How to buy a car!

[backwoodsman]

Give the long lead times for new cars, and the general barmyness of the second-hand market, I'd wait jf you can - pretty much as long as you can. I've gone down the lease route, but would probably suggest PCP with as big a deposit as you can manage to keep monthly payments as low as as possible.

If you're considering the Kodiaq then I'd say that whilst I love mine (looks like I've got similar spec as Aztecs27) bear in mind that if you have all seven seats in use, then the luggage space is seriously reduced. (I only need mine as a 5 seater). And like all new cars, there's a long wait - I got mine in August after ordering in February.

 

[RichA]

If buying new, I would definitely recommend DriveTheDeal and CarWow. They are online brokers who will find you the best deal from a main dealer for your precise spec.
I've used them 3 times to order new cars for myself and family in the last few years and they undercut the RRP by £thousands. Certainly a better deal than any of local dealers could match.
Never used WBAC myself, but have heard good things recently about fuss free disposal of your old cars, as long as you're honest and realistic about damage and value.
It's not a buyer's market at the moment, but if you're selling two and buying one, you're golden. Good luck.

 

[Blakey]

I was in a very similar position a few years ago. We had a 10 year old XC90 that was just starting to have bits that needed fixing so decided to get something new with 7 seats, we also looked at the Kodiaq but as mentioned previously with the back row of seats their is very limited boot space. We ended up with a VW Sharan, not the most inspiring choice but unfortunately the most practical and can’t really fault it. I got a few quotes through car wow of different specs, which meant the only haggling we had to do was over the value of the XC90 part ex.

 

[craigstardis1976]

Probably not the advice you are looking for but one of the keys to achieving a degree of financial independence was to never buy a car again on finance. if your cars are still operational, it would make more sense in the long run to buy a used car and pay upfront and will be cheaper to insure as well. I understand the economy in the UK is different than the US (where I live) but 100k miles on a car nowadays is not a huge amount. My current car has 136k on it and I would not hesitate it to take it on a trip. In fact, I did a 2,400 mile journey with it last month.

 

[PJ87]

I was in a very similar position a few years ago. We had a 10 year old XC90 that was just starting to have bits that needed fixing so decided to get something new with 7 seats, we also looked at the Kodiaq but as mentioned previously with the back row of seats their is very limited boot space. We ended up with a VW Sharan, not the most inspiring choice but unfortunately the most practical and can’t really fault it. I got a few quotes through car wow of different specs, which meant the only haggling we had to do was over the value of the XC90 part ex.

I got an seat Alhambra which is a Sharan with a diff badge.. bit cheaper .. think it's discontinued now tho and just focusing on the Sharon but echo what you say.. great car

All 3 kids in the car in under 2 mins

 

[Blakey]

I got an seat Alhambra which is a Sharan with a diff badge.. bit cheaper .. think it's discontinued now tho and just focusing on the Sharon but echo what you say.. great car

All 3 kids in the car in under 2 mins

I looked at the Alhambra, but they didn’t do the Engine option I wanted. Plus the built in booster seats in the Sharan was a game changer!
It’s boring to look at, but you don’t see that from the inside. And there is plenty of room for the clubs etc!
Just need to get sporty run around as well!

 

[PJ87]

I looked at the Alhambra, but they didn’t do the Engine option I wanted. Plus the built in booster seats in the Sharan was a game changer!
It’s boring to look at, but you don’t see that from the inside. And there is plenty of room for the clubs etc!
Just need to get sporty run around as well!

I have the built in booster seat in the alhambra.. its brilliant isnt it

must have been an option at the time mine was made maybe not when you got yours

electric doors and tailgate are actually useful aswell

for example we coming out her grandads saturday... one twin each, eldest holding mums hand.. i get key out open both sliding doors and boot.. chuck bags in boot.. we put our twin in their seats and eldest in front so mrs is next to the girls

job done

 

[Blakey]

I have the built in booster seat in the alhambra.. its brilliant isnt it

must have been an option at the time mine was made maybe not when you got yours

electric doors and tailgate are actually useful aswell

for example we coming out her grandads saturday... one twin each, eldest holding mums hand.. i get key out open both sliding doors and boot.. chuck bags in boot.. we put our twin in their seats and eldest in front so mrs is next to the girls

job done

I didn’t get as far as spec’ing the Seat, I didn’t realise they did the boosters in there aswell. Mine is ‘07, although my kids have pretty much grown out of them now.

Agree on the electric doors or magic doors as my nephew calls them ?.
we didnt get the electric tailgate which is the one option we regret not getting only because my wife isn’t quite tall enough to close it.

 

[PJ87]

I didn’t get as far as spec’ing the Seat, I didn’t realise they did the boosters in there aswell. Mine is ‘07, although my kids have pretty much grown out of them now.

Agree on the electric doors or magic doors as my nephew calls them ?.
we didnt get the electric tailgate which is the one option we regret not getting only because my wife isn’t quite tall enough to close it.

I picked up a 66 plate second hand last year and it was fully kitted

Love it for the kids

 

[Canary_Yellow]

If buying new, I would definitely recommend DriveTheDeal and CarWow. They are online brokers who will find you the best deal from a main dealer for your precise spec.
I've used them 3 times to order new cars for myself and family in the last few years and they undercut the RRP by £thousands. Certainly a better deal than any of local dealers could match.
Never used WBAC myself, but have heard good things recently about fuss free disposal of your old cars, as long as you're honest and realistic about damage and value.
It's not a buyer's market at the moment, but if you're selling two and buying one, you're golden. Good luck.

Coast2coastcars.co.uk is another similar one which helps you get the best deal and eliminates haggling when you go to the dealer. Or you can order via them.

 

[GreiginFife]

If buying new, I would definitely recommend DriveTheDeal and CarWow. They are online brokers who will find you the best deal from a main dealer for your precise spec.
I've used them 3 times to order new cars for myself and family in the last few years and they undercut the RRP by £thousands. Certainly a better deal than any of local dealers could match.
Never used WBAC myself, but have heard good things recently about fuss free disposal of your old cars, as long as you're honest and realistic about damage and value.
It's not a buyer's market at the moment, but if you're selling two and buying one, you're golden. Good luck.

Do these sites take in to account dealer/manufacturer contributions? I just looked at Carwow for a similar specced 8 series to what I have just bought and cheapest was £7995 off RRP but didn't say what that comprised of. I got £10,500 manufacturer contribution and £5300 dealer contribution on mine so whilst Eastern avertised it at RRP and was £7995 more expensive than the Carwow price, once I sat down with the sales rep and worked through the actual numbers it was far less than the Carwow best price.

Or would it be £7995 off RRP and then additional contributions?

 

[sunshine]

I got an seat Alhambra which is a Sharan with a diff badge.. bit cheaper .. think it's discontinued now tho and just focusing on the Sharon but echo what you say.. great car

All 3 kids in the car in under 2 mins

The name Alhambra has a nice ring to it.

I could never buy a car called Sharon. Just couldn’t take it seriously

 

[PJ87]

The name Alhambra has a nice ring to it.

I could never buy a car called Sharon. Just couldn’t take it seriously

It really does doesn't it!

Sharon sounds like an extra on East enders

 

[RichA]

Do these sites take in to account dealer/manufacturer contributions? I just looked at Carwow for a similar specced 8 series to what I have just bought and cheapest was £7995 off RRP but didn't say what that comprised of. I got £10,500 manufacturer contribution and £5300 dealer contribution on mine so whilst Eastern avertised it at RRP and was £7995 more expensive than the Carwow price, once I sat down with the sales rep and worked through the actual numbers it was far less than the Carwow best price.

Or would it be £7995 off RRP and then additional contributions?

In my experience, which is now a couple of years out of date, the local dealer was left scratching his head at the broker prices, even though those prices were with somebody's local dealer - just not mine. I sourced a VW from a dealer in Kent (via DtD) who specialises in fleet sales and tags the odd private sale onto a big order and a Mercedes from a guy in Norwich (via CarWow) operating similarly. At the time, they were massively undercutting my locals but, as you've found, if you get your local on a good day when he's got a target looming or stock to shift, you can still get a deal. I can't imagine they move too many specced up 8 Series, so if what you wanted was already in existence you did very well.

Edit: and to actually answer your question, when I used them, they included every contribution, offer and discount they could find to get the lowest price. My local VW dealer told me the guy must just be working on maxing his sales because they couldn't even buy it from VW for the price I was quoted.

 

[GreiginFife]

In my experience, which is now a couple of years out of date, the local dealer was left scratching his head at the broker prices, even though those prices were with somebody's local dealer - just not mine. I sourced a VW from a dealer in Kent (via DtD) who specialises in fleet sales and tags the odd private sale onto a big order and a Mercedes from a guy in Norwich (via CarWow) operating similarly. At the time, they were massively undercutting my locals but, as you've found, if you get your local on a good day when he's got a target looming or stock to shift, you can still get a deal. I can't imagine they move too many specced up 8 Series, so if what you wanted was already in existence you did very well.

Edit: and to actually answer your question, when I used them, they included every contribution, offer and discount they could find to get the lowest price. My local VW dealer told me the guy must just be working on maxing his sales because they couldn't even buy it from VW for the price I was quoted.

So much easier just to talk to my local dealer. The 8 series I went for is a custom order, none available as it stands so even with factory order I got a superb deal. Plus had £5k of equity in my 340.

 

[RichA]

So much easier just to talk to my local dealer. The 8 series I went for is a custom order, none available as it stands so even with factory order I got a superb deal. Plus had £5k of equity in my 340.

I hope it's customised to run on potato peelings and toilet paper. If it's diesel it will still look nice parked on your driveway.

 

[GreiginFife]

I hope it's customised to run on potato peelings and toilet paper. If it's diesel it will still look nice parked on your driveway.

Petrol version. Won't have another diesel now. Next will be electric but the one I wanted was on a massive wait list and it's not even out yet.