And hers
Showing posts with label Car Shopping. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Car Shopping. Show all posts
Tuesday, 17 August 2010
Sunday, 15 August 2010
More car shopping
Having sorted Neil's car we now needed to sort one for me. I have much lower ambitions as far as cars are concerned as I do not like driving big cars. All I wanted was a little hatchback that was good for getting the dogs about, getting the shopping in and reliable.
On my trips back to the UK over the last couple of years I have had a variety of hire cars and the one I had particularly enjoyed driving was the Kia Rio and so that was top of my shopping list, well to be honest - it was my entire shopping list.
Again, we spent time on the internet to find cars to go and see on the Tuesday morning while we were waiting for the the 2pm time to arrive when we would get the keys to the house. It was good to keep occupied as I was aware that we were getting the keys to move into a house that Neil hadn't actually seen and so I was a little apprehensive about what he would think about the house when he finally got to see it.
2nd hand Kia Rio's were not in abundance but there was one in a garage close by and it was red. Would it look a bit excessive to have 2 red cars sitting side by side on the drive? Would it be like a couple who go out in matching sweatshirts? No, we didn't think so - so we set off to have a look at the car.
Now, I'm not sure whether we looked like time wasters or what, but the garage decided to give us the trainee to practise his selling skills on. This is a rough translation of our conversation:
Us: We've come to have a look at the Kia Rio you have for sale.
Trainee: Ok, let me check where it is for you........Oh, I'm sorry we have sold that one.
Us: Do you have any others.
Trainee: No, but we have mobility cars coming in all the time.
(Neil and I exchange glances as we weren't aware we looked as if we had a disability that would need a mobility vehicle)
Us: So do you have any Rio's due in?
Trainee: No.
(So that was a rather useless bit of info then)
Trainee: We could arrange 0% finance for you.
Us: Why? We're paying cash.
Trainee: Well then you could buy a more expensive car.
Us: Why, do you have a Rio that is more expensive?
Trainee: No.
Us: (Big sigh)
Trainee: Would you be interested in a Kia Cee'd?
Us: Don't know, what does a Cee'd look like.
(Trainee takes us over to look at a New Cee'd in the showroom and it was fine)
Us: Yes, that would be ok, do you have one for our budget?
Trainee: No.
Us: (Another big sigh)
Us: Thanks for your help
And we left.
Now, this wasn't a Kia dealer and there was a carpark full of 2nd hand cars but we had lost the will to start trying to discuss other cars.
Then we went on to a garage we had bought from previously. They are a 2nd hand car supermarket and always have hundreds of cars in stock.
Us: We're looking for a Kia Rio, our budget is this, do you have anything?
Salesman: No, but what does your car need to have?
Us: Smallish, diesel, hatchback.
Salesman: Well, we have just received a Seat Altea that is a nice car.
Us: What's a Seat Altea look like.
Salesman: It's in our valeting suite, come and have a look.
And so, I found my car. it was smallish, it was a hatchback with 5 doors, it was a diesel, it was sparkly black and had a 6 CD changer. It was for our budget.
We took it for a test drive. It has a 1.9TDI sport engine and zips around the lanes. The rear seats move forward so there is no gap between them and the front seats for the dogs to fall down. There are lots of compartments in the boot (that's the trunk for my American readers) to stop the shopping bags sliding everywhere.
And that was it. I had found my car. I could collect it on Thursday. Neil could collect his on Friday, so within the week we would both be mobile again.
And all this before we'd picked up the keys for the house.
Not a bad couple of days shopping.
On my trips back to the UK over the last couple of years I have had a variety of hire cars and the one I had particularly enjoyed driving was the Kia Rio and so that was top of my shopping list, well to be honest - it was my entire shopping list.
Again, we spent time on the internet to find cars to go and see on the Tuesday morning while we were waiting for the the 2pm time to arrive when we would get the keys to the house. It was good to keep occupied as I was aware that we were getting the keys to move into a house that Neil hadn't actually seen and so I was a little apprehensive about what he would think about the house when he finally got to see it.
2nd hand Kia Rio's were not in abundance but there was one in a garage close by and it was red. Would it look a bit excessive to have 2 red cars sitting side by side on the drive? Would it be like a couple who go out in matching sweatshirts? No, we didn't think so - so we set off to have a look at the car.
Now, I'm not sure whether we looked like time wasters or what, but the garage decided to give us the trainee to practise his selling skills on. This is a rough translation of our conversation:
Us: We've come to have a look at the Kia Rio you have for sale.
Trainee: Ok, let me check where it is for you........Oh, I'm sorry we have sold that one.
Us: Do you have any others.
Trainee: No, but we have mobility cars coming in all the time.
(Neil and I exchange glances as we weren't aware we looked as if we had a disability that would need a mobility vehicle)
Us: So do you have any Rio's due in?
Trainee: No.
(So that was a rather useless bit of info then)
Trainee: We could arrange 0% finance for you.
Us: Why? We're paying cash.
Trainee: Well then you could buy a more expensive car.
Us: Why, do you have a Rio that is more expensive?
Trainee: No.
Us: (Big sigh)
Trainee: Would you be interested in a Kia Cee'd?
Us: Don't know, what does a Cee'd look like.
(Trainee takes us over to look at a New Cee'd in the showroom and it was fine)
Us: Yes, that would be ok, do you have one for our budget?
Trainee: No.
Us: (Another big sigh)
Us: Thanks for your help
And we left.
Now, this wasn't a Kia dealer and there was a carpark full of 2nd hand cars but we had lost the will to start trying to discuss other cars.
Then we went on to a garage we had bought from previously. They are a 2nd hand car supermarket and always have hundreds of cars in stock.
Us: We're looking for a Kia Rio, our budget is this, do you have anything?
Salesman: No, but what does your car need to have?
Us: Smallish, diesel, hatchback.
Salesman: Well, we have just received a Seat Altea that is a nice car.
Us: What's a Seat Altea look like.
Salesman: It's in our valeting suite, come and have a look.
And so, I found my car. it was smallish, it was a hatchback with 5 doors, it was a diesel, it was sparkly black and had a 6 CD changer. It was for our budget.
We took it for a test drive. It has a 1.9TDI sport engine and zips around the lanes. The rear seats move forward so there is no gap between them and the front seats for the dogs to fall down. There are lots of compartments in the boot (that's the trunk for my American readers) to stop the shopping bags sliding everywhere.
And that was it. I had found my car. I could collect it on Thursday. Neil could collect his on Friday, so within the week we would both be mobile again.
And all this before we'd picked up the keys for the house.
Not a bad couple of days shopping.
Wednesday, 11 August 2010
Car shopping
We phoned up about the first 2 cars on the list before driving out to see them only to find the first one had been sold and the 2nd one had very high milage. A little down hearted I logged onto the internet one last time before leaving the hotel for the day, just to see if there were any new listings.
And there was. Half an hours drive away was a car that ticked all the boxes PLUS, it was red!
It rapidly rose to the top of the shopping list and we telephoned the garage to ensure it was still for sale and it wasn't a mistake.
Yes, it was new into them that morning, so much so that they hadn't even started to clean it ready for the forecourt but we could go and have a look if we accepted that it needed a valet.
As we drove to the garage it was difficult for Neil not to have high hopes he had found his perfect car. I so didn't want him to be disappointed when we got there.
As we pulled up at the garage we looked around for it but there seemed to be everything except the red Jaguar. We spoke to a sales guy and he told us it was parked in the carpark around the back and he would bring it round.
As it drove into view I knew there would have to be something really wrong with it for us not to be buying it. Neil looked at the car in the same way that he used to look at me when we first met. He was smitten from that first glance.
And why not, it was a beautiful car. A wonderful rich red, cream leather and wood trim interior. It was an automatic with satnav and just so much luxury.
'Would you like to take it for a test drive?'
Would we? Rather!
It purred, as a big cat should as Neil drove it onto the country lanes. I sat in the back with the pups and felt like Lady Penelope with Neil as my Parker.
There was no doubt we had found the car of Neil's dreams. He was a very happy boy.
When we got back to the showroom we started to talk the deal. It became very interesting when they asked us whether we had anything to Part Exchange. Neil jokingly said we had, and pointed to the Kia. We expected them to laugh at us and continue on with the deal, but they didn't. They told us they had a contact that dealt in LHD cars and could they take a look and then phone him to see what he would offer us. Within half an hour not only had we done the deal on the Jaguar but we had also agreed a deal on the Kia and got an extra £500 for it.
All we had to do now was wait for the phone call later in the week to tell us the car was fully valeted and ready to be collected.
Neil was like a child waiting for Christmas Day to arrive.
Bless!
And there was. Half an hours drive away was a car that ticked all the boxes PLUS, it was red!
It rapidly rose to the top of the shopping list and we telephoned the garage to ensure it was still for sale and it wasn't a mistake.
Yes, it was new into them that morning, so much so that they hadn't even started to clean it ready for the forecourt but we could go and have a look if we accepted that it needed a valet.
As we drove to the garage it was difficult for Neil not to have high hopes he had found his perfect car. I so didn't want him to be disappointed when we got there.
As we pulled up at the garage we looked around for it but there seemed to be everything except the red Jaguar. We spoke to a sales guy and he told us it was parked in the carpark around the back and he would bring it round.
As it drove into view I knew there would have to be something really wrong with it for us not to be buying it. Neil looked at the car in the same way that he used to look at me when we first met. He was smitten from that first glance.
And why not, it was a beautiful car. A wonderful rich red, cream leather and wood trim interior. It was an automatic with satnav and just so much luxury.
'Would you like to take it for a test drive?'
Would we? Rather!
It purred, as a big cat should as Neil drove it onto the country lanes. I sat in the back with the pups and felt like Lady Penelope with Neil as my Parker.
There was no doubt we had found the car of Neil's dreams. He was a very happy boy.
When we got back to the showroom we started to talk the deal. It became very interesting when they asked us whether we had anything to Part Exchange. Neil jokingly said we had, and pointed to the Kia. We expected them to laugh at us and continue on with the deal, but they didn't. They told us they had a contact that dealt in LHD cars and could they take a look and then phone him to see what he would offer us. Within half an hour not only had we done the deal on the Jaguar but we had also agreed a deal on the Kia and got an extra £500 for it.
All we had to do now was wait for the phone call later in the week to tell us the car was fully valeted and ready to be collected.
Neil was like a child waiting for Christmas Day to arrive.
Bless!
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