At least when it comes to buying a new car!
If you’ve lived in Spain for even a short time you would have certainly heard that refrain before. Spain is different.
In most cases it is just rhetoric, as most countries that I’ve lived in share a whole lot in common with the rest of the world, but I have found some things very different here in Spain.
The latest one, and one that is incredibly annoying is buying a new car.
Let me share with you about what I have observed, but let me qualify my observations by saying that I’ve bought and sold cars in a number of different countries, so I am not new to this game, but I have been surprised at what I’ve encountered here.
I’ve been looking for another car, either new or low mileage used. I’ve been to dealers and smaller car yards and spoken to some private sellers. Here are my observations to date:
- Even with big dealerships, don’t expect them to have much stock on hand. So the choice can be limited.
- Don’t expect them to even have an example of the complete range of their vehicles available even to look at. I visited 2 Audi and 1 Peugeot dealerships to look at one of their current models and they didn’t carry any in stock.
- Don’t expect quick service when you wander into a dealership. No one will be rushing away from their desks to speak with you. No real surprise there given Spain’s record of very poor customer service.
- If you make an enquiry via the Internet don’t expect a response. Amazing really.
- Of course, don’t try and buy a car in your lunch break, as between 2.00pm and say 5.00pm everyone at the dealership will be at lunch, so they will be closed.
That’s just the general, poor experience stuff; the things that are really hard to understand are the following:
- Just because there is an advert for a particular vehicle on the Internet don’t expect that the dealership will actually have that car for sale (something that is illegal in most countries).
- The advertised price is not what you will probably end up paying. Many new cars are advertised using that catchall ‘priced from’. Trying buying one at that price!
- Cash is definitely not king here. You will pay more for cash than you will for credit. Most prices quoted are for credit and include a whole host of incentives that lower the price. If you don’t qualify or you want to pay cash, expect to pay, sometimes thousands of Euros, more.
- If you are buying from a smaller car dealer or privately make sure you check the vehicle thoroughly as many are not what they seem and be ready for some additional extra costs on top of the purchase price.
- If you are unlucky enough to have a car that you would like to trade in on another then be prepared to be shocked by its poor trade in value. This is always a sensitive issue when changing over models, but here that experience is unusually horrific. Trying to sell it privately, particularly if your Spanish is limited, can be another nightmare.
I have had a couple of good experiences buying cars here, but I’m beginning to think they were exceptions rather than the rule, and, of course, I have generalized here, but this is a true reflection of my own recent experiences.
All I can say is ‘Good Luck’ if you are looking for another car. I am still looking. Then again I may just hang onto my existing car for a few more years and delay the experience.
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