BMW X3 - Ordering new off broker | Motoring discussion | Back Room Forum

Mon 23 Jan 2012 21:25

BMW X3 - Ordering new off broker - motorprop

Having sold the family runaround , are in a position to order our ' dream car ' , a much in demand latest shape BMW X3 Auto

Main dealers here in North London quoting list and about 5 months delivery

An ' online broker ' , called Multi Marques , can get it in about 3 months via a contact at their local main dealers and at appx 8-10% off list - it will be Trade reg which I'm fine with, supplied via a main dealer up North . However, they want 10% now and the balance 24 hours before collection . Purchase price in total around £36 k .

I thought it would be balance upon sight of the car and 10% down. Not comfortable with their demand .

Anybody had any experience of dealing with them ?

Edited by motorprop on 23/01/2012 at 21:27

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Mon 23 Jan 2012 23:13

BMW X3 - Ordering new off broker - tony g

Sorry,Don't know the company,
Can I suggest though that you pay any deposit with a credit card .
That way if the company goes bust ,you could at least reclaim your deposit .

Could you negotiate with them to pay the balance direct to the dealer , when you collect the car ,with a bacs transfer it takes less than an hour to move the money from your account to theirs.

Tony g

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Mon 23 Jan 2012 23:31

BMW X3 - Ordering new off broker - motorprop

Tony

Thanks for your input ;

Was obviously only going to pay the deposit by card , but what happens if the broker fails to deliver - if delivery is 3 months hence so the card company will have paid out after 3-4 weeks anyway so how can you get re-imbursed , I thought once they pay the retailer it's done and dusted ? What if the retailer disappears ?

The 2nd bit is the important one , no way will I transfer over £30 k to anybody without goods present. I guess the deal will fail if they won't budge.

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Tue 24 Jan 2012 07:46

BMW X3 - Ordering new off broker - daveyjp

If a Google search reveals nothing about the company I tend to avoid them.

And "trade reg" suggests they are ordering the car as a deomonstarter, but forward selling it to you. You may not get the ownership paperwork for a few months - it's a dodgy practice.

Have you tried drivethedeal?

Edited by daveyjp on 24/01/2012 at 07:48

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Tue 24 Jan 2012 09:47

BMW X3 - Ordering new off broker - thunderbird

Only deal with brokers that demand no money and where you pay the supplier on collection, simples. Any dealer that witholds the paperwork (V5) is actually breaking the law, see the link below, think it sums it up even though its a brokers site.

www.firstregisteredowner.co.uk/html/the_risks.html

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Tue 24 Jan 2012 10:04

BMW X3 - Ordering new off broker - Zippy123

Re the credit card.

Section 75 of the consumer credit act only covers you if the purchase price of the goods are between £100 and £30,000. For example a £200 deposit on a £33,000 car will not cover the deposit or the car. A £100 deposit on a £25000 will cover both the deposit or the car. The purchase must be for the card holder.

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Tue 24 Jan 2012 10:25

BMW X3 - Ordering new off broker - tony g

Hi zippy,
What I'm suggesting is that the op would pay just the deposit by credit card .

Then if the company fails to deliver he would be looking to recover just the deposit .the balance would be paid by bacs transfer on sight of the vehicle.

Are you saying that the whole of the purchase price has to paid by credit card to invoke credit card protection.Even though the payment will be in two parts

Tony g

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Tue 24 Jan 2012 10:38

BMW X3 - Ordering new off broker - Zippy123

I am afraid it does not work like that. (I wish it did.)

The credit card co will want to see what the deposit was for and will see that it is for a £33k car. The section 75 of the CCA covers the total value of the product purchased, even if part of it was paid by other means. The goods must cost between £100 and £30000 even if the deposit was only a few hundred pounds.

You may be able to do a charge back which some cards allow but that is not covered by legislation and is down to your card issuer.

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Tue 24 Jan 2012 11:04

BMW X3 - Ordering new off broker - tony g

Hi zippy,
So the issue is the total purchase price of 33k ,and even though the op would only be looking to recover his 10% deposit,3300 ,he wouldn't be covered ,is that correct.

For the op,I live not to far from the address that the company shows on it's website ,hornbeam park in Harrogate .

It's an area that's made up of a lot of small companies ,and probably a lot of new businesses ,start up their ,I'm not sure how that helps ,but it could give you a feel for what you're dealing with.

Regards

Tony g

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Tue 24 Jan 2012 11:37

BMW X3 - Ordering new off broker - Zippy123

>>>So the issue is the total purchase price of 33k ,and even though the op would only be looking to recover his 10% deposit,3300 ,he wouldn't be covered ,is that correct.

Fraid so!

It is one that a lot of people get caugth on. Mostly with expensive purchases and even using it for deposits on new homes, thinking they will be covered when they are not.

There are some strange aspects. For example the item must be within the price range not the total spend. So for example you may order 5 items for £250, £50 each. They will not be covered. You could argue that a suit would be where one price is paid for the suit say £250, but buying it from M&S where the trousers are £90 and the Jacket is £160, only the jacket would be covered.

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Tue 24 Jan 2012 13:50

BMW X3 - Ordering new off broker - tony g

That's fascinating zippo ,didn't know that .thanks for the info.

Tony g

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Tue 24 Jan 2012 10:55

BMW X3 - Ordering new off broker - Zippy123

>Are you saying that the whole of the purchase price has to paid by credit card to invoke credit card protection.Even though the payment will be in two parts

No, just the total value of goods purchased will need to be between £100 and £30,000 regardless of how much deposit is paid.

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Tue 24 Jan 2012 11:19

BMW X3 - Ordering new off broker - motorprop

Zippy / Tony

Purchase price is £36.5 , £33k would be the balance after a deposit is paid. So definitely beyond the scope of the CCA

Did not know that about the act limited to £30 k

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Wed 25 Jan 2012 06:39

BMW X3 - Ordering new off broker - bonzo dog

Hi Zippy, I'm no expert in the Consumer Credit Act field but my understanding is that the limit was £25k but this upper limit was removed FOR PRIVATE INDIVIDUALS in the changes a couple of years ago.

The limit still applies for business use.

Tony G; perhaps you could check with your finance rep & let us know?

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Tue 24 Jan 2012 11:16

BMW X3 - Ordering new off broker - motorprop

Dave

Yes, have tried , but Drivethe Deal not offering BMW...

Thanks

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Tue 24 Jan 2012 13:38

BMW X3 - Ordering new off broker - oldtoffee

>>>If a Google search reveals nothing about the company I tend to avoid them.

I'd also recommend a credit check on them and see what that reveals about their position and credit rating. Anything other than good or very good and walk away. The thought of giving my money to a company who owed more than they owned would do it for me.

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Tue 24 Jan 2012 18:10

BMW X3 - Ordering new off broker - Martin Wall

The idea of spending over £30,000 on a car for it to be pre-registered sounds like a false economy. Will the V5 be made available to you immediately or will it be withheld from you for a number of months with the corresponding issues this can cause?

Also do you really want to hand over this sum of money before getting the car? Not sure what exact model X3 it is but maybe see if any of the following are offering decent deals: http://www.broadspeed.com
http://www.autoebid.com
http://www.broker4cars.co.uk
http://www.buyacar.co.uk

Assuming I'm allowed to post links...

I can't give a qualitative assessment of any of these so it's very much caveat emptor until you do your homework.

Good luck!

- Meant to add - why not take a look at the new car links on the HJ site: http://www.honestjohn.co.uk/deals/?cat=new&make=BMW&mod=X3

Edited by Martin Wall on 24/01/2012 at 18:15

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Tue 24 Jan 2012 23:41

BMW X3 - Ordering new off broker - Avant

That's fine, Martin - you're not advertising.

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Wed 25 Jan 2012 01:52

BMW X3 - Ordering new off broker - motorprop

Yes, have tried all of these already , none can supply any quicker and / or have very inefficient websites - insert your card details, they will preauthorise £500 incase they find something within 48 hours so you can't try elsewhere... or are 1 man bands working off mobiles

Meanwhile the broker referred to in OP has agreed to take my order without a deposit ( they don't take cards and I'll only pay the deposit by card ) so agreed full payment against physical collection of vehicle, so it looks like an order is being agreed - I can only lose 3 months but no hard cash if they fail to deliver

Edited by motorprop on 25/01/2012 at 01:54

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