I understand some readers have used this company to get some good deals but I would like to know how safe it is.Once you have clicked on 'order your car' is that now a contract and when it says you pay the garage/dealer direct,where exactly is the dealer as i understand it could be the opposite end of the country,which wouldn't be very practical!.I am also intrigued how they can offer such discounts when the main dealers say the're are none available.
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I haven't used the 'Drive the Deal' site yet but I'm very interested in their keen prices for new Toyotas. Last year I bought a brand new UK spec Scenic from one of the internet sites advertising in HJ here and saved £4,500. Car was collected in Manchester but supplied via a franchised Renault dealer in Liverpool - no strings attached and saved a bundle. £500 deposit and the balance on delivery. No complimentary flowers or chocs for my Significant Other but not to worry.....
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You're coverred by some aspects of the distance selling regulations (google 'Consumer law uk' + 'distance selling')
My experience (not DTD but similar) of the discount brokers was good saving, but paid for delivery ( but I live hundreds of miles
form anywhere ) about £150 on flat-bed - took my 'old' car away too.
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You can make an inquiry with DTD by pressing 'order car' filling in the box but not including credit card details. Someone will ring you back and discuss the process.
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I used them about 12 months ago and was very pleased!
I posted to that effect see
www.honestjohn.co.uk/forum/post/index.htm?v=e&t=40...2
Minimal risk, as I paid by CC deposit, balance on collection of car with Debit card. I think that some dealers will take credit cards for balance if you are prepared to pay the extra 1+bit% that they are charged by the CC company.
As I did not know the broker I chose to visit them in person (in N London) to pay the deposit, which was apparently very unusual, and subsequently went in to say thanks and delivered a box of cream cakes as a thankyou!
Mention this site (and our various endorsements) if using them.
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pmh (was peter)
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I had a slightly odd experience with them. Called up to enquire about a specific model I was after about 3 years ago. The guy who I spoke with was very evasive, and not that helpful. In the end he decided that I was trade "because of the questions I was asking" regarding availability, leadtime etc. Cant say that they were rude to me, but did leave me feeling a little dejected.
Perhaps the guy was having a bad day, or maybe being given the runaround by others, and to be honest if the price was right then I may use them in the future.
Incidently my local dealer told me that he would only give me a token discount on the car I bought as a sign of goodwill - when I presented him with the broker quotes he did manage to give me a reasonable discount (still not as much as drive the deal) but close enough for me to order from him, after all he had let me have a car for half a day, and plied me with coffee, and been tollerant of my toddler wandering around his showroom........................
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On a couple of the models you can only get a substantial discount if you take out finance. A bit of a pain really.....
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We paid deposit by credit card, so covered under their payment terms. One call from DTD to confirm the order and let us know which dealer would be supplying the car. Two calls from dealer and car was delivered after 4 weeks. Why is a distant dealer a problem? DTD do try and use a local dealer, but some deals are only available from one or two dealers who can apply a volume sales discount. Our Toyota came 200 miles, but we saved £500 over what the local dealer could offer.
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On a couple of the models you can only get a substantial discount if you take out finance. A bit of a pain really.....
I don't know how easy it is in practise, but another broker advised us to take the finance (on a Yaris it reduced the price by another £1000) and then pay it off straight away for a nominal (I understand the law is 2 months) interest penalty, so the saving would still be considerable.
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I ordered my Galaxy from this site and paid my £500 deposit by CC. I was tehn 'phoned by them to say that "they couldn't find any Galaxy's around at the moment"! I was only after a diesel LX version. The webiste makes no mention at all of having difficullties sourcing cars. It seems to me that they offered a categorical price, I accepted (and paid a deposit). I am pretty sure that that is a contract. I will be talking to trading standards soon.
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