To really hate the process of buying a car?

[Whirliwig72]

Currently trailing through auto-trader but what I'd hoped would be a pleasurable experience is turning into a bit of a nightmare. Despite doing my research and being very set on price Im really hating ringing up dealers - so much so that my hands and voice shake during the call. Very prejudiced of me I know but I just get it into my head and think that they hear a fairly posh female voice and think I'm clueless and ripe for ripping off.

Last chap I phoned was downright rude and really unhelpful about the fact I'd have to bring my children with me to view otherwise could
not arrange a look till weekend. Also the registration of the car was not recognised by my valuation AP - does this mean it's a dodgy car? Arrggh hate hate hate this!

It is a right royal faff.

I feel your pain, I smoothing off going to look myself. I really do not like salesman patter and the seemingly obligatory smarminess that comes with the job.
I want to say " please dont try to flatter me, flirt with me, tell me what car you think I'd like, just tell me the facts and stop fluffing over important facts like age, cost and milage. You are wasting my time. Thank you"
But I don't. I sit and listen withthe minutes ticking by in my head.

Putting not smoothing!!

Anyone know a female owned dealership in south east London who wants £4k of business put their way? - I've dealt with enough Arthur Daley types today!!!

Whirliwig72
"Anyone know a female owned dealership in south east London who wants £4k of business put their way?"

You really think that they would treat you any better?

It is a pain in the rear, it really is. My OH and I are looking for a car at the moment. We're quite particular about what we want and the ideal car doesn't seem to exist!

OH has been doing all the dog work thankfully but I hate the dealerships. One we went to- the guy shook OH's hand but totally ignored me. Then when I mentioned that buckle crunch was an issue in the car we were looking at he looked at me as if I had three heads. Fine, he has never heard of buckle crunch (in fact, we have been to 8 dealerships, and none of them have heard of it) but when I explained it to him he behaved as I was the 'silly woman' and we almost had a row about it.

A few of the larger dealerships have been pushy which I hate. My favourite line is 'this car is going to go soon. It's priced to sell'. Er, so the rest of the cars are just sitting pretty on the forecourt then??

In the end, we have (fingers crossed) found our ideal car from a lovely guy who was recommended to us. He sells cars with low mileage so they are in pretty good condition. Not sure if he has any cars for £4k as we were looking at large family cars, and the cars he has are about 3-5 years old. He is in Upminster, Essex so if you want his details let me know.

could the car be an import? not sure if import plates show up on valuation aps?

I can solve your problem: buy my car!

Dress down if you are worried they will think you are better off than you are, and there is no need to accept rudeness.
Why do you think that you are getting anxious? If the worst comes to the worst then you could just tell them that you need to think about some aspect of it, and will call them back.

It could be that the car had a personalised number plate that the owner kept, and the replacement plate isn't showing on the database yet.

could be a military plate.

Have you considered looking at Car Giant? They don't negotiate over the price, although you do have to sit through them trying to sell you extra warranties afterwards but I found that "no thanks" was a perfectly good response.

I bought a VW Golf from them a few years ago. It was a fully loaded V5 which was a real bargain.

As of today I need a new car.

I hate making decisions. And now I am a lone parent so have to make the decision on my own.

I saw a lovely car today. About £2k overpriced, but could probably haggle over that.

But I don't know if its too big for me (citroen c4 grand scenic 7 seater). It's a BIG car...

I also don't know if I should spend so much or go for a smaller cheaper car.

And what's this about a valuation ap?...I need to know what I'm missing out on please.

I test-drove 2 cars today and it was a pleasure.

Can you say what vehicle/spec you're after and very roughly where you are?

What's the age/mileage on the grand scenic?

Hi Olympic - have narrowed car we are looking for down to either a VW estate (Passat or similar) or a BMW 3 series estate. We live in The borough of Greenwich.

The ap I mentioned is advertised on auto trader - for £1.50 you text CAPM followed by space then the car reg followed by space and then the mileage to 800 11 and you'll get a valuation back of approx car value.

I'm really not sure about the car that it didn't recognise though - its a beamer priced at £4k with a lovely low 21k mileage as its recently had a new engine put into it but I've got alarm bells ringing that it might be made up of stolen parts

Hi Truth - that's really kind but out of our price range I'm afraid - we really do only have a max of £4k for this car. Sounds lovely though! I was admiring some Audis I saw today, they are beautiful cars

Fucking hate the whole process so I did loads of research on Autotrader, went to two garages with a fairly limited view on what I wanted (Corsa or Peugeot 207), test drove one, bought it. Job done. DH was a bit miffed because he loves a good haggle and because my new car is sexier than his , but I just wanted to part-exchange the terrifyingly crappy old car for a newer, less lethal one.

I am midlands.

Twas a C4 Grand Picasso (not scenic - my mistake). 1.6HDi. 2 yrs old. 24Kish miles IIRC. Marked up at £12K. Think it was gorgeous colour and loverly inside.

I currently have a Xara Picasso so wouldn't want anything smaller but the new 5 seater MPVs seem so much bigger and then it makes the idea of a 7 seater sound attractive and then I feel I am getting carried away.

There is only me and 3 children so why on earth do I need 7 seats?

When I bought my current car I always wanted a Touran next...which is still my ideal - didn't realise they were 7 seats (the 7 seater used to be the Sharran).

Internet searching has revealed some Tourans at dealerships near me. Also 2-3yo around the £10K mark. They just don't seem to have the features of the Citroens, but then they are most likely more robust and reliable.

And the C4 was lush.

Haven't dared to test drive anything yet.

Budget - want a good deal and good value but willing to pay £10Kish less if I can get away with it (saw a nice 09 C Max for just £7500 which I was attracted to for the price buut it just didn't do it for me and the salesman was horrid about my car which might need a lot of work doing which I might not declare)

This is exactly my position Opener. Our old Golf has done us proud for 13+ years but she's now getting unreliable and I've spent too many frantic minutes sitting repeatedly turning key in ignition begging her to start

Poor you op. I did a speculative application thro an on line loan company, and a week later I have a new car, spent a day at a load of dealers and found a secondhand berlingo multiplex. Luckily, it was all painless. Looking round dealers with two bored kids, not so much.

Haunted, in terms of reliability the Touran would win it for me hands down, however, they do like to put the bells and whistle on Citreons. This is the same spec, I think, about a year's less mileage and £500 cheaper here

There are more on that site for less than 10k but are a bit older. They also have a range of Tourans.