Car Brokers - are they legit or to be avoided?

[kenny1462]

Hi all.

I am in the market for a new CX-5 2.2d SE-L Lux Nav but the price
the dealerships are quoting is too high.

Plus as I am sure you know every damn salesman is pushing hard for
PCP finance which I do not want. I have worked and saved bloody hard
to be able to buy a car outright and I do not see why I should be penalised
because of it.

None of the Mazda dealers seem to want to haggle or compete with
each other and, to me at least, an outlay of some £24,000 is a huge
cost.

I have had quotes from various car brokers and they are coming in
under the dealer prices incl one of £22,000.

The dealerships have all said that this simply can not be done as it
is actually under the price they have to pay for the car in the first
place including taking a PCP plan into consideration - a few have
been down right rude to put it lightly.

The car broker who quoted £22,000 said that he would want a payment
of £299 from me for their services as well as a £500 deposit before they
introduce me to the dealer.

It just all seems dodgy and "back street" to me and I wonder if anyone
has any good experiences of Car Brokers or can recommend a trust worthy
one I can approach?

Thank in advance.

[DC77]

Hi all.

I am in the market for a new CX-5 2.2d SE-L Lux Nav but the price
the dealerships are quoting is too high.

Plus as I am sure you know every damn salesman is pushing hard for
PCP finance which I do not want. I have worked and saved bloody hard
to be able to buy a car outright and I do not see why I should be penalised
because of it.

None of the Mazda dealers seem to want to haggle or compete with
each other and, to me at least, an outlay of some £24,000 is a huge
cost.

I have had quotes from various car brokers and they are coming in
under the dealer prices incl one of £22,000.

The dealerships have all said that this simply can not be done as it
is actually under the price they have to pay for the car in the first
place including taking a PCP plan into consideration - a few have
been down right rude to put it lightly.

The car broker who quoted £22,000 said that he would want a payment
of £299 from me for their services as well as a £500 deposit before they
introduce me to the dealer.

It just all seems dodgy and "back street" to me and I wonder if anyone
has any good experiences of Car Brokers or can recommend a trust worthy
one I can approach?

Thank in advance.

Hi there,
I was in the same boat as you....one local dealer offered £900 discount and the rest nothing at all!
So in June I placed an order via a broker and after paying them a sum by credit card (for safety) put me in touch with a dealer and all went very smoothly, finally picking the car up in perfect condition on 21st July saving around £3k in total! PM me for info if interested.
Also, I was a cash payer and at the time Mazda were offering £1500 off if I took out finance which I was informed that if I took that option I can contact Mazda finance literally on the day I pick the car up and cancel but still get the extra discount...all above board and legal (I was declined for the finance myself for other reasons)

[Deepjoy22]

Like DC77 I used a broker to get my car.  I've used the broker on 2 occassions now - no broker fee; just a £500 deposit which is taken off the quoted price when you pick up the car.

PM me if you want any more details.

[ROCKETRON]

I bought my last BMW via a broker broadspeed. All the dealings/option picking etc were done with a Bmw main dealer, just not my local one. The pickup was just as good as if i had gone to them in the first place.I saved £4000.
I think if i were looking for a new cx5 i have noticed if you search for 2016 cx5 on e bay/autotrader there are some that come up frm main dealers  and are in fact brand new with 1 mile on that are a few thousand cheaper than if you ordered from main dealer, so worth a look as there wont be any wait involved but you have to have the spec that is there. To be fair though with Mazda there is not a lot of options to choose from mainly colour and sport or SE and safety pack and lighter leather on some models.

[twabrigs]

I think there's some advice on this on the What Car website, plus they have their 'target price' where they pledge to find a dealer at that price if you can't

[Catamong]

Be careful, see my post below from July 2014....in addition to all of the cock ups below they also "mislaid" the V5 document, so I had to apply to DVLA for a replacement, when I then found out that, despite it being a "new" car, I was in fact owner number 2, as the car had been first registered to "Pinnacle Vehicle Solutions"..!) They also wanted full payment up front, (to them), 14 days prior to delivery.

Hi Folks,

I've had my CX5 now for nearly 2 months, I opted for the 2.2 Manual SE-L Diesel as recommended by "What Car" magazine.

It's the first car I've actually bought from new, being a Company Car driver for umpteen years, then opted for a Car Allowance and had a couple of Cars under a Personal Lease Plan, most recently a Volvo XC90, (probably the most comfortable car I've ever driven).

I ended up buying the XC90 from the leasing Company, but wanted to move to something a bit smaller and more economical, so about a year ago I started to look around and decided to go for the CX5.

I spoke to a local dealer near Aylesbury, all he could offer was a car at list price with no discount, not even for a cash buyer like me. He very kindly offered me £10k part exchange against the Volvo, (which I politely declined, and subsequently sold privately nearly a year later for £12750.00).

I also checked on a couple of Brokers websites, "Drive the Deal" could also not offer the CX5 at any discount off list price.

So I lost interest in the process until March of this year, and decided to look again.

I decided not to bother with the Main Dealers, and had another look at the various Brokers websites, some were now offering discounts, the best price I found was from "Broker4Cars" at around £2k discount off list price.

I thought this looked good, but this was where my problems began.

I wanted a model in "Sky Blue" metallic, as I'd seen quite a few of these on the road and I really liked the look of it, but I checked with the Mazda website and it wasn't listed as being one of their current colour range, so I suspected it had been discontinued.

I notified the Broker of this, they said they contacted the Dealer in the "North East" who confirmed that this colour was still available, on about a 4 - 6 week delivery, so I said fine, go ahead, and then signed the order and paid the Brokers fee of £295.00.

A week later I had a call from the Broker, "Sorry, this colour no longer available, you must choose another colour."

I chose another, (deeper blue) colour and was told it would be a 10 - 12 week wait, which I agreed to.

8 weeks later I had a call to say that the car was in stock, (a good job I had the finance in place..!)

I agreed the delivery date, and requested the Reg number so I could arrange insurance prior to delivery.

They gave me the Reg number, and I ordered an All Star fuel card and obtained insurance quotes.

A few days later I had another call...whoops, "apologies" but they'd given me the wrong Reg number.

I then re-ordered another fuel card and had to go back to my Insurers to make the change, not happy at this point.

I agreed a delivery address to my work location, confirmed all of the details via e-mail, and awaited the next problem to arise.

The delivery date dawned cloudy and wet, I was told to expect delivery from the Dealer in the "North East" by late morning, I looked out of the office window to see my car being driven round and around the business park, the driver clearly lost..??

I went outside and flagged him down on probably his 4th circuit, the delivery name he had been given was completely incorrect, he was looking for an office address called "Pinnacle Vehicle Solutions", I have no idea who they were, as I work for a Building Contractor, yet another cock up..??

The car was very dirty, and clearly had not been cleaned by the Dealer in the "North East", (actually RRG Mazda in Manchester), I reluctantly signed the delivery note and crossed my fingers that there were no dinks on the bodywork under the layers of grime. Not only that, but the tank was literally bone dry, (registering zero on the gauge), and whilst I wouldn't expect it to be delivered to me with a full tank, I hadn't expected to run it home on vapours..!

I later discovered that they hadn't even bothered to stamp the delivery docket in the service pack, so apart from their name on the number plates, I have no actual record of it ever having been supplied by them, all in all a pretty poor experience all round, I suppose the moral of the story is, if you use a Main Dealer, you'll get no discount, if you use a Broker, you may get a discount, but once they've got your fee, they lose interest pretty quickly.

I do hope that others have a better buying experience than me, but if I was to die and come back in another life, I'm gonna be a Mazda Dealer, "loadsa money for no effort"..!!

Cat.

[kenny1462]

Catamong

I am really sorry to read of your experience and this is exactly why I am so worried about using one of these brokers.

Yes there are some who have great experiences but there are many who do not and I do not wish to be one of those.

[kenny1462]

BEWARE OF THIS COMPANY

Originally I was looking to buy a CX-5 but I could not get a good quote from anyone so I decided to look at the Nissan Qashqai. A CX-5 is my first choice but I only have so much I can spend.

I think my experience of new-car-discount.com would apply to anyone thinking of buying from them so I decided to post my experience here.


I had received a quote which seemed too good to be true at just over £5,000 off the dealer price so I was very cautious and queried the price to make sure that it was indeed a cash price and not a PCP.

The director emailed to confirm it was the Outright Purchase price but he then said that the size of my choice of wheels has just been pulled by Nissan and he could send me the information which I asked him to do.

He sent me the following:

- - - - - - - - - - - -

Nissan Product Bulletin    08/11/2016

Designed to keep you up to date with the latest information from Nissan Fleet

- - - - - - - - - - - -

As you can see it mentions "the latest information from Nissan Fleet" and as one of the big things to
be warey of with car brokers is if the cars they supply are Fleet Vehicles I asked the director
if the vehicle would be 'fleet registered' - a reasonble question one would think.

The rest is what followed....

If you can't be bothered to read to the end just scroll down to end and read the final reply from
the director of this company and maybe the couple before it.

If you are thinking of buying via this company DO NOT.


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Nov 11 (1 day ago)

Your New-Car-Discount.Com Quote

Dear *******,

Quote ID: ********/*

Thank you for requesting a quotation from New-Car-Discount.Com for NISSAN QASHQAI DIESEL HATCHBACK 1.5 dCi Tekna 5dr.

" your correct about the price but i believe Nissan have just deleted the 17" alloy option as theyve just found a way to make an 18" alloy that keeps under the higher tax bracket [ details on request } . our offer also includes a free set of mats and free trailered delivery by our Nissan dealer to you .


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Nov 11 (1 day ago)

to New-Car-Discount.Com
from me


Hi ****

Thank you for replying so quickly.

I would be interested in the details of how Nissan has found a way to keep the 18" alloy under the higher tax bracket.

Kind regards


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Nov 11 (1 day ago)
from New-Car-Discount.Com
to me

I ll send the newsletter over tomorrow for you as I be left the office now , many thanks, ****

Sent from my iPhone


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Nov 11 (1 day ago)

from me
to New-Car-Discount.Com


Hi ****

That would be great.

Thanks, *******.


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12:48 PM (8 hours ago)

from New-Car-Discount.Com
to me
Sent from my iPhone

Begin forwarded message:



Subject: Nissan Product Bulletin – Nissan Qashqai 18” Alloy Wheel CO2 Improvement – From 99g/km

x

Nissan Qashqai 18” Alloy Wheel CO2 Improvement – From 99g/km


Summary



 *   Low resistance tyres now fitted to Nissan Qashqai 18” alloys
 *   Reduced CO2 emissions on all 18” alloy grades
 *   Popular dCi110 engine models now just 99g/km CO2
 *   1% BIK reduction on all models
 *   Up to £130 VED saving on selected models
 *   17" Alloy wheels option closed on N-Connecta and new N-Vision grades

We are pleased to announce that Nissan Qashqai models fitted with 18” alloy wheels now benefit from factory-fitted low resistance tyres.

•         18” alloy wheel CO2 and fuel consumption figures now match the 17” alloy wheel figures

•         dCi 110 engines on Acenta with Premium Pack, N-Connecta and N-Vision grades now deliver CO2 emissions of just 99g/km

•         This presents an enhanced fleet and business user proposition with BIK% as low as 19%, with combined fuel economy of up to 74.3mpg

•         DiG-T 115 and dCi 130 4WD versions with 18” alloys now emit 129g/km of CO2 and are VED exempt in the first year, saving £130

•         All Nissan Qashqai equipped with 18” alloys gain a 1% improvement in BIK


The model improvements are outlined below.  For further information, an updated Technical Specs guide is also attached:
Acenta Premium Pack, N-Connecta & N-Vision

Previous / New CO2

Combined MPG  (l/100 km)

BIK Band & Improvement

VED/OTR Saving

DiG-T 115 2WD manual

133 ? 129g/km

50.4 (5.6)

23% ? 22%

-£130

DiG-T 115 2WD Xtronic

133 ? 129g/km

50.4 (5.6)

23% ? 22%

-£130

DiG-T 163 2WD manual*

138 ? 134g/km

48.7 (5.

24% ? 23%

£0

dCi 110 2WD manual

103 ? 99g/km

74.3 (3.

20% ? 19%

£0

dCi 130 2WD manual

120 ? 116g/km

64.2 (4.4)

24% ? 23%

£0

dCi 130 2WD Xtronic

128 ? 122g/km

60.1 (4.7)

25% ? 24%

£0

dCi 130 4WD manual

133 ? 129g/km

57.6 (4.9)

26% ? 25%

-£130

*DiG-T 163 engine not available on Acenta Premium Pack grade
Ordering
Nissan ordering codes have not changed following the introduction of the running change to 18” alloys, which applies from VIN ending 776710.
As a result of these enhancements, the no-cost 17” alloy wheel option on N-Connecta and N-Vision grades have been closed with immediate effect as they are no longer required.
Please note, low resistance tyres are only fitted to 18” alloys and cannot be ordered on Tekna models due to production constraints.  On Tekna grades where 19” alloys are standard, the no-cost 17” alloy wheel option remains available to continue to offer a low CO2 proposition.


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4:33 PM (3 hours ago)

from me
to New-Car-Discount.Com


Hi ****

Thank you for that - appreciate it.

When you are back in the office next can you send over a copy of your contract
so I can read it through before buying?

Also can you say whether the vehicle would be  'Fleet registered' or not ?

Kind regards


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5:46 PM (2 hours ago)

from New-Car-Discount.Com
to me


Hi *******, our Nissans are always first registered to our customers so your the first keeper not the second . Our terms and conditions are detailed on our website , here's the link www.new-car-discount.com<http://www.new-car-discount.com> . Many thanks, ****

Sent from my iPhone


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7:24 PM (1 hour ago)

from me
to New-Car-Discount.Com


Hi ****
 
Thank you for your email and forgive me for asking but £20,000 is a lot of money.
 
Can you kindly just give me a straight answer as referring me to your T & C page is not being open plus your T & Cs are vague and do not address specifics.
 
Are your cars 'Fleet Registered' and/or 'registered to the new owner care of *********'?
 
Also it would be a very foolish person who signs a contract without first reading it through - unless you are trying to hide something I can see no reason why you cannot?
 
Regards


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8:06 PM (1 hour ago)

from New-Car-Discount.Com
to me

Hi , Whose feeding you the fleet registered question *******? Is it another dealer trying to justify a higher price by worrying you ? If so how can I answer the question before you believe me ? I m getting the impression you may not be ideally suited to an internet purchase so let's part company now rather than ride the 'we are a bad car dealer ' roller coaster together  . We are owned and run by a finance company so regulated like a bank so more squeaky clean than any car dealership you ll ever buy off . Just for reference when a customer orders from us a contract is issued as confirmation with their name and address details on along with our terms and conditions as per the website, we can't send a contract without someone's details as you be gathered  . Our terms cover every possible aspect of a new car sale so not specific to any one car , they protect us and also are fair to our customers. Thanks for enquiring with us and I wish you well with your purchase elsewhere  . The person whose worried you had done a great job. regards , ****. Director. www.new-car-discount.com<http://www.new-car-discount.com>