New Car Discount & UK Car Discount

[maffyou]

This is probably the reason. It certainly was back when I was in car sales back in the 90's...

And the fleet companies buy a lot of cars, so they get a big discount.

I understand the high volume of sales, as I mentioned it in my post earlier, but they clearly make money on them right? They presumably don't sell fleet sales at a loss? Which essentially means that private customers are penalised for being just that: we're going to charge you more because we can get away with it. Imagine if that happened at the supermarket, some people just get charged more for the same shopping because they don't work for a company...

If dealers stopped wasting time with this haggling nonsense they wouldn't have to spend so much time on sales and so could make a sale much more quickly. I hate the whole process, it's needlessly time consuming and frustrating. Tell me how much something actually costs and I'll buy it if I want it and think the price is fair for what I'm buying. When I ordered through carwow a dealer further afield was offering a grand cheaper than my local dealer, who was offering £1600 cheaper than another localish dealer. This is just bonkers to me. After repeatedly telling me they couldn't possibly go any cheaper - after all they were already giving me a big discount - I eventually said "thanks but no thanks" to my local dealer. Miraculously, all of a sudden they were then able to match the better offer (to keep it local, like they're doing me some big favour). I get this is how they work and have done for years, but I immensely dislike the process. I'd much rather just see a price and say "yeah ok", as I do with everything else I ever buy (except houses but they're stupid too).

[Prykey]

I hate it when the salesman says I have to ask my manager, my response is well get him out here and I'll cut the deal with him if you can't do the deal! 

[Nick_H]

Been away and just come home to this..... Very bad news guys I'm so sorry for you ! Jesus after waiting so long you must all be gutted.... Fingers crossed something can me done ..... :-(

[JohnMcL7]

I understand the high volume of sales, as I mentioned it in my post earlier, but they clearly make money on them right? They presumably don't sell fleet sales at a loss? Which essentially means that private customers are penalised for being just that: we're going to charge you more because we can get away with it. Imagine if that happened at the supermarket, some people just get charged more for the same shopping because they don't work for a company...

 

It works the same way at supermarkets as well though, if you want to buy products in bulk you will pay less than consumers and I can't think of any industry where buyers don't get lower prices for bulk purchases.

 

John

[nthurrzzz]

I appreciate the NCD route has delivered bigger discounts until the recent halt, but have to say Carwow did a great job of dealing with the haggle 'virtually' and just cut to the chase. After spec in a SE L Exec, carwow went off and did its market placement thing and came back with a wide range of offers ranging from pretty good to very good. I showed the best offer to my local dealer (who wasn't on Carwow) , they chipped a little bit off and I completed the order with them.

All via email.

No messing. No haggling. No intakes of breath. No 'I'll get the ask the manager' while simply standing behind a plant for 5 mins pretending to be negotiation on your behalf.

I wouldn't have been able to do that in person. I don't have the knowledge or skill to outmanoeuvre a crack team of ninja salespeople.

Very happy with the price I paid. Dealer happy to have a no nonsense, low hassle sale to push through his books. Happy customer.

[Oldgits]

The expected email has just landed and my order too has been cancelled. The email is worded differently to those previous.........

Good Afternoon

Unfortunatley we ve had some very bad news about our Skoda Superb car supply , with immediate effect any vehicles due for delivery or pipeline orders have been cancelled .

As a priority we have this morning sent you a £500 refund back which was your initial card deposit , this will appear back on the same debit or credit card we took it from originally .

We believe the issue to of caused by several reasons but over discounting a prime product and our Skoda dealer selling to various brokers to dramatically undercut other Skoda dealer prices are key factors .

We have asked if we can pay a higher price for the vehicles incase that was a possibility but in short Skoda want none of the Superbs ordered through this route to now gain a vehicle .

In their opinion anyone not buying direct from a Skoda dealer and paying the showroom price isn’t a customer .

The vehicles will now used as demo cars and then eventually be sold off at a later date , this keeps Skoda in control of each cars destiny rather than giving it the dealer to resell

We just wish we could change the situation but as you’ve gathered we have no control . We are very sorry for any inconvenience this may have caused

There isn’t a good way of delivering irreversible bad news

Regards

Nick Ainley

www.new-car-discount.com

[UncleWang]

The expected email has just landed and my order too has been cancelled. The email is worded differently to those previous.........

Good Afternoon

Unfortunatley we ve had some very bad news about our Skoda Superb car supply , with immediate effect any vehicles due for delivery or pipeline orders have been cancelled .

As a priority we have this morning sent you a £500 refund back which was your initial card deposit , this will appear back on the same debit or credit card we took it from originally .

We believe the issue to of caused by several reasons but over discounting a prime product and our Skoda dealer selling to various brokers to dramatically undercut other Skoda dealer prices are key factors .

We have asked if we can pay a higher price for the vehicles incase that was a possibility but in short Skoda want none of the Superbs ordered through this route to now gain a vehicle .

In their opinion anyone not buying direct from a Skoda dealer and paying the showroom price isn’t a customer .

The vehicles will now used as demo cars and then eventually be sold off at a later date , this keeps Skoda in control of each cars destiny rather than giving it the dealer to resell

We just wish we could change the situation but as you’ve gathered we have no control . We are very sorry for any inconvenience this may have caused

There isn’t a good way of delivering irreversible bad news

Regards

Nick Ainley

www.new-car-discount.com

So sorry to here that....totally rubbish timing, for my part, I will never ever buy a Skoda.....what do you intend doing? trying again elsewhere as you only just placed your order?

[old newbie2]

Of course we have, Skoda UK and/or Skoda Dealers would be stupid not to take advantage of the wealth of information contained in user forums, wouldn't you tap into it if it was your business?!

The guy who sold me my Superb was both a Briskoda sponsor & a contributor to the forums!

 

DC

[glosrich]

It works the same way at supermarkets as well though, if you want to buy products in bulk you will pay less than consumers and I can't think of any industry where buyers don't get lower prices for bulk purchases.

 

John

 

Exactly John, simple economics, cost price, trade price, retail price.

 

I dont know what industry maffyou works in, but I expect they do they same also.

[philpix]

Well back from holiday to the No Car Delivery email.

Gutted to say the least.

My old Superb which I sold has had to be cancelled.

Winter alloys and all the bits and pieces from bulbs to mats and the rest waiting for a car I don't have.

To all the gloating members who bought full price I'm disgusted with the lot of you. You are either dealers or dealers' moles.

I hope you can sleep easy at night.

[Oldgits]

So sorry to here that....totally rubbish timing, for my part, I will never ever buy a Skoda.....what do you intend doing? trying again elsewhere as you only just placed your order?

One thing hasn't changed......the car, which for me ticks every box and is without rivals amd let's face it, even at full rrp still represents good value imo. All my working career has been associated with the motor industry one way or another and the last five years working directly within a large dealership group, if you took every negative to heart from every manufacturer you'd tear up your licence and get the bus and never buy a car again.

Skoda are no better or worse than other marques and its their perogative to attempt to outlaw big discounts if they so wish., haven't got a problem with that, it's just very unfortunate a few of us got shafted during a purchase that should have been put right and honoured but in this day and age where the P&L is the only thing that matters it just ain't going to happen.

So, yes I will still buy a Superb, the question is where?

[UncleWang]

Well back from holiday to the No Car Delivery email.

Gutted to say the least.

My old Superb which I sold has had to be cancelled.

Winter alloys and all the bits and pieces from bulbs to mats and the rest waiting for a car I don't have.

To all the gloating members who bought full price I'm disgusted with the lot of you. You are either dealers or dealers' moles.

I hope you can sleep easy at night.

Dreadful isn't it? Had my email on Friday....childish or what!....will never buy another Skoda personally. Not a nice thing for you to come back to, you were supposed to be getting yours in around 2 weeks and me mine maybe by the end of this week.....leaves a bad taste!

[NotHappy]

Exactly John, simple economics, cost price, trade price, retail price.

 

I dont know what industry maffyou works in, but I expect they do they same also.

 

I understand what you are saying but why is a company buying cars on behalf of their employees so different to a broker collectively buying cars on behalf of a number of private buyers.

 

I could understand if I'd taken up a salesman's time, had a test drive, etcetera, that time should be paid for somehow but in my case I placed an order with NCD and that was it.

 

It makes little sense to me, why doesn't Skoda want my money? Why can't I have my car I wanted at the agreed price?

[philpix]

The S3 I ordered now goes into Skoda UK demo fleet. I hope someone enjoys it.

[UncleWang]

The S3 I ordered now goes into Skoda UK demo fleet. I hope someone enjoys it.

Likewise mine, very mature of them!

[Kiwidp]

Frustrated and annoyed but given the size of the discount on offer well worth the shot. Sorry for all the others in the same boat.

[old newbie2]

One thing hasn't changed......the car, which for me ticks every box and is without rivals amd let's face it, even at full rrp still represents good value imo. All my working career has been associated with the motor industry one way or another and the last five years working directly within a large dealership group, if you took every negative to heart from every manufacturer you'd tear up your licence and get the bus and never buy a car again.

Skoda are no better or worse than other marques and its their perogative to attempt to outlaw big discounts if they so wish., haven't got a problem with that, it's just very unfortunate a few of us got shafted during a purchase that should have been put right and honoured but in this day and age where the P&L is the only thing that matters it just ain't going to happen.

So, yes I will still buy a Superb, the question is where?

Carwow is probably a good 1st step, you'll find prices will vary but if you buy, you will be dealing with a specific person within a Skoda dealer.

 

DC

[kmc]

I got some quotes via Carwow. All had zero discount for the Superb I wanted. I couldn't believe it. Must be the area I'm in.

[Oldgits]

NCD have adjusted their website yet again today. There are now just two Skoda models in the drop down menu, the Fabia and Octovia.

[sam555]

So sorry to hear this news for those of you who have ordered this way. I do feel that Skoda should honour these sales and sanction the franchise dealer that allowed fleet sale cars to be sold on the general market, it wasn't as if it was a big secret they were doing this. +1 for Car Wow who are very good though you won't get discounts like NCD, they have a number of Skoda main dealers registered with them and just pass your build spec on. Main dealers reply direct and you buy from them as if walking into the showroom, all open and above board. Only other broker recommended by the press is Drive the Deal but again you won't get fleet discounts.

 

I did consider the Superb and it really is a nice car but as so new to the market discounts from main dealers are not that great yet. On the other hand Audi have about 20% discount on the A6 Avant at the moment putting it only a few thousand above similar spec Superb and a class above in finish, quality so that's what I am buying now. 

[UncleWang]

NCD have adjusted their website yet again today. There are now just two Skoda models in the drop down menu, the Fabia and Octovia.

Just looked and Skoda have totally disappeared from NCD's site now!.....good riddance.

[expostmanpat]

All this blame on SKODA, It as always been obvious that a dealer or dealers have been fiddling their fleet orders to pass on cars cheap and make on back end bonuses http://www.briskoda.net/forums/topic/389235-new-car-discount-uk-car-discount/?p=4563090  post 17

 

It was always going to be a hole that skoda plugged eventually and it would be interesting to see if the dealer as the franchise pulled. From time to time DtD also lose Skoda from their list no doubt for that very reason.  

Edited 31 May, 2016 by expostmanpat

[maffyou]

It works the same way at supermarkets as well though, if you want to buy products in bulk you will pay less than consumers and I can't think of any industry where buyers don't get lower prices for bulk purchases.

 

John

Not at all the same as a supermarket - there's no group of people who can walk into a Tesco/Sainsburys/Morissons/wherever and buy the same as you but pay less.

  

Exactly John, simple economics, cost price, trade price, retail price.

 

I dont know what industry maffyou works in, but I expect they do they same also.

Well I don't work within any industry actually. And if we want to draw comparisons, I'd say buying from a broker is the equivalent to buying from e.g. Amazon, rather than a 'high street' store (the dealer, in this analogy). Amazon can sell things cheaply for (mainly) a couple of reasons: they don't need a large, fancy shop which is expensive to rent and maintain; they don't have to waste time with trying to sell stuff in the same way an actual shop does; they have strong buying power because they can buy large quantities as they can just be stored in a warehouse and don't have to be transported to outlets everywhere.

This is basically the same as the broker: a little, cheap office somewhere will do as no one's going to see it, whereas the dealer has to show off how fancy they are and rent a large, hence expensive, space; they don't need salesmen who spend hours showing off a car and going through pointless haggling, people just say "this one please" and it takes minutes to do; buying power has already been discussed.

So if it's OK for Joe Public to buy from Amazon, I can't see any reason why they shouldn't be able to buy through the brokers. Everyone still makes their cut, which may not be as much, but if they can afford to sell to fleets at that price, they can afford for private customers too.

[JohnMcL7]

Not at all the same as a supermarket - there's no group of people who can walk into a Tesco/Sainsburys/Morissons/wherever and buy the same as you but pay less.

 

It is the same - you can bulk buy items through the supermarkets if you wanted for a lower price (some restaurants used to do it through Safeways here when they were stuck) or in reality, get a better deal through their suppliers.  They're not buying the same,  it's a bulk order and the margin is reduced due to the quantity.  Furthermore, a consumer sale is not the same as a fleet sale in that there's likely to be more garage involvement in the supply and long term support of a consumer purchase vs a fleet purchase which over a large amount of cars will be noticeable savings.  Also business users have far less legal rights than a consumer which has to factor into the consumer prices particularly now that consumer rights have been strengthened.

 

Amazon is absolutely not the equivalent of a broker - once you buy an item from Amazon, Amazon are the ones that are legally responsible for it in case of faults or similar but when you buy from a broker, you have no further involvement with them.  Instead it's your local Skoda garage that does and you'll need to use that nice showroom and shiny service department you're claiming aren't used in a broker purchase,

[JohnMcL7]

 

I understand what you are saying but why is a company buying cars on behalf of their employees so different to a broker collectively buying cars on behalf of a number of private buyers.

 

 

I could understand if I'd taken up a salesman's time, had a test drive, etcetera, that time should be paid for somehow but in my case I placed an order with NCD and that was it.

 

 

It makes little sense to me, why doesn't Skoda want my money? Why can't I have my car I wanted at the agreed price?

 

 

But that wasn't just it, if your car developed a fault would you take it back to the broker or a local Skoda garage?  It's the latter of course so Skoda will have to pay to support that car for three years and if it's a very tight margin they clearly feel it isn't worth their while particularly if they can shift the car elsewhere.

 

Just so I don't appear completely callous, I'd be absolutely furious if this had happened to me although my blame would be at the broker than Skoda since so far, no-one has posted about Skoda cancelling any other broker deals.

 

John

Edited 31 May, 2016 by JohnMcL7