What Car? guide to car supermarkets - The Car Shop Megastore, Northampton

CHOICE
There were plenty of cars from mainstream makers, but because cars were sourced via Car Shop's business partners, there was a tendency towards business-type cars. That meant lots of diesels and not many small petrol engines, and some of the current models from Ford, Vauxhall and VW were missing on our visit. There were prestige cars, 4x4s and even the odd sports car on site.

PRICES
Specification sheets weren't on the cars, making it hard to work out what you were looking at. However, we reckon prices were just 1% under those in trade guides, although some cars looked very expensive.

DID IT HAVE THE CARS WE SAW ONLINE?
We struggled to find the cars seen on the website, but other comparable cars could be found.

HIDDEN CHARGES
The only extra you pay on top of the screen price is the road tax.

WHAT HAPPENS IF THINGS GO WRONG?
All cars get a 94-point check and three-month warranty as a minimum. You can also buy an extended warranty.

FINANCE
Our salesman told us that we could only speak to the business manager once we'd agreed a deal. We asked about the APR available and were told that the Car Shop's rate was 4%, although that was almost certainly a flat rate equal to just under 8% APR.

PART-EXCHANGE
We were offered a good price of £5500 without anybody looking at the car. It was hinted that the price might be higher if we promised to do a deal that day.

TEST DRIV
We got a test drive, but the eight minutes along a dual carriageway did little to sell the car to us.

CONDITION
Cars were clean and tidy, and the low-mileage Golf we tested was like new. However, some cars had scrapes and scuffed wheels.

CUSTOMER SERVICE
We were greeted by Yvonne soon after we arrived. She let us wander about for a while before asking if we had found something of interest.

We'd struggled with the site's layout and hadn't found what we were looking for. Yvonne found a VW Golf that looked good on paper and went off to find the car for a test drive. After a long wait she reappeared saying that the car wasn't in a fit state to be sold, but that she'd found a newer, more expensive model.

After the test drive, she clumsily tried to close the deal. We weren't impressed with Car Shop's attitude and the fact that we couldn't get a finance quote.

VERDICT
An average car supermarket with lots of space, but not much variety. Some of the prices were on the high side, too.

CAR SHOP MEGASTORE
Ravens Way, Northampton NN3 9UD
Web: www.carshop.co.uk
Phone: 0800 7818335