Online car dealers - no haggle

FabioPorkpie

FabioPorkpie

Well-known member
Looking at a used car and have seen some decent stuff on carzam, through autotrader.
Some of these new online dealers are ‘haggle free’ and the price displayed is the one you pay, no negotiation.

Does anybody have any knowledge of whether Carzam prices are actually competitive or not? I’ve been trying to look into it but am struggling to find any real answers.
It’s difficult to compare with traditional dealers because on the face of it, their prices may be similar but that’s without taking into account any discount negotiated at a traditional dealer.

Are they just taking advantage of the convenience they offer (car delivered within 24 hrs, 100 day warranty, 14 day returns policy) to charge fixed, but higher prices?

Any info or advice most welcome, as I’m not really a car person ......
 
But that's the attraction for a lot of people.... a haggle/hassle free car buying experience.
I know someone who owns a luxury car business and they do a great trade in 'click and collect'.
People are buying cars online like you would a set of garden furniture and the first time they see the car is when it gets delivered to their front door.
It works if the Company is reputable, just check the reviews.
It's easy enough to compare the price for the exact same cars on Autotrader with all of the filters that are available.

Looking at Carzam some people have paid for their car only to be gazumped and given a refund! That would be enough for me to avoid them.
 
I did look into this but just couldn't bring myself to order such a major purchase online & unseen. In the end I did a bit of research and went to a reputable dealer. I'm old school; a physical inspection and test drive is a must.
 
grumpyoldgit said:
I did look into this but just couldn't bring myself to order such a major purchase online & unseen. In the end I did a bit of research and went to a reputable dealer. I'm old school; a physical inspection and test drive is a must.
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It's all about a proper guarantee and asking exactly what it covers. A lot of the standard ones a pretty useless and if you want a real one you often have to pay extra......... so it needs to be factored into the price.
 
I wouldn't touch an online dealer if I hadn't seen the car first. Also you have to think about the inconvenience if something does go wrong (does it get sent miles away to get repaired etc.)

If a deal looks good online then save it and take it to a dealer/car supermarket locally... usually they will price match... I did this with leases on my last three cars and on every one i ended up getting a better deal.

I have done one lease online with stoneacre and had a right issue with them to begin with that was a ballache to sort out (missing handbook and locking wheelnut tool)... this is enough to put me off online for a good while.
 
A lot to be said for not having to deal with a car salesman. I always feel like I need a shower after going round car dealerships.

I'd also recommend Carwow, although you may have to travel for the best deals. I found my current car through Carwow (up at Newcastle) at a great price and then did a deal with the dealer so they wouldn't have to pay commission to Carwow :oops:
 
I've bought a few cars online which I had never seen, it's totally fine if it's the right garage or you know of some genuine reviews (not random reviews on their website, or those written by someone with a poor grasp of English). One had a couple of alloy scratches, but on used cars a lot of them don't bother sorting them anyway, but will still do it for nowt if you point it out. Alternatively, you can sort them yourself and they will cover the bill in most cases (I've done this before).

I would be a bit more cautious with new garages or those that were very small, although not against it.

Just make sure that the company is in good financial standing (relative to their size) or got a good history, and that there's a no questions/ change your mind money back type deal, although distance selling and online buying might cover this anyway.

Haggling is just a waste of peoples time, I really couldn't be chewed ringing 10 garages and looking at 10 cars and then having various grades of haggle, it's just not worth it (not to me anyway). It seems to be less at main dealers now mind, the price is just "the price", they're more keen on selling you the finance than the car, and the staff perks/ commissions can't be as good as you don't get hounded as much as you used to (I hated that).

Carwow is good for pitting dealers against each other, albeit this doesn't seem to be as good as it was (I think the dealers are getting pi$$ed off with it, as they're all losing and having margin hammered down by each other).
 
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Thanks for the advice. Guess it’s a case of ‘you pays your money you takes your chance‘ and thoroughly checking through the 14 day returns details etc.
I’ve read a bit around the topic and it looks like carzam, cinch, cazoo etc are going to be more popular and common going forward, but I think my reservations have been reinforced by what others have said here, so not sure I’m ready for that leap of faith yet. thanks.
 
FabioPorkpie said:
Thanks for the advice. Guess it’s a case of ‘you pays your money you takes your chance‘ and thoroughly checking through the 14 day returns details etc.
I’ve read a bit around the topic and it looks like carzam, cinch, cazoo etc are going to be more popular and common going forward, but I think my reservations have been reinforced by what others have said here, so not sure I’m ready for that leap of faith yet. thanks.
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The thing with Carwow is that you find the car, the price and dealer and then arrange a view & test drive so you get to try it out before you part with money. At least that's what I did, but that was a couple of years ago.
 
I bought our current car from a dealer on the other side of the country, I knew exactly what car I wanted, what specification etc before contacting them.

They threw in an MOT pass guarantee with fair usage and ceramic coating treatment on the paintwork. They gave us around 50 photos inside and outside and a live video walk around the car inside and outside AND also a zoom call to boot. No haggling or hard sell at all because we knew exactly what we wanted going in. Everything signed electronically. Traded our old car in and only had to pay an extra £150 because the front bumper of our old car had a crack in it which was the only part of the process I was worried about really.
 
Motorpoint has a good reputation, and a place on Teesside now I think. They specialise in cars about 1 year old, good prices, and there's no haggling.
 
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