Having purchased a car from Carland at West Thurrock about 5 and half years ago I thought this would be a good place to look when it came to me looking for a new car this time around. However one thing I didn’t know is that in that time Carland has been taken over by a different company and ... Read review
Advantages: Large Choice, Option of P/X Disadvantages: Salesman, Time Things Take, Hidden Charges
Having purchased a car from Carland at West Thurrock about 5 and half years ago I thought this would be a good place to look when it came to me looking for a new car this time around. However one thing I didn’t know is that in that time Carland has been taken over by a different company and although still has the same format things have changed in a big way.
Previously you had the option to use their in store touch screen computers ... ...I received a call from Carland the member of staff had forgotten to take some details.
I arrived back at Carland as agreed at about half 5, I was given a seat in a lounge area where I was left to wait for about half hour before finally getting called into to see the person I had to too sign the paperwork and drive away. A half hour exercise at the most I thought, how wrong was I?
Having purchased a car from Carland at West Thurrock about 5 and half years ago I thought this would be a good place to look when it came to me looking for a new car this time around. However one thing I didn’t know is that in that time Carland has been taken over by a different company and although still has the same format things have changed in a big way.
Previously you had the option to use their in store touch screen computers to search for your perfect car and then locate it by bay number if it was available from that branch or by location if it was available else where. This at the time I though was a fantastic idea and could save you a lot of time as these places are quite large. This facility now no longer exists.
The only way you can find your car now is by walking around the building and looking at every single car to try and find the one you want. Some people may find this fun be when you have limited time because you have to be some where it can be a real pain. But with this being the only option that it was we had to do.
Within seconds of walking we were approached by a salesman who seems to find it very difficult to leave you to browse without them. If you do manage to get rid of him you can pretty much guarantee that within 2 minutes you will get approached again and again.
After finally giving in to one of the salesman I did agree to some help as by this point I had decided that the car I was possibly looking for was a nearly new Ford Focus. We looked at about 4 different cars that they had for sale some of which I might add were not worth the money as they were not in the best of conditions and when we questioned this were told it had not been cleaned etc. They looked pretty clean to me just not in perfect condition.
Eventually we came across one that had the new registration plate of 52 so I knew it was quite new. The only problem was it was slightly beyond what I had planned to spend but we took it for a test drive anyway. At this point the service I was getting was a polite efficient service; in fact I think we were on the road test driving within minutes of it being suggested. After a test drive I had decided this was the car I wanted. But now the difficult bit. The finance!
We were taken to an office where the finance was worked out for me and this was done with the information that they had already taken from me. I had my old car with me so they gave me a valuation on this but was a bit lower than I originally wanted. But when they think they are going to make a £10,000 sale it’s surprising what other offers they can come back with if you say no to them. Three times they came back with different offers before we reached the value I wanted.
Still one problem the interest rates on the finance were too high, I could get a lot lower from my bank unless of course they could beat it. The salesman disappeared four time before he finally came back with a an acceptable offer of an interest rate at just over 3%, this was about 2% better than I had managed from my bank. There was one catch I had to take it today!
Ok well I wanted the car so why not the agreement was that I would go back at about half 5 that evening to collect the car. It was now about half 2 so I had plenty of time to get the things done I had to and go back for it. During this time I received a call from Carland the member of staff had forgotten to take some details.
I arrived back at Carland as agreed at about half 5, I was given a seat in a lounge area where I was left to wait for about half hour before finally getting called into to see the person I had to too sign the paperwork and drive away. A half hour exercise at the most I thought, how wrong was I?
We did not leave Carland with my car for a further 2 hours. We had a load of paperwork to sign and the member of staff kept disappearing to make calls to the finance company, copy my documents etc. All of which was supposed to have been done before I got there. Bearing in mind we had a 4 year old child with us hanging around Carland for 2 and a half hours was not our idea of fun.
The member of staff continued to do this for most of the two hours in some instances was gone 20 minutes and we had no idea of why or where. Finally as I thought I would be given the keys no we now had to go through the warranty details another half hour. Although I agreed to take out a 5 year extended warranty it was purely because of how new the car is. But be careful they do try to add on plenty of extras all of which will cost you extra per month, in fact if I had accepted the extras I would have been looking at over £100 extra per month.
Overall the cars that I have purchased have both turned out to be good cars so I have no regrets in buying them. I would recommend Carland from that point of view just be prepared for the salesman who must be on commission judging from the way they pounce when you walk in the door. Make sure that you go into the extras such as warranties with detail they don’t all work out value for money but they will try to sell it to you. Also if you do decide to make a purchase be prepared for a long wait before you actually get that new car you wanted.
...people have come out of carland with cars they didn’t really want. This is a shame, as some of the cars actually look quite nice.
The good points:
Lots of cars to choose from.
At Thurrock your inside, so no worries about the weather.
Kids play area.
The website is well laid out and informative.
Finance if you require it, can be sorted out on the day.
Drive away your new purchase the same day.
The bad points:
High-pressure salesmen.
...
breezer 26.04.2001
· Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Carland
Advantages: The cars have wheels and are brightly coloured Disadvantages: Too many to list
...after almost 6 hours in Carland smiler announced that the paperwork was finished other than my signing to say I agreed with everything. I signed for the car finance, the extra protection (GAP), Superguard and 7 days free insurance. I was driven around to collect my new car. I attempted to drive off the car park. The power steering broke so I was unable to turn the steering wheel. After much deliberation Carland said they would sort it out and I was ... ...car. I went to Carland with my two children, one of the staff explained that an earth wire had come loose and had caused the steering problem. I was given no documented details of the cause or what steps had been taken to remedy the problem. He also booked the car in for next Saturday, 1st, April 2006 for the Superguard treatment. I drove my children home in my new fiesta. The power steering still felt a little heavy and I felt that the brakes did ...
jujayhan 30.03.2006
· Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful Review of Carland
Advantages: None Disadvantages: left feeling annoyed and frustrated
...the radio for our local Carland in Thurrock selling these cars we rushed down there. The show room was a big warehouse with around 100 - 150 cars available to look round. We walked up and down all of the aisles on the hunt for the car of my dreams but no 1.4 Astra’s in sight. I then made the big mistake of asking for help. I told the guy exactly what I wanted, the make, model, colour and price but he said that 'unfortunately' they had just sold the ... ...he would make some phone calls to see what he could find. I waited for around 10 minutes when he came back to me, and oh - what a surprise, he had managed to find me the car of my dreams fitting all criteria. Then things started to get confusing. I asked him when I could see the car and take it for a test drive. He said I could not do this until I had signed up for the vehicle and paid a deposit. Not one to part with my hard earned cash easily, I ...
emmajwalters 18.09.2004
· Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful Review of Carland
Advantages: Non Disadvantages: Bunch of con men, waste of money
...old BMW 320 diesel from Carland Chertsey on 31st March this year and was well and truly ripped off.
I was due to start a new job and wanted a reliable diesel car (and I made this clear to the salesman that my contract of employment stated that I needed a vehicle "fit for purpose"). I asked to see all paperwork connected with the car and didn't see any major problems.
Within a week of purchase, I noticed an oil leak and after speaking to Carland ... ...around £1300. After much debate Carland picked up the bill since this happened within the 3 month warranty period.
On getting the car back, I went through it thoroughly and was somewhat perturbed to find a BMW checksheet tucked into the leather casing of the envelope containing the owners manual. The checksheet was dated Feb 2005 (obviously before Carland had the car) and listed comprehensive checks made on the car and faults corrected. However, ...
RubyDooTwo 06.10.2005
· Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful Review of Carland
Advantages: Many makes under one roof Disadvantages: It was not a pleasant experiance
I was looking for a car for my 17 year old son to learn to drive in. Nothing fancy, a small Ford, Citroen, Fiat - we had no particular make in mind, so we thought "Carland" would be perfect.
We went to check them out on a Sunday morning and all seemed well. We were met by a pleasant sales lady who took our details. There was nothing in stock that fitted our budget, but she promised to call us if anything came in.
Three days later we had a call ... ...we said - £4000 was our absolute maximum.
2 hours later we had another call. "My manager has agreed £3999 if you come in today"
So we did. We had a test drive and everything was looking good.
We were taken into a little room where we agreed the price and arranged to leave a £400 deposit and collect the car next day.
Our pleasant sales lady went off never to return.
Then it all started going horribly wrong. A gruff salesman came in and said that ...
wingspan 28.07.2005
· Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful Review of Carland
Advantages: Near M25; A lot of choice Disadvantages: Suspect servicing; Incompetent technicians; Poor aftercare
I recently purchased a one-year-old Fiat Punto 1.9 JTD diesel from Carland in Lakeside, Essex, which is about 10 minutes from the Junction 31 of the M25, near the Dartford tunnel. I liked and still like the car, and although they were willing to offer me a good trade-in price for my Ford Fiesta, I was very irritated by their high-intensity, pushy sales techniques, worse than I'd ever come across before. The test drive only lasted 10 minutes, it was far too short, and probably to do with the fact that they only leave tiny amounts of fuel in their cars; watch out for the speed camera as well. However, I enjoyed looking around all their flashy cars inside their modern, large indoor forecourt,- the only problem was that the cars weren't in any order, so it was hard to compare cars which were of the same type. They also let me wander around ...
Advantages: wide selection - no hassle - cheaper than others Disadvantages: located on busy road - one can get killed
else, in fact I'd think better than my local main dealer.
Overall it was well worth the journey in getting to them, would like to see them expand ala Carland with more locations. On my next visit I'd like a free coffee for writing this. ...
mark5 23.11.2003
· Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful Review of Trade Sales
The Vauxhall Corsa on the face of it appears a pretty decent car, looks quite nice, quite roomy everything you would want really. In reality it is a nightmare to own and drive, who thought of the puts the fun back in driving advert for this car. Dont believe all what you see its just untrue.
I bought a 51 reg 3door 1.0 Corsa from Carland for what I thought was a good price at £3999 I was just looking for a cheap runaround not expensive or equipped with any luxuries (I mean do you need air con in the UK with our weather ?) and I drove away on the same day.
The car inside is actually really quite tacky, give the top of your dash a thump and you get the reassuring tinny sound of very cheap plastic, the interior is black and the so is the dash. The car is equipped very sparsely 2 electric front windows, radio CD, 4 speed fan and that ...
