Hi all,
I am going to shortly be buying a nearly new car from Motorpoint (waiting for loan payment to arrive in my bank account)
As I have had nothing but bad experiences with cars in the past, and Motorpoint seems to have a pretty bad reputation, I want to do everything in my power to make sure I do get a good car that I am happy with.
Basically what I need to know is what questions I should be asking BEFORE I had over my cash, and also what rights I have if things go wrong.
Here are the questions I have thought of myself, what else should I not be missing off the list?
* Is the car UK spec?
* Has the car been serviced to manufacturer spec (for warranty)
* Has the car been used as private hire?
* Has the car been stolen/involved in an accident?
* Are there any known faults/flaws with the car?
OK now my rights... If I go to a proper Franchise, I can choose a car, pay for it and drive it off. If the car is not right, you get 30 days to exchange the car for another one. I take it this doesn't apply to Car supermarkets?
If I bought a nearly new car, drove it down the road and found a major problem with it, can I take it straight back and swap/get a refund .... as I am not likely to know about any problems until I have driven it for a while as they don't let you test drive cars.
Thanks in advance for any help
Luke
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I'm not sure that Motorpoint has a bad reputation, I've had over 5 years excellent service from the car I bought from them.
If buying "new" from them, ask:
Have I got all the keys and fobs?
Have I got a handbook and service book?
Have I taxed the car (they expect you to do this beforehand)?
I'm not so sure I would recommend a used car from them as test drives are not easy to arrange and their prices do not seem much lower than ordinary dealers especially when you consider that you may have a long journey to Motorpoint.
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My father had brilliant service from Motorpoint and a great deal.
Only moan was running on vapour to the petrol station positioned on or near their site. The salesman told him about fuel though and the price was blinding for the car.
Check it is a Euro import, otherwise IMHO forget it. I would not worry if a Euro import though.
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My Nissan Terrano came via Cyprus but was to full UK spec and as I say has given 5 years great service.
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I don't want to slag off Motorpoint, after all I am thinking of using them. I have however done my research on the net and many people complain that they are very pushy to get you to pay, and once you do pay you are sent off and told that any problems you have you will need to see the dealer and not them.
so what I am trying to do is make sure I ask all the right questions first, and also I want to know if the law / consumer rights will do anything to help me if I do find out 10 miles down the road that I have picked up a lemon
Luke
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Rather than asking if the car is UK spec, make sure that you know what UK spec is for the car you are interested in - then check carefully that the Motorpoint car is comparable - airbags, alarms that sort of thing.
They don't offer much in the way of after sales support but pan European warranties cover most problems - again check with the manufacturer if you need to "register" the car with the UK network for warranty purposes.
Not easy to get a test drive so be sure that you have tried a similar car beforehand.
Finally check your prices carefully - plenty of brokers offer UK sourced cars for sometimes not a lot more.
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I've test driven (from main dealers) the main candidates that I am going to choose from, so thats not a problem, I know what each make/model drives like.
What I am saying is, if after getting 10 miles down the road I realise that the car I just bought drives like a brick with square wheels(and the one at the main dealer i tested didn't), do I have any right to take it back and swap it or not? You can do this with pretty much any main dealer when buying used cars.
The only reason I am looking at Motorpoint is price, the cars I want are so much cheaper then anywhere else at Motorpoint.
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From the Motorpoint website -
"Any claim by the customer based upon defects in the quality or condition of the vehicle shall be notified to Motorpoint within a reasonable time of the date of delivery, or where the defects were not apparent on a reasonable inspection, within a reasonable time after discovery of the defects."
So I would say yes, you can take it back - whether you can swap it for another - don't know. I assume that that Sale of Goods Act and other consumer protection applies to Mororpoint just as it would any other dealer.
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I wonder if they would let me bring an AA inspector with me
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Deleted by HJ because it was untrue and libellous.
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What's for you won't pass you by
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As everyone is bored of this thread already, along with the fact I will be making my purcahse in the next couple of days ( I will post back to say how it goes, for anyone else concerned about Motorpoint) can someone end this thread by stating what consumer protection actually does apply to cars?
Thanks all
Luke
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Luke
Here's a starting point from Trading Standards (refers to 2nd hand sales but would think that most of it applies.)
www.tradingstandards.gov.uk/cgi-bin/calitem.cgi?fi...t
Good luck - post back to let us know how you get on.
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Thankyou Wilco,
There were some good points in that trading standards doccument that have helped me to relax abit about buying the car now. I'm starting to get more excited and less woried.
Will let you know how it goes, looking to inspect on Saturday and collect on Monday with any luck!
Luke
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I posted the experiences of a female friend of mine at Motorpoint. They are very good on price but you don't get srevice becuase you are not paying for it.
Essentially when you turn up they try and get you to pay for the car BEFORE you see it, once you pay its in the car here's the keys goodbye.
I would take a big mate with you as they can apparently get shirty of you try and buck the system and make it plain that you will inspect the car thoroughly before parting with the cash.
My friend ended up with one key (transponder type expensive to get duplicate) and a cigartette burn in a seat (new car). Not life threatening but could have been avoided.
As for getting anything confirmed I quote the great Sam Goldwyn:
'A verbal contract is not worth the paper it is written on'. Get anything you want confirmed in WRITING!
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If they won't let you do anything reasonable that you want to do (i.e. inspect the car beforehand), then just shrug your shoulders, turn around and walk away - mentioning over your shoulder that you'll be going elsewhere to spend your money.
It'd amaze me if a salesperson didn't come after you and try to get you to change your mind.
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"Essentially when you turn up they try and get you to pay for the car BEFORE you see it"
This wasn't the case at the Burnley site I visited. We went in, walked right through the main front offices and out to the car lot and wandered around on our own for a while. After picking out a car I wanted to try, I went in and asked for the key, it was handed over and I went back out, opened it and had a good look around (I guess I could have started it too, no chance of driving it away though). When I was done I handed back the key, chatted to the guy behind the desk for a few mins asking about different colours/spec they had access to, then I walked out.
This was on a weekend and there were a few people about so maybe during quieter periods the salespeople have more time to give you the hard sell, but I never even spoke to a salesman.
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Well I didn't buy from Motopoint in the end for the following reasons.
1) The used cars are pretty much all imports (I thought they were UK on used ones)
2) They were not able to give me details on the history or any of the cars. (i.e. could not tell me if it was private hire etc)
3) They could not tell me if the cars had been serviced correctly for the warranty (looking at reviews on the net it is common to buy cars from car supermarkets and find out they are 2-5k miles overdue a service, which invalidates the warranty
4) They would not even let me move the car 6foot until fully paid and signed that the car is ok. I am not signing that a car is 100% ok util I know it at least goes forwards/backwards and stops.
The first few points put me off, but I kept saying its cheap, then I got to point 4 and thought stuff it, I've worked too hard for the money to risk throwing it away
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You did the right thing Luke. There are thousands of used cars out there but you only have one lot of money. Take your time and wait till you are sure that you have a good one. Road test it, get it inspected then buy it.
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I've just purchased a nearly new Fiesta from a car supermarket (Hilton garage - Nr Derby). If buying from such a place it's essential that YOU know all about the car you intend buying before even going there. If you don't ask the relevant questions they will tell you nothing. If you ask the questions & they don't provide adequate answers then forget it - buy from somewhere else !!
I also think loads of people go to car supermarkets & buy cars which are above their service schedule mileage & don't even think about it, only to have a nightmare when they need to make a claim on the warranty at a later date & the car they've bought doesn't have a stamped-up service history. No point buying "nearly new" if the car doesn't have the warranty intact.
Any decent garage will provide you with a stamped-up service history book (doesn't have to have being done by a dealer - just a VAT registered company, although some confirmation of "serviced using OEM parts" is advisable). If the car your looking at doesn't have this then ask the salesman, often if the car is ex-lease etc it's simply a case of them forgetting to stamp the book & the salesman will send it off & get it sorted.
Main rule is don't hand over your hard earned cash until your 100% sure the car is fully documented/ UK spec (if that's important to you)& you fell 100% happy with the deal. If this isn't the case walk away !!
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Luke did the right thing.
I can't see a valid reason why they wouldn't let him even drive the car a few feet before handing over the money. They obviously had something to hide with respect to that car, and I'm sure their mug will be along soon so they can get the lemon shifted.
Incidentally, did they come after you and try to change your mind when you walked away Luke?
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The car I was looking at was a Seat Toledo. I have now bought one from a proper Seat dealer, almost as cheap as motorpoint! But with the Seat dealer I get the car serviced and cleaned before collection, even though the car I bought had a service 1200 miles ago. (Motorpoint charge you to clean the car) Also I get an extended warranty till the end of 2008! (The motorpoint ones only had 1 year remaining as they were imports)
To answer your questions. I was told that it is company policy set in stone, no test drives, to stop time wasters as they sell 300 cars a week blah blah, and I shouldn't have to worry as its a nearly new car, any problems I can take up with the manufacturer (but then thats not going to work if the car has not been serviced is it!)
Amazingly no they didn't run after me. I told them I had money to buy right now, but they just quoted me company policy.
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If they sell 300 cars a week then they wouldn't care if you walked.
I guess one of the benefits to consumers is that the Supermarkets help keep the prices down in dealers - as you found, if you consider the whole package then financially there's often not much in it, and the (relative) peace of mind is priceless.
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Luke,
Pretty much my friends experience. She did pay and go and to be fair the car is fine, one key missing and a cigarette burn in the seat is not the end of the world.
These places are cheap but thats all they are and once the money changes hands your on your own. There no differnet to an auction house really.
If you can get the same price anywhere else then you should (and did) do so.
Also in the context of used car if anyone uses the phrase 'timewaster' I walk away. I will test the car in my own good time thank you and if you can't live with that then you are wasting MY time.
And don't get me started on 'no test drives' I once wrote to the chairman of Suzuki UK because there were NO test drives of the Hayabusa available in UK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The Sales Director wrote back and said it was up to the dealer so I wrote back and enclosed a copy of the sale receipt for my Honda Blackbird and a photo of me giving him the finger. True story but never got a reply...
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