20 plus cars on Autotrader, cars I like disappear, I add new ones, and so it goes on.

Started off looking for a replacement car for the wife, then started thinking of upgrading my car. So looking for 2 cars really.

At one point I called a Ford dealer about a Focus ST I liked but it was being prepped that day, and then sold soon after,

But that's as close as I've got. I'm even open to buying online (never done that before) but am still dithering about cars I have on my list which really fit the bill.

I think stuff like this really puts me off the car buying process-


plus I have the money so I'm definitely not interested in finance.

Surely I just need to get on with things (and be assertive when Mr Salesman tries to get me to insure my alloys) but for some reason another day has passed where I really couldn't motivate myself to make that call.. Help!

[samoht]

If it's the dealer bullsh!t that's putting you off buying, and you're looking for a used car, you could buy privately?

Personally I much more enjoy talking about a car to a fellow enthusiast than a salesman :-)

[Wagonwheel555]

Yeah they are all at it these days.

If they can sell you a couple of things you don’t need for 3x the price you can get it elsewhere, it’s extra profit.

Tyre insurance makes me laugh. I’ve had maybe 2 punctures in 15 years of driving.

Gap insurance is the only one I would get for a brand new car but I wouldn’t pay the price dealers are charging

[nick1871]

Just been through this today, finalised a deal on a car and then come the add ons, just be polite but firm, they are probably being pushed to sell all these things as it’s more profit for the dealer and they’ll get a commission too. It’s part and parcel of the buying process now.

I do get what you mean though, I’ve come across various types of salespeople in the last few weeks, some very differing styles to say the least.

[custardtart86]

You are overthinking things, it's a non issue.

I recently bought a car from Sytner and paid in cash. I just said no to the extras and it wasn't a problem.

I negotiated £500 off the car (£20k car) and an additional years warranty, it took 2 weeks to negotiate. I enjoy negotiating though.

[ChrisH72]

We bought my wife’s car as an ex demo from Bristol Street Motors a few years ago. They were very aggressive with all the extras and began by including them on the invoice without even discussing it. When I questioned it they said that surely you want to protect your investment with paint protection and the like. They claimed their GAP insurance couldn’t be beat which was rubbish. It wasn’t a nice experience.

My car came from a local Ford dealership. I paid cash with no part ex and although they did offer the extras I just politely declined and it was fine.

I guess all dealers are different. But I wouldn’t let it put you off, just decide in advance which of those things interest you and turn down anything you don’t want. If you really hate confrontation just tell them you’ll think about it and would like a price based on just the car alone. Or buy from a small independent dealer or even private sale as said.