Best online sites to browse used cars

NeverEnough

It's still your problem, OP, to check out any used car you are buying very carefully. There are numerous small dealers who try to be honest with their sales - I know of several in my own home area(Midlands) who keep lower value cars - but let's face it, the older a car is the more likely it will need various repairs and maintenance - with the best will in the world, no one can entirely remove that risk for you - and you are completely deluded if you think Car Giant, Arnold Shark and similar large chains are providing good, honest service.

Autotrader is just an advertising platform - YOU need to decide on your purchase from one of their adverts, it is not Autotrader selling you the car!!

now3d

This is hilarious, you do sound a bit confused.

FCA expired, Companies House struck off is worse than the regular cowboys.

In this case, I won't reply to further messages. I hope you enjoy the completely untrusted advertising environment you seem to prefer.

penguineater

now3d wrote: »

Here is an example of a motor trader that might simply close and disappear. Accounts already overdue, they only incorporated in 2017

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/202001035769413
Bravo Motorcars Ltd
https://beta.companieshouse.gov.uk/company/10562418

Autotrader doesn't care what motor traders advertise on their platform.

I think OP is not very clear. It appears they want to buy from a reputable dealer that has been around for a long time and will remain for many years to come, where they can buy a car for £5k or whatever.

This isn't a large ask, although apparently from the comments there are less and less long-term dealers as the margins are thin (?).

Spend more money on a more expensive car from a dealer that has been around for a long time, as £5k isn't considered a big enough spend for the higher quality dealers to supply (in your area).

Spend £5k or whatever on a newish dealer and play the dice on if their company will dissolve or not.

Be sure to pay at least £100 of your purchase on a credit card for section 75 protection: https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/shopping/section75-protect-your-purchases/




Another option is to spend around £7k and get a 2-3 year old ex-lease car from a reputable company. Some dealers specialise in those cars, they'll buy them from auction and them sell to you.

AdrianC

penguineater wrote: »

I think OP is not very clear. It appears they want to buy from a reputable dealer that has been around for a long time and will remain for many years to come, where they can buy a car for £5k or whatever.

Yes, but how long a dealer has been around is absolutely no guide as to how long they will be around in the future.

The OP's main concern (aside from a misconceived vendetta against Autotrader and anybody they may deal with) seems to be that they will inevitably buy a duff shed from a newly established dealer, whilst a longer-established one will only sell them a particularly high-quality and reliable conveyance. This is, of course, absolutely not the case. The two are primarily sourcing their stock from the exact same auctions.

Spend £5k or whatever on a newish dealer and play the dice on if their company will dissolve or not.

Once the dealer has exchanged payment for vehicle, whether they remain extant or not is only relevant as far as any come-back under consumer rights legislation may go. And we all know how that tempers with the age, cost, apparent qualify of the car. A £5k car of the type the OP is looking at is going to be around a decade old, and 15-20% of the cost of a new equivalent. Once the first few weeks have passed and flushed out any issues that were missed at purchase, then they're pretty much on their own there - and by the time the onus for proof shifts at six months, they really aren't going to have much of a hope at all, no matter how reputable and established the supplier.

So long as there's an aftermarket warranty from a reputable provider, if that's the sort of thing that floats your boat, I really wouldn't care much either way about the supplier's reputation. Buy on condition, and condition alone.

Mercdriver

now3d wrote: »

This is hilarious, you do sound a bit confused.

FCA expired, Companies House struck off is worse than the regular cowboys.

In this case, I won't reply to further messages. I hope you enjoy the completely untrusted advertising environment you seem to prefer.

What has FCA have to do with Autotrader? Precisely nothing. I say it again this time in bold:

Autotrader are a commercial advertiser who take ads from private individuals and businesses, NOT, I repeat, NOT a regulator.

It is down to you the purchaser to do your homework, not to assume an advertising website will do it for you, to save you the hassle. If they started doing the background checks, then private sellers would find it too onerous to advertise with them, and they would be checks done without any warranty for validity - or else there would have to be price increases to cover the extra costs and risks, which would make the business less viable.

Your risks are always going to be higher when you are looking at the bottom end of the market, so you have to mitigate your risks. You could spend your 5k with a private seller - but then you end up with the caveat emptor - buyer beware, and you are more open to scams. Or you spend the 5k with a dealer. You would get more with your money privately, but have next to no guarantee.

Yes, you will get a guarantee from a dealer, but that has to be tempered by the car's age and mileage at the time of your purchase. It is down to you to do the amount of homework you choose to do on a company. No-one is going to hold your hand.

With respect, I'm not the one that is confused. Obviously, Autotrader would prefer to have no scams or flybynights etc. But pricing themselves out of the market will not help. Businesses will go to the wall from time to time, but that doesn't necessarily mean they are scammers. Trading conditions are fairly tight and margins not great.

Look for a car across many different platforms and do your own homework. I'd trust Autotrader over gumtree and fleabay any day of the week.

now3d

Mercdriver wrote: »

What has FCA have to do with Autotrader? Precisely nothing. I say it again this time in bold:

Autotrader are a commercial advertiser who take ads from private individuals and businesses, NOT, I repeat, NOT a regulator.

It is down to you the purchaser to do your homework, not to assume an advertising website will do it for you, to save you the hassle. If they started doing the background checks, then private sellers would find it too onerous to advertise with them, and they would be checks done without any warranty for validity - or else there would have to be price increases to cover the extra costs and risks, which would make the business less viable.

Your risks are always going to be higher when you are looking at the bottom end of the market, so you have to mitigate your risks. You could spend your 5k with a private seller - but then you end up with the caveat emptor - buyer beware, and you are more open to scams. Or you spend the 5k with a dealer. You would get more with your money privately, but have next to no guarantee.

Yes, you will get a guarantee from a dealer, but that has to be tempered by the car's age and mileage at the time of your purchase. It is down to you to do the amount of homework you choose to do on a company. No-one is going to hold your hand.

With respect, I'm not the one that is confused. Obviously, Autotrader would prefer to have no scams or flybynights etc. But pricing themselves out of the market will not help. Businesses will go to the wall from time to time, but that doesn't necessarily mean they are scammers. Trading conditions are fairly tight and margins not great.

Look for a car across many different platforms and do your own homework. I'd trust Autotrader over gumtree and fleabay any day of the week.

Quite surprised to read your response.
I'm in the UK, I support consumer rights, feel it is important that consumers don't get a raw deal. This is actually a very good website (MSE) supporting consumers. So it is even more astonishing to read your post.

A commercial business, is very different from a private seller.

Gumtree has been terrible for roughly 5 years, awful reputation. Sadly these advertising businesses don't realise it is their reputation being damaged by hosting low quality ads.

The FCA regulate consumer loans. If someone is advertising that they can offer car finance, and they are in fact not allowed to, that is a serious offence. I support consumers, always have, always will, it's not a consumers responsibility to identify which autotrader adverts they are hosting, on their own dealer homepages are from bad businesses that autotrader due diligence should have sorted.

You could give citizens advice a ring, they can help you with more information.

Won't comment any further.

Mercdriver

now3d wrote: »

Quite surprised to read your response.
I'm in the UK, I support consumer rights, feel it is important that consumers don't get a raw deal. This is actually a very good website (MSE) supporting consumers. So it is even more astonishing to read your post.

A commercial business, is very different from a private seller.

Gumtree has been terrible for roughly 5 years, awful reputation. Sadly these advertising businesses don't realise it is their reputation being damaged by hosting low quality ads.

The FCA regulate consumer loans. If someone is advertising that they can offer car finance, and they are in fact not allowed to, that is a serious offence. I support consumers, always have, always will, it's not a consumers responsibility to identify which autotrader adverts they are hosting, on their own dealer homepages are from bad businesses that autotrader due diligence should have sorted.

You could give citizens advice a ring, they can help you with more information.

Won't comment any further.

Autotrader are an advertisement company. They are not a dealer. How many more times?

Who do you think should be responsible for vetting ads? Should they have to submit their financial particulars in order to place an ad? That would be useless. Thomas Cook had great finances only a year or so ago, what happened there? In finance, past performance is not a guide to the future.

If you are in the business of selling ads, then telling people they can't advertise with you even if they pay in advance is somewhat problematic.

I support consumer rights also. But this 'woke' snowflake attitude where the consumer doesn't have to bother to do their research is a load of codswallop. There has to be a point where both meet in the middle, or else you end up with too many businesses hitting the wall.

You are suggesting measures that would likely put Autotrader and similar companies out of business. You are naïve in the extreme if you think you will get better consumer protection from ebay and gumtree, which is all there would be left. There be sharks in that sea, ones that will gobble you up whole.

Korkyb

now3d wrote: »

Quite surprised to read your response.
I'm in the UK, I support consumer rights, feel it is important that consumers don't get a raw deal. This is actually a very good website (MSE) supporting consumers. So it is even more astonishing to read your post.

A commercial business, is very different from a private seller.

Gumtree has been terrible for roughly 5 years, awful reputation. Sadly these advertising businesses don't realise it is their reputation being damaged by hosting low quality ads.

The FCA regulate consumer loans. If someone is advertising that they can offer car finance, and they are in fact not allowed to, that is a serious offence. I support consumers, always have, always will, it's not a consumers responsibility to identify which autotrader adverts they are hosting, on their own dealer homepages are from bad businesses that autotrader due diligence should have sorted.

You could give citizens advice a ring, they can help you with more information.

Won't comment any further.

I'm completely with you.


18 months ago I saw an ad in my local newsagent window placed by a lady selling a camera for £20.


I contacted her then met her in a car park and bought the camera (negotiated down to £15).


The camera stopped working 2 days later.


To say I was angry and disappointed is an understatement.


To add insult to in jury the newsagent would not compensate me although he is clearly breaching every consumer law in the land.


The newsagent clearly had an obligation to vet this seller making sure that he knew she was honest, check all her electronics were in as new condition, that she would stay in the area more than 2 years and that her hair colour matched top & tail.


I have pursued this matter through the courts and unfortunately have just had to sell my house to fund my pursuit of justice against this despicable newsagent.


The camera was bought to take pictures of my children - they were devastated about the faulty camera and the courts don't seem to take this into account.






Now3d, take a deep breath, step back and think about it.....

forgotmyname

Hosting low quality adverts? So you think Autotrader should remove every advert with a spelling mistake?

Ban every seller that uses finance to stock their forecourt? You do know that a lot of large mainstream sellers only have those cars there because they are financed?

They but a car from auction etc. and its financed which they pay off when it sells. Lots of large sellers have the same system.

A driveway seller maybe better, he may own the house/land where a large dealer probably rents theirs. Driveway seller may own the car outright where a lot of dealers will have financed it.

None of which is related to the Autotrader. Should they vet buyers also? Stop people with no money viewing adverts for cars they can only dream of owning?