In relation to my charges, because I offer a wide variety of services which are tailored to the individual, please call me to discuss your personal requirements and I can advise you what my services might cost.
As a guide:
Help buying a car – to help you choose which car best suits your needs and to help find you one locally to you, including telling you whether it is fairly priced, £150. If you would like me to then engage with the dealer on the phone, find out more about the car and its history, and / or help you with the purchase process and negotiating on the price, £200 in total. This second option is the one most people take as it is where real savings can be made – see below. Do call me if you want to tailor this buying service to your needs and I can advise regarding pricing in more detail.
On occasion, often with more expensive vehicles, but sometimes with more mainstream cars, I can help you negotiate large savings on the list price of new and nearly new cars. In these circumstances I will ask you for 15% of the saving. Please feel free to discuss this with me.
Help selling a car privately – to advise you on price, photograph your car and post it on Autotrader or similar, £150. If you would like me to also take calls from prospective buyers, £200 in total. Depending on your location, I will include meeting a buyer and showing them your car within this £200. This can help with any concerns you may have about prospective buyers coming to your home.
Selling your car via an online car buyer / trade auction, £200 in total. This will include photographing your vehicle, uploading a condition and history report to their site, dealing with the platform in question, liaising with the buying dealer, and attending the hand over of the car. This may well achieve a similar price to a private sale, and often with less hassle for you.
Obtaining dealer / car company contribution towards repairs – 15% of reduction achieved or £150.00, whichever is greater.
A couple of examples:
In July 2017, I helped a client decide on the right car and then found him one locally. I advised him on pricing, effectively helping him decide on the ‘cost to change’ he was prepared to pay when taking into consideration the car he was trading in. He took it on from there.
He then called me from the garage to discuss a product the dealer was offering called ‘gap insurance’. I explained the product to my client and asked how much the dealer wanted for the policy. The dealer wanted £450. I advised my client to decline and suggested a broker who provided the same service for £85. As a result the client had peace of mind that he had bought the right car for his needs at the right price, negotiated a good deal on his trade in vehicle and saved £365 on a policy he wanted with one quick phone call to me. My fee, £200.
In August 2017, I helped a client sell a Jaguar XKR for comfortably £3000 more than Jaguar Bristol were offering for a trade in. It was an expensive, niche vehicle and it took 6 weeks to sell. I took several calls from the buyer, met him at the client’s home, showed him the car and then negotiated the sale price. The seller did nothing other than engage my services, and sold his car for >£3000 more than Jaguar had offered. My fee, £200.
Lastly, if your car needs an expensive repair, I might be able to help you reduce the costs by negotiating with the garage on your behalf. This would be £150 or 15% of saving. So, if I save you £600, I would charge £150. If I save you £1200, I would charge £180.
Also, look at the posts in my blog. There you will find further actual examples of savings made, cars found, and other services I have provided.
Please call me to discuss my fees as every case I have dealt with so far has been slightly different. Every client is unique in their needs. Remember, the whole basis of Bristol Car Consultant is to save my clients money. Customer service is very important to me. I am very keen that you are happy with my service from start to finish and I want my clients to come back to me time and time again.
To help with this, existing clients will benefit from free basic advice and assistance. For example when changing tyres, seeking smart repairs or in relation to basic maintenance. See the ‘Existing Client Benefits’ page.
Remember, when you consider all the financial aspects of car ownership – initial purchase, ongoing maintenance costs, and selling on, with the right advice over the period of ownership of a car, you could save thousands of pounds . Let me help you with this!