Expensive add ons to a car purchase - what a rip off!

[vernon]

My wife decided that she wanted to buy a newer car than the Corsa that she currently drives and after a lot of trials, mainly of my patience, decided on a Toyota Yaris bought from a main dealer.

What a pallaver buying a car is once the test drive is over. We were taken on a long journey, allegedly a compulsory one mandated by the FSA, which involved the salesman disappearing several times to consult with his manager before we saw the figures.

Three insurance add-ons were inserted:

GAP - guaranteed asset protection to reinburse the full purchase price of the car if it was written off in the next three years.
Tyre and alloy wheel insurance to cover the eventuality of any of the five whels or tyres being totalled
Internal and external trim insurance and treatment to protect against spills and scuffs

This was despite our assertion that there was definitely no interest in purchasing any of the three products.

The total cost of the products?

£700!!!!

The salesman was crestfallen when we instructed him to remove them. He was even more disappointed when we declined credit.

He made a final attempt with the GAP insurance premium dropped to £190 from £300 'as a favour' from from the sales manager.

When I got home I obtained an online quote for GAP and it was £74.

On a pro rata basis that would price the £700 add on package at £172 and still remain profitable.

I wonder how many people are taken in by the patter?


My own personal car dealings today were trouble free. My car passed its MOT without the need for any work being done on it and no advisories were issued. It was the cheapest MOT session for several years.

 

[Ashtrayhead]

Poor salesman! Think of all the commission he's lost from not closing those 'deals'!

I've never bought a new car so those additional insurance items for the wheels and trim look like
a rip-off! The premium paid would probably cover the replacement cost anyway!

Well done for sticking to your guns. As you say, it makes you wonder how many suckers actully buy sign up for those 'extras'!

 

[PBancroft]

I've never bought a new car, but I did buy a second hand one last year. I made the mistake of purchasing an extended warranty on it for about £70. Only when the aircon started leaking did I discover that the warranty appeared to cover exactly diddly squat.

 

[Saluki]

I too had all these insurances added when I last bought a new car (Mini Clubman, massive mistake it was a Friday car). I told the salesman to remove them and got GAP insurance seperately. I paid about £70 for mine, I think. It was a while back now. They also wanted me to have a funky wash and wax (with free car cleaning kit) to protect the paintwork better for only £350 extra
The salesmen seem to try and waffle on and add things things to the car price and hope that you don't notice.

I too bought a warranty for a car once. Total rubbish and not worth the paper it was written on. When there was a problem it turned out to be wear and tear and uncovered. Waste of money.

 

[Scotmitchy]

Can I ask where you got your GAP insurance quote from, pleae?

 

[fossyant]

They will try and sell you all this stuff - commission. We didn't go with any of that crap with our cars.

We bought our Yaris new in 1999, just 6 months after they came out. - It's been trouble free for the last 12 years, and flies through the MOT's.

PS are you getting the new 3rd model Yaris ?

 

[Arch]

This was despite our assertion that there was definitely no interest in purchasing any of the three products.

The total cost of the products?

£700!!!!

The salesman was crestfallen when we instructed him to remove them. He was even more disappointed when we declined credit.

My Mum had similar crap when she bought her last car, which was already secondhand. Fortunately, she had the will to refuse it all, and also didn't want credit, but I suspect a lot of 75 year old ladies on their own might fall for it.

Trim Insurance. FFS!?

 

[vernon]

It's a 2008 model with 11,000 miles on the clock.

The FSA 'mandated' paper chase, was a load of tosh. Why should the FSA care about a cash and add-on free transaction? I'm sure that it was a mechanism to maximise the number of opportunities to sell the virtually useless but very profitable products.

 

[Beebo]

I bought a second hand car recently from car giant in west london.

The plus point is that you pay the price on the window, no hard selll and no haggling allowed so the prices are all very competitive.

But then they try to sell you all the add ons listed above, on a second hand car!

Even though I declined all the products before they tried to sell them to me, they made me watch a video on the grounds that I needed to do this for FSA credit regulation purposes. The sales man was quite rude and would not take no for an answer. He then took me to a second manage "to sort out the paperwork", which is code for try to sell you finance. I was paying cash and this bloke knew he was getting no where so gave up quicker than the 1st bloke.

I have never had a job in sales, but it seems to be a high pressure environment fueled by bullsh*t and testosterone.

 

[vernon]

Can I ask where you got your GAP insurance quote from, pleae?

A quick google with turn up more than a few vendors. You can only buy it retrospectively within a limited timeframe after purchasing the car.

 

[Crackle]

I think I've dealt with a dealer thrice. On all occasions I really disliked the experience. I set my face to stony, said no to everything, questioned everything, asked for everything and look pissed off even as I signed. Every time has not been for a new car either but for some pre-reg deal or the last one a year old one which just had not made it to private sales yet. One dealer kept ringing me after I'd visited. I kept telling her I'd be in next week. I kept this up for 6 months and she never stopped ringing, even though I'd bought a car 3 months earlier. Feckers, the lot of them.

 

[Bad Company]

I also hate all the extras but the way the trade works the salespeople are on very low wages + commission. I guess that way they can at least make the cars look cheap.

 

[Scotmitchy]

I am picking up my new car on Friday or Saturday, so will get it tonight if I can, so ensure I am insured from the start.

Given this car is replacing a total loss claim - and I didn't have gap insurance - I certainly want it now, but my garage were charging me £300.

 

[oldfatfool]

You mean they forgot to offer you key insurance?

 

[Cheddar George]

I think that the car salesman played by William H Macy in Fargo was spot on, the scene where he goes into the other office to "negotiate" a better deal on the paint protector with his boss is fantastic. I've had double glazing salesmen doing the same thing by ringing up their boss to see if they can get "special dispensation" just for me, i was convinced he was negotiating with the speaking clock.