Trading in - opinion of dealer (1 Viewer)

[The Dudess]

We are seriously thinking of trading in our Autocruise Stardream for a Autotrail Savannah and have seen one that is of interest to us at Don Ammott near Derby. Does anyone have any experience (good or bad) of this dealer? Many thanks.

 

[Snowbird]

He is a dealer, so only believe 10% of what you are told by a salesman who quite possibly knows less about motorhomes than you do. Salesmen are just that, salesmen. They could have been selling double glazing last week and are trained to close a deal. Be prepared to fight tooth and nail for everything you want as if you dont you will only get what the salesman wants you to have, not what you want. Best of luck :thumb:.

 

[ourcampersbeentrashed]

consider the trade in offer. You may find you would sell yours for a higher price privately

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[tonka]

Sales.. - They did me a fantastic deal on a new van...

After sales - Total crap, the word communication just does not exist with them..


Others may have had better experiences... Luckily as mine was new, Autotrail resolved the issues at the factory...

 

[Jim]

Nine times out of ten you will get a better deal by not part exchanging.

There are a few of advantages though. You don’t have to go through the time, effort and hassle of selling privately< viewings, timewasters conmen etc as well as being motorhome-less for a while.

By Part ex'ing you avoid completely some significant pitfalls and post-sale headaches. Also once you have purchased, you drive the old motorhome to collect the new one, swap all the contents from old to new and you are ready to go. What could be easier? So you might have paid a bit more more, but part ex is easy right?

Well it might be. It’s a case of doing your homework, how much is the dealer offering, how much more, if any, could you gain from a private sale, then decide if it’s worth the hassle, only you can decide that.

When part exchanging always be aware of the cost of change This is the difference between the price of the new motorhome and the value of your trade-in this is the amount you will have to pay. And if you are on HP, never be foolish enough to think a deal is OK just because the monthly payments are the same! It happens!!!!

When part-exing the dealer might appear to be giving you what you want. If he thinks your emphasis is on a higher price for your part exchange they might overvalue it and use this as a reason not to haggle on the new motorhome. Similarly, if he thinks you are only interested in getting the price down on the new vehicle he may drop the price on both, the new motorhome and the price he will pay you for your old motorhome.

Part ex is OK but...You MUST know what both vehicles are worth or you just won’t know if you are getting duped. NEVER EVER negotiate without knowing that. It’s worth remembering throughout that it’s the dealer’s/ salesperson’s job to extract as much money from you as possible. Motorhome salespeople are almost always working on a commission sales basis. Most see you only as a pay cheque.

We are generally conditioned into thinking that used car/motorhome sales people are sleaze balls and we are initially wary of them. However, suddenly we are confronted with this really nice guy or girl that is on our side, wanting to get the best deal for us. This coupled with the excitement that buying a new motorhome generates can fool us into making silly decisions. Of course not all sales people want to rip us off, a few enlightened ones understand the importance of repeat custom but you should be aware that unfortunately the vast majority of sales-people look upon you as a victim rather than a customer. Link Removed

Best of luck with your negotiation:thumb:

 

[bigfoot]

I really do think that the manufacturers should employ mystery shoppers,to ensure that their dealers are selling their products correctly, Also they should take models in with various faults to check if they are providing a service to their standards,why rely on consumer TV to do it?
Or are the manufacturers just want to 'push tin'?

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[stevensson10]

don ammott

We are seriously thinking of trading in our Autocruise Stardream for a Autotrail Savannah and have seen one that is of interest to us at Don Ammott near Derby. Does anyone have any experience (good or bad) of this dealer? Many thanks.

my advice to you is steer well clear over two years ago I bought my mororhome off him spent a lot of money putting it right but is now in excellent condition no thanks to ammot. no back up from him or communication once hes got your money he doesn't want to know not a very nice man.regards steve

 

[rainbow chasers]

Aftersales is the key, as others have already pointed out. You can get a cracking deal, but if the aftersales are poor - then you would happily have paid more and got a good, no hassle service.

In fact many moons ago, a car dealer friend of mine (now passed on) used to charge around £1000 more than the the market price for his cars. His USP was that the cars were spotless - absolutely spotless (valeters spent a week cleaning every nut and bolt - contract valeters avoided him due to the work involved) and also his aftersales was absolutely impeccable. The customers were treated very well, and everything and anything they needed was done.

He was very successful, and very busy - which proves that people will pay for quality.....someone that has been lost over recent years.

Aftersales is king! Always consider how you are treated, how bothered they are and so on. What is easier nowadays is Internet - search for reviews, check with trading standards etc!

It sounds like from above comments, those with experience were not all happy ones!

 

[Jim]

As for Don Amott. Please take a look at our Trader Review site. They have been reviewed quite a few times:thumb: Broken Link Removed

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[haganap]

I dont trust many dealers as they have little knowledge of Campering around either the UK or the continent,

But all dealers have a job to do and thats make money. They have something that most of us want whcih is why most go there.

 

[Allanm]

The problem with reviews from other people on websites is that you never know if they select the best ones and leave the bad ones out, or put all of them in.
I went to a local dealer after reading reviews of how helpful and friendly they were. People stated they travelled miles to use this dealer and they really sounded like the best dealers in the world.
We visited their showroom and display yard, and I must say, the vans were valeted to a very high standard. We had to go and check the reg number on a few because we thought some were brand new.
Sadly, it all finished there. We tried to engage the staff in conversation, looked at new vans in the showroom, used vans in the yard, every question we had, meant a search around for someone to ask, who didn't know the answer. Everything seemed like too much trouble. A shame really, because we would have bought a van there and then if we had any confidence in the staff.
So, we went to another local dealer. Within minutes of being there, we had a member of staff talking to us who then left us alone to look in the vans. Everytime we looked at another van, there was a member of staff nearby.
In the end, we bought a new van from them, got a great deal and felt that we were valued customers.
We have been back a couple of times and always treated very well, nothing, it seems is too much trouble. Good old fashioned service from pleasant knowledgeable people.

Good luck in your search.
Allan

 

[francour]

part exchange

Hi I bought a new camper from don amotts some time ago spent 32000 grand after sales useless letters to m.d no reply would not deal with them ever or any other dealer only buy private

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[Scottyboy]

We bought our current van from Don Amotts, although we live miles away on the south coast we travelled up because they had the van we were after for a while. We were delighted, We got a very reasonable part ex price and the a good deal all round. We haven't really had any aftersales issues but they did promise to send some trim tape to cover a few bits that had come off inside, they had to order it from Italy (McLouis). Three weeks later an entire roll arrived in the post as promised. I would use them again for sure.

 

[stevensson10]

We bought our current van from Don Amotts, although we live miles away on the south coast we travelled up because they had the van we were after for a while. We were delighted, We got a very reasonable part ex price and the a good deal all round. We haven't really had any aftersales issues but they did promise to send some trim tape to cover a few bits that had come off inside, they had to order it from Italy (McLouis). Three weeks later an entire roll arrived in the post as promised. I would use them again for sure.

you was luckier than I was.steve

 

[Peter JohnsCross MH]

He is a dealer, so only believe 10% of what you are told by a salesman who quite possibly knows less about motorhomes than you do. Salesmen are just that, salesmen. :thumb:.

You have not met Andy, my Sales Manager or Glenn, my workshop manager or even my valeters..............................

Peter

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[Snowbird]

You have not met Andy, my Sales Manager or Glenn, my workshop manager or even my valeters..............................

Peter

That is very true Peter, but I did have dealings with your accessory department so please not start dissing me .

 

[daisy mae]

I collect my new to me MH tomorrow, from Spinney, from the start I was very impressed, saw sales man, he bought the keys and left me to take as long as I liked looking over it, no pressure, also looked at a few others and went back to the first one, I bought it, this week it was in for valeting and a few things I wanted doing, the workshop guy phoned me twice to check that was what I wanted and explained the best way, he said he treats the vans as if they were his, I was assured it would look as if it had just come from the manufacturers, was even given a voucher for a drink and a slice of cake. So , so far full marks.

ps Forgot to add, I sold my Topaz privately, and got £3,000 more than any dealer offered me , I didn`t ask Spinney for a price as I had already sold it.