Once the decision had been made, we decided to give Carcraft a try as we had seen it advertised on the TV. After checking the trusty internet (AA/RAC websites are best) for directions we piled the kids in the back dreaming of the Aston Martin DB9 we would be driving home in.
Driving from Somerset, it took about 3 hours to get to Carcraft. The first thing that hits you when you arrive (apart from somebody on
a test drive) is the size of the place. It's HUGE. Had a bit if a pep talk with the wife before we went in "you leave the salesperson (I'm very politically correct) to me luv, I'll get us a deal/don't let them know we're desperate for a new car etc....." and we walked through the huge entrance
Inside, we were (predictably) met by a salesperson. "Can I help?" asked the nice man. "Yes" I replied tossing our car keys at him "We're double-parked, any chance you could park the motor properly for us?" It always works! We walked away from the nice salesperson who was doing goldfish impersonations, and had a look around. We were amazed by the choices of vehicles; from the sporty to the MPV, executive to small city car. Rows and rows of gleaming vehicles and smiley sales people. Upstairs there is a nice (but expensive) canteen, selling hot and cold food. Carcraft sell vehicles that are no older than a certain year (think its up to 5 years old - but not 100% sure).
We decided to look at the choices of vehicles and make notes on what cars we liked. We ended up choosing Ford (Escort) 1.4 petrol. We wanted a basic, practical, reliable, economic vehicle and this met all the criteria. Once we had decided, I approached the salesperson who gave me a BAFTA Award winning smile and trying to hide the grimace shook the guy's hand and proceeded to tell him how poor I am. Salesperson contiunued smiling and suggested a test drive once I mentioned I was interested in the Escort. We test drove the Escort 1.4 & 1.6 petrol versions, and to be honest, I didn't notice any difference in the feel, look or power of either - they were both excellent little cars. We got back to the showroom. I expressed my interest in the 1.4, and started to talk business. Don't pay attention to the screen price/monthly payments, just go straight into bargain/bantering mode as you would buying a car from anywhere else - every vehicle is negoitable, and this is all part of the fun.
Each car has the full price displayed on the windscreen and then the 'payment per week' price.Carcraft can make the payments suited to your weekly budget. The credit checks would have to go under wifey's name, and the weekly payments were astronomically high. This was possible but would have stretched us beyond our means.
The price was agreed, paperwork complete, credit checks done. In our case we couldn't drive away same day because we didn't have the necessary paperwork (utility bills etc) so an agreement was made to pick the car up on a specific date. When the big day arrived, we started driving to Carcraft with the 2 children in the back.. 30 minutes into the journey, wifey realised we had forgotten the paperwork - without this we could not pick up the new car. After much quiet cursing and swearing (children in back!) we turned around and headed home, trying to prepare ourselves to repeat the journey. When we got home, I rushed into the house to pick up the necessary paperwork (annoyingly sat on the kitchen table!) and rushed back out to the car. When I got into the driving seat, I looked at wifey, and as well as declaring undying love, advised that I couldn't be a$Łed to drive back to Carcraft. Wifey agreed. Kids whinged, they wanted to look at all the shiny cars!
We phoned Carcraft to explain and apologise (we aint grovellers! Well - just a little - okay, we grovelled) and then looked pitifully out the kitchen window at the Fiat outside.
2 months later wifey found out she was pregnant, about 1 month after that, we found out she was carrying twins which made 6 of us. You try fitting 6 people into a Ford Escort!
Visiting Carcraft was an enjoyable experience and a day out, but would we go again to buy a car? No, too expensive.
Thanks for reading. James (mr.herbie)
How helpful would this review be to a person making a buying decision? Rating guidelines
Good review and very true. They are extremely expensive and a friend of mine bought one and had nothing but trouble. I actually got a better deal at a main dealer and the car came with a full tank of petrol, full service, 6 months road tax, warranted mileage and guarantee.. Whenever I've bought off other non-main dealers, there's always been a fault with the vehicle on delivery andI've had to haggle... and if I wanted the service on delivery I would have to agree to take out an optional guarantee.. Derek.
leesa7711 22.07.2005 23:14
oh my god I know what you mean!, my fiancee got a car from there ages ago and they sold it to him with a hole in the engine!, ripoffs and will never ever go there again!, Great review, Leesa.x
May 21st, 2005
very helpful by (88%):
helpful by (13%):
