8 September 2010

Purchasing a new car - best not in Canberra?

| Eyl
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Hello fellow Rioters,

I thought I could share a little experience with you guys after reading a post about people having trouble buying a new vehicle (posted like 3 months ago). Basically the issue was that dealers in Canberra would not lower/haggle the advertised price like they used too.

Anyhow the short story goes, it came to my turn to buy my first new vehicle. I had done all the research in brands/models and prices via Internet etc. The car I was looking at had a RRP of $25,000 drive away. Well long story short I too found myself having much trouble getting the related dealers (only 2 in Canberra) to lower their price, the best offer I got was $25,000 +$750 ($25,750) because the ones on the ship and in stock already had alloy wheels on it (I could go without), and that they would throw in some key rings -_-.

Well I had gone home to think about it and then a thought had occurred to me…. so I checked it out there is only 2 dealers of this type in Canberra and nearly 20 of them in Sydney (more competition). So I called 1 (only 1) dealer in Sydney and told him my story. I just said “look, can you make me a deal good enough to convince me to come Sydney to at least have a look?”

In the end the deal I got was (Exact same car MY10 2010 , 5km on the clock) $23,450 but I had to pay my own stamp duty and rego ( different state) which came to roughly $24,600 after wards, BUT they included at no cost a package they offered here in Canberra valued at $1500, also included 17″ Alloy wheels. I didn’t even mention it and they gave me key rings ^_^. I didn’t even bother haggling the Sydney dealer.

So to conclude it all I got a car that Canberra dealers would have charged me $27,250 but paid total from Sydney (after bus fare $30 (partner came) nights accommodation $110 and food $60 + car total was roughly $24,800. still less than Canberra and had a weekend get away ><.

So my point is people, for new cars have a look into dealers in Sydney as well, it doesn’t hurt to ask questions, otherwise you might be getting taken for a ride haha. As for used I’m under the impression Canberra is better for less rust, I’d never bother buying used off dealers anyhow, private only.

For those of you that are going down that path I hope this helps.

-Eyl

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creative_canberran1:52 am 22 Jul 11

If you couldn’t get a good deal in Canberra, it’s you’re own fault. I for one have found it very easy to knock them down on price.

You do need to understand some things going in.

For example, know what companies own what dealers in the street and in Canberra. Janrule for example own Canberra Toyota, Lexus and Honda along with a couple of others. Rolfe Motor Group is another one. So if you want to play them off, important to know this. If you try and play two brand dealers in the same company against one another, more than likely they have quiet arrangements not to go discount more than a certain percentage. Even if you’re bluffing, choose a competing vehicle from a true competitor.

Go in knowing the features, the car and at least a couple of reviews that say bad points of the vehicle. If they can’t wow you with features and can’t escape the negative points you already know, all they have to work with is price. Never seem wowed by the vehicle, always seem pessimistic, but at the same time, wave the dough around. You don’t want to seem uncommitted to buying (which turns off salespeople). You want to seem committed to buying but uncommitted to a model or brand.

bobzed57 said :

That’s why I’m off to Sydney in a couple of weeks to get new tyres for my Land Rover. $422 ea in Canberra, $350 in Sydney. Double the trip up with a visit to the outlaws and all good.

This is again an example of try harder, unless their some really special kind of tyre that isn’t standard stock in a smaller market like Canberra.

I’ve shopped around tyre places and just for fun have rung the same one multiple times on occasion using different voices and approaches to see the range they have to work with on tyres. You can always get better deals.

Bridgestone for example knocked down the price on some RE001s in 2009 from RRP$250 at the time to $180ea. They did so when I put on a rough voice and spoke in short, sharp sentences saying “I want RE001s all round, no nonsense, how much fitted and aligned?”

I had earlier rung though that same place and a few others with a more softwer approach saying “i’d like to get some tyres fitter, how much would 4x RE001s be?” The best price was $215 from one store and $225 from the others.

So people, it’s up to you to get the deal.

Speaking of cars, also do not get your car serviced in Canberra. What a rip off for a basic service. I go to my car brand’s dealerships in Sydney and it’s at least $100-250 off for MORE service.

Sorry but why should salespeople do you any favours when you’re buying such crap; Holden Cruze, Hyundai Santa Fe, Audi (VW in a party dress) and Hyundai Tucson. Some of you really have no self respect.

rogueideas said :

Car salesman in Canberra are used to dealing with cashed-up public servants (no offence if you are one) that tend to buy the first thing they see. When I arrived here 15 years ago most dealers fell over when I tried to haggle and do ‘a deal’. The price on the windscreen REALLY is the price of the car in Canberra! If you’re half knowledgeable and try to talk ‘price’ or do a trade they don’t want to know you. I bought a used XR6 from the Subaru dealership in Fyshwick years ago. It sat in the yard for 6 months. I faxed them every day with a offered price. Eventually to get rid of me an car they did a deal. Same thing recently with Commonwealth Motors in Tuggeranong. Tried to talk a deal on a Mitsubishi Challenger – got treated with distain but once I complained to the boss in Phillip (after a month of trying to talk to them) we did a deal. It’s too easy now with ebay and car sales web sites to shop at home and inspect at your convenience – or go to the auctions. Give the wankers a miss and let them be another business model that goes belly up because they don’t know how to evolve in the internet world.

Agree, I wanted to buy local but the arrogance & stupidity at each end of the scale is amazing. Some places make you sit through the crap of their finance spiel before they let you go for a drive (mind you they find an ex super model to give the spiel which almost makes it worthwhile) while some just say here is the keys, off you go. One bloke tried to tell us that a Nissan Dualis was the same size as a Nissan Patrol……….

On the whole though I would say there are only two blokes I would buy a car off in this town & that is Daryl (I think that was his name) from Nat Caps in Tuggers & Gerry at Lennocks (I am only recommending him now because he handled the delivery of our new car). I have to say though I was less than impressed with all the car yards in Canberra.

The car we wanted was only availiable in 5 seat but we wanted a 7 seater, the dealer said “dont worry, you will be fine, its the same……” so essentially I had to buy a car I had not seen. We ended up driving to Goulburn to look at a 7 seater, the salesman up there was a gem. He had actually sold the car but had permission for us to look at it (pre arranged) & then when all three child seats would not fit across the back he said “this is not the car for you”. No trying to bullshit us into a deal, just straight up & honest.

I was so annoyed with the local dealers that Lennocks were lucky that we actually very lucky that they did the best deal so the lease company went for them. It was then that we met Gerry & the was excellent to deal with.

There also another way to get the best deal. Try Mr Negotiator – he’ll do all the ringing around to find the best price and there’s no fee.

http://www.mrnegotiator.com.au/

Car salesman in Canberra are used to dealing with cashed-up public servants (no offence if you are one) that tend to buy the first thing they see. When I arrived here 15 years ago most dealers fell over when I tried to haggle and do ‘a deal’. The price on the windscreen REALLY is the price of the car in Canberra! If you’re half knowledgeable and try to talk ‘price’ or do a trade they don’t want to know you. I bought a used XR6 from the Subaru dealership in Fyshwick years ago. It sat in the yard for 6 months. I faxed them every day with a offered price. Eventually to get rid of me an car they did a deal. Same thing recently with Commonwealth Motors in Tuggeranong. Tried to talk a deal on a Mitsubishi Challenger – got treated with distain but once I complained to the boss in Phillip (after a month of trying to talk to them) we did a deal. It’s too easy now with ebay and car sales web sites to shop at home and inspect at your convenience – or go to the auctions. Give the wankers a miss and let them be another business model that goes belly up because they don’t know how to evolve in the internet world.

georgesgenitals5:53 pm 19 Nov 10

I bought a couple of new cars from a large Holden dealer in Phillip a few years ago, and on both occasions they gave me a great deal and I was really happy. Then last year I went in to look at a new vehicle. Well, how times have changed!

First, I couldn’t find anyone to help me (mid morning on a weekday). The receptionist had to call a guy who was “in the yard” twice before he came in. I asked about the model I wanted, and the guy points at it in the showroom. I tell him I know that’s the one, can you tell me a bit about it? Nope. Zero product knowledge (and it was a Commodore, FFS). Can I option the larger engine into this model? No idea. Does the base model come with cruise control? Dunno. Now, if this was the head car washer I’d understand, but he gave me a card with his name, saying he was a salesman.

So… what do they have in stock right now? “Are you going to buy today”? Well, depends on what’s in stock and what the price is. “We don’t negotiate on price”. So here I am getting told they won’t talk about price and I don’t even know what’s in stock. I asked for a brochure, and he wandered off to find one. 5 minutes later he still wasn’t back, so I left.

Absolutely useless. I’ll never go back there again.

Go to Sydney, you will get rolled in Canberra, big time. I want to buy a new series 3 XTrail, went to both dealers in Canberra = price $48k drive away

Called up the dealers in Sydney = price $39, and I sort out my own on road costs, which are probably $2.5k.

Simple answer is pick up the phone and do your due diligence.

My rules for car shopping are to go looking when you don’t need a car, never look too keen, never tell them what price range you are in and make sure the salesman gets your number so they can chase the deal. And never take your sun glasses off at Lennock so they cannot make eye contact – drives them loopy.

I’ve had the pleasure of buying 2 new and 1 used dealer car in the last 5 years. It’s an experience I never want to go through again. I’d spent months looking on the net, getting RRP’s and details from the website, so I knew quite a lot about the cars I was looking at. No one would budge a cent on the price (“this is the price the franchise makes us sell it at”), and they were even reluctant to throw in anything for free, other than some $20 car mats. Even to match a competitors price on a trade-in required them to call head office, the competitor, the finance department, and their 2nd hand dealership.
But this wasnt the most unpleasant part. Being a bloke in his 20’s, and dressing like pretty much everyone else in that age group, I spent ages just wandering around waiting for a salesperson to come up. Some places were alright, at least aknowledging my prescence, but others (Holden Belconnen in particular) would rather sit inside and stare at me. When they did finally come out, they treated me like a moron, despite how specific I was.
Honestly, I think much of it has to do with the fact that with so few car yards to chose from they feel that they can do what they like. Add to that the fact that hardly anyone is willing to haggle and you have a losing combination.

Tangentially, I’d be interested in experiences with motorcycle purchasing? Is it the same as cars?

Another shifty that came to mind last night, last year we looked at a Subaru Forester as a likely suspect. Drove one in Phillip, I wasnt that impressed with it, drove it again, still undecided (Marius at the dealer was quite patient with me). I was over in Fyshwick (for another reason) out of curiosity & hit that dealer up for a drive, it was a completely different car to drive even though it was tha same spec & I was very interested.

So I ask:

“Whats your bottom line?”
“You have to give us an undertaking.”
“What do you mean?”
“You have to give un an undertaking that you will buy the car from us before we will negotiate.”
“But that isnt how negotiating works???”
“That is our policy, sir.”

I laughed & walked away & she even had the hide to ring later to see inf I was still interested.

Buying a car for the wifes Grandfather, he found a Falcon at the Ford dealer in Phillip he just ahd to have & was priced $4 grand more that what it was worth (knowing full well I could get the same at the acutions for less again).

I made an offer, negotiations went on & it came down to the fact that they were trying to sell us on things like extended warranty, finance & stuff. I said “we dont want any of that stuff, we have cash & you will not have to see the car again as I will service it”

They refused to sell, it to us with the reasoning that the warranty was worth $500 & could not be removed from the vehicle?? (buggered if I know why??). When I think about it later I realised they wanted it back there for servicing as one of the conditions of the extended warranty was that the car had be returned there for at least one service a year at a bargain price of $190.00 for a minor service. The parts cost less that 50 bucks when I service it…..so NO THANK YOU!!

They wanted $22,990 for that car, we got one at Pickles with 5000km more for just under $16,000. I offered them 19 cash & to remove all the added stuff that we didnt want from the deal, even rego.

They just dont bargain anymore, it is up to you to be more savvy when you buy.

kambahkrawler10:36 am 09 Sep 10

Another +1 for Private Fleet. I went shopping for a diesel manual Hyundai Santa Fe a year ago and I’d used PF before to save something like $6k on a $40k ute.

This time around they save me about $600 off the price of the Santa Fe compared to shop floor prices. It does make a difference if the vehicle is popular, and if it’s a good or bad market.

At the moment with the car industry on target to sell a million cars this year dealers don’t look like they’ll have much problem hitting their sales targets, so that’s why they won’t discount. Some other schmuck will come in after you and pay full price. Why not? Everyone out there except me seems to be able to pay $600 grand for a house and full price for a new car. WTF???

Golden-Alpine said :

We just bought a brand new Holden Cruze from Gerald Slaven in Belconnen. The experience dealing with Brian there was fantastic. No bull, no mucking around talking to the boss about deals and all that. This compared to another dealer, we were wanting a drive away price plus some accessories. We ended up walking out after half an hour of stuffing around, with no price still!

I had the exact opposite experience at Gerald Slaven Belconnen on a Cruze approx 3 months ago. I was ready to buy and would have signed up on the spot if the deal was good enough (they knew this). They did not budge a cent on the list price, only offering a few very minor discounts on accesories I didnt really want. To top it all off, they offered me over $3000 less for my trade in than any other dealer I went to (5 in total, not just holden dealers). The justification? Hail damage. The ‘professional valuer’ who walked around the car for 10mins with a clipboard said that there was hail damage that only a professional valuer would notice and this would impact the value. No matter how hard he tried to show me, I couldnt see what he was pointing out. I have owned the car from new and it has never been in hail. Just to be sure, I took it to two panel shops to ask for their opinion, both said no signs of hail damage.

I could not beleive that such a large holden dealer could be so blatantly dishonest, especially when they knew I was ready to buy. That turned me off Holdens entirely and I ended up buying a different car (at a much better price with a much better trade!).

That’s why I’m off to Sydney in a couple of weeks to get new tyres for my Land Rover. $422 ea in Canberra, $350 in Sydney. Double the trip up with a visit to the outlaws and all good.

Skidd Marx said :

Woody Mann-Caruso said :

I really wanted a SUV-shape car due to the type of driving I do

Huh? What type of driving do you do, and how does having a car shaped like an SUV help?

The type where you look down on other drivers.

….and mount gutters whilst looking in the rear-view mirror at your 4-year-old waiving an AIDS-ridden hypodermic around.

You’re kidding, right? You do realise, don’t you, that we’re in a landlocked city with rural terrain on all sides? Hell, you’re on dirt five minutes from Gunghalin.

screaming banshee11:44 pm 08 Sep 10

2620watcher said :

My line to these sale people – and the same line I use at Harvey Norman is – What price will you give me to stop me walking next door to Bing Lee…..

Bing Lee sell cars?

Skidd Marx said :

Woody Mann-Caruso said :

I really wanted a SUV-shape car due to the type of driving I do

Huh? What type of driving do you do, and how does having a car shaped like an SUV help?

The type where you look down on other drivers.

….and mount gutters whilst looking in the rear-view mirror at your 4-year-old waiving an AIDS-ridden hypodermic around.

Woody Mann-Caruso said :

I really wanted a SUV-shape car due to the type of driving I do

Huh? What type of driving do you do, and how does having a car shaped like an SUV help?

The type where you look down on other drivers.

My line to these sale people – and the same line I use at Harvey Norman is – What price will you give me to stop me walking next door to Bing Lee…..

Essfer said:

“But Eyl… By your account you ended up paying MORE for your car in the end, once you add 3% stamp duty ($738) and around $800 for 12 months rego (as well as your noted travel costs) you paid over $26,300 for a car that you would’ve paid $25,750 for in the ‘berra.”

K… I’ve pulled out my rego stuff and dealer papers, I have the exact figures now (off the top of my head before): Car was $23,490, Stamp Duty & rego was $1575.40. travel expenses $200. total $25,265. still $485 less than Canberra plus got all the extra’s ^_^.

P.S. you don’t have to stay a night it was just good to relax somewhere else other than home >_<

Golden-Alpine8:07 pm 08 Sep 10

We just bought a brand new Holden Cruze from Gerald Slaven in Belconnen. The experience dealing with Brian there was fantastic. No bull, no mucking around talking to the boss about deals and all that. This compared to another dealer, we were wanting a drive away price plus some accessories. We ended up walking out after half an hour of stuffing around, with no price still!

I really wanted a SUV-shape car due to the type of driving I do

Huh? What type of driving do you do, and how does having a car shaped like an SUV help?

A lot of country driving, including a fair bit on dirt, gravel, farms, fire trails, and sand. Although it isn’t strictly 4WD driving (at least, I’ve never needed it) – which is why I say SUV-shape rather than SUV – I need the extra height to avoid undercarriage damage, and to maximise my ability to see roos, livestock, bumps and holes, etc. And I need the carrying space but preferably without the length of a station wagon – I need it in height, not tacked on the back.

happy to stay away from dealers, bought a mazda 3 last decemeber using the new car factory, (www.thenewcarfactory.com.au , David Burgess) – cheaper by at least $2800 than best price from local dealers who would not move. They drove it down and registered it here – simple, cost effective and avoids the pantomime with dealers

Woody Mann-Caruso4:10 pm 08 Sep 10

I really wanted a SUV-shape car due to the type of driving I do

Huh? What type of driving do you do, and how does having a car shaped like an SUV help?

JessP said :

I agree fully with Holden Caulfield. I have bought cars from Lennocks in the past and had been happy

I wasnt going to mention who it was in my forst two examples but seeing as a couple of others got through, this was a the dealer who I was referring to.

I took a vehicle lease out through work last year and got the lease company (who operate in melbourne) to provide me with a quote for the vehicle I wanted using their sources in Victoria. The price they provided was about $2,000 less than the drive away price here in Canberra. Now at this point I hadn’t spoken to the local dealer, I had already done my research so my first call to them was to literally offer my business. I told them I was taking out a lease and was prepared to let the lease company provide me with the vehicle but I said I would like to give local business a chance as well so would they be able to equal the price I had been quoted. In the end I managed to get $1,000 off and a deal on some accessories which I was happy with because if I had gone with the car from Victoria I would of had to wait a while. There was also delivery fees which I didn’t mention.

So I think it just pays to be prepared before you speak to anyone and if possible, know exactly what you want. In my case the local dealer knew I was buying the car regardless and they had an opportunity to be the ones I would buy the car off if they gave me a price I was happy with.

I don’t disagree with the overall sentiment here, and I had to travel to Sydney a couple of months back to buy the car I was looking for. More because I was being very specific on what I wanted in a used car, but I did find the dealer was much less full of shit, and I would travel there again just to avoid the rampant bullshit artists that we have locally.

But Eyl… By your account you ended up paying MORE for your car in the end, once you add 3% stamp duty ($738) and around $800 for 12 months rego (as well as your noted travel costs) you paid over $26,300 for a car that you would’ve paid $25,750 for in the ‘berra.

Granted you got the wheels and other goodies, so I don’t doubt you actually got a better deal, but this proves that we’d all feel a lot better about paying the stated price if we didn’t have to deal with assholes. Most of the stories above are largely about the attitude of the dealer rather than pure tales of cost savings.

The only way these pricks will learn is if we vote with our wallets, so keep it up!

jennybel75 said :

Private Fleet’s always a good option as well. http://www.privatefleet.com.au I bought my last car (2 yrs ago) through them after the Canberra dealers wouldn’t budge on prices.

+1 for Private Fleet. Saved over $5K on a new Corolla three years ago ($20K included all on road costs and 12 months rego – was delivered to my door with a full tank of fuel) compared to what the Canberra dealer offered me.

Hells_Bells7412:14 pm 08 Sep 10

If it’s the same yard near the gym I’m thinking, I was also completely ignored the first few times I went to see my boyfriend and they didn’t know it was me or anything then. I’d just be standing around looking at cars waiting to see him, thinking to myself.. Thank Christ I’m not looking for a car to buy.

Solidarity the $2400 you saved will be spent on the psychiatrists you’ll be seeing when your Alfa’s electrics pack up one by one.

Those of you who have bought new interstate should go back to the CBR dealers, rub the invoice in the salesman’s face and tell them, preferably in front of a manager, that you’re happy they didn’t budge on price, denying them any commission. Oh and then tell them you’ll be advising everyone you know to avoid their stealership and to go to Sydney.

I went to buy a second hand car in Fyshwick – guy came over and I said ‘I want a mid sized sedan, auto, prefer Japanese’ [at my price range, that was the best option]. He said ‘we have this great BMW 740 with a new clutch over here’. When I said ‘um, thats none of what I want’ he said ‘well, if you dont want my help then dont ask for it’ and stormed back into his office.

However, I did have a number of car yards ring around their other locations to see what was in stock, so there are some good ones around.

Its funny watching the dealers pull the ‘I will just have to go and talk to the boss about that offer’ routine. I guess it still works, despite being about 100 years old.

Clown Killer11:44 am 08 Sep 10

I bought a new Audi about 18 months ago in Canberra. I found that they weren’t really prepared to move much on the base price for the vehicle, but it wasn’t too much of a drama to get options and accessories thrown in or heavily discounted. It was the same for the Sydney dealers so I decided to go with the local dealer. I ended up saving around $18,000 on the drive-away price.

I’ve also found that you tend to get a better deal if you dont have a trade-in and you’re happy to use their in-house finance product.

I think the trick is being tough on negotiations also. I usually find car dealers ring me back 🙂 However also make sure you know the main competitors to the model you really want and even if decided make sure you point out the things lacking on the model you are looking at vs the competitors.

Last time I went to sydney and mittagong and Goulburn for deals. In the end when I told the dealers in canberra the prices i could get elsewhere they matched it except for the on road costs (which are different between states).

Still I’m thinking of buying a new car again, but not committed yet so will see what sort of response I get 🙂

Solidarity said :

I bought an Alfa Romeo from Gulsons in Fyshwick, they were $2400 cheaper than anyone else, including Sydney/Melbourne!

Hmm.

Probably best you bought it locally, being an Alfa it will likely be in their shop for half it’s life.

I agree fully with Holden Caulfield. I have bought cars from Lennocks in the past and had been happy but found Slavens in Belconnen much happier to help and able to give me a signicantly better deal in the end (about $3000 better). Pays to shop around.

nhand42 said :

Had a similar experience. Went to a nameless dealer in Phillip to buy a luxury Volkswagen. Salesman wouldn’t give me any discount at all. In fact, he invited his 20-something salesman mate over so they could both laugh at me for asking for a discount. I wish I were kidding. What sort of idiotic salesman thinks it’s a good idea to humiliate the customer about to drop $50k on a car? I walked out of the store and vowed never to buy anything from that dealer.

Canberra dealers think they can treat their customers like crap and get away with it. Screw ’em. I bought my last vehicle interstate; it was no hassle whatsoever.

Canberra Dealers are useless…

One of my mates wanted to buy a new luxury car, had the exact make and model in mind, went to the dealership basically saying I want THAT car sign me up today, but can I test drive it first. He had to prove his income before they would let him even test drive a car. 3 visits later he finally got to drive the car.

I also still remember rocking up to a Belconnen car yard in my gym gear, spent a good 10-15mins looking at just ONE car, getting in and out seeing how it felt and no one bothered to come near me. So I walked inside to see the finance officer (my partner – but first time I’d ever been to his work) I didn’t know where his office was and the only person that bothered to talk to me or answer my question was the car yard attendant. The staff werent very happy with me, as I complained rather loudly to my partner not realising the yards owner was within ear shot. Never ended up buying the car (but still plan to) my sister ended up getting the same make and model and got quotes from Sydney as Canberra had no 2010 models in stock, and only wanted to sell her an 2009.

deejay said :

Seriously, how much money is leaving the Canberra economy due to the miserable service given by these clowns?

Probably not enough to make the dealers change their ways. They have it too easy here in Canberra, with a large captive market and minimal competition. New car dealers don’t even open on Sundays, fer Chrissakes, that’s how much they need your business.

I bought an Alfa Romeo from Gulsons in Fyshwick, they were $2400 cheaper than anyone else, including Sydney/Melbourne!

Hmm.

Same story here. I bought a new Hyundai Tuscon in Sydney. It was an end of line model, and I wanted a manual. I asked Melrose Hyundai down here to search for one for me, explaining that I really wanted a SUV-shape car due to the type of driving I do. They told me there were none left in Australia. Then they tried insanely hard to sell me an i30, which is a station wagon and nearly $10K more expensive. I wound up finding over a dozen of them myself online (none in Australia, my a**) – the closest one in Sydney, and $4K less than they’d quoted.

Seriously, how much money is leaving the Canberra economy due to the miserable service given by these clowns? This post has generated stories totalling probably $200K already!

Holden Caulfield10:41 am 08 Sep 10

I should have prefaced my previous comment by saying I have bought from Lennock Volkswagen in the past and had a pretty good experience (following some very poor service a few years earlier that led me to buy in Sydney as well). However, as nice as the guys there have been to my wife and I in recent times, it’s clear that Gerald Slaven VW are much hungrier for new business, which is a bit of a shame. But good for VW that there is now some proper competition in town.

Holden Caulfield10:23 am 08 Sep 10

nhand42 said :

Had a similar experience. Went to a nameless dealer in Phillip to buy a luxury Volkswagen. Salesman wouldn’t give me any discount at all. In fact, he invited his 20-something salesman mate over so they could both laugh at me for asking for a discount. I wish I were kidding. What sort of idiotic salesman thinks it’s a good idea to humiliate the customer about to drop $50k on a car? I walked out of the store and vowed never to buy anything from that dealer.

Canberra dealers think they can treat their customers like crap and get away with it. Screw ’em. I bought my last vehicle interstate; it was no hassle whatsoever.

Go to the Belconnen version, ask for Phillip. He does good deals.

A friend of mine was actually abused by a local dealer because he bought the car interstate, the local guy would not haggle so he went elswhere. He then recieved a phone call from the dealer principle telling him to never bring tha car to them as they would not service it ever.

This was the same dealer that agreed to sell me a second hand Commodore & then took a week to repair the transmission oil leak prior to delivery. A job that takes 20 minutes (I know as I am a mechanic by trade). In the end I badgered them so much after a week that they said “if you are not happy then come & get your deposit back”, so I did.

If you dont want a new car & are happy with an Aussie built car, Pickles Auctions are the go too.

We recently were in the market for a new car & the only bloke who i woulf buy a car off was Daryl at National Capital Motors in Tuggeranong. He doesnt bullshit.

The same dealer I mentioned above, I tried to get a drive of a brand new Pathfinder, the first time the vehicle wasnt registered but the salesman assured me that when it was registered that we could have it for the night (he would have sold it to us too as we fell in love with it), the second time I went in there to drive one the salesman asked me to come back as he had a truck coming in with more cars (there were 4 of them standing around & we waited 20 minutes for one of them to come & talk to us) & in Mittagong I could not get a drive of one because the salesman said to me “I have to dela with this lady fors because she wants to buy a car” even though I was there first. Helllooooo, so was I!!!!!!

I wasnt until a mate of mine bought one that I got a drive of one.

Local dealers will not get my money when we do actually buy, we ended up not buying because baby no 3 came a long & changed out plans.

I had the same experience buying second hand, but privately. Was looking for a VW Golf or Bora and no one would budge, they’d rather stick it out for weeks and weeks before they’d lower their price. Ended up finding a better car in Sydney, and after calling the guy and saying, look, will you go this low, cause if you will I’ll come and view it and buy it — it worked like a dream.

Only slight hassle was transferring rego from NSW to ACT but it was worth it. It’s a great car and I didn’t get ripped off.

Sydney is deffo the way to go if you can’t get what you want at a reasonable price.

Private Fleet’s always a good option as well. http://www.privatefleet.com.au I bought my last car (2 yrs ago) through them after the Canberra dealers wouldn’t budge on prices.

RandomPoster9:00 am 08 Sep 10

My experience at a different dealer in Phillip was quite different, they where not prepared to offer the sort of discount I wanted so I decided to call around other cities (Sydney included) and ended up going back to the dealer in Phillip because they had the best deal.

I had the same experience earlier this year. I’m not one to be held captive by a limited market so I broadened my search to Goulburn, Mittagong and Sydney.

The Canberra dealers wanted me to pay about $1400 over the current advertised drive away price because I they had no 2009 models left.

I ended up getting a 2010 model ordered in by Mittagong for the advertised drive away price of $22,990 plus cruise control, floor mats and a boot mat.

And I didn’t have to do a thing. Turns out they employ 2 guys whose job it is to drive cars all over NSW and beyond. They drive the car down and meet you at the motor registry with a blank cheque to pay rego and stamp duty, they do all the inspections with the Motor registry, then take you through the usual pre purchase inspection and advice that you would usually get at the dealer and away you go. Plus I got a little gift hamper of yummy goodies from the Southern Highlands.

I was a little bit wary of everything going so smoothly but after the experience I cannot recommend Mittagong Mazda highly enough!

Had a similar experience. Went to a nameless dealer in Phillip to buy a luxury Volkswagen. Salesman wouldn’t give me any discount at all. In fact, he invited his 20-something salesman mate over so they could both laugh at me for asking for a discount. I wish I were kidding. What sort of idiotic salesman thinks it’s a good idea to humiliate the customer about to drop $50k on a car? I walked out of the store and vowed never to buy anything from that dealer.

Canberra dealers think they can treat their customers like crap and get away with it. Screw ’em. I bought my last vehicle interstate; it was no hassle whatsoever.

ConanOfCooma7:43 am 08 Sep 10

Nice.

I’ve always found anyone that sells something in Canberra just wants to bleed you dry.

It’s like going to the snow, but without the extra fun.

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