VAG Dealers, not interested in a sale?

[cav]

Right, just venting off a bit of steam. Now we all like a discount but I'd rather pay a little bit more (100's not 1000's) and buy from my local dealer. They all pretend they've never seen DTD or Carfile etc but it's clear they have

 

I've been looking for a new car for a while but there's so many good models to choose from it's been a hard decision, especially deciding what I want/need from a new car

 

Anyway, Friday I went to BMW to look at a M135i and ended up test driving the new M235i, went through some details then I mentioned discount........I was after a few options and £6k off to which he said let me get back to you tomorrow as I had another appointment to attend. Very good experience and the salesman new his cars/options/pricing and the drive was all about the car, no pressure to buy at all. 

 

Next was onto Seat, the new Leon Cupra. I told them my position and we went for the test drive and all the salesman talked about was how Seat was better than BMW, not just the cars but the service and dealers. My main concern was traction through the front wheels especially in the wet, his answer was that BMW being RWD is much more dangerous blah blah blah..... I was there to talk about the Cupra. He had no idea about the controls/sat nav, while I was driving he was pressing buttons on the steering wheel and flashing the headlights to show me how bright they were on the car in-front! Now for me the Cupra had to be a fair chunk less than the 1 series to even be considered, again I mentioned discount to which I got a straight No. I added leather and the winter pack and payment came to £62 more than the M135i! I was astounded. His reasoning was the Cupra has red brakes and the BMW doesn't 

 

That night I stewed over the BMW trying to justify it, not that it needs any justification and I've always had a soft spot for a Yeti, completely different cars to the previous 2 but I like to keep my options open. 

 

Yesterday I went to Skoda, walked in and had a good look around a Yeti L&K in the showroom, 10 mins I was there and I could see no less than 6 salesmen in the office, I had to walk in and ask if anyone could possibly sell me a car.

Long story short I ended up test driving a PFL 140 DSG, it was raining and there was a roundabout, it handles brilliantly for what it is, slow but a lot of fun, I was surprised. Got back and looked at spec, L&K with DSG was only showing as being available with the 140 engine but the salesman said there was a 170 version available too so looked at that. I showed him the deals from carfile, not interested. No discount on the Yeti, not a penny. I said I'll be buying a car today and if you can get near the online figure I'd buy the Yeti now, Nope, no discount, either pay full price or no car.  

 

Just as I left my phone went, sales guy from BMW, come down, got the figures you were looking for, got within £250 of the cheapest online price and I had a fantastic experience. I just hope it comes with indicators!

[mannyo]

VAG dont need to offer discounts, the cars are selling perfectly well without them. The long lead times and supply problems speak for themselves. The BMW on the other hand is obviously way overpriced to start with, hence massive discounts are possible, this leads you to a false impression of a good deal whereas in reality you have paid the same as everyone else.

 

Look around you on the road, how many 1 series do you see compared to Skoda/Seat and I bet you'll see loads more VAG cars.

[Ootohere]

Skoda salespeople that then get a job at a BMW, Mercedes or Audi dealership then become BMW, Mercedes or Audi salespeople.

 

How they look down their noses at Skoda salespeople & the cars can be funny.

Nice suits, nice Demonstrators they drive and tell you just how nice they are, as though they bought them.

One was once spouting to me about Skoda & the poor cars, poor service, poor sales and customer services.

 

I said yes i totally agree,

Then i told him i tried once to buy a Skoda but wanted to get a test drive first

and you were totally hopeless,

and your Sales manager was hopless and i would no more buy from you now and give you the commission

than when you were selling Skodas.

He had no knowledge before of the product and i doubt he knows anymore now.

 

george

[cav]

I'm not slating the cars themselves, it's the dealers. I love most VAG cars but the sales guy would rather loose a sale than offer anything, surely no one pays list price for a car?

 

The sales guy was an ex VW and Audi Salesman and we talked about a few cars including the Yeti and how much of a good car it was. He was also wearing an M-sport t shirt and trousers, no suit, not that it would matter to me. 

Edited 23 March, 2014 by cav

[seboni121]

I suspect that vag cars have less profit margins than BMW so theoretically the more expensive marques can offer money off deals ?

[vrskeith]

Try Adrian Winter at Barnstaple Skoda -Marshall webb.

 

He knows his stuff and always prepared to deal , in my experience.

 

Sorry if the location is a bit distant for you.

[cav]

Not sure on profit margins, I get access to the Ford privilege scheme through work, new Fiesta ST-1 can be had for £13,495 which is a terrific price. I work at Jaguar Landrover and was shocked when I found out the kind of profits the factory's are making

 

Keith, thanks for the heads up, this is my first brand new car and for me I'd like to get to know my local dealers, presuming they are willing to play ball

[vrskeith]

Three cars I have bought recently(5years), new or demo and travelled around 100 miles to do so. Got great deals on all.

 

Servicing set up at local dealer with no hassle.

 

Did a deal principally over the internet with a couple of calls, having test driven and tried local face to face negotiations.

[trundlenut]

Our local Skoda dealer also sells: Jaguar, land rover, ford, Nissan and Renault from several sites. So I don't think you can generalise about one manufacturer or another. The BMW dealership may have been down on sales for the month or whatever sales period they are in. The Skoda and Seat may have hit their targets.

The salesman who sold my dad his yeti had only just moved over from the Ford dealership in the same group.

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[Gizmo]

Find a decent dealer and you are laughing, I drove within 15 miles of at least 7 Škoda dealers yesterday to go and order a new L&K Yeti from a dealer who is 80 miles away from me.

 

Madness I hear you say... why? well pretty simple really the salesman returned my numerous emails very promptly (all within the same working day)  answering any questions I had, offered a decent discount (IMO) and more to the point when we got there there was no pressure, a really long test drive for both myself and SWMBO (it will be her car, that I drive occasionally) and when we returned from the test drive he never once asked me if I wanted to order one, I asked him “can we go and spec up an L&K now then?”... really nice experience, oh the dealer... Neil @ Allams (Epsom).

 

I had to chase 3 of my local dealers as they never returned my calls, one never came through with his 24hr test drive on a FL 170CR L&K (that he offered us) 

2 of the other dealers I would never give a penny no matter how cheap they were due to bad previous experiences with them (one was downright rude and let me stand at the desk for 10 minutes ignoring me whist on the phone, finished the call, shuffled paper for 30 second and then proceeded to MAKE another call!) After 10 mins I walked out of the showroom!

 

So the moral is buy the best CAR you are interested in and a price you think is fair.... then shop around for a decent dealer.

[loskie]

Alex Lawrie in Liverpool quoted me via an online broker(Carwow I think) and the price was the lowest of 5 quotes for a straight sale.

Often hard to compare pcp deals as there are so many variables

[Aspman]

I've have more respect and get less annoyed when they are straight and tell me, " sorry I'm not discounting because I can sell the car full price to someone else if not you".

 

I hate BS but I've no problem with the above.

 

When SWMBO bought her 1 series despite it probably being the cheapest car in the dealership they tried very hard to get the business and she genuinely got a good deal.

[999pooch]

VAG dont need to offer discounts

This maybe true, but they are out there & I think they are being artificially held high by some edict from above.

I recently enquired about a Golf R at the local VW showroom & was shown a number of deals, the best being -

£2650 deposit & 35 x £420, 10000 miles per year. This was full RRP but included maintenance, servicing & tyres.

I asked about a discount & the senior sales guy was brought out who said he didn't need to offer any discounts as they would sell all the Golf R's at full RRP, & if he did it would affect the second hand values.

I went away a liitle miffed as the original sales guy was very helpful, but his bosses attitude just killed the deal.

Anyhow after an hour searching, I have just ordered a new Golf R via a lease company -

£1539 deposit, 23 x £264 11,000 miles per year. Again, included maintenance, servicing & tyres & RFL

Thats over 38% less per month than the VW deal! (taking the whole cost over the terms) I did ask about a 2 year deal at the VW dealer but was told it was more expensive.

So someone is making a hell of a lot of money on these deals as they obviously CAN be discounted.

The irony is I am going to br contacted next week by a VW dealer to discuss options / delivery etc

[Laurie61]

I was in my local Skoda dealer last week, went across for a spare wheel to replace the std repair kit. Spotted the salesman who I had dealt with last year and went over to say Hi, reckoned he was run of his feet.   

[Rutty555]

This maybe true, but they are out there & I think they are being artificially held high by some edict from above.

I recently enquired about a Golf R at the local VW showroom & was shown a number of deals, the best being -

£2650 deposit & 35 x £420, 10000 miles per year. This was full RRP but included maintenance, servicing & tyres.

I asked about a discount & the senior sales guy was brought out who said he didn't need to offer any discounts as they would sell all the Golf R's at full RRP, & if he did it would affect the second hand values.

I went away a liitle miffed as the original sales guy was very helpful, but his bosses attitude just killed the deal.

Anyhow after an hour searching, I have just ordered a new Golf R via a lease company -

£1539 deposit, 23 x £264 11,000 miles per year. Again, included maintenance, servicing & tyres & RFL

Thats over 38% less per month than the VW deal! (taking the whole cost over the terms) I did ask about a 2 year deal at the VW dealer but was told it was more expensive.

So someone is making a hell of a lot of money on these deals as they obviously CAN be discounted.

The irony is I am going to br contacted next week by a VW dealer to discuss options / delivery etc

That's an awesome deal you got, I followed your post on this before. I have to get mine paid off first then I'm going to contact the same company.

DO NOT get me started on my local dealer! I actually travel extra 30 miles to deal with a decent Skoda dealer over here.

Can't understand the posts above having a go at original poster, I have 1st hand experience of complete ignorant lying fxxxx asXxxx monkeys in VAG garages. But I have to say there are some good ones about thank god.

[@Lee]

Genuine LOL at 'it's got red brakes, the Bimmer hasn't'!! What a twunt

[Dr Zoidberg]

I walked away from three dire skoda dealers before buying from the 4th.

One offered no discount and a part ex that was half what WBAC were quoting.

A second didn't even bother to take my name when I asked about a test drive - just said they didn't have a demo car and I should call back in a couple of weeks.

A third told me they couldn't give a part ex price on a Sunday and would phone me on Monday. That was in October and I'm still waiting.

[Mr Grump]

Yep its dealer dependant, not marque.

11% off my Octavia, was looking at around 8-9% off from a local Audi dealer who were helpful when build times on the vRS were pie in the sky, but they didn't find the right car at the right price before the Skoda dealer did.

Peanuts discount from the local Mazda dealer, and a local Vauxhall dealer were more interested in selling me the add on (re crap) products than giving me a price on a car.

I found it amusing when the Vauxhall dealer tested the handsfree a couple of weeks later while I was merrily driving along.. "any more thoughts ?" "yep, I am driving around in my new car now"

[TeflonTom]

Although it must be said, the BMW 1 series is a fantastic car, it knocks the socks off anything vw group have to offer in that price range.

[sparks03]

Although it must be said, the BMW 1 series is a fantastic car, it knocks the socks off anything vw group have to offer in that price range.

 

 

 And you can get a stacked out 125 for the same price as a Golf GTD. 

 

 At the OP, have you tried another SEAT dealer? Staff at dealerships and across marques really do differ, like Zoidberg said he got fourth time lucky. 

Edited 23 March, 2014 by sparks03

[Guest]

Did the same myself in Jan as posted before. VW had appalling and disinterested attitude. Bmw were out if this world. Full on 'premium ' treatment, given a loan car for a week before delivery, they sent a transporter up north to collect my car before it's due arrival, and they're sorting me out with free fitting on a grill next week after a pigeon flew Into me.

Love my 120d and love the brand / dealer experience so far.

Salesmen said they try to treat all customers the same no matter the spend or the age. His rationale was that a youngish 1 Series buyer will hopefully be buying another 5 or so cars from the dealer over the years so they want satisfaction and loyalty.

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[Gwilo]

I think some marques dealerships buy into the brand mythology a bit too much and it stymies the basics of good customer service and professionalism.....

Experienced this first hand when the old man wanted to replace his Corsa with something a bit more befitting a senior lawyer at a national company!

He was in love with an Alfa.  Always wanted one.  Loved the looks and in interior.  Salesman at the dealership was more than ahppy to take him on a test drive but point blank refused to talk numbers or even hand over a price list unless the old man agreed to buy and sign an order form...........unbelievable.

Drove less than half a mile down the road to the BMW dealer.  Keys handed over for an unaccompied test drive.  Waited on hand and foot with fresh coffee and biscuits and when the point of cost and payment came up in conversation, the dealer simply highlighted the list price, offered a generous discount, agreed to through in five years fully inclusive servicing and MOTs and the deal was done with both parties happy.  The dealership did try to back out of the free servicing after 3 years and all the staff had been changed, but when the original paperwork was produced by the old man, they said "our mistake, very sorry. here, have some BMW merchandise" and never mentioned it again.

I'm not a fan of a lot of BMW cars myself, but certainly has given the level of service I'd expect if I was paying £25K+ for a car.

[Huwcymru]

I've been into our local VW dealers at least three times and given up waiting for someone to let me see cars I have been genuinely interested in. My daughter just bought  a Golf from an independent dealer - probably the only way locally.

[sniperpenguin]

My experience of BMW couldnt have been any more opposite (Halliwell Jones, Llandudno).

 

When I was car hunting, I had several choices in mind

 

- Golf

- Leon

- Octavia (last minute)

- 1-Series / 3-Series

- A-Class / C-Class

 

BMW - Immediately they thought I was a tyre-kicker.... I went to school with the guy who runs the Used Car department there, so I contacted him and assured him I was genuine for a new car. Met the sales bod and gave him the details (New job, 15K / yr mileage / Aiming for 300 per month etc).

 

Took TWO visits to be shown car options, and three to be taken to an actual car outside. The first visit, he simply filled in the finance calculator from the BMW website, and showed me his screen.

 

Merc - Couldnt be more different Dealership didnt close till 7:30pm so was able to have a nice relaxed conversation. The guy knew his models (I was hung up about the A180 sharing an engine with Renault), and a test drive was offered as long as license was held etc. Follow up calls were prompt, but the numbers couldn't work for an A200.

 

VW - Nice blokes, but were playing the typical "Good cop, Bad cop" using the Sales Manager to authorise anything beyond a cup of tea There was a mix-up on my pre-arranged test drive of a 1.6SE but they had just taken one in part-ex, so offered me that if I didnt mind the cosmetic scratches (Mistakes happen, its how they are sorted that matters to me).

No deals were being offered because "They are selling so well that VW dont need to", although once the Leon was on the table, some basic discounting was applied.

 

SEAT - Small dealership on a larger multi-marque group. Also the first place I drove in my test-drive 1.6SE ;-) Must admit the dealer manager wasn't amazingly knowledgeable on the variants / packs, but she knew enough. Also, it was handy to getting haggling done in her office with no messing about.

 

I was actually finalising spec on a white Leon FR 184BHP (just alloys / packs to finish haggling) before I bought the Octy