Want to place a new order, where's best to deal with in the Midlands?

[SJL178]

Afternoon all,

I have been lurking on here for a week or so now, reading all your valuable views and generally whetting my appetite for California ownership.
I have been onto VW site and campared prices with Drive the Deal and AutoEbid etc. which has enabled me to use 'man maths' and i can just about justify the outlay for what i hope to be a 4 year purchase, but only if i can get the deal.

Where have you been able to get the dealers to price match in the Midlands area please? I have spoken with my nearest dealers, Leicester, and they have offered 2-3% and laughed at me when i ask about price matching.

I would be using the PCP offer currently (gutted to miss the previous offer) so this could still be a lucrative order for the dealer.

Thanks in advance.

Simon

 

[Alan Andrews]

Try Birmingham van centre.

The trouble you have is that the summer season has been extended this year because of Covid-19.

Birmingham did have 3 new California in stock last week.

You will always get the best deal if you are prepared to buy out of stock rather than specify your own spec.

I use Birmingham for my servicing and have come to trust them. Great people too.

 

[SJL178]

Thanks Alan, will look into making contact and seeing what they are able to do with regards deals.

The downside i have is i want a specific specification, this will after all be a major purchase and i do not feel i will be able to not only find one with the right options but also one that fits within budget in these seemingly overinflated times. Supply and demand i suppose, but i would hope that an order on the books would go some way to securing a good deal, after all even the 'Drive the Deal' company is making money somehow.

Out of interest, has anyone purchased a Cali through drive the deal? Would be interested in how this process works?

 

[Wogga]

Afternoon all,

I have been lurking on here for a week or so now, reading all your valuable views and generally whetting my appetite for California ownership.
I have been onto VW site and campared prices with Drive the Deal and AutoEbid etc. which has enabled me to use 'man maths' and i can just about justify the outlay for what i hope to be a 4 year purchase, but only if i can get the deal.

Where have you been able to get the dealers to price match in the Midlands area please? I have spoken with my nearest dealers, Leicester, and they have offered 2-3% and laughed at me when i ask about price matching.

I would be using the PCP offer currently (gutted to miss the previous offer) so this could still be a lucrative order for the dealer.

Thanks in advance.

Simon

Lancashire or Liverpool offer the deals, the Lancashire one Preston is 2 mins off the M6. But Birmingham Van centre is part of the same group Swansway so it would bizarre if they didn’t give you a great deal.

 

[Jabberwocky]

Talk to Clive Lideard in sales at Birmingham vw van centre. Very knowledgable. Have bought two Calis from them.

 

[subthree]

If you want the best deal then you need to be prepared to travel. Although to save £5k I am sure you will be happy with that. Someone else recently placed an order through DtD and I think it went through Eurovans Crawley. Someone else just achieved circa 10% with Preston. Ten percent seems good in the current market.

Good luck!

 

[SJL178]

Thanks all, looks like the phone will be working overtime then with calls to Birmingham and Liverpool.
There really is no way i can consider this without a price match so will be more than happy to put the leg work in.

 

[SJL178]

Afternoon all

Looking to purchase my first California and Drive the Deal have such good offers on a factory ordered van.

I was wondering if anyone has actually bought through them and if they would be happy to share their feedback on how this process worked and anything to be aware of?

Thanks

Simon

 

[subthree]

Try Martin Skipp at Robinsons Norwich as well. That's who I bought from.

 

[Rams66]

I went to a local dealer with the Drive the Deal price and they said they would match. Worth trying

 

[Duetveil]

Afternoon all,

I have been lurking on here for a week or so now, reading all your valuable views and generally whetting my appetite for California ownership.
I have been onto VW site and campared prices with Drive the Deal and AutoEbid etc. which has enabled me to use 'man maths' and i can just about justify the outlay for what i hope to be a 4 year purchase, but only if i can get the deal.

Where have you been able to get the dealers to price match in the Midlands area please? I have spoken with my nearest dealers, Leicester, and they have offered 2-3% and laughed at me when i ask about price matching.

I would be using the PCP offer currently (gutted to miss the previous offer) so this could still be a lucrative order for the dealer.

Thanks in advance.

Simon

I had exactly the same reaction from them! They basically said take the DtD deal!!

 

[Wogga]

Afternoon all

Looking to purchase my first California and Drive the Deal have such good offers on a factory ordered van.

I was wondering if anyone has actually bought through them and if they would be happy to share their feedback on how this process worked and anything to be aware of?

Thanks

Simon

Got the price quoted by autobid at Preston. Both the online have negotiatEd with a few dealers so you may have to go North or South. Like I said earlier Preston and Birmingham are both Swansway as is Liverpool. The online will keep the dealer secret from you in my experience until they have confirmed the deal with them.

 

[Alan Andrews]

Tom @breeze posted this recently.

Might be worth checking out the high spec 204 6.1. Might be similar to your own spec.

6.1 California Oceans

Hi We have 3 T6.1 California Oceans in stock that we have just secured available for immediate delivery. Call me on 01202 713038 or email me at tom.davidson@breezemotorgroup.co.uk. 1 4motion highly specced. 2 150 DSG

vwcaliforniaclub.com

 

[Tracey2540]

Afternoon all,

I have been lurking on here for a week or so now, reading all your valuable views and generally whetting my appetite for California ownership.
I have been onto VW site and campared prices with Drive the Deal and AutoEbid etc. which has enabled me to use 'man maths' and i can just about justify the outlay for what i hope to be a 4 year purchase, but only if i can get the deal.

Where have you been able to get the dealers to price match in the Midlands area please? I have spoken with my nearest dealers, Leicester, and they have offered 2-3% and laughed at me when i ask about price matching.

I would be using the PCP offer currently (gutted to miss the previous offer) so this could still be a lucrative order for the dealer.

Thanks in advance.

Simon

We approached Leicester with the AutoEBid quote and they just laughed at us!. We ended up going through AutoEbid and are getting ours from Guy at Swansway VW, Preston, Lancs. Really helpful and cant fault there service at the moment, just been given a week 43 build date so when it arrives we will go up on the train, if we are not in lockdown again

 

[subthree]

Afternoon all

Looking to purchase my first California and Drive the Deal have such good offers on a factory ordered van.

I was wondering if anyone has actually bought through them and if they would be happy to share their feedback on how this process worked and anything to be aware of?

Thanks

Simon

I bought our A6 via DtD 5 years ago. No issue at all. They get a flat fee of £300-400 per vehicle. Really depends which dealer hadn't achieved their target as to who the sale goes to. Easy peasy, would use again without concern.

 

[PhilR]

Birmingham and Leicester are my local dealers. We hired a 6.1 from Leicester so went to them first, ready to order. 2-3% max discount. Birmingham said 2%. Went to Liverpool but they were hopeless and seemingly uninterested. They still haven’t got back to me after 10 days. Poole offered the DTD/AutoeBid price but after a delay. In the meantime I contacted Guy at Preston and did the deal with him. Really nice to deal with and efficient. Easy to get to by train when the time comes to pick up.

 

[PhilR]

Tom @breeze posted this recently.

Might be worth checking out the high spec 204 6.1. Might be similar to your own spec.

6.1 California Oceans

Hi We have 3 T6.1 California Oceans in stock that we have just secured available for immediate delivery. Call me on 01202 713038 or email me at tom.davidson@breezemotorgroup.co.uk. 1 4motion highly specced. 2 150 DSG

vwcaliforniaclub.com

Nice, but a hefty Covid tax price of £78k!!

 

[PhilR]

Talk to Clive Lideard in sales at Birmingham vw van centre. Very knowledgable. Have bought two Calis from them.

You can also enjoy a lovely stroll through the Birmingham suburbs as you’ll never get parked at the dealers!!! It’s the worst car parking ever.

 

[PhilR]

Lancashire or Liverpool offer the deals, the Lancashire one Preston is 2 mins off the M6. But Birmingham Van centre is part of the same group Swansway so it would bizarre if they didn’t give you a great deal.

I can confirm - it certainly is bizarre

 

[Jabberwocky]

You can also enjoy a lovely stroll through the Birmingham suburbs as you’ll never get parked at the dealers!!! It’s the worst car parking ever.

Agree not the best but not the worst either. Bilston is worse and so is Listers in Coventry.

 

[Alan Andrews]

I've not had any issues parking at Birmingham.

I was told the first time to just double park where there is a space.

They will call you if they need the van moved.

Does help to have a reversing camera though!

 

[pjduffill]

I went via DTD August 19th. Ordered new Ocean, list with extras 72k, purchased 63.5k the order has gone via Eurovans Crawley. 1k deposit taken by DTD, shown as Eurovans Crawley in statement. Checked directly with VW chat (commercial vans) order on their system. Currently awaiting build date. Quoted 4-6 months to delivery. Never bought a car this way before, was skeptic but all seems to be going through ok.

 

[toeknee]

Thanks Alan, will look into making contact and seeing what they are able to do with regards deals.

The downside i have is i want a specific specification, this will after all be a major purchase and i do not feel i will be able to not only find one with the right options but also one that fits within budget in these seemingly overinflated times. Supply and demand i suppose, but i would hope that an order on the books would go some way to securing a good deal, after all even the 'Drive the Deal' company is making money somehow.

Out of interest, has anyone purchased a Cali through drive the deal? Would be interested in how this process works?

I placed an order from them in mid July for delivery in early November. The discount was 10%, which was more than dealers were offering. Essentially, all they really do is negotiate a discount with a specific dealer -- so i think all Autobid orders were through Liverpool VW and all Drive the Deal orders were through Eurovans Crawley. When you order with your specification, you have to put down a £1000 deposit. Once you hand over the money you are committed, no matter what the drive the deal salesman says. So be sure. They then essentially introduce you to the VW dealer and that is the last you hear from Drive the Deal. The only slight downside will be that the VW dealer doesn't really want to spend too much time with you since you are getting the van a bit cheaper than directly through them. So you are a bit of a 'lesser' buyer. Still, there's no downside in how long the order takes and in all other ways its the same as direct order with dealer. You can change the specification after you have placed the order and deposit in and you can arrange home delivery.

 

[pjduffill]

Ps, tried Birmingham, they would not negotiate off list price on new order!

 

[PhilR]

Ps, tried Birmingham, they would not negotiate off list price on new order!

Lucky for them then, they must be selling plenty! But they’ve definitely lost some sales from people on here, me included. It’s my closest dealer so would have bought from them if the deal was good.