Is it me….
I have been considering buying a replacement car and like the majority these days I have been searching for my ideal car on the web.
Now I came across this site Carsite.co.uk which on the face of it sounds a good idea, no hassle or pressure selling, reserve your car for £75, fully refunded if not happy and all cars fully inspected by the RAC. Sounds good?
They say that the cars are direct from a leasing company and as they are cutting out the middle man, other Car dealers I presume, then they can save you money.
Well I searched on the site and found a car that met with my initial criteria, it looked good value and when at a glance I compared it to my local dealer, it was a couple of hundred pounds cheaper, so better in my pocket than theirs I thought.
I was discussing this with a friend who took a closer look. They pointed out to me that yes the car was inspected by the RAC and you got a full report on any wear and tear issues and minor damage to the car, but they did not actually make the car cosmetically correct, so in fact you would be buying a "new" car which looked a little tired possibly. Also, I had not looked at the mileage and this was 50,000 on a 3 year old car, 20,000 more than average and while fully maintained by the leasing company it had done that wear and tear on its components.
So, on reflection the car at Carsite was cheaper but it had higher mileage and minor scuffs and scrapes. The car is not fully service prior to deliver, unless it needs one.
I decided to go visit a dealer of the brand I was looking ot buy and they too had a car similar in mileage but this had been either well looked after or had some corrective paintwork done. It came with 12 months warranty and was fully service prior to delivery, but it was £200 more expensive or so I thought.
After being able to have a test drive in the car, see the file on the vehicle, previous owner service history etc, I tried my luck and said “if you can knock £200 off the price I will buy today” they agreed straight away! (Maybe I should of asked for £300!)
So, do you buy a car on-line with the odd scuff and scrape without being service and high mileage, or do you go to your local dealer and get what you deserve, a new shiny new car and a good deal?
Or is it just me?
February 5th, 2010 at 4:19 pm
Hi Rita
We read your blog entry and feel it’d only be fair to give our side of the argument – you do invite people to leave posts, in agreement or not. If you choose to delete our comment then of course that’s up to you but we wanted to have the opportunity to address some of the concerns you mentioned.
Our ethos as a company is to be as open and honest as possible and to help our customers to make an informed decision when purchasing a car. Unlike dealers, we do not purchase stock. We simply provide the details of vehicles available, with our fee being just £75 to enable the consumer to purchase the vehicle direct and keep the savings. Part of the Carsite service is to provide an independent RAC inspection report on all cars to give people the confidence that they know exactly what they are buying – this will highlight any areas where the car may be less than perfect. Drawing your attention to points like this on a car may seem like a strange way to market cars but we believe that is part of what makes Carsite different to the traditional used car dealer who you would probably expect to try and hide these details rather than point them out.
With regards to your comments on servicing, you are right in thinking that we do not carry out any services here – instead, Carsite provide a full history with each car along with an HPI report and an independent mechanical and bodywork inspection report including a test drive from the RAC. We do not ask you to simply take our word for it that the cars are as good as they appear – we provide an inspection report and video of the test drive from one of the biggest and most trusted names in motoring for your total peace of mind.
Should you decide that the car is not for you at any stage and for any reason then you can simply walk away without losing a penny – the handling fee will be refunded to you with no questions asked so it really is a no-lose proposition for car buyers.
It is a shame that we didn’t get a chance to prove to you the benefits of buying a car the Carsite way on this occasion however we would welcome the opportunity to do so in the future- please do give our handover centre a call on 01234 761144 if there is anything at all that we can help you with.
February 6th, 2010 at 10:50 pm
Ryan
You make a fair pitch at defending the position for Carsite, and for what it is worth I probably believe your fee is only £75. That does not automatically mean that the consumer is getting the benefit from this. In my example, I believe I got a better prepared car, with warranty for the same price as from your site. So on the assumption the dealer did not do this to make a loss in profit, I can only assume the the leasing company from which you source your stock must be taking the increased profits from your business.
As I say, it is up to the consumer to make their own mind up once they have all the facts.
Thanks for your reply.
July 24th, 2010 at 11:23 am
Rita,
Have you also got an RAC and HPI reports? Your car may not be what it seems.
Phusa