Think I had this on the wrong thread so here goes again!
I aim to buy a new car early next year and a UK internet dealer is offering my choice of spec. to order, being unregistered and supplied by a UK main dealer of the relevant marque with full manufacturers warranty at £2,043 below list even though the model in question is not on sale until January! My research with UK main dealers and other internet companies indicates that no discounts anywhere near that figure are on offer. The internet dealer offering the deal has a UK listed address and is an accredited member of Safebuy Assured;Trust UK and RMI which I understand are all organisations established to promote confidence in internet car purchasing. The offer is obviously very attractive but having no previous experience with internet car buying and before 'jumping in with both feet', I would appreciate any practical advise from you knowledgeable folk and any good or not so good experiences you may have had!
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Who do you pay?
I bought Mrsb's car from an internet broker and all the money went to a frachised Toyota dealer and it was the dealer that paid the broker.
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Who do you pay? I bought Mrsb's car from an internet broker and all the money went to a frachised Toyota dealer and it was the dealer that paid the broker.
Yep thats the way is used to deal back in my toyota days - this way the customer only has contract with the main dealer.
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I raised this on 4/12/05 and have had no response! Surely there must be somebody out there who has had a good or not so good experience when buying a new car from a UK internet dealer? HELP!
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I can't say i've had any experience as a customer from an internet broker but i used to work for a main dealer selling cars through brokers so if you have any queries drop me a mail - address is in my profile.
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Hi blue haddock. I have had two failed attempts at trying to e-mail you as per your profile details. Perhaps you could sed a test e-mail to me as per my profile and I will attempt a reply.
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I bought my last car from a broker sourced via the internet. Having said that most communication was by phone.
They wanted me to pay them but I insisted that I would only pay the Dealer.
I ended up paying a deposit of £500 to the broker which was deducted off the dealer price.
Just be careful that you know with whom you are dealing.
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TT
I think it would be OK to tell us who the broker was. AFAICS there is nothing detremental said about them in your above post, only that you were unhappy with sending all the money to them.
H
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Hi, I purchased my new Doblo ( yes I know, I've had all the jokes!)from Nationwide Car Contracts at the beginning of this year. Very pleased and would definately use again. I only went in this direction after my local Fiat dealer advised me that they would not have a Doblo for demo for weeks poss months. The next nearest gave me the distinct impression I was a nuisance when I turned up at 4.45 pm in my working clothes. Up the M4 to another Fiat dealer who told me Fiat did not make the spec I wanted! err- its here in the brochure? NCC were businesslike & courteous. They supplied me with the exact spec I requested and deferred the delivery date until I had returned from holiday. The vehicle was delivered to my door from a dealer 250 miles away. I paid the broker direct and yes I was bit anxious sending 9K to a bank account given me to a guy on the internet. The delivery note stated 'handbook missing -to follow in post' It took an e-mail, 2 phone messages and finally a strongly worded letter to the dealer to get the handbook 4 months later. Presumably selling Fiats is like falling off a greasy log and doesnt require customer service. Smashing car - seriously, I am looking to get the Panda, through NCC next.
Papho
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I purchased a new Passat through an internet broker. I think that it was broker4cars.co.uk, but as I placed the order 4 months ago maybe that was just one that I considered, and I might have used another.
I managed to get a little over a 10% discount, which amounted to about £2000. The best I could get out of a VW dealer was 4%, and that was on the car only, not on the extras I specified.
The car was actually supplied by a VW dealership in Leicestershire,
All in all I have been very impressed, but that's with the dealer, as I only spoke with the broker once. After the initial enquiry all my dealings were direct with Reg Vardy.
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I am buying my car through UKcardiscount.co.uk
It is a Citroen C4 vtr+ 5dr. I got over £4000 discount (£2000 more than dealers were prepared to offer me)
So far so good (apart from one minor but irritating hiccup)
I paid the broker £500 via my card as a deposit. I pay remainder on delivery of vehicle by bankers draft into the brokers account, provided I am happy with the car. I assume then that the broker pays the dealership.
I have had no contact at all with the dealership and know nothing other than the car is coming from somewhere within the M25 area.
So, who is my contract with? I have thought all along that it is the broker. They have been around a while, they are regularly mentioned on this site, so I assume that nothing has gone pear-shaped before
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Tack's contract must be with the broker, which in UK law makes the broker "the supplier" both in contract law and under the various sale of goods acts. That makes the broker fully responsible for everything and unable to legally pass responsibility for anything onto the dealer who supplies the car.
HJ
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HJ, thanks for that.
I have to say that I did a lot of open source research on the companies I was tempted to do business with. I have to say that I saw nothing adverse at all on the company I am dealing with.
If there is a duff one somewhere, I have no doubt that the complaints will turn up somewhere on the net in some forum or the other.
I had some comfort in that I did not need to pay the whole amount until I was satisfied with the car on delivery. I was also comfortable that if it all went belly up I was covered by the terms and conditions of my card for the £500 deposit.
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HJ... re your comments...if the vehicle is uk supplied by a main dealer of the marque in question to the broker and the broker is therefore the 'supplier' to the purchaser, does that arrangement have any effect upon the manufacturers warranty?
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Depends on the manufacturer/orricial importer of the car. The IM Group will not provide warranty cover on some of its cars bought as 'new' from organisations other than franchised dealers.
I repeat, if you pay the full price for a car to a broker and the broker pays the dealer, then in UK law the broker is the 'supplier', not the dealer.
HJ
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With the company I used I paid nothing to the broker. The deposit went to the VW franchise. I presume that they paid the broker a commission.
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The UK based internet company that I am about to deal with insists that the £500 deposit and subsequent balance is paid to them and not to the UK franchised dealer from whom they are obtaining the car. They also state that I must collect the car from their own premises or arrange for them to deliver it to me. To my knowledge they are the only internet dealer in the UK offering any form of discount on the vehicle in question and the opportunity to save £2,043 is obviously extremely attractive. They state that the reason that all finance is paid to them is to enable the substantial discount deal to be offered. Are there any obvious disadvantages that I might have overlooked as the company in question appears to be bona fide?
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Hi geordie 1. Although they cannot be named here, there is one internet broker who is an absolute no-no. I very nearly got caught up with them. They have a very professional looking website, but are absolute crooks. Send me an e-mail (on my profile today) and I'll pass on the name.
--
let me be the last to let you down....
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I'd be reluctant to pay £000's to an internet broker unless it was one with a reputable name and that had been around for a while.
A bit of web research should show up whether the company is any good.
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Lordy...thanks for your e-mail response. Thankfully the company you mentioned is not the one that I have had inital discussions with.I am attempting to contact someone who I believe has used the services of the relevant internet dealer and if I get a positive response I will (with approval of this website administrator)make mention in this forum.
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"The UK based internet company that I am about to deal with insists that the £500 deposit and subsequent balance is paid to them and not to the UK franchised dealer from whom they are obtaining the car."
We don't know who the company is, so I'm speculating, but this sounds similar to several postings on here in the past while about a brokerage who took deposits for premium cars (I recall a Volvo and a BMW being mentioned) but never delivered the cars.
"To my knowledge they are the only internet dealer in the UK offering any form of discount on the vehicle in question and the opportunity to save £2,043 is obviously extremely attractive."
Sorry to say, but if the deal seems too good to be true, it probably is. Unless you're very confident that the company is sound, should you not consider looking elsewhere?
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Well you were right Gromit, my wonderful bargain deal has evaporated! I rang the relevant internet dealer with my query about the car on offer on at least five occasions and on each occasion they promised to return my call and failed to do so (not a good sign!). They now state that the particular deal has been withdrawn by their supplier (quote) 'because the manufacturer does not like their cars being sold at such a discount'??? Looks like I will just have to go the 'three rounds' with my local franchised dealer and have the usual haggle debacle! At least that way I know I am on terra firma!
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