Are some dealers using "sharp" practice?

In the last couple of days I have had several people PM me about paint protection systems. Mainly that without their knowledge it has been added to their order for £400 a pop for the Autoglym system. Read your order carefully and check that there are not items added that you are not needing or are unnecessary.

FYI my local Gard-X outlet, who are a professional car valeting company, not a car dealer, quoted me £199 to do not just their paint protection system but for that price included the Gard-X interior protection system as well for the Evoque. The same company was also offering a full post delivery paint inspection for a very small sum as well.

(28-09-2011 04:33pm)XFullFatTim Wrote:  In the last couple of days I have had several people PM me about paint protection systems. Mainly that without their knowledge it has been added to their order for £400 a pop for the Autoglym system. Read your order carefully and check that there are not items added that you are not needing or are unnecessary.

FYI my local Gard-X outlet, who are a professional car valeting company, not a car dealer, quoted me £199 to do not just their paint protection system but for that price included the Gard-X interior protection system as well for the Evoque. The same company was also offering a full post delivery paint inspection for a very small sum as well.

When I placed my deposit, the salesperson I dealt with insisted that I took Supagard on the basis that RR used water based paint on the Evoque......whilst I appreciate that dealers maybe feel the need to increase their margins by selling paint protection, and Gap insurance at over-inflated prices it's a sharp practice. Take your time to consider what the alternatives are (and the relevance/true value of said extras). I'm going to request that the dealer doesn't even prepare the car as when you look at some of the new cars in the showroom, swirl marks are evident which demonstrates poor preparation methods.

I insisted that if he wanted my order, that the £400 paint protection be removed from my order forthwith to save us having to have an uncomfortable conversation at a later date.

To his credit, he removed it

Every car maker is required to use water based paints by EU edict now. Do BMW/Audi et al dealerships have so little faith in their paint systems that they insist that customers pay extra to have an extra coat of polish put on the paint? I think not

(28-09-2011 10:25pm)XFullFatTim Wrote:  Every car maker is required to use water based paints by EU edict now. Do BMW/Audi et al dealerships have so little faith in their paint systems that they insist that customers pay extra to have an extra coat of polish put on the paint? I think not

Especially when that extra coat of polish costs the dealer a small fraction of the cost they sell it for.

Just ask em if they are suggesting the standard Paint is not fit for purPose without spending 400 quid extra

I actually had to lookup the terms "sharp practice" - hmm, I think I'm definitely a victim. Again. On my last few vehicle contracts I've been charged not a paint protection but Globali.com fee. A theft deterrent/ vehicle recovery system that shows up on contracts and is not even mentioned by the salesperson before you purchase. Apparently vehicle components are chemically etched and a uv light can show up the VIN.
When I wrote back to the LR dealership asking as to why LR charge $799 and Audi $499 my salesperson said they have charged that premium since day one and not to forget that the fee includes the "premium rubber mats" (Audi threw those in for me).
Strangely enough, the floor mats appear on the invoice elsewhere as a separate item, and on the day of negotiations I was told I'd receive the free mats as part of the deal. I do feel like the Globali fee (noted in the dealer options/charges part of the contract) is an example of a sharp practice!

I don't even want the Globali - as a consumer I'm less concerned about theft deterrent stickers and vehicle recovery as long as I get a
replacement....that is why I pay hefty theft insurance. What would you do - try to have it cancelled? I signed that contract a month ago and my delivery is more than a month away though. Not sure if I have a legal leg to stand on and also don't want to create I'll blood before car pickup?
Should I just grin and bear it!

Isn't it strange that the prices for these "options" always ends in 99, how convenient and a sure sign that they are charging what they think they can get away with. Don't know anything about Canadian contract law but I suspect having signed it, it is binding. You need to read the small print to see if you can vary the contract.

I specifically wrote to my dealer to tell them I did not require paint prep, GAP insurance and so on and would they please not try to sell them to me. I had paint prep on a previous new car and it was a waste of money, poorly done. I also took out the GAP insurance but under UK law, you have a 7 or 14 day right to cancel which I did when I read the small print of the policy and found it was useless.

The dealers play to owners' anxieties about their new pride and joy and these offers, like extended warranties, are a waste of money. Far better to mentally put the money aside to cover any issues - to effectively self-insure. Occasionally, you may lose out but in the long run over several products, you will be ahead.

Yes, thanks for your reply Mark. Our anxieties are being exploited at the emotionally charged purchase hour. It's valuable to talk about some of these underhanded methods on this forum.
I'll be watching the rest of my LR experience carefully. We do have the Better Business Bureau in operation in Canada and I might file a report to give future buyers the heads up ay some stage.

Hi again. I'm afraid I'd be straight in to the showroom and ask that the items that you don't want be removed. As you say that's why we pay hefty insurance. Frankly if my car gets stolen I don't want it identified by the chemically treated parts. To do this would mean that it's other identities have been erased already and if that were the case I'd want a replacement car. Also as your dealer indicated that the premium mats were part of the package you thought that you were buying you were effectively miss sold the product as you now know the mats are included.

In terms of gap insurance I usually don't bother but I considered that there could be a higher than average risk of theft so this time I went for it. That said the price of £399had to be reduced first. I ended up getting it for £200. Kind regards YT

Did you buy the gap from a dealer yts?