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| Customer service | 1.1/10   |
|---|---|
| Value for Money | 2/10 |
| Overall rating | 2.2/10 |
By debd on 11th Jan 2006
| Customer service | 0/10 |
|---|---|
| Value for money | 0/10 |
| Overall value | 0/10 |
 debd's recommendation | |
None
High prices and high pressure sales
Just escaped yesterday from a very nasty experience at Carcraft in Wednesbury/Darlaston. I am looking for a new car but I'm in no particular hurry. Choosing the right car and getting at a decent price is my priority. I thought, as I've got some leave at the moment, that I'd take a look at a few cars to help me decide what to go for. I thought Carcraft would be a good idea as they have a decent range of cars and (as it was a blustery wet January afternoon) I could browse in the comfort of a large indoor showroom.
I had already had a potter round at my local Motorhouse 2000 site where I was free to browse without being hassled and thought that this place would be the same - how wrong I was. The minute I walked through the door I spotted the herd of salesmen ready to pounce on their prey and immediately the alarm bells were ringing (albeit quietly at this stage). One of them latched on to me immediately and I stated very clearly that I was not wishing to buy that day and that I was in the preliminary stages of deciding what kind of car I wanted. Undaunted by this information the salesman proceeded to go through the regulation sales patter and asked a number of - in some cases intrusive - questions before I was even allowed near the hallowed cars.
I was then lead past all the shiny new cars indoors into the parking lot outside in the howling gale where I was directed towards a number of vehicles. They were disappointingly older than I would have liked and much higher in price than I would have expected to pay (I have been doing some checks on the Parkers site). I then spotted a nice little WV Polo which mysteriously had no price on it. The salesman then left me out in the cold for quite some time whilst he found out the price.
Feeling sufficiently chilled I eventually went back indoors of my own volition. This is where things start to blur. I was intercepted and vaguely recall being told the price (too high for the model and year), but this was glossed over. The salesman had the keys to the vehicle and encouraged me to have a test drive. Remembering that as long as I didn't sign anything, I would be alright, I had the test drive. Why not - it would be a useful reference point?
To be fair it was a nice little car, but no way was I going to pay the price they were asking. The hard sell then began in earnest, with a line manager becoming involved. I was offered all manner of finance deals quoted at weekly rates. I said that I was not prepared to purchase the car without taking time out to think about the deal offered versus my finances (and to check out the price I should be paying). An attempt was then made to get me to pay a refundable holding fee of £99. Again I refused - I was fairly certain that at the asking price it would still be there were I dumb enough to ever go back - and making my excuses, got up to go. They didn't like it (clearly no one is expected to leave without being sold something or anything, whether you want it or not). This didn't stop one desperate attempt from another salesman who tried to intercept me on the way out - perhaps they had radioed my escape attempt through to him.
When I checked the car pricing on Parkers (and the main dealers) I discovered that they were asking over £2000 over the odds for the car they tried to sell me. Needless, to say this only exacerbated my relief to have got out of there without being bullied into buying. Also, needless to say, I would never go near the place again.
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