Evans Halshaw

[MsJuniper]

We are going to view a used car tomorrow at EH, a 5 yr old Ford. I thought a chain would be more reliable but am getting a bit worried after googling.

If anyone has any advice particularly about:

Discount/haggling - we have decided to take a loan rather than finance as it is cheaper, but I realise car dealers are less keen on this as they get commission for selling finance too. Is it still worth trying to haggle, particularly if we are viewing a car they already know we are interested in?

Car data checks - it sounds from what I've read online that they might try to charge us a fee for this which is much more than if we did it ourselves through AA. Should we refuse?

Purchase fee - again they have mentioned a purchase fee of £100 - is it worth trying to haggle?

Any other thoughts or advice gratefully appreciated!

I had a great experience with Evans halshaw. They don't haggle though, the price you see is what you pay. Much better than other places where all the cars are over priced just so they can tell you that they can cut the price.
They have/had a price guarantee that you can't buy a similar car for less within a certain distance within two weeks of the sale.

That is really useful thank you. Were you charged for data checks or purchase fee?

I wouldnt touch EH a shitty bargepole.

If you are getting a loan anyway, surely it makes sense to buy something newer directfrom a franchised dealer than some crap outlet like EH.

No car from them is worth it. The country is full of viable car alternatives.

Your money at the end of the day.....be warned!

Evans HELLshaw you mean

I've used EH twice & found them good. No haggling. I did my own search on the car I planned to buy. Can't remember about £100 but it rings a bell so probably did pay it.

Just bought one from them. The price on car was price I paid. They will try to sell you gap insurance breakdown cover alloy, etc etc I just said no. They were efficient and very busy unlike some of the other places I went to.

@FancyThatFenceEdge I have never done this before - what do you mean by a franchised dealer? Or any of the other viable alternatives? Any advice or info welcome.

Tell them no no no , you don't want a service plan

I got a car from there last week. It was a good buy but when we asked about finance they just kept showing us the final cost and not the breakdowns.
Their finance deals were not good and in fact we just ended up paying cash. DH had to push to look at all the numbers/breakdowns to work it all out though.
They just kept asking 'how much can you afford a month'.
I suspect most garages are the same. I'd arrange my own finance separately.

Franchised dealer - ie Go to a proper Ford garage, not EH.

Seriously, do not buy from them - you'll regret it in the long run.

Many car forums are awash with horror stories of how shit their cars and service actually are - all while ripping off buyers.

Ok, thanks for the information. I guess I thought EH was a reasonable bet being so big.

I hate this whole process - buying a car seems designed to leave a bad taste in your mouth.

Apart from a dodgy rustbucket I got when I was 17, I've only bought one car which I bought new and ended up keeping until now. So I feel completely bamboozled trying to buy a half decent used one!