Reply With QuoteIf you really want the alacantra then have the used car with the buy back promise, in all honesty that’s what I would do. If you took the car with leather you might regret it forevermore.
Seeking the hive advice on a situation regarding a new car purchase please.
Apologies for the length of post and also for the fact this is, after all, a first world non-problem in the grand scheme.
We've never paid more than £10k for a car before, but pushed the boat out and ordered our first ever new car for Mrs H. The decision-making was protracted but she settled on and ordered a £37k model in her favourite colour and with particular spec options including alcantara leather upholstery.
Fast forward 4 months and the car arrived in the UK a couple of weeks ago. So this week Mrs H's old car sold via SC (fundraiser donation duly paid), we've paid the full balance, changed the insurance, and are due to pick the car up at 10am tomorrow.
Got a call an hour ago from the salesman who apologises for having made an error when ordering the car from the manufacturer leading to it having leather upholstery rather than the alcantara option that we'd ordered/paid for (difference in retail price £150). Mrs H is fuming and my weekend has just gone for a burton. They are offering a further £720 discount (bearing in mind I had previously negotiated £1500 off when ordering) claiming that completely eradicates what was left of their 6.3% dealership margin. Option two is for them to re-order the correct spec meaning a further 16 week wait. Third option of course is a full refund. Our problem with the second and third options is that we can't go 4 months with just one car between us. The Dealership manager says they don't have a car they can loan us for the interim, but is offering to sell us a cheap used car with a promise to buy it back at "CAP clean" book price in 4 months. The depreciation difference over that time should be less that the £720 extra discount, so we'd be no worse off - just using a runaround for a few more months and a bit more inconvenience vis-a-vis insurance etc.
Does this sound like a reasonable solution or does anyone in the motor trade think we should push for something better? As much as we'd like to walk away, I think we'd be cutting our nose off to spite our face as she still wants that particular car.
Of course the correct solution is to accept the leather upholstery and take the discount, but I'm not sure she'll ever be satisfied and I can do without being pestered in a few years for a car with alcantara seats!
Thanks in advance
If you really want the alacantra then have the used car with the buy back promise, in all honesty that’s what I would do. If you took the car with leather you might regret it forevermore.
Dealer did this with a family members car despite all paperwork clearly stating the interior. We did wonder whether it was a cancelled order that they were trying to palm off as a few other bits were slightly different. Anyway they agreed to take the car with the leather option with some nominal discount as they too couldn’t be without a car.
The dealer subsequently ordered the correct seats and door cards and the interiors were swapped over in a day about ten weeks later. Not sure if that would be practical but worked for them. Was a Merc if that’s any relevance.........
Once order a company car. Supposed to have red leather interior and someone at the dealer ordered it with cloth. I told them that I would reject the car and they took it to some specialist who replaced the interior.
Alcantara is lovely, but easier to mark and stain compared to leather. All depends how you look after your car - eating or drinking in it etc.
Can all get cleaned, but it’s not just a simple wipe that leather is. That said, much nicer on a cold day without resorting to heating the seats. Gripper on your bum too!
The buying a car to sell back would be my choice if she really wanted to have the alcantara.
I’ve only purchased one brand new car, and having taken the time to spec it exactly how I wanted it, I’d be taking the option to get another car ordered and accept it’s another wait for the car she wants.
Thanks for the comments so far
Funnily enough I proposed this course of action and the manager claimed such would cost many thousands - which I doubt, but I guess with new cars as common as rocking horse poo they don't have to try too hard these days. They could lose our business and sell it to someone else within a few days (popular black paintwork & spec)Originally Posted by RLE
I love alcantara and have it on my car...would never go back to leather again...hot in summer and cold in winter so i can understand your frustration.
Pushing the boat out or launching a cruise liner ??
https://youtube.com/clip/UgkxtKQeRtl...iRp4cg9rmG-kkL
Isn’t the leather and alcantara all fake these days anyway?
I had a similar experience with Volvo Bristol. I had traded my car in and then models changed as did lead times. They stream lined the optional extras and to get the HK sound system meant getting everything and it was costing thousands more. In the end I needed the HK system as the stock is trash so gave up and got my old car back. I kept it friendly and didn’t even complain despite losing out financially and it being a pain in the ass. My reward was to be completely blanked when picking up my original car . I booked a time and the sales guy left me waiting for the best part of three hours as he was with a customer who came in after me. No one else could help apparently! One other salesman literally and figuratively shrugged his shoulders. I’d cancelled my finance so I had to pay the balance, but they couldn’t deduct my deposit apparently. I had to chase this up as well!!!
Anyway, apologies for the rant but I appreciate how a specific option can be important and don’t buy from Volvo Bristol;)
Last edited by Rodder; 29th July 2022 at 16:09.
Can you request the 2nd hand car and they buy it back off you for what you paid - ?
Sounds reasonable to me as they have messed up? Had you BT’d them say £34k would they be as understanding?
Think I would be inclined to take it Leather is not a minus when selling in future and as others have said easier to maintain.
Alternatively I have encountered similar circumstances where re-ordering was required and the customer was lent a 'demo / courtesy' car until replacement arrived.
Hmmm, tricky predicament particularly as you have both been looking forward to the specification ordered.
I suppose it might be depend on the type/size of car and potential residual value as well as leather may be better suited to it but it’s very subjective as we all know.
What is your gut feeling or is it more about the ‘quiet life’ side of things? You know what they say: happy wife, happy life!
In all seriousness, if your wife can accept the leather then maybe seriously discuss it with the view to take it with the discount etc. It’s just that there could be further delays (and frustrations) with the new 16 week lead time?
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Thanks all. We go in the morning and the dealer is placing a similar car with alcantara next to it so Mrs H can umm and ahh. Hoping she’ll be happy with the leather if I suggest the £700 is spent on her going away for a nice weekend.
Away from me :wink:
Just out of interest, which brand/exact model is this please?
What colour is the leather? if its a middle of the road colour, not red or such like, i would take it and blow the £720 on whatever indulgence you fancy. Imaging being beside the pool drinking beers on the dealer.
School day for me, never heard of alcantara.
My guess is a £700 weekend away will be just the sweetener that saves you a lot of hassle :-)
No brainier for me - leather is nicer than Alcantara, £720 is a nice sweetener, job done. I’d have accepted their offer before the scarcity of new cars and crazy wait times - I can’t believe you are even considering rejecting the car tbh?
As an aside, my current Tiguan has Alcantara panels on the seats - they are impossible to clean and every single car I’ve seen secondhand has the same marks mine has!
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No brainer for me as well. I would never settle for anything other than the thing I originally specced. Seeing the ”next best thing” would irritate me time and again and it would grow over time to the extent that it would take the enjoyment out of ownership. Has happened several times to me. Watches, cars, motorcycles, you name it. I try to rationalise and make a reasonable acquisition but I end up losing money because in the end I always buy the thing I originally wanted. My advice would be option two and try to push a good buyback deal for the interim car.
But what if the thing you originally specced isn’t all that and the substitute turns out to be better?
Ask your dealer if the percentage he's being as disingenuous to only quote his front end margin.
I'd have the leather personally so long as it wasn't red.
If it would be better IMO I’d spec it in the first place. I’m a leather seat man myself and in a similar situation I wouldn’t accept alcantara even if someone else will claim it’s better.
It's obvious i know, but only accept it if she likes it. Dont take it for the £700, and no doubt the sales team will amp it up a bit.
If it is acceptable, don't let them know too clearly and see if you can squeeze a couple of services out of it on top
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Last edited by xxnick1975; 29th July 2022 at 20:09.
I'll reveal once the situation is resolved as I wouldn't want to throw the dealer under the bus at this sensitive stage. Its a German brand
Black leather - or at least it better be - and agreed!
My vote: take the leather and £700 - alcantara was a mistake.
Absolutely it is her decision, and good advice on the services thanks
Couldn’t be bothered with the faff, id just accept the leather and take the discount
Are they offering the £150 difference on retail price plus the £720 (so £870) or just the £720?
If the latter they are only effectively giving you £570.
Leather and the discount all day for me.
I had to Google what alcantara is;
Alcantara is composed of about 68%*polyester*and 32%*polyurethane
If that is correct, you have lucked out by being offered leather seats and some cash. Yuk; who wants to sit on poly something or other.
Sems like it is a posh name for a sh1t product.
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I agree. An upgrade to real leather and a nice cash discount.
Alcantara is excellent, don’t be fooled by the fact that it’s synthetic. Last better than leather, which eventually ends up cracking .
Waiting to have another new car delivered is risky. World-wide shortage of semi-conductors may result in a longer waiting period than 16 weeks.
Alcantara is not everybody’s cup of tea. Trade-in prices can be lower than leather. I would take the ‘loss’ and accept the leather.
Last edited by thieuster; 29th July 2022 at 21:21.
Probably in the same way that a polyester suit will last longer than a wool suit.
I have my owned my Volvo V70 from new and it came with leather seats.
Fourteen years later and said leather seats are in lovely condition and feel like they have just been broken in. A minor amount of cracking, but predominantly just comfortable loveliness.
Buy cheap, buy twice.
I would be looking for a hefty discount to be sitting on polyester seats.
The whole name alcantara is bull sh1t. How many buyers would pay premium to spec them if they were called polyester/urethane seats.
What a load of marketing nonsense.
Nobody on this forum seems to keep a car long enough to run it in, let alone worry about the leather cracking!!
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Leather and a couple of nights in a country hotel with steaks and wine over glorified velour. No contest.
The leather might be vinyl by the way
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Not sure anybody buys a small german runabout with the idea they'll still own it in 20 years when the leather looks tired.
When it comes to car seats ‘leather’ ain’t leather in the way people think of it. Alcantara/leather both are man made/artificial constructs (particularly Volvo). Hope it gies well today OP
I had a car with alacantra seats while mine was being serviced nicer to sit on but I’ve seen them on older cars and they look like a pair of knackered suede shoes
Most basic car interior leathers are painted over. Surface of the seat is most likely a polyurethane based paint or similar, not your full grain leather. Hence no need to use actual leather care products with fat as no grease will permeat the paint and nourish the leather. In essence might as well be artificial.
The seats on my Volvo xc 60 are definitely leather specifically nappa leather and my s60 seats were leather I think one of the base model cars has leather look seats but that’s it
99.9% ‘leather’ car seats utilise split leathers which are corrected (imprinted), dyed, and then sprayed with what I refer to as ‘plastic’ - so what you sit on is an artificial man made layer. Volvo use ‘leather faced’ seats - leather shavings glued on to an artificial backing before being dyed and then sprayed with ‘plastic’ to protect the surface. I was discussing ‘leather’ with a salesman at a MB dealership about 8 years ago when he referred me to a flagship car in the showroom asking me “what’s that then”…. “plastic”.
Had loads of cars with leather, no issue. My current car has leather, its not hot in summer at all, if you have tinted glass the seats do not get that hot and as for winter, I've got heated seats. Personally I'd take the leather option especially if they are offering further discounts.
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Had loads of cars with leather, no issue. My current car has leather, its not hot in summer at all, if you have tinted glass the seats do not get that hot and as for winter, I've got heated seats. Personally I'd take the leather option especially if they are offering further discounts.
Yes, napa leather is the real deal and beautiful. Expensive, but worth it imo and also worth the extra effort maintaining it.
Last edited by Suds; 30th July 2022 at 09:16.
See post No 20 re Kia "leather" seats:-
https://www.kiaownersclub.co.uk/thre...99/#post-55496
Minefield (like leather ! )
If the seats are heated then i would take the discount , without heated seats living where you do every cold morning you will regret the leather so id cancel the order
Having had a similar issue with wrong spec new car normally I would say either walk away or the dealer reorders and sorts you out in the meantime.
However the leather does seem a pretty good option in this case.
Started out with nothing. Still have most of it left.
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