[derwen1959]

there is a lot of adverts on the radio about trade centre uk giving up to £2000 discount on already low prices and I compared the prices with local main dealers and there is a huge difference

[Hometune]

Trustpilot - https://uk.trustpilot.com/review/www.tradecentreuk.com

Google reviews - https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=tr...f2140952625e,1,,,

There seems to be one in the West Midlands and another possibly in Wales?

[Snowball]

Are dealers devaluing diesel cars because of their decline in popularity following bad press coverage? If so, are trading in and selling prices showing a consistent pattern?

[Santa]

The Google reviews are strange; a mixture of one and five stars. People seem to be either very happy or totally disappointed. One thing seems clear - they have (depend on?) a fast turnover, so any particular car you see advertised may well not be there. Of course, there is no way to verify that the car existed in the first place either.

People complain about pushy salespeople and I believe that it is a very high-pressure job; they are all in competition with each other, and no sales equals no commission.

This kind of operation makes its profit on the margins; they probably don't add much to the price they paid for the car but depend on selling 'extras' - especially finance, and beating down any trade-in value that you hoped for on your old car. A savvy and strong-minded buyer who knows what they want, has cash organised and a smartphone to compare prices, may well get a bargain.

[Loony]

Originally Posted by Santa

This kind of operation makes its profit on the margins; they probably don't add much to the price they paid for the car but depend on selling 'extras' - especially finance, and beating down any trade-in value that you hoped for on your old car. A savvy and strong-minded buyer who knows what they want, has cash organised and a smartphone to compare prices, may well get a bargain.

You can bet they do add a lot to the price they paid.
Otherwise they would not survive.

That’s how the trade works

They have to pay to fix faults before and after sales

Finance and warranty just add a bit to the profit.

Then there are their running costs for the premises.
So yes,without making a fair bit on the car sale alone it would not be worth trading.

[Santa]

Perhaps I phrased it badly - I understand that they work on a lower margin than most dealers because they have such a high turnover. To achieve that high turnover they push their sales staff very hard. All dealers make good profits from selling finance.

The car trade is a mysterious web of interconnecting deals and the secondhand part is even more mysterious. Car hire companies like Hertz and Avis buy new cars at a huge discount and can often sell them for more than they paid six months later. Dealers buy in cars at the month/quarter/year-end to make up their targets/bonuses. These cars end up as used cars with very little mileage.

[alan1302]

Originally Posted by Loony

You can bet they do add a lot to the price they paid.
Otherwise they would not survive.

That’s how the trade works

They have to pay to fix faults before and after sales

Finance and warranty just add a bit to the profit.

Then there are their running costs for the premises.
So yes,without making a fair bit on the car sale alone it would not be worth trading.

They probably put less of a markup on though to increase the number of sales...no different to a cheaper shop like B&M rather than a premium shop like Waitrose...both sell Heinz Beans but with different markups on. B&M look for volume of sales to make thir money whilst Waitrose expect less volume and higher profit per items

[Snowball]

Not quite the same thing, Alan. Take your example of Heinz beans. It is the manufacturer who pays for the huge discount being given at the shelf price, particularly with the 4-pack offers. This is because it is cheaper to clear the stocks quickly to keep the process running 24/7 - being cheaper this way than to shut down the processing plant, clean everything out, and then restart everything. Workers still have to be paid during the period for clean down and restart, with no actual production to earn profit.

[Santa]

Yes, the grocery market is just as distorted as the car market. How much profit a dealer makes on a new car is largely dependent on their turnover - more cars = bigger discounts, just as you might expect. However, car manufacturers control the dealers and the dealers have to shift the agreed numbers or they lose out. This is why the best time to be buying a new car is at the end of the month.

As I understand it, second-tier retailers like B&M will buy stock at a market rate when the prices drop due to overproduction. This stock will often have a shorter sell-by date that the big boys like Tesco will accept. When I was driving I did a job several times where I was picking up a full load (26 pallets) of Coca-Cola from a warehouse on an old airfield near Stratford and delivering it to a well-known supermarket. If you looked closely, you could see that it was made in Poland.

The secondhand car market is affected by a lot of factors. The buyers are not hard-headed businesses but ordinary people who will put off a purchase when their finances look shaky, or the government says certain types of car are A Bad Thing. Dealers have to 'move the metal' and will drop their windscreen prices accordingly. This is a very good time of the year to be buying a car - just before the new registration kicks in. New reg' cars are bought and the old cars end up on forecourts; dealers need cash to finance the purchase and space for the stock.

[wagolynn]

Originally Posted by Snowball

Not quite the same thing, Alan. Take your example of Heinz beans. It is the manufacturer who pays for the huge discount being given at the shelf price, particularly with the 4-pack offers. This is because it is cheaper to clear the stocks quickly to keep the process running 24/7 - being cheaper this way than to shut down the processing plant, clean everything out, and then restart everything. Workers still have to be paid during the period for clean down and restart, with no actual production to earn profit.

The motor industry works in a similar way, dealers get a bonus (discount) for shifting more metal.

[Glossy10]

@derwen1959 Worst car company! Never respond to anything and never want to accept there wrong. They give you the lip service. just cost me in total £1680 to get my car back on the road and that’s with £50 a month unlimited parts and labour warranty! They wouldn’t touch it!!

[JohnChester14]

i have never personally bought a car off there, I would just check the google reviews or buy somewhere thats been recommended by someone you know

[Mark07]

If it helps, you can use this link to find an RAC approved dealership near you.

[Publicawareness]

@derwen1959

Dishonest sales and defective vehicles

They are very crafty and dishonest and do everything in their power just to get the sale and really don’t care about you. I went there and saw an Audi A4 S-Line and liked it, however, when I turned it on, I realized that the driver side headlamp is defective as that side DRL is fainted than the other side and it clearly would stop working eventually and when I highlighted this, one of the sales manager said that though they see the issue they can’t fix it because they would have to change both sides because if they only change one side then one is gonna be brighter which is total garbage! And they refused to do anything to the price or rectify the problem, I still went ahead with the sale did everything for the finance and they even showed the infamous “99 point inspection” and tell me that the car is ok. Whilst waiting forever for them to do their finance bit, it was approved and then they moved the car around and when asked where the car is, they told me it’s just getting washed, after an hour of waiting for the car to be washed and waiting for the finance money to be paid out, when I asked for an update I’m being told that the finance company is still doing their bits and as soon as it’s done I’ll drive away. After the money was paid into their account and I’m now obligated to take the vehicle, they call me on my phone to confirm this and said that I can no longer get the vehicle today because something is wrong with the gear shifter and that they’ll have to call me tomorrow to see when I can come for it. This whole time they knew something was wrong and refused to say anything! Because they wanted the sale to go through and after, they just dished dirt.. with no compensation and no explanation, not even an apology or anything.

This place is dodgy! DO NOT BUY OR PUT YOURSELF IN DEBT USING THIS COMPANY!

TRANSPARENCY IS EVERYTHING.

at the same time my relative took a 2017 Nissan Juke and got thru and literally after driving out, the lights stopped working and after turning the switch off and on again.. the headlights worked and the fog lights doesn’t.

The experience was very distasteful!.

There needs to be more policies, checks. Etc.. to ensure that what’s being sold is as they say it is.

I ended up taking the car and because of this experience, I went to Stafford Audi and had them do an inspection; because it has dual climate which you can adjust the temperature but where the adjustment system is, you can see greasy hand marks like they did some work in that area and didn’t fix something right because one side can get warm whilst one side is just cold and can’t change. After the inspection, turns out the car has had a front end collision damaging the front right hand quarter and there’s still impressions of that damage to include the same headlamp and fender liner, also to note, for a 2018 Audi with only 70k on clock, I kept having to top up coolant and they realized that it’s leaking coolant and also misting oil. Alllll that is within two days of having the car. After returning the car to the trade Center, I told them all the issues and that at this point, I just want to reject and unwind the finance agreement, I was told an inspection has to be done and they would give me an update the same day by 3 pm, this was Friday the 29th .. I did not receive a call until Tuesday after I called demanding answers and that’s when they are gonna tell me that they don’t see any issues with the car and that I must come pick it up or else they will be charging storage fees. People don’t let my reality be yours, be wise!

I was approached by a group individuals who will be starting a social media campaign to educate the public of this company and their mode of operation and at first I was iffy but at this point, I fully endorse and if there’s anyone else who would like to add, you may do so by emailing your story and proof to [removed]

[Jcharnock]

Please visit nightmare trade centre UK on Facebook and share your experience to allow others to make an informed decision as to whether to use this company or not.

[NMNeil]

Fortunately we have fantastic legal protections from unscrupulous car dealers.
First they need to be licensed and if they start the antics you are describing, they have their license revoked and get fined.
https://www.the-sun.com/motors/12149...king-customer/
Sometimes heavily fined
https://www.ftc.gov/business-guidance/blog/2022/04/record-setting-10-million-ftc-illinois-settlement-takes-car-dealers-unauthorized-add-ons-and

Contact your local politician and ask why used car dealerships are not licensed. I know you have the consumer rights act, but the prospect of having their license revoked so they have to shut up shop would be a far better deterrent, plus it would weed out the backstreet used deathtrap sellers as they would then be operating without a license and could be closed down overnight.