You're living the dream. You've made it. The rat race has been well and truly left behind, you've moved to Spain and you've fully embraced the shift from fifth to second gear. The sun is shining and the weather is always just so, to the extent that talking about the weather is no longer at the top of your list of, quite literally, ice-breakers. It's all downhill from here and you can thank your lucky stars too!
The time comes when you've moved in to your new dream home (habitation licence hopefully included) and your mind turns to other matters. How do I get around? Public transport is hardly reliable in these parts, not like good old UK. It's a matter of either you need a car or you want a car. For many it's a bit of both and once the decision is made there's one more thing to worry about. New or used? Well that's not really the last thing to worry about but lets take this in nice, easy to follow, stages.
Buying a used car in Spain is absolutely positively nothing like buying a used car in UK. Back home (for many of you) we all know about making sure that we check the V5 and the list of owners. We then check the service record against the mileage to make sure its genuine. You call for an HPI check to make sure that there's either no outstanding finance on the dream car you're contemplating or, indeed, that the dream car you're contemplating is in fact just one car and not an combination of.
There are many services available for your use back at home to make sure you don't buy a dud. It still happens mind, but the nation has, over the years, been educated in the ways of buying a second hand car and, if you don't know, you know someone who does. In Spain, the process is, unfortunately, something of a minefield for an expat looking to spend his/her hard earned on a used car. Prices are governed by… who knows, and then it would seem that the care and maintenance of a car is not as important as it might otherwise be back home. Add to this the manifest dearth of quality in any websites purporting to sell used cars as well as the lack of services that you can use to check the vehicle's provenance, throw in a twist of language barriers and you'd better pray that Lady Luck is shining her pearly whites in your direction when you hand over the Euros.
The idea of the used car having been tossed unceremoniously out the window, you turn your attention to the relative safety of buying a new car. You arrive at the dealership, a few thousand Euros burning a hole in your pocket only to discover that nobody seems to want your money. Whenever the receptionist notices you and bothers to approach you the language difficulty that will accompany you throughout the process strikes fear deep within you. You eventually meet the sales person who will guide you through the motions checking out what's on offer and what best suits your needs. You'll then need to sit down and discuss (or at least try to) what your options are in terms of financing, delivery times, required documents etc…
They'll be very good at giving you their account details but not much more.
What are their margins? Can they give you a better deal? Have they got something in stock? Something on the way? How long will I wait and how reliable is the information you're getting? Am I getting the best deal?
Unfortunately all these questions are hard to answer if you're not 'in' with their crowd. Not having the knowledge of how car dealerships work, how they make their money and how you can save money is costing you. At home, you'd haggle your way down to the best deal but here, you simply can't. The language barrier is such that you won't want to embarrass yourself and the dealer, hard though you may try to make a fool of yourself in the name of a good deal, will only just about try and help you out. You see the thing is that they know that you need/want a car and, if you go ahead and buy it, you're more likely than not going to buy it in your area as its just simpler for you in every way. They have a captive buyer and they know it.
What can you do to alleviate the pain and hardship? How can you buy a car with a minimum of hassle? How can you buy a car guaranteeing you will be getting a better deal than anything you could have argued? If its something a bit special you're looking for and you want it sooner rather than later, where are you going to find it? How can you avoid having to deal with the dealerships at any stage of the process? Is that really possible?
Well it is.
A new service shortly to be launched will be helping you and others like you find and buy their new car as soon as possible, with the least hassle possible and for the best price available. A service that will talk to you in your language and to them in theirs. A happy case of us and them keeping well away from each other. Through this service, you will be able to contact your personal car shopper and explain what it is you want, either a specific model or a list of criteria for your next car.
The service will then consult with its extensive range of dealers in the relevant area and make contact on your behalf. We will locate the car for you or arrange for the order to be placed if your car is not in stock. It may be that we can find you something similar to what you wanted which is available now and not in three months' time. The fact that we will be bringing many customers to a variety of dealerships and giving a number of them the opportunity to quote for your next vehicle, we will guarantee that you will save a minimum of the amount of our fee off the list price of the car you're looking for, or we'll give you your money back.
What's more, when you contact us and get us to find your car for you, there's no pressure or worry about finding the right car in a short space of time. If you're indecisive, not sure or plain and simple don't know what to go for at the first time of asking, there's nothing to worry about. Once you've contracted our services, we will be happy to assist you in finding the right car at the right price for as long as twelve months after you take us on.
As soon as we've identified the vehicle you're looking for, we'll arrange the test drive for you. At this point you'll meet the dealer, but the haggling will be down to us so all you'll need to do is decide whether you want it and, if so, in what colour! We'll then get on to Mr Salesman and get you the best deal in all the circumstances. Our service won't end there. We will act effectively as translators and guide you through the process of submitting the relevant documentation and making the payment to the point of collecting your pride and joy. If you're looking for a supercar or other exotica, contact us and through our network we will find what you want and do our very best to ensure that you get the service and attentiveness you're used to.
This is a new and exciting concept not yet available in Spain and Gibraltar and we are happy to be bringing this service to the market. We hope you agree and would really appreciate your thoughts on the concept and whether you'd do anything differently. As a gesture of appreciation, we'll knock 10% off the cost of our service for all those who are kind enough to take the time to let us have their thoughts at www.personalcarshopper.net.
We trust you'll share in the excitement and knowledge that you have a new found ally in your search for your new car, a new strength and friend to guide you through the sometimes arduous process of buying a car, particularly in Spain.
We look forward to hearing from you soon.