Tricked into buying an ex-rental car

I bought a six month old Volvo XC60 from my local Volvo dealer in Sunderland on the understanding that it was an ex Volvo UK management car. Two weeks later when I received the V5C in the post I noticed that the previous owner recorded was "Hertz UK". I complained to the dealer that they had sold me an ex-rental car rather than a cherished ex Volvo management car. Unfortunately I have nothing in writing to prove that they said it was an ex Volvo management car and it's only been with the assistance of Trading Standards that they have offered to buy my car back from me at the price I paid. It seems that this is a common scam and if the dealer gets caught they just take the car back and pass it on to another unsuspecting customer. How can we protect ourselves against being conned? Should we record the conversations that take place during the sales process?

Asked on 27 October 2015 by johnny t

Answered by Honest John

This is only a scam in terms of people's perception. The reality is that 95% of all cars re-sold at less than 12 months old have been on rental or demo fleets. There simply isn't enough 'management' at any car manufacturer to account for the number of cars sold as 'ex-management'. So you were lied to, but the fact is that an ex-rental car 6-12 months old is usually far better than a privately owned car 6-12 months old because the variety of different drivers driving it will have run it in better and it will have been checked over and cleaned between every rental.

Tags: hire cars buying a used car

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