# looking to buy a used car from arnold clark !!



## iman (May 8, 2011)

hello guys, looking to change my car soon and seen a few audis that i quite fancied at arnold clark. how easy is it to hagle from them? the asking price for the one i seen was 15k!!


----------



## Spoony (May 28, 2007)

Easy enough. Just be prepared to walk away, my dad done so and got a cracking price on both the new car and trade in


----------



## markc (Mar 4, 2009)

DO NOT BUY FROM ARNOLD CLARKS......take my advice on this one.


----------



## phillipnoke (Apr 1, 2011)

Don't touch them with a barge poll the worst company good have mate that worked for them they area night mare


----------



## Ninja59 (Feb 17, 2009)

sadly never heard a good mentioned with arnold clark only negative


----------



## vickky453 (Feb 27, 2009)

We bought our car from them. Was a lot of faffing about. the salesmen was nice but the manager was a . I personally wouldnt buy a car from them. We got good discount on the apr in the end because of the messing about


----------



## GSD (Feb 6, 2011)

Never heard a good word said about them either.


----------



## rag1873 (May 26, 2010)

NEVER buy from Arnold Clark - ive made that mistake and paid the pennies for it!!! Go elsewhere.


----------



## OvlovMike (Jul 19, 2011)

Typically overpriced and I've never heard anyone say anything even so good as neutral about them, let alone positive.


----------



## The Cueball (Feb 8, 2007)

you know, I have heard loads of people hate AC, but I have yet to actually meet anyone who has actually bought a car and has been unhappy with it.

considering their turnover and profits, they must be doing something correct.

I have used the lease side of their business for years, and never had any issues.

:thumb:


----------



## OvlovMike (Jul 19, 2011)

Lease will likely be another company altogether, through acquisition one way or the other.

AvailableCar turn a profit, yet walking around their 'showroom' the cars are badly prepared (paint falling off wheels etc) and overpriced - they rely on 'idiots' walking in and going 'that's pretty' and buying it, rather than someone who knows what they're looking for and goes out to get the best example that they can.


----------



## The Cueball (Feb 8, 2007)

OvlovMike said:


> Lease will likely be another company altogether, through acquisition one way or the other.


all part of the same group, same policies and ethics....

:thumb:


----------



## james_death (Aug 9, 2010)

As stated set your price if they cant meat it for the exact car you want just walk away if they offer you a better offer but still dont meet what you want to pay keep walking if they really want a sale and can do it for your price they will even if they need to call you back days or even a week later it has been known.


----------



## Nanoman (Jan 17, 2009)

The Cueball said:


> you know, I have heard loads of people hate AC, but I have yet to actually meet anyone who has actually bought a car and has been unhappy with it.
> 
> considering their turnover and profits, they must be doing something correct.
> 
> ...


It's difficult to buy a car in Scotland from anyone other than Arnold Clark. I used to work for them and can't stand them. If you think they're any worse than any other dealer you're wrong.

When it comes to dealing in 2nd hand cars in particular things regularly go wrong and it's very difficult to come to a resolution that makes both sides happy.

The OP should go ahead and buy from them, as Cueball said they're doing something right. There's always a deal to be had.


----------



## GJM (Jul 19, 2009)

grantwils said:


> as Cueball said they're doing something right.


Yes giving finance deals where people end up buying cars they probably cant afford


----------



## GJM (Jul 19, 2009)

Also why is it difficult to buy in Scotland from another other than AC, there are stacks of other dealers


----------



## terrymcg (Mar 19, 2007)

I assume with the car being up for 15k its still under manufacturers warranty?? If so as long as you get a good price nothing can go buying from them, if it breaks, you just take it to Audi main dealer.

Sent from my GT-I9000 using Tapatalk


----------



## 306chris (Jan 27, 2007)

The Cueball said:


> all part of the same group, same policies and ethics....
> 
> :thumb:


Arnold Clark have ethics


----------



## Car Key (Mar 20, 2007)

http://www.reviewcentre.com/reviews67375.html


----------



## packard (Jun 8, 2009)

I got to literally signing on the dotted line with AC, the salesman did offer a (to my surprise) a very very good trade in price, added lots of stuff that wasn't part of the original deal, 3 year warranty, fresh MOT, new service.

This was all done over the phone and photos of the car (lots) sent by email.

Then.. When I asked to confirm the mileage the web stated 40k (was listed exactly) he then said it had come down from a Scottish branch and had that miles added, then I asked him to go and check it had another 5k added !!!!!!!!

That and other non AC reasons we walked...... Shame it was a cracking car, the web site was still showing the wrong miles for next 2 weeks of which I did point out they were in total breach regs'


----------



## bobssignum (Apr 12, 2008)

Have never heard a good word said about them , stories regularly come up on vec-c with tales of lies, misrepresentation and general indiference to customer complaints .
Play safe dont go there .


----------



## Daffy (Dec 15, 2005)

Never dealt with personally but never heard anyone singing their praises it always seems to be complaints.


----------



## BJM (Oct 30, 2005)

I've bought quite a few cars from them and most recently our year old Qashqai in April this year. I previously bought 3 Ibizas in a row, all pre Reg with fantastic discounts compared to boy other Seat dealer. 

When we bought the Qashqai we were given more than what I expected on the Wifes trade in and a favourable interest rate for the finance.

The car was handed over to us on the day and time promised and it all went smoothly.

Like anyone else I've heard the horror stories - maybe its just because I buy reasonably new cars from them but I don't really have any complaints.

I think some people expect too much - things can go wrong in a transaction of any kind and people are more likely to shout about bad service than good. Saying that I would rate their service as acceptable - not bad but then not fantastic.


----------



## Feeder (Nov 25, 2006)

GJM said:


> Yes giving finance deals where people end up buying cars they probably cant afford


I'd have thought ultimate responsibility for that choice would lie with the person signing the dotted line then?

Bought my Ignis Sport nearly 6 years ago from the Toyota Stirling AC and the whole process was spot on. No complaints, car was spot on and hasn't caused any trouble.

To answer the OP, much like has been advised, go in with a price in mind and stick to it.


----------



## Nanoman (Jan 17, 2009)

I've bought Fiat Punto - advertised incorrectly but they stuck to the deal when pushed. They'd advertised new at pre-reg prices with incorrect interest rates.

I've bought pre-reg corsa - no issues here.

Mother-in-law bought pre-reg rav4 - no issues here.

My parents have bought 4 Punto's - a few issues with service dept over the years. Not putting sump plug back in properly was most serious. Another occasion they didn't put the radiator cap back on. Other issues were down to the manufacturer and were dealt with fairly well.

Don't get me wrong I've worked for them and seen some shocking things which was one of the reasons I left. But everyone who buys a car there must be happy with the deal otherwise they wouldn't buy.

I think the biggest issues are with aftersales on used cars but then the nearly new ones are ex-hire that might be abused lemons. The older ones are quite possibly traded in by people that knew they were total lemons but weren't quite as up front as they might have been when trading them in.

When you're a customer you think all salesmen are lying, theiving, cheating, robbing, barstewards. When you're in retail/automotive sales you sometimes think all customers are lying, theiving, cheating, robbing, barstewards.



Car Key said:


> http://www.reviewcentre.com/reviews67375.html


There's some interesting stuff on there. Much of it is from people that shouldn't be allowed out on their own in the first place...



> Review of Arnold Clark www.arnoldclark.com
> 
> Written on: 19/06/2011
> 
> ...


----------



## GJM (Jul 19, 2009)

Feeder said:


> I'd have thought ultimate responsibility for that choice would lie with the person signing the dotted line then?


Totally agree, all I'm saying is that is how they are able to sell so much.

It's not a fault of Clarks, same when banks were giving mortages away for fun and credit cards.

Similar thing happens with cars, plenty repos out there


----------



## GJM (Jul 19, 2009)

grantwils said:


> There's some interesting stuff on there. Much of it is from people that shouldn't be allowed out on their own in the first place...


Did they really think they were entitled to their money back!

It's called a 2 year service plan for a reason, not a do as you like service plan after 3 months when you realise you want something different!

It tells you the terms on the paperwork and pretty sure it cannot be transfered to the new owner if you sold privately.

Not sure how they would police that exactly though


----------



## ABGT170 (Feb 20, 2008)

Didn't Woody Beefcake have an interesting going on with AC and an Audi A3 that wasn't what it was supposed to be? Remember reading about it a year or two ago?


----------



## tonz (Sep 21, 2008)

ABGT170 said:


> Didn't Woody Beefcake have an interesting going on with AC and an Audi A3 that wasn't what it was supposed to be? Remember reading about it a year or two ago?


The Audi he bought , he later found out it had been clocked


----------



## BJM (Oct 30, 2005)

Thats right - and he swapped it for a Mini IIRC.


----------

