TMW - Car pricing and why you should keep away from main dealerships, or should you ?

Buying a new car is probably the second biggest purchase the majority of people make in the UK, so, making sure that you buy the best car, at the best prices is something that you should take your time in working out, so, where is the best place to get your nice new car from ?

The Dealership

Buying from your main dealer is always a consideration, they like to make out that you can not buy your car any better than from them, but they have to make money so they will try and make out they are the best, but that's not strictly true, the dealership, will have a lot of overheads, they will have to abide by the brand's terms and conditions, the way that building looks, how many cars they have in the showroom, decoration and so on, all this has a value, and this has to be paid for.

And it is you, the customer that pays for this out of your nice new car, so when you see that sticker price, advertising your nice new car, you are paying for far more than the car, however, you get the backup of that brand, when you have any issues, or you would like to think you do, if you have any issues within the warranty period, the dealership should be the first point of call to go to, to get your issue sorted, but these days, you will find a lot of dealers will try their best to get out of repairing the fault, especially when it is a recall issue, time is not your friend in that case.

The Car Supermarket

The Supermarket is a relatively new way of buying a car, up until the last few years these businesses have mainly dealt with second hand car sales, but more recently they have been selling new cars, MG is one brand that has moved into the Supermarket arena to sell cars, unfortunately number are not available to see if this is working or not, but for a Supermarket like Motorpoint to have a brand on their books it gives them some kudos.

But can it work, well, it is far harder to sell a nice brand new car from these sites that from a main dealer, why, well, say for argument sake you have £10k to spend and you go to one of these sites, do you buy a nice top of the line MG3 or do you buy a 2015 (65 Plate) Volkswagen Polo, personally I know which one I would go for, a supposed quality brand, with the remainder of it's warranty

Online Purchase

The best way to get a car in my opinion, as I have gone the route and purchased a car online, quite successfully, the dealership was dire, but the online company could not have been any better, it was simple, to the point and you have the price take it or leave it, as an example for this report I have chosen one car make and model, the 1.5 Litre. TDCI, Ford Fiesta Five door, 

Dealership      -   £16,795

Supermarket   -   £12,699 -£4,096
Online Purchase £12,252 -£4,543

So you can clearly see the price difference, £4,543 difference between the dearest and cheapest for the same car, all three are brand new, unregistered, UK cars, with only one option, the city Pack, and the this is just the tip of the iceberg, there are other differences that amount to in excess of £10,000 in savings, in fact, a quick check found this car, the AUDI A8 with a discount of nearly £20,000 on dealership forecourt pricing.

But just because you can get a discount online, does not mean that you can't take that figure to your dealership and get them to match it, or, to offer a range of benefits to equal the price through Zero % APR, free servicing, free grade uplift etc, not that I am saying every dealer will be able or willing to do this, some are able, others are not, so, it depends on the relationship you have with that dealer.

If you don't have a relationship with a local dealer, and are happy to buy at the best price possible, and you don't mind travelling to collect your car, then online is probably your best bet, like I said, the Online company, Carfile.net, where we chose to purchase our car through could not be any better, unfortunately the Citroen dealership, Bristol Street Motors, could not have been worse. 

The lack of communication, the lack of pleasantries, the general rudeness of the salesman and the fact that we didn't even get anything as a gratitude for spending so much money with them, shows the total lack of care and concern from this dire business, we won't be using them again, even if it means spending more elsewhere, they put enough fuel in just to get us to the petrol station, as the low fuel signal was on as soon as we started it up, there was NO hand over.

The salesman refused to even show us, yes REFUSE to show us how various switches, dials and buttons worked, his comment that because we bought it through the Internet, we were not entitled to be shown how the car worked, was really dangerous, and to be honest if anyone has asked us to rate the dealership, they get told without any shadow of doubt that these people should be avoided at all costs.

Overall Verdict

Online is the way to go, regardless of the issues we have had, the pricing is simple to understand, you can get all the info on the car from the brand's website, and then from there you can get a price from the main dealer, which you can use to compare against the supermarket, if you have one local to you, or online, if you chose that route, but this is the route we will take next time around when we are due to change cars.

However we will enquire more so, into the dealership that is selling the car, and to make sure that they are better suited to dealing with customers from an online sale way, so, whatever option you chose, you can see that there are savings to be had on virtually every single brand and model, if you are willing to put in some time and effort, and we wish you luck in whatever option you choose, and please do let us know what option you chose and how much you save.

The Motoring World Blog

Jon Mower

No brand, model, Car Supermarket or Online sales outlet are being promoted within this report, all pictures are used for illustrative purposes only, and no affiliation is to be considered as part of this blog post.

Former England Cricket manager, David Lloyd, gets sorted with WarrantyWise Cover.

• David Lloyd, former England cricket manager, becomes the latest customer of Warrantywise, both local Lancashire legends
• Watch David Lloyd’s film for Warrantywise at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HoZsxGQxa1Q

Warrantywise CEO Lawrence Whittaker met up with David ‘Bumble’ Lloyd last month to discuss cars, cricket and Accrington Stanley. Due to David’s busy international lifestyle as a Sky Sports cricket pundit, he wants three key components when it comes to his cars: convenience, peace of mind and security. 

This is why he chose Warrantywise.

The former cricket manager and now Sky Sports pundit says joining Warrantywise was a ‘no brainer’ for him as he can now keep his wife’s much loved Audi TTS with the piece of mind of an extended used car warranty to cover any unexpected maintenance and repair costs.

David Lloyd said: “It gives me peace of mind, especially when I’m out of the country, that all Mrs. Lloyd need do is pick up the ‘phone, and the car is dealt with.”

David is a self confessed ‘car nut’ and has owned a variety of cars; Mini, Triumph Herald, Vitesse, Stag and a Ford Escort Mexico to name but a few.  David’s experience owning a variety of cars means he is aware of the problems that can arise when manufacturer warranties expire, and why extending it can prove to be invaluable.

David added: “The cost of repairs is always a problem and you just need to be able to sleep at night. You’re out of manufacturer warranty at three years, but through Warrantywise, you can extend and so it's a no brainer for us because we want to keep the car, but still with the piece of mind that should anything go wrong, it is taken care of.”

Warrantywise is a family run business, established for 15 years and although a national company, kept the head office in Clayton Le Moors, Lancashire, neighbouring David Lloyd’s hometown of Accrington Stanley. 

The warranty business was originally conceived when Lawrence’s father had a business servicing cars and providing a guarantee once repairs had been done, this evolved into a warranty business.

Lawrence sees the significance in supporting local businesses and has made this signature to his work ethic making David Lloyd the perfect new customer.

Lawrence Whittaker said: “It’s very important to support local people and local business, and this is what we like to do.”

Nissan Proves Commercial Vehicle Toughness in Extreme Arizona Desert

Nissan is announcing America’s best commercial van warranty* on its Light Commercial Vehicles, increasing basic limited warranty coverage from 3 years/36,000 miles to 5 years/100,000 miles, whichever comes first. The powertrain limited warranty has also been extended from 5 years/60,000 miles to 5 years/100,000 miles, whichever comes first.

The specific models covered by this new bumper-to-bumper warranty include the 2014 NV Cargo Van, NV Passenger Van and the NV200 Compact Cargo.**

“While we’re relatively new to the world of commercial vehicles in the U.S., we’ve already proven our mettle with vehicles that endure harsh conditions that passenger cars will never see,”  said Fred Diaz, senior vice president, Nissan Sales & Marketing and Operations.  “This warranty reaffirms our confidence in the quality of our vehicles, as some of the NV 2500 and 3500 models have already accrued 550,000-plus miles of real-world use.”

The improved warranty retroactively covers all 2014 model year Nissan Commercial Vehicles. Nissan has been selling LCVs in the U.S. since spring 2011 with the introduction of the NV Cargo and NV Passenger vans. The NV200 Compact Cargo was released to acclaim in April 2013 and is also the base for the Chevrolet City Express, General Motors’ upcoming entry into the segment.

“As Nissan Commercial Vehicles have established a reputation for ruggedness and durability in the field, we’re gaining sales traction and customer acceptance of our work vehicles,” Diaz added. “We’re in the commercial vehicle game for the long haul, and this warranty will further help our customers to have greater confidence in their vehicles.”

 Nissan’s new Light Commercial Vehicle warranty was inspired in part by the stories of Nissan Commercial Vehicles experiencing remarkable longevity under real-world work circumstances with businesses such as Above and Beyond Delivery. The company operates a fleet of 18-20 Nissan NV 3500 cargo vans out of Chandler, Ariz., supporting the mining, pharmaceuticals and food services industries. Above and Beyond began working with Nissan back in 2011, when an NV Cargo was lent to the company for its operations in the mining industry. 

The initial vehicle used by Above and Beyond accrued more than 550,000 miles on its odometer with few repairs or downtime in the course of its service – the most major being an alternator replacement at 382,000 miles. 

“Our drivers operate in the extreme weather of Arizona in challenging conditions, such as the Morenci Mine, which is one of the world’s largest copper mines. Service failures are not an option for us. If a vehicle is down, it is not making money, so the reliability of the Nissan NVs is a massive advantage,” said James Bowman, president, Above and Beyond Delivery.

“We have been very impressed at how good the Nissan NV lineup has gotten – especially with our half-million-mile experience with a single NV Cargo hauling large rock samples – so we are in the process of transitioning all of our light-duty delivery vehicles to Nissan NVs.  We have 25 vehicles on order at present.”

Year-to-date, Nissan has sold more than 10,700 commercial vehicles in the U.S., an 88 percent increase over this time period in 2013.

All Nissan Commercial Vehicles sold in the U.S. are assembled in North America, with the NV Cargo and NV Passenger assembled in Canton, Miss., and the NV200 assembled in Cuernavaca, Mexico.

MG continues to try to temp British buyers, NOW with price cuts and 5 year packages.

• 5 years complete peace of mind with MG’s Spring 2014 MG6 tactical campaign; ‘High 5’
• 5 years free servicing, 5 years free warranty, 5 year AA cover, 5 year fuel subsidy and 5 year 5% APR finance offer
• Revised pricing on all MG6 specifications; now available from just £15,455 to £19,995
• Affordable product range with MG3 available for under £10,000 and MG6 available for under £20,000
• 0% APR now available on MG3

MG has announced a five-part after sales campaign offering complete customer peace of mind, as well as a pricing restructure for MG6 models, which sees the multiple award winning saloon become even more affordable, as all specifications are now available for under £20,000.

Voted by customers as the winner of Best Handling and sixth overall Best Car to Own in the 2014 Auto Express Driver Power Awards, the MG6 is already a favourite with MG owners for its drivability, affordability and exceptionally high levels of equipment included as standard. Now the MG6 is even more appealing as all specifications are available from just £15,455 to £19,995, and with the current ‘High 5’ offer, MG6 customers can buy and drive away with complete peace of mind:

1.      Five years free servicing up to 75,000 miles

2.      Five years free warranty

3.      Five years breakdown cover with the AA

4.      Five years fuel subsidy in the form of £500 worth of fuel vouchers

5.      Five year low finance of just five per cent APR

The current roadgoing MG6 bridges the gap between sports performance and every day practicality. McPherson strut suspension, sports chassis, crosshatch grille, sporty alloy wheels and enhanced traction control are included as standard, as is class-leading interior space, a huge 498 litre boot and a What Car? award winning drive away locking system, Thatcham category one alarm with immobiliser and perimeter detection. The MG6 also benefits from the lowest insurance group in its class, ranging from just 13E to 15E, depending on variant.

Furthering the commitment to great value, without compromise, all MG6 variants feature outstanding levels of equipment as standard; the MG6 S trim line features sports seats, 17” alloy wheels, electronic air conditioning (petrol variants) or dual zone climate control (diesel variants), front and rear electric windows, hill hold control, eight-speaker stereo CD+AM/FM tuner with MP3 compatibility and USB port. The SE trim level adds cruise control, 6.5” satellite navigation with 27 nation coverage and lifetime TMC traffic avoidance and tyre pressure monitoring. The recently reduced, top of the range TSE also features leather seats, an upgrade to 18” ‘straight’ design alloy wheels, auto dipping review mirror, automatic headlights, automatic rain sensing wipers, Bluetooth, brake disc wiping, front parking sensors, rear parking sensors and rear parking camera.

The MG6’s high levels of equipment, value for money and recent pricing restructure now mirrors that of its smaller stablemate, the MG3, which is available for under £10,000 (from £8,399 to £9,999). The MG3 boasts an ultra low insurance group of 4E and strong residuals of up to 61 per cent, as well as class leading levels of equipment, interior and boot space as standard. There are over one million personalisation options available, which can all be viewed on the online configurator www.mg.co.uk/mg3/configurator.

The recently introduced variable rate PCP finance packages for MG3 start from zero per cent APR, and complement the existing money saving offers, which include from just £99 a month or with zero per cent deposit deals on all specifications.

MG6 Finance Offer

As part of the High5 offer, MG6 is supported by 60 month conditional purchase finance at 5% APR. Representative examples are shown. This offer allows any MG6 (except BTCC Edition) to be offered with a comprehensive five year care package, at a fixed cost per month.

Five years of 5% APR available on all MG6 specifications until 30^th June 2014

New pricing structure for MG6

MG6 GT TCi-TECH Petrol S	£15,445
MG6 GT TCi-TECH Petrol SE	£16,955
MG6 GT TCi-TECH Petrol TSE	£18,955
MG6 Magnette TCi-TECH Petrol TSE	£18,955	(previously £19,995)
MG6 DTi- TECH Diesel S	£16,955
MG6 DTi- TECH Diesel SE	£18,195
MG6 DTi- TECH Diesel TSE	£19,995	(previously £20,195)
MG6 Magnette DTi-TECH Diesel TSE	£19,995	(previously £21,195)
MG6 BTCC Edition	£16,995

MG6 for business users

MG6 GT and MG6 MAGNETTE are now available from just £199* (excl. VAT) for business customers- currently available under the scheme, along with used MG6 VAT qualifying cars up to a year old and with a maximum of 10,000 recorded miles. These rates are supported by ALD Automotive, Europe’s second largest contract hire provider, which manages more than 900,000 vehicles worldwide.

MG6 in the British Touring Car Champioship (BTCC)

Designed, engineered and finally assembled at MG’s historic home in Longbridge, Birmingham, the award winning MG6 continues MG’s prestigious racing heritage. MG has always been synonymous with sporting drive and style, something that continues to this day, as this season, a third MG6 will join the BTCC circuit, driven by Marc Hynes for the British Government owned ‘Make Britain Great’ team. In 2013, the MG KX MOMENTUM team came third in the 2013 British Touring Car Championship, with more pole positions than any other team and achieved front row lock outs in 50 per cent of races last season. MG driver, Jason Plato received a total of 380 points, a mere 10 points less than Gordon Sheddon (Honda) who came second, and only 17 points less than Andrew Jordon (Pirtek) who came first. Jason's team mate, Sam Tordoff, came sixth overall with 286 points, which is an excellent result for his first year in the championship. 

MG3 

MG3 3TIME	- AVAILBLE with 0% APR PCP over 36 months
MG3 3FORM	- AVAILABLE with 2.9% APR PCP over 36 months
MG3 3Form SPORT	- AVAILABLE with 6.9% APR PCP over 36 months
MG3 3STYLE	- AVAILABLE with 6.9% APR PCP over 36 months
MG3 3STLE LUX	- AVAILABLE with 6.9% APR PCP over 36 months

e.g. 3TIME 0%APR

New generation Hyundai i10, bigger, better and more luxurious

“New Generation i10 is a significant step forward for the brand and will ensure Hyundai Motor remains a leader in the highly-competitive A-segment by introducing more customers to what Hyundai Motor is all about: delivering ‘true value’.” – Allan Rushforth, Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, Hyundai Motor Europe

• Hyundai Motor’s first A-segment to be designed, developed and built in Europe
• Longer, wider and lower, with class-leading space and practicality
• Levels of comfort and safety from the segment above
• Sophisticated exterior and interior styling
• High levels of perceived quality and Five Year Unlimited Mileage Warranty

Hyundai Motor is set to build on its success achieved in the A-segment with the New Generation i10, a model designed, engineered and manufactured in Europe, for European buyers.

The new model both enhances Hyundai Motor’s ‘made-for-Europe‘ product line-up and introduces new standards to the region’s A-segment, bringing class-leading space, levels of comfort and safety from the segment above, and sophisticated exterior and interior design.

As well as sales, Original i10 won numerous awards across Europe, most recently being named ‘Best city car less than £9000’ at the What Car?Car of the Year 2013 awards (UK), and generated loyalty rates above the segment average – 54% in the five biggest European markets compared to the segment average of 48%.

Another evolution over Original i10 is the introduction of what Hyundai Motor calls ‘true value’ – the addition of desirable features from segments above and emotional qualities such as dynamic styling to existing rational features such as high quality and high efficiency.  Exemplified by models such as New Generation i30 and New ix35, true value is now integral to the appeal of New Generation i10.

“We’re offering consumers something truly unique in New Generation i10 – an A-segment car consumers want to buy, not one they feel they have to.  It fully meets the rational needs of buyers in the cost-sensitive A-segment, yet delivers levels of comfort, driving pleasure and perceived quality from segments above,” said Mark Hall, Vice President of Marketing, Hyundai Motor Europe.

New Generation i10 is another example of Hyundai Motor’s commitment to European customers.  It has been designed and engineered at the Hyundai Motor Europe Technical Centre (HME TC) in Rüsselsheim, Germany, and is, for the first time, manufactured in the region, at the company’s recently-expanded plant in Ízmit, Turkey.

Influenced by Hyundai Motor’s design philosophy, fluidic sculpture, New Generation i10 features sleek and substantial lines that emphasise the naturally athletic stance of a model which is longer, wider and lower than its predecessor.

The new proportions are mirrored by a driving experience that has been developed to meet European preferences.  Relocated and retuned components result in greater body and wheel control, delivering more driver involvement and ride comfort comparable to that of cars from higher segments.

The larger bodyshell of New Generation i10 yields one of the roomiest occupant cabins on the market, as well as a best-in-class 252 litres of trunk capacity.  Up to 1046 litres becomes available when the rear seats are folded – also a best-in-class figure.  New levels of craftsmanship can be found in the spacious interior, together with levels of comfort and safety equipment commonly only found in segments above.

Allan Rushforth, Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer at Hyundai Motor Europe, commented: “The introduction of New Generation i10 represents a pivotal moment for Hyundai Motor in Europe and for the A-segment in the region.  Rich in features and abilities normally only found in vehicles from segments above, New Generation i10 offers consumers premium equipment and abilities –without asking them to pay a premium price.  In addition, consumers benefit from more practicality and space, as well as style and comfort; we’re confident New Generation i10 will win new customers while retaining the many new customers won by Original i10.”

Demonstrating Hyundai Motor’s confidence in its European build quality, the New Generation i10 will come with the company’s Five Year Unlimited Mileage Warranty.  The industry-best package also includes five years of roadside assistance and five years of vehicle health checks - which are offered across Europe for the first time on an A-segment Hyundai model.