Craig P

Great Service but poor value add-ons

Sale wasn't too pressured - we came away with a decent car sale but some points for consideration (which will be on a public review in due course) will be the points below: Pros: - A no pressure sales environment. - Sales agent (Adeeb) was very informative despite only being with Evan Halshaw a short period of time. - Sales showroom is welcoming, clean and friendly. Loved seeing the Citroen Saxo on display, very retro! - Were very happy with the vehicle, its clean, practical and so far no engine troubles (touch wood) - drives like a dream. - They were very gracious putting some fuel in to allow us to leave the showroom without worrying about running out of fuel. - Adeeb's manager was also on site to support with the transaction, was also very knowledgeable despite having a short tenure also with EH. - Despite my initial thoughts on the Part-Ex value on our old vehicle coming in low, we did manage to upwards negotiate a little bit on that and gained slightly more on the valuation. I held a possible misconception that part-exchange gives you more "bargaining power" to reduce the cost on the vehicle we were looking to buy instead of simply selling our vehicle via the instant valuation service they provide. Items for consideration: - The part exchange valuation took a bit longer than expected, resulting in Adeeb needing to start discussing guarantee cover and other additional add-ons, which is something I disliked at this point in the sale as I didn't want either of us to waste time talking about this if the part-ex valuation didn't come in at a price we were happy with. Thankfully on this occasion, we still agreed a sale so it was fine but I remember the Car Shop in Sheffield falling afoul of this last year (Part of the same group as EH), it was a complete waste of our time. - Personally, I didn't find the guarantee of 9 months (12 months but your given 3 months as standard without any additional cost as part of the sale) to be of great value at £699 for essentially 9 months worth of additional cover. Whilst there will no doubt be sales data to contradict this view, this is just my personal view that I'd have been happier walking away with a direct debit in place for £10-£20 a month for up to 36 months to cover non wear and tear items. Sadly, the best that could be offered was £100+ a month for 6 months. - When we didn't take up the offer of either guarantee, I got the distinct impression Adeeb felt disappointed as it's highly likely this add on is part of his sales targets. I completely understand Abeed's disappointment and my item for consideration is more towards your Head Office policy for lack of flexibility in the guarantee payment options. - I would also find it useful from a data perspective to know out of how many people who were sold the extra guarantee within the last 12 months, how many of those actually needed to make a claim for either vehicle failure or accidental damage cover during that period. Overall, I would still recommend Evans Halshaw going forward but I would take great care when considering the optional add-ons, peace of mind is great of course but I just personally didn't think it was worth it based on that price tag (I'm sure plenty of people may disagree, which is fine as this is just an opinion).