Leasing A New Car That May Not Be Latest Model
Saturday, 25. October 2014
If I was to sell you my used Vauxhall Astra and it had a badge on the back that suggested that it was a top of the range Elite when in fact it was an entry level Exclusiv, there wouldn’t be much you could do about it unless I had advertised it as a fully spec’d Elite. The same would apply if the car I was selling was a 2010 car but was 2009 model year spec. Exclusiv.
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The fact is that you can inspect the car and see that the car doesn’t have leather seats, electric rear windows or fog lights that were fitted on an Elite as standard when the car was new or the addition of fog lights and sat nav when the car changed from 2009 to 2010. You see exactly what you are getting so the basic rule of Caveat Emptor – buyer beware prevails.
Of course this isn’t the case with a new car that you don’t get to see before you buy it or lease it. With some cars changing model spec at least once if not twice every year you may not receive what you thought you had ordered. Especially as manufacturers will throw a few thousand pounds across the bonnet (that’s dealer speak for bonus) of the outgoing model in order to sell them quickly to make way for the new model coming out.
Whilst this represents great value for money (we currently have deals on top of the range outgoing Focus models) you may not be told that the cars on offer are not the new model cars. Some may be pre-registered whilst others may just be stockpiled so whilst I would be suspicious if the cars are pre-registered, suggesting old model cars, that may not be the case if they are unregistered.
If unregistered you might assume that the car you will receive will be the car advertised on the manufacturer’s web site with at best a different spec. at worst a completely new shape. Manufacturers will also advertise a new model maybe 2 months in advance of launch, again fooling you into thinking that the car you just ordered is the new model. So always check with the supplier that the car you have ordered is the car you want? Don’t simply be tempted by a cheap rate. By Graham Hill
