I need some advice please. I'm about to purchase a new car from an internet broker (VW Passat highline), I have quotes from two companies which are very similar.
Company A want a deposit via credit card (sounds okay so far) then the final balance direct to company A 24 hours prior to delivery. Their website says that a bankers draft on delivery is the payment method, but they have informed me that this isn't possible because they don't trust the delivery drivers. Does this sound iffy to you?
Company B follows the same route but is okay with the bankers draft on delivery. Plus they can offer me a car with a choice of colour and options.
I know that going for B is the safest option, but I wanted to know if A was a worthwhile back up should B not deliver? Is there anything else to watch out for when buying via this method?
P.S. Can anyone better £15685 for a new Passat 1.9TDI Highline saloon in metallic, delivered.
Cheers,
Brian
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One more thing, Company A also wants to register the car in their own name on the date of purchase. This isn't a car on finance or lease.
Everything else about the company seems reputable, they're registered with companies house, have testemonials and are on this website. I've spoken to them via telephone and they seem genuine, maybe I'm just gullable!
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AFAIK being registered with Companies House doesn't really guarantee anything. Likewise testimonials on a website - how can anyone prove they're genuine. Why not ask Trading Standards if they've come across the company concerned. Having said that, if they're listed here hopefully a few satisfied customers will appear later to reassure you.
Good luck.
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You really don't need to be gullible to be conned - some years ago I was taken in hook, line and sinker by a guy we'd approached to build an extension. He was totally professional had various so called professional memberships, showed us a large portfolio of letters from 'satisfied customers' and offered what seems like the perfect service. In the end he spend almost a whole day here discussing our requirements, measuring up and drawing sketches etc.
Anyway, he promised to come back a week later with some drawings, prices etc. but never did and despite numerous calls to his office we never got to speak to him again - much to our disappointment and annoyance.
It was only some months later after the work had been completed by another company that we discovered by chance that the first guy was a total crook. He'd had numerous companies which had failed, had left scores of people high and dry after taking their money and was a serial conman who used a number of aliases and mailing addresses!
For quite some time we wondered why he hadn't ever come back (to our good fortune as it turned out) but then I recalled we'd got chatting on the doorstep as he left that day and I'd mentioned I'd been a surveyor in a former life. I believe it was this chance remark which put him off, presumably because he'd assumed (quite wrongly) I'd been some sort of buildings related surveyor and would be wise to any of his tricks.
I learned a very important lesson that day and now always double/ even triple check and seek independent feedback!
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I was going to purchase a car from a firm until I was told they had the same procedures as Company A(probably the same firm)
I was not prepared to take the risk that the(fully paid for) car would be delivered with the right spec, undamaged, or even delivered at all.
At least with a deposit paid on a credit card you have some comeback, but a car paid for in full?
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I beleive that paying a deposit by credit card offers the same consumer protection than paying in full by CC would do, providing the deposit is over £100.
Allowing that facility however doesn't mean the company is any better or that the correct goods are any more likely to turn up.
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Sales are a little slow at the moment (from reading another thread and a couple of other sites). Why not go to a VW dealer with the quotes and ask them to beat it. Worked for me with my new Audi.
Also, what companies are they - no doubt someone here will know something about them.
Make sure that you search these forums for Micronet Showroom. I was going to place an order with them until I read the comments here.
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The idea about trying a local VW dealer is worth a phone call. As for naming the companies concerned, I didn't name them initially as I haven't been ripped off as yet. I didn't think it fair to sully these companies for what could be a lack of understanding on my part.
If I do experience a problem then I would issue a warning to the forum.
I had feedback from company B today also on the pre-registering the car in their name to find out that they do this also.
Any thoughts on this?
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You wont be able to get insurance for a car not registered in your name. I tried lots of different companies and was told that it was complely out of the question.
I found a broker that put me in touch with a uk dealership. I got a proper uk spec car from a london dealership, registered in my name all above board and correct.
Definitely a good thing to pay by credit card for deposit though.
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