Hi all

This place seems to be the font of all knowledge on most things so thought I would give this a try…

Can I ask whether anyone knows any inside info on Renault pricing for their vans, level of discount they can offer, and how the finance works please?

Background: ordered a new Trafic crew van six months ago with a fairly specific spec. It has now arrived at the dealer and we’re due to collect it. However at the 11th hour they have changed their mind about how much we are supposed to be paying and want quite a bit more money than we were quoted when we confirmed the order.

We’ve not paid anything, or entered into any contract, so no way we can hold them to the quote they gave. Equally they can’t hold us to buying the van, especially at a higher price.

Trying to figure out how much of this is them trying it on, how much is a genuine mistake, and how much leverage we have on the basis that they might not want to be stuck with a van which is fairly unusual in terms of the specific spec we’ve chosen.

Any guidance much appreciated!

Tell them no thanks, until they come back to you. Chancing bastards.

If the spec is so specific, what will you do if you can’t get it for the original price?

I’m sure there are other vans avaialable

If you are willing to walk away, then tell them you want it for the quoted price otherwise they can keep it.
(I presume you have the quote on paper?)

If you aren’t willing to Walk away, then ask nicely for a discount. And then buy it.

(If it helps, I recently drove a Renault Traffic for a couple of days, and really disliked it 😉 )

nissan and vauxhall sell the same van under their branding, usually just different bumpers and badge.

whats so special about a van.

Cheeky bastards, if you can live with walking away I’d tell them you now want a discount on the original agreed price.

I’m sure there are other vans avaialable

What explanation did they give?

How did you manage to order a custom specced van without a deposit?

If it’s very bespoke, I bet they can’t sell it on easily

Thanks all.

If the spec is so specific, what will you do if you can’t get it for the original price?

Possibly order another one from another dealer (and get a long-term rental in the meantime which is what we’ve had until now). Possibly buy a cheaper van without our specific spec (main thing is we’ve had a tailgate rather than barn doors, which seems quite rare on these vans, it’s also had ply lining and towbar fitted at the dealer but obviously those are common). Possibly re-think and buy something else entirely…. This is what we’re trying to work out.

I’m sure there are other vans avaialable

Yes, there are loads, of course. We don’t *have* to buy this one.

(I presume you have the quote on paper?)

Yes, well in an email.

I recently drove a Renault Traffic for a couple of days

Seem to get mixed reviews. We tested Ford, VW, Merc, and this, and the Renault/Nissan/Vauxhall seemed best for us. Have had one on rental for the last six months, it’s fine.

nissan and vauxhall sell the same van under their branding, usually just different bumpers and badge.

whats so special about a van.

Yep – we’ve been driving the Vauxhall. Thing is with a tailgate, which we want, they’re rare. Nothing is so special or unique about it – just spent a bit of time testing and deciding, ordered six months ago, and now want what we want at the price we agreed.

What explanation did they give?

a) That the list price has gone up since we ordered and we have to pay a price based on the new list price with discounts. They’ve since backed down on this after I showed them the quote we ordered from.

b) That the max discount Renault Fleet allow them to give has dropped from c. 18% to c. 15% and they have to now stick to that. This is the bit I’d be interested to know if there’s truth in.

c) That the quote we agreed on was based on us paying in full in cash, not taking Renault’s 4 years 0%. This is despite all of the quotes we had from them being on 0% from the start.

d) That our understanding of the deposit requirements was wrong, and instead of paying the VAT as a deposit we have to pay 20% of the total, inc VAT amount. (i.e. 1/5th of the total not 1/6th of the total inc VAT). This we could live with as it just means bigger deposit, smaller monthly payment, but it still means we have to put down a chunk more than we were told which we’d rather not (as there’s no interest on the rest of it, so why pay more deposit than we could).

Tempted at the moment to just walk away…

How did you manage to order a custom specced van without a deposit?

If it’s very bespoke, I bet they can’t sell it on easily

I don’t know, to be honest. They didn’t want a deposit which I was surprised about.

It’s not *that* customised. Different rear door, which is unusual in these vans as far as I can tell. Some optional extras but nothing which is ridiculously unusual. But I’d not have thought it’s something they’d easily sell to someone else overnight.

Will the dealer be stuck with it if we don’t take it, or will Renault fleet take it back into their pool (despite it having had modifications at the dealer (towbar and ply lining)? If I knew this for sure, I’d have a better idea what our bargaining position is like.

I have no useful info for you, but you might consider contacting Renault UK to ask whether this situation complies with their code of conduct for franchisees.

consider contacting Renault UK to ask whether this situation complies with their code of conduct for franchisees.

Absolutely this.

You have a written quote (via email) and they have decided not to honour their agreement with you.

I’m sure Renault UK Customer Care won’t be happy about that at all.

Give them a ring and let them deal with it.

https://www.renault.co.uk/contact.html

Thanks chaps. Dealer seems happy for us to walk away but then I presume they’re better poker players than I am.

Hadn’t thought of speaking to Renault UK but no harm giving them a shout, so will do that.

If they are happy for you to walk could they be playing you off against another customer for the same van?

Contact Renault as above…

Get a quote for the same spec from a different dealer ? If it’s cheaper go with it.

Hiya,

Order a Nissan the N300 just out with a 5 year warranty 😉
I suspect that the dealer is trying it on. I have this in the past always walked out of the dealership and not returned calls for a week.

Jerry

That the quote we agreed on was based on us paying in full in cash, not taking Renault’s 4 years 0%. This is despite all of the quotes we had from them being on 0% from the start.

They make more money out of finance deals than cash buyers….

a) That the list price has gone up since we ordered and we have to pay a price based on the new list price with discounts. They’ve since backed down on this after I showed them the quote we ordered from.

b) That the max discount Renault Fleet allow them to give has dropped from c. 18% to c. 15% and they have to now stick to that. This is the bit I’d be interested to know if there’s truth in.

All possible. As a general rule the manufacturers treat the dealers very badly and changing the terms of disconts etc without proper notice is par for the course.

They make more money out of finance deals than cash buyers….

Not on 0% deals they don’t.

A 0% deal would cost the dealer money to buy in. hence the difference in price dependant on wether you take it or not.

A finance company isn’t going to pay commission to a dealer for arranging a finance deal that makes them a loss.

Buying vans is different from cars, most dealers expect van purchases to be paid in full rather than the finance culture around cars.

Either way, I suspect they have someone else who will take (your) van from them, if you don’t have it, already lined up, hence chancing it.

When I ordered my Peugeot with quite a few extra’s which would make it very unusual for selling to anyone else, I was surprised to find out they only wanted a £500 deposit, I paid, it was ordered and delivered for the price quoted too.

I reckon a buyer has walked onto the forecourt, seen your van with its nice second set of seats and a tailgate, and inspired by all the recent van threads on here, fallen in love with it and agreed a higher price in principle with the dealer. It may be a rare spec, but in this case that probably makes it more desireable.

He is now trying every excuse under the sun to bleed the extra money out of you.

I’d be calling and then sending off a written complaint to Renault UK head office with copies of the quote and pressing the point that as a business user you were relying on this special order van and are in a bind without it.

Does the quote have an expiry date or anything? Presumably good until vehicle delivered!