Anyone used carsite.co.uk for used cars?

mercato

I'm looking for an second hand small automatic (probably Nissan micra) and have come across carsite.co.uk through autotrader and ebay.

Has anyone used these sites? I understand how it works but how do they compare to dealers? are the cars of good quality? it seems to be cheaper, especially if you're looking for automatic cars which are scarcer.

Can't find any reviews on the net so don't know whether to trust them.

(just as an aside, it is always better to buy a newer car, than a car one or two years older but with a higher spec? I'm looking for cars from 2003-2005)

thanks very much!

domanderin

I appreciate that this is too late for your reply as you have probably brought your car already but I too struggled to find many reviews on carsite so I promised myself I would write a review on this post as it was the only one that came up in my google search.

I was very disappointed with my experience. I was extremely nervous about buying a car 'blind' in the Internet but I was assured re the RAC Inspection, the video report and that "The purchase price is only payable once you have inspected the vehicle and are satisfied with the 'money back guarantee", which is in the FAQs. To my mind that meant when the car was delivered free I could sit in it and inspect it personally, and if I wasn't happy I would it my £75 back.

So after hovering over the buy now button for a while I decided to take the plunge as the car was about £1k-£2k cheaper than a comparable one at the dealership and if there were any problems I would soak up the cost with the saving (there is no warranty). I was still nervous that no-one would call and I'd lost £75!!! To their credit they called me first thing the next morning (this was beginning Aug). I was told the car was still being leased and that would end at the end of the month. A few days after this expired I still hadn't heard anything so called them. I got reassurances that everything was in order. Then a couple of days before my "completion" date I still hadn't heard any more so I called again. The RAC inspection was happening that day and they went through the problems that the car had (a few minor scratches, things missing etc). The pictures and video were to go on a few days later and they said they would call. They didn't and no photos so had to call back. The photos and video were then put on and the video is an absolute joke. It's of a headless man sitting at the controls of "a" car which may or may not be mine with what sounds like a dodgy voice-over.

I was not getting very happy about this. And then the bombshell.

You have to pay, by bank transfer, the full amount before they deliver the car. That means no credit card insurance. No physical inspection. No test drive. No real guarantee that they will even show up with the car!! All that I had to go on that they existed was a phone number and a website. The photos could have been of any car that they photographed in the street! When I said about the website he said, oh that's wrong it shouldn't say that. The only option was to get a bankers draft and go to their offices in Bedford to pick up the car, which didn't work for me as they are only open Mon to Fri.

To me it sounded like a Watchdog episode about to happen, so I got cold-feet and cancelled the agreement. To be fair they were ok about it and have refunded the money. I'll have to see if that actually happens!

So I have wasted a lot of time (7 WEEKS!) and have no car. If you are brave enough to trust them then I'm sure you will get a very good deal.

underthesea

the site says

1. The purchase price is only payable once you have inspected the vehicle and are satisfied with the 'money back guarantee'. This can be paid via electronic transfer or by a bankers draft. Unfortunately, we cannot accept a building society cheque, credit / debit card or cash for the purchase price.

"
You can take as long as you want to look over your car when viewing. When purchasing your car, you can take up to an hour to drive it, and cancel the sale if for any reason you are unhappy."


see the FAQ on the site



You don't have to pay before? This sounds iffy..

domanderin

That's exactly what I thought but the sales guy said the website is wrong and needs changing.

maggie's_mum

I'd like to add that I have twice put a £75 deposit for a car only to be advised several weeks later that it was no longer available. So Carsite.co.uk have had the benefit of my money for quite a few weeks with nothing for me to show for it at the end.

underthesea

Same thing happened to me! Twice! I put down the money and then was told the car is 'unavailable'....

merlie

mmmm , just as I was about to deal with these guys I find you lot .... thanks ... anyone got anything good to say about these guys ?

10JH

Hard to find many reviews on them, cheers for posting that.

Inactive

musioman wrote: »

Same thing happened to me! Twice! I put down the money and then was told the car is 'unavailable'....

I think that they list cars that they have an " option to buy " before they actually own the car, on occasions it seems they don't for whatever reason conclude the purchase.

Hence the cancellations.

underthesea

Inactive wrote: »

I think that they list cars that they have an " option to buy " before they actually own the car, on occasions it seems they don't for whatever reason conclude the purchase.

Hence the cancellations.

Seems like these 'occasional cancellations' seem to be happening often..i thought it was just me! This isn't good if you're really banking on a car and sold/selling your own with carsite to replace...and then they pull out a week before you're suppose to get the car