Author's product rating: 
| Advantages: |
Loads of cars, no hard selling |
| Disadvantages: |
You might get passed from person to person in the show room |
| Recommend to potential buyers: |
yes |
Hubby decided it was time for a new car, and seeing as we don’t have any spare cash at the moment it was definitely going to be second hand and preferably as cheap as possible at a standard that we liked.
Having heard all the adverts for available car.com we thought we would go and have a look around one of their forecourts just to get an idea of what we could get for what money. Availablecar.com are also available on line although not all cars in their show room are on line so it’s worth a visit to see what new vehicles have come in. They deal with cars ranging from £3000 to £15,000 so if you are looking for cheaper or have more money to spend you might be better off looking somewhere else!
Just to make it clear available car only sell second hand cars, so don’t go expecting to get anything brand new, although they have a great range of nearly new!
We currently have a 02 Ford Focus and were looking for something a little bigger (but not too much, because at some point I’m going to have to park it myself!) and as new as possible.
The show room and cars
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Hubby had his heart set on a Renault Scenic or a Focus C-Max, I just wanted something in a pretty colour! Here is where available car are genius. Unlike some car sale forecourts where you have to look around the whole place, available car have grouped the cars into MPV’s, people carriers, saloons etc, and they give you a map so you can easily find which section you want. Included with the map is a list of all cars currently on the forecourt with basic details.
We went to the Sutton in Ashfield branch, there is also one in Castle Donnington but we didn’t need to even go and look at this one. The showroom was laid out well and had quite a few cars under cover to look at. There was a reception area in one corner that had a children’s soft play area that my kids took full advantage of (you do need to supervise your kiddies on this), and also a vending machine selling hot drinks (about 30p a cup!) and one selling crisps, chocolate and cold drinks (quite a good selection for adults and kids alike!), and there were round tables and chairs so you could sit and discuss the cars you had just viewed. The outside was well laid out so you could look around the cars, and as we choose a really wet day they had loads of bright purple umbrellas you could borrow when you went outside!
As we entered the showroom we were given a map and they explained about the layout, we were then left to look at cars inside and out without anyone following us, all the cars were unlocked and had details on them so you could see mileage and engine size and the such at a quick glance.
When we had found a car that matched hubby’s specifications we asked at the desk at the entrance if we could have more details and they quickly found a sales representative to chat to us. He told us a bit more about the car, looked over our old vehicle and offered us a price on it, we were informed it didn’t matter which car we wanted we would be offered the same price for our car. Hubby was satisfied that we were being offered a fair-ish price for ours (we could have probably got a few hundred more elsewhere, but the hassle is too much at the moment).
The test drive
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Hubby then went for a test drive which he was really pleased with, they took him on a route where he could get a bit of speed out of it and he was satisfied that this was the car for us! After the test drive hubby was shown a parking sensor and hands free demonstration in the lovely car inside of the showroom, which he politely said no thanks to, no hard sell was applied here, just a ‘if you want it we do it’ attitude!
The finance
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We then spoke to another representative who took various details in order to arrange a finance deal, he explained all the options to us without pressuring us to sign up there and then, we then spoke about it between ourselves and agreed on what we wanted. He also informed us about the warranty deals that they offer, we said we didn’t want any extra warranty (£299 for 1 year all parts and labour seemed quite good, but only if you actually needed to use it!) and he said no problem and moved on. Perfect…no hard selling at any point.
For one reason or another our finance deal needed to go to the underwriters so it took a little longer than anticipated to agree the loan, however the keys to the vehicle were safely with a member of staff so no one else could buy the car! About 3 hours after we left we called back and had to speak directly to the finance company due to a complication in communication and had the loan approved!
We were told that our loan was with Blackhorse, but, Santander would possibly give us a better quote, however they don’t work weekends so we would have to wait until Monday for this to be confirmed. I received a phone call Monday morning with a better quote from Santander and was told I could go and sign paperwork and collect the car on Wednesday! However as Friday worked out better for us we arranged to collect it then.
The collection
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Hubby went and collected the car with our 4 year old and was very impressed again with available car. They sat close to the children’s area so out little one could play while the grown ups signed all the paper work. The only bad point was when hubby signed the finance papers he was informed that our last payment would be for over £400 which was not explained when we first signed up, but at least it was explained before hubby signed anything!
Hubby was given directions to the local post office so he could tax the car (seems to be the standard that no cars are sold wit tax from show rooms any more) immediately and sent on his way.
Available car give a guarantee for the first 1000 miles or the first month (which ever comes first), which is a nice touch!
Any problems?
--------------------
Overall I have been really happy with the service I received, at no point was there any hard selling which puts me off any purchase! I would recommend this to anyone looking for a second hand car. I am aware that the prices may not be as competitive as other places, but the chance to see all the different models of cars next to each other really gave perspective to the actual size differences. And you are guaranteed not to be pestered by the staff!
We have so far been pleased with the car that we purchased and would use them again in the future to buy another car, in fact hubby has told everyone he works with about the great service and has found many other happy available car customers!
*this review may appear on other review sites under the same user name*.
| More Reviews |
 Available Car Supermarket
Review of Available Car Supermarket by
jedimasterlincoln
Advantages: Wide choice, low pressure environment, competitive prices
Disadvantages: There's not enough of them about!
...and sell it private as Available car would only really have any use for it by sending it to auction.
The figures looked good, the finance was very competative and obviously the more cash you could send their way, the better the finance deal looked. We were offered a test drive, which we initially declined.... then accepted but chose not to drive it.... more sit and feel the ride.
The sales rep was very knowledgeable about the range in general, ...
...the road. The only downside was that we could not collect for another week, as they had a lot on and we didn't have a lot of free time to be able to get in and pick it up during the day. They gave us the logbook which enabled us to do our bits of paperwork and arrange insurance.... while they valeted and MOT'd it (even though 3 months still remained on it) and performed what they call a 77 point check. We were offered a few extras, again this wasn't ...
Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful |
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very helpful
05.06.2008
|
Available Car Supermarket....Simply Fantastic
Review of Available Car Supermarket by
StephenEvans
Advantages: Superb Range of Vehicles, Genuine Price Promise, No Hassle Staff
Disadvantages: I really can't think of any !!
...fair few positive reviews of Available Car Supermarket, I decided to travel from Blackpool to view a Nissan Almera Tino that I'd seen advertised. When entering the reception, I was immediately greeted and asked if I'd visited before as they gave me a full list of the vehicles available. I told them I was looking for a specific car, they found the car I was interested in and pointed me in the direction as to where the vehicle would be parked. I was ...
...member of staff was immediately available to bring the car to reception, before I could test drive the car I had to give a few brief details and then was taken to the car just outside. The 'salesman' who was to accompany me on the testdrive told me they had a set route which included a road with a 60 mph limit so I could drive the car through at all speeds, the test drive took approximately 10 minutes and I was very satisfied with both the car and ...
Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful |
|
very helpful
30.08.2008
|
The car supermarket
Review of Available Car Supermarket by
Nicole78
Advantages: wide range for selection
Disadvantages: sometimes long waiting times
...well with the service of available cars in castle donington. Apart from a bit of bad luck when I tried to pick up my car. But more on that later. I'll first give you some info about this "car supermarket".
Choice and availability
Available car is a quite big "shop" to buy new and (mainly) used cars. They have more than 700 cars on site on the East Midlands, 10 acre car supermarket display, preparation, and distribution centre, located 1 mile from ...
...exactly what cars are currently available there, and - if you wish - explain you where to find the cars you are looking for. The place is structured by big, middle, small cars. Then you can walk through and have a look at the cars inside and outside. And nobody disturbs you, trying to sell you immediately. Something I really appreciated. But if you have a question? Be sure, there is somebody not far away from you. They have really lots of stuff taking ...
Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful |
|
very helpful
16.10.2003
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Well worth a visit
Review of Available Car Supermarket by
DoctorAl
Advantages: Good choice and no pressure
Disadvantages: Fixed prices, short test drives
...up buying a car from Available Car, as they didn't have the model I decided to buy, but they impressed me so much I thought I'd write about my experiences with them.
When I first heard of Available Car, the name put me off as I thought it would be another of these places more interested in the finance than the car. However after reading some reviews on Ciao, we decided to visit.
First impressions were good - the showroom looks small from the front, ...
...This is the strength of Available Car - in one afternoon we were able to look at a huge range of cars that would have taken days visiting different dealers. All the cars are open, so you can sit in them, adjust the seats, and examine them as much as you want.
We finally chose two cars to test drive, and went to find a salesman who arranged things. The test drive was brief, but at least gave a chance to get them up to a decent speed. He answered ...
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Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful |
|
helpful
30.11.2004
|
Takes the stress out of buying a car.
Review of Available Car Supermarket by
Riley1
Advantages: Stress free!
Disadvantages: Too long a lead time for collection
I went along to Available Car in Castle Donnington a couple of Sundays ago looking to purchase a nearly new Ford Focus. It was overall an excellent experience and took the stress out of what can be a stressful transaction.
The premise of Available Car is that there are no salesmen showing you around the cars and therefore no hard sell. You walk into a large showroom which has a few cars on the right hand side and seating areas on the left. You are ...
...I wanted to pay, at Available Car I got exactly what I wanted for the price I was willing to pay. They also offer finance but as I was paying cash I didn't notice what rates they had, they do have an excellent website which has all those sort of details on.
The only problem I encountered with Available Car was that I had to wait nearly two weeks to pick my car up as they allocate you a slot. The reason they gave for this was that they were very ...
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Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful |
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helpful
23.01.2004
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22.03.2001
23.04.2008
