Fraufruit wrote: ↑Fri Sep 13, 2024 5:27 pm
It's always helpful when members put their locations in their profiles for things like this.
Absolutely. The poster might be located in some village near the French border, from which I've heard you see more french cars on the road. Looking for a VW, you'll likely find most of them close to Wolfsburg where they are born, where all the VW staff are driving VW's and all the people believe they are the best cars in the world
Eric7 wrote: ↑Fri Sep 13, 2024 5:59 pm
I was sure I'd read he/she was in Berlin but can't see it now...
The OP posted this in the "Berlin" section of the forum and I moved this thread at some point, as experience/advice concerning buying a used car in Germany is not limited to Berlin.
Sx4 wrote: ↑Wed Sep 11, 2024 10:29 am
This summer we took three trips and renting a car with the insurance payments etc was super expensive.
Yeah the car hire companies lure you in with a cheap offer then when you turn up to the shop add fees for a second driver, for GPS, for extra insurance, for car seats...
The insurances you can get cheaper from other places especially if you get a yearly one. But the hire companies have you there and then.
Sx4 wrote: ↑Wed Sep 11, 2024 10:29 am
This summer we took three trips and renting a car with the insurance payments etc was super expensive.
If you rent regularly it is much cheaper to buy excess insurance. It costs around 50-100 EUR a year and it will pay for the excess (Selbstbeteiligung) so you still take the insurance from the renting company but you take the cheaper insurance with higher excess. If you have an accident then your insurance will pay for your part. For the price of the insurance (i.e. 100 EUR a year for world wide coverage) just renting a few days a year will make it worth. Mine is with a company called "Car Assure" but I do not know how good it is because until now I never had to claim anything.
So I found a certified used car (albeit 350 km away) and drove there...the sales guy gave only 30 minutes to test drive!
It was a certified preowned, so I asked about the 360 degree (multi-point inspection), and he said it was not yet done! I asked him so how come this car is being sold as a certified preowned, his answer was it fulfills prerequisite criteria, and I asked him to spell it out, he refused!
In the short test drive, we found the car making noise at low speed and the paddle vibrating...asked him the question and he said he would forward the information to the mechanic!
The engine coolant level was low...asked him about it (? leak issue), and he ignored the question. I asked him if the car was used by a smoker, his answer was go to the car and smell it yourself!
There were a couple of things visibly broken, and when asked if they will be fixed, he said only if it is structural and affects the safety!
Believe it or not, we still bought the car with the hopes and faith that a company with such a reputation would deliver, its now one day before expected pick up and we have no further communication about the 360 check, coolant leak (pressure test) or noise/vibration issue.
So much for test driving a car and physically going to a dealership! How would you handle this scenario!
I hope you added those things to the contract. One of my cars, the dealership delayed the handover because they wanted to double check something. It ended up being a great car.
I suspect the reason they don't do a thorough inspection beforehand is because a buyer might prefer to skip and maybe get a discount instead.
LeonG wrote: ↑Sat Nov 16, 2024 9:19 pm
I hope you added those things to the contract.
You can't add anything to the contract....the contract was signed after the test drive (before the inspection etc).
Sure you can add things to a contract, just have to ask. Has to be before it's signed though. You could have had it say that they will inspect / repair the following problems before pick up. If he refused to put it in the contract, he is not planning to do it.
So the car inspection (360 degree is still not done, there is no answer for the vibrations etc) and the sales agent is the most unprofessional.
We wrote a signed letter, asking to withdraw from the contract, he then replied it would cost us 10% purchase fees. Can this be correct, we haven't even taken possession of the car. The inspection report is not even ready?
Please advice, as we feel cheated and trapped in this deal.
