Test drive your dealer - Introduction

06 April 2010

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Walk into any showroom with thousands of pounds to spend on a new car and you’d expect salesmen to be falling over themselves to help you.

That’s not the case, according to a recent whatcar.com poll. Almost half of the respondents weren’t satisfied with the service they received last time they bought a new car, while 17% rated the experience as ‘poor’.

However, if you do a little research you can get the best from even the most difficult dealer and drive away confident that you’ve got the best deal and the right car for you.

It takes a bit of work, but it’s worth it if you save a heap of money and get the car you’ve got your heart set on.

Confessions of a former salesman

‘When a customer wasn’t completely sure what he or she wanted to buy, I used to try to push them into a car we had in stock — or even one of our ex-demos — rather than a factory order. I’d offer a small discount, so the customer thought they were getting a great deal, when in fact I should have cut the price by a lot more and I would still have made a decent profit.
‘I also used to exploit people’s complete lack of understanding of PCP finance agreements. Lots of folk worry only about monthly repayments when buying on finance, and the great thing about PCPs from a salesman’s perspective is that they offer low monthly repayments — even though the customer usually ends up spending a lot more in the long run.’