French car sellers drove me to Spain

AFTER reading letters about buying a car in France I would like to relate my own experience. I went to a dealer in Anglet.

I had already researched the model I wanted (a Toyota Land cruiser) with a few extras. I was told the extras were not possible, but if I wanted to upgrade to the top-of-the-range model I could have them. It was of course a lot more expensive, with extras that I didn’t want.

After days of haggling I was told that the reason it was impossible to alter the specifications was because French people like to buy exactly the same model and same specifications so that when they re-sell the car the buyer knows exactly what they are buying. I was completely dumbfounded. I checked other dealers and the result was the same.

It was obvious that competition between them just didn’t exist. So I crossed the border into Spain and bought the exact model I wanted, with the extras, for a price several thousand euros cheaper than in France. Importing was easy and all the formalities were completed in an afternoon.

I know now why the car industry in France is suffering: competition does not exist and the showrooms are completely inflexible, at least in my experience.

Ken Wheatley, by email