2013 Octavia with 51k

[silver1011]

He can be as slippery as he wants, if the car isn't right I ain't buying it. In my experience it is best to get all of the stuff that you want putting right agreed prior to collecting the car and paying the balance.

 

They know that if it isn't done on the day you collect, and that you've already paid in full, then there is little chance of you not going home in the car.

 

I'd expect this from John Smith Motors down the high street, working out of a Portakabin with glittery ticker tape fluttering over the compound, but not an approved used car from a Skoda franchised main dealer.

 

You're at a critical point in the car buying process, now is the time to tell them you have concerns / aren't happy, and that if the car isn't right you want your money back.

 

This isn't a Skoda issue by the way, I've just bought an approved used Mercedes-Benz and the experience was particularly woeful.

 

Edited 25 June, 2019 by silver1011

[wyx087]

55 minutes ago, Nikonite said:

Mine has a great spec or would not have paid near 10k for a 2013 tbh.

It has Columbus, kessy, dual xenon, adaptive cruise,  lane assist, park assist, half leather, folding mirrors with puddle lights, auto lights / wipers, dual zone climate. Heated seats and 50k miles.

Great spec. That is properly fully loaded.

 

My car is missing Columbus (meh), kessy (I want) and lane assist (want) to be able be called fully loaded.

 

 

I hate slippery geezer salesman, it's the worst part of car purchasing experience. You need to do your best to counter all their slippery claims: don't sign anything until happy with the car, don't give indication of wanting to buy until happy with the car, don't give indication of happy with the car until price has been agreed. Finally, most importantly for finance, don't play by their silly number's game.

 

eg. "if you help me with slightly more deposit, I can help you by reducing your monthly payment to a more manageable number."

 

My experience is: the more established dealer (eg. main dealer) the more slippery the geezers.

[Nikonite]

3 hours ago, silver1011 said:

He can be as slippery as he wants, if the car isn't right I ain't buying it. In my experience it is best to get all of the stuff that you want putting right agreed prior to collecting the car and paying the balance.

 

They know that if it isn't done on the day you collect, and that you've already paid in full, then there is little chance of you not going home in the car.

 

I'd expect this from John Smith Motors down the high street, working out of a Portakabin with glittery ticker tape fluttering over the compound, but not an approved used car from a Skoda franchised main dealer.

 

You're at a critical point in the car buying process, now is the time to tell them you have concerns / aren't happy, and that if the car isn't right you want your money back.

 

This isn't a Skoda issue by the way, I've just bought an approved used Mercedes-Benz and the experience was particularly woeful.

 

I wish it had been that easy bud, I initially went to look at another car which was sold. The salesman tried to get me to buy others but in the end said if you want to look at cars within the group we can get them moved for you.  I found this car in Somerset and contacted them and was told they didn't move cars at all although wanted to talk about finance and me collecting from Somerset. When I said it was a cash sale and I wanted it moving to my local branch the salesman got shirty, I got angry and ended the call before I told him where to go.

Angry having spent a few weeks looking I went back to my local salesman and he agreed to get it moved if i paid a £250 none refundable deposit, not wanting to lose the car I agreed as I was sure I wanted in (within the skoda approved used  comfort blanket) Once it arrived I spotted the tyres and the salesman was pretty much saying they would sort this that and the other after I had paid which i did in the end.

They were not even willing to send it for an MOT until I had done so. It has to go in for some touch up on the loading lip section of bumper and I asked for the kerbed wheels to be done and a small ding in the rear door.

I get the feeling the salesmen were annoyed as I refused to finance even though they tried to convince me to with why don't you just get finance then pay it off etc.

I really have had enough of them and just want the car right, I don't expect perfect  but i don't expect to have to spend another £1000 if the cambelt and waterpump is overdue, it needs new tyres and a full alignment. I do get that 10k isnt a huge amount for a car but its a lot of money to us . I have always bought private in the past, this has been a bit of an eye opener to me, i frankly expected more from a Skoda dealer and obviously am paying a premium versus private. Unless things change I'm not sure what I am paying the premium for,

 

[silver1011]

In this particular case, the premium you've paid needs to be put to Skoda UK customer services. One of their franchised dealers isn't playing the game, and whilst Skoda UK tend to open themselves up to fair criticism too often, they have also been known to step-in and put things right.

 

Where are you in the process? What has the dealer agreed to do, and what are they saying they won't do?

 

- Paint correction on the rear bumper.

- Alloy wheel refurbishment.

- Fix a small ding in the rear door.

- Two new tyres

- Wheel alignment

- Replace cambelt and waterpump.

- Put the car through an MOT.

 

Have I missed anything?

 

The last four items should be covered under the approved used programme (be sure to ask for a list of the 100 checks, and the T&C's. You'll have seen from my chat with Skoda UK this morning that they say what is checked / covered is determined by each individual dealer, madness!). The first three items will be down to your negotiation as part of the car buying process.

 

Either way, for all items it is important that you get it put in writing what it is you expect them to do, and get them to respond / agree before you go and collect the car.

 

If they don't / won't, then this is when you need to contact Skoda UK.

 

Edited 25 June, 2019 by silver1011

[vRSWitter]

9 minutes ago, Nikonite said:

I wish it had been that easy bud, I initially went to look at another car which was sold. The salesman tried to get me to buy others but in the end said if you want to look at cars within the group we can get them moved for you.  I found this car in Somerset and contacted them and was told they didn't move cars at all although wanted to talk about finance and me collecting from Somerset. When I said it was a cash sale and I wanted it moving to my local branch the salesman got shirty, I got angry and ended the call before I told him where to go.

Angry having spent a few weeks looking I went back to my local salesman and he agreed to get it moved if i paid a £250 none refundable deposit, not wanting to lose the car I agreed as I was sure I wanted in (within the skoda approved used  comfort blanket) Once it arrived I spotted the tyres and the salesman was pretty much saying they would sort this that and the other after I had paid which i did in the end.

They were not even willing to send it for an MOT until I had done so. It has to go in for some touch up on the loading lip section of bumper and I asked for the kerbed wheels to be done and a small ding in the rear door.

I get the feeling the salesmen were annoyed as I refused to finance even though they tried to convince me to with why don't you just get finance then pay it off etc.

I really have had enough of them and just want the car right, I don't expect perfect  but i don't expect to have to spend another £1000 if the cambelt and waterpump is overdue, it needs new tyres and a full alignment. I do get that 10k isnt a huge amount for a car but its a lot of money to us . I have always bought private in the past, this has been a bit of an eye opener to me, i frankly expected more from a Skoda dealer and obviously am paying a premium versus private. Unless things change I'm not sure what I am paying the premium for,

 

 

Jeez, that sounds like a totally sh^tty experience. I wonder what Skoda UK would make of that. I find these big dealerships totally lacking in customer service these days, like you're an inconvenience. I've recently gone back to an old family-run "Skoda" garage that got kicked out of the main Skoda network for refusing to load up on bull**** a few years back. When I recently went there for a drop-link replacement they only charged me £60.00, gave me a courtesy car and a coffee, didn't even look at my licence. The main dealer wanted £175.00 investigation fee, even though I'd told them it was probably a drop-link.

[Nikonite]

I think yesterday morning I made it pretty clear what I wanted done. I will say I wont be accepting it unless it meets all the expectations of the approved used program. I think unfortunately I am a useless negotiator and I gave away too soon that I really wanted the car. I could point out I will be contacting Skoda UK should it not be in the condition I was promised.

[vRSWitter]

https://www.complaintsdepartment.co.uk/skoda-uk/

If things don't improve ...

You could always write a nice tweet for them as well, always seems to provoke a response when you tweet bad feedback on someone's social.

[Nikonite]

Quick update, still not got the car. It failed the MOT on a CV boot and two tyres advised as near legal limit. Paid for it Monday but have been told I won't get it until at least this Friday as it's getting some scratches on the rear bumper repaired. That will be 11 days since I paid in full (is this normal?) The wife had to phone today to find out what is happening as I was out and we had not heard from them since Monday. Had to check online to see if it had even had an MOT as  not informed.

Still no mention of the geometry being looked at even though the tyres were so bald. Looking at old MOTs I am a bit concerned as there seems to have been a lot of problems with tyres and suspension over the years. The whole experience so far had me worried I'm being too soft and should maybe cause some fuss. The salesman has a real knack of turning my concerns into me feeling like I'm over reacting.

 

Edited 29 June, 2019 by Nikonite

[vRSWitter]

Maybe time to name and shame them here. 

[SashaGrace]

IMO it comes down to how much you really want this exact car. From my understanding spec is a motivator and I wish you good luck in finding one with the same spec this car has as it has a higher spec than most L&K spec cars for sale and it is not a bad price considering the options list which is rarely ever taken into account when trading in. If you have specific criteria when buying a used car, it can get very frustrating as the good sales people should be able to spot a very interest party (if they are any good at their jobs) and they will know you want the car. Selling cars with lots of options can be nice as most buyers will be viewing because of those options. The purchase niggles will soon be forgotten in the longer term, the car itself will I’m sure be what you are after. I on the other hand at the worst person to encounter when selling your car and I often go to view cars for sale privately and bid £1 over the trade value (yes I really did that once and I came home with the car). My vRS was already the cheapest DSG vRS with full leather on the market at the time and had 70k miles on the clock. 20 months later with 111,000 I expect my £10,995 investment would return me about £6500 trade (because the trade doesn’t care about the factory options it has until they are reminding you the next buyer about how rare and desirable those options are) and about £7500 private had I left it standard. 

[Nikonite]

I should have taken you with me Sasha, I'm useless at haggling. I tend to do the British pay up and shut up thing.  I just want a safe car for my kids with no big bills in the first few months.

[benterrier]

I had an experience with a  slippery car salesman. Being talked to like I was an inconvenience when I tried to haggle the price over just legal tyres, marked paintwork and a few other things. The salesmen finally trying to humiliate me by saying " long gone are the days when you last bought a car Sir and obviously this car isn't in your price range "

This was my cue to stand up and  say thank you for the coffee I'll try somewhere else.

2 weeks later I ended up with a newer model, better condition, the color I preferred and just  a bit more money. 

There's always more fish in the sea. If you have doubts walk away. 

[Nikonite]

As Sasha says it's a comprehensive spec bought by someone who like me loves options I guess:

Columbus, kessy, park pilot, park assist, dual xenon's with led running lights, led rear lights, lane assist, adaptive cruise, folding mirrors with puddle lights, black front fogs, auto lights wipers, variable boot floor, privacy glass, heated half leather (cream) light assist, full beam assist and probably more I've forgotten.

I'm happy the car is worth the extra 2k over book price I just wish we felt like our custom was appreciated.

I think I showed my hand to early but as they were so reluctant to send to us in the first place I didn't have a lot of choice. I guess at least I have a year to find any problems (presuming the warranty is worth a damn)

I'm new to car dealers having always bought private so it's been a valuable lesson for me.

 

 

 

 

[Guest]

On 25/06/2019 at 13:49, Nikonite said:

Angry having spent a few weeks looking I went back to my local salesman and he agreed to get it moved if i paid a £250 none refundable deposit.

 

Once it arrived I spotted the tyres and the salesman was pretty much saying they would sort this that and the other after I had paid which i did in the end.

 

They were not even willing to send it for an MOT until I had done so. It has to go in for some touch up on the loading lip section of bumper and I asked for the kerbed wheels to be done and a small ding in the rear door.

 

I don't expect perfect  but i don't expect to have to spend another £1000 if the cambelt and waterpump is overdue, it needs new tyres and a full alignment. I do get that 10k isnt a huge amount for a car but its a lot of money to us . I have always bought private in the past, this has been a bit of an eye opener to me, i frankly expected more from a Skoda dealer and obviously am paying a premium versus private. Unless things change I'm not sure what I am paying the premium for,

 

 

I'll try and be honest with my thoughts.

 

There's defo a lesson to be learned here .  £10,000 is a huge amount of money and you are entitled to the goods you paid for to be in full working order. If you've paid top whack for the car then there is no reason why you shouldn't expect it to be perfect, I certainly would.  You say elsewhere you think you showed your hands too soon, that you were keen to buy the car?  I can tell you that from a negotiation point of view that's exactly what you should do - leave the sales team in no doubt that's the car you want. Where you seem to have fallen down is then let them dictate matters from then on.

 

If I'd spent that sort of money buying a car from a dealership and found it requires further expense, I'd be well cheesed off. When you say you looked at past MOT failures, that's exactly the sort of things you should do, as long as you do it before rather than after buying the car.

 

I fully understand the garage wanting a deposit before the car goes thru it's MOT, that's because the approved used scheme gives you at least 12mth MOT.  i.e. If they had put the car thru an MOT and then you said you didn't want it, it may have sat at the dealership for another few months before being sold - in otherwords they'd have to put it thru another MOT to meet with the approved scheme. But they have to put right any MOT failure. By law they have to sell you a car that is roadworthy and they must meet any cost of MOT failures.   But if the MOT advises the tyres be changed - that's an advisory, not a failure. The car is still perfectly legal to drive.  To be brutally honest, if you saw the tyre tread was very low but still bought the car then that's nobody's fault but your own.  I don't believe tracking is part of the MOT but if they advise this be checked then that's a little more serious because you can't reasonably expect to know that at the time you purchased the car. It means the car was sold with a fault and as such they should rectify it. Not sure what checks are involved in the approved used car scheme but I'd have thought that would have been one of them.

 

If the garage haven't honoured the contact  and sold you a car that's faulty or not fit for purpose, it's a completely different story - you have legal rights. If that's the case folk on here will give you advise on your options.

 

PS - I keep saying this but few understand - it's all well and good contacting Skoda UK, but don't expect any joy because it's nothing to do with them, the contract is between you and the supplying dealer.  Some may say it's of interest to Skoda if a dealership has provided bad service. True, but if that dealership has acted lawfully and has a good business history and especially create profits for Skoda, they're not going to intervene.  If you've bought a car that immediately requires work on a wear and tear item they may even offer the salesman an award.

 

I dislike salesfolk as much as anyone, would never trust anything that comes out their mouth, but they're only doing their job. Has there ever been an honest salesman? Well some will be more honest than others but you'll find it's ones who can twist the facts who're the most successful.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Nikonite]

I only wish now I'd posted for some advice on dealing with them before committing. I fioolishy presumed a main dealer was different to a small independent.

Hopefully it will all turn out ok in the end, it's a nice car and I suppose all used car purchases have their issues.

 

 

[Oldmansomerset]

Even though you have ordered and paid for the car, remember you can still reject if it has faults and remember to invoke the Sale of Goods Act.  If an item you bought, especially from a dealership, even though second hand, is not up to marketable specification e.g. has faults - especially MOT related, reject it, demand your money back and walk away.

[Gaz]

2 hours ago, Oldmansomerset said:

 remember to invoke the Sale of Goods Act.

 

SoGA is unlikely to be particularly relevant here, but the Consumer Rights Act of 2015 will be 👍

 

Hopefully won't come to it for Nikonite.

 

Gaz

[Nikonite]

Went to pick the car up today, the salesman was off as his wife just had a baby so had to get it from the Peugeot dealer next door. They changed the tyres but for Chinese runway, the wheels are still kerbed, still no spacesaver as advertised and I have no idea if they did the tracking as the pug salesman didn't know. I gave in and just took it, the stress has been annoying.  Not the best experience I've ever had but at least it's here. Now have to get rid of all the paint swirls in the bodywork and buy 4 tyres.

 

Edited 5 July, 2019 by Nikonite

[vRSWitter]

Shiny 😎

[Nikonite]

2 minutes ago, vRSWitter said:

Shiny 😎

Yeah it looks nice from a few foot away but close up lots of swirls. I have a machine polisher so will have at it when I get a cooler day.

Drives nice enough but has Chinese run flats (not two words that should ever be together imo) on the rear so a little noisy but hopefully decent tyres will quiet it down a bit. 

[Nikonite]

Also got to fit this, bought before I even had the car .

Hopefully will be straight forward.

[Nikonite]

Things have gone from bad to worse, I washed the car today with dishwashing liquid and warm water to strip old wax  and when t cutting a small Matt looking spot, red paint came off on the cloth.

Looking down the side after washing it and presumably washing the wax off on door is quite matt and has a ripple in it incidentally the folding mirror in that door doesn't work either.

I am so sick and tired of this whole thing now, I am furious.  Also posted today about an error related to a towbar. It has electrics hookup for a towbar inside the bumper just dangling down. No towbar and a huge hole in the rear diffuser. You have to get under the car to see it  I have already swapped insurance, sorned my old car etc. I don't know what to do now! 

 

Edited 6 July, 2019 by Nikonite

[Nikonite]

And if there was any doubt sun finally gone in, first time seeing it in the shade.

 

[shyVRS245]

7 minutes ago, Nikonite said:

And if there was any doubt sun finally gone in, first time seeing it in the shade.

 

That does look like 2 very different shades of red.

[SashaGrace]

It’s a long road going down the rejection route but it’s worth a go if you are ready to be persistent and not be too bothered if they refuse in the end. Skoda UK will be unlikely to help and the dealer will say that you did your inspections and it’s too late now but it might be worth a shot. Interesting that the mirror doesn’t fold in, wonder why that is if there are no faults in the door controller when scanned. What is the part number of the controller out of interest?