Help and advice wanted asap.... Online used car broker....

donatviking

I have found a used car that is available through an online broker. After payment by bank transfer the car is delivered and I have ten days to either accept or reject the vehicle. The broker holds my finances until I confirm then passes them to the seller or refunds them to me rather than paying direct to the seller. The only way to pay for this is by bank transfer. I can pay a deposit for the vehicle then pay the outstanding on delivery if preferred.  I am hesitant about this method of sale but the car appears to be in good condition, a very good price and ticks all the boxes. We have not found anything else suitable.  I have received a digital document to sign and return to them.  They will then issue payment details. There are no financial institutes listed on their website. They do not accept credit/debit card payments. The car is held at a warehouse at present with no scope to view. The brokerage company is listed as established in 2021 on the companies house website.  There are no trustpilot reviews on this company.  On searching for them there are no scam alerts on the web.  Is there anywhere else to check that this is a viable company and that I will receive the car? Has anyone else purchased a car in this manner? Has anyone used Baz cars ltd to purchase a vehicle?

Isthisforreal99

Personally, I don't understand why people would buy a used car they have never seen or test driven and no way would I consider paying all up front. Very most I would pay a small holding deposit (under £100) to view the car properly and test drive it.

How much deposit are they asking for the pay the balance on delivery option? How long do you get to decide if you want it using that option?

Edit to add: The balance sheet on Companies House tells you all you need to know. Steer clear would be my advice.

gollum007

It's a scam, run for the hills....

Oldest scam in the book.

Nobbie1967

‘ the car appears to be in good condition, a very good price’

That’s how most scams work. I’m not saying it definitely is, but it’s a highly risky way of buying a used car. How old is the car? What price. If the car does exist and gets delivered, but has a fault, how are you going to get the seller to fix it? Do you even know where they are located. If you like this level of risk, you are better off buying straight from an auction and cut out the middle man.

MyRealNameToo

donatviking said:

I have found a used car that is available through an online broker. After payment by bank transfer the car is delivered and I have ten days to either accept or reject the vehicle. The broker holds my finances until I confirm then passes them to the seller or refunds them to me rather than paying direct to the seller. The only way to pay for this is by bank transfer. I can pay a deposit for the vehicle then pay the outstanding on delivery if preferred.  I am hesitant about this method of sale but the car appears to be in good condition, a very good price and ticks all the boxes. We have not found anything else suitable.  I have received a digital document to sign and return to them.  They will then issue payment details. There are no financial institutes listed on their website. They do not accept credit/debit card payments. The car is held at a warehouse at present with no scope to view. The brokerage company is listed as established in 2021 on the companies house website.  There are no trustpilot reviews on this company.  On searching for them there are no scam alerts on the web.  Is there anywhere else to check that this is a viable company and that I will receive the car? Has anyone else purchased a car in this manner? Has anyone used Baz cars ltd to purchase a vehicle?

I would be highly concerned... they mention Uniform Electronic Transactions, no such thing in the UK, the US has a Uniform Electronic Transactions Act but doesnt apply to the UK obviously, and a London Financial Code that doesnt exist, and about Escrow Regulations when again there arent any in the UK per say (its a bit more complex and is instead caught up in rules about holding money for clients rather than escrow explicitly).

They also state they are subject to the Financial Ombudsman which would mean they are registered with the FCA but they are not registered with the FCA

If they are willing to make up a load of fake standards they claim to abide by what else are they making up?

facade

Seems suspicious to me, I wouldn't pay them any money that I can't afford to kiss goodbye, like £100 and pay the rest on delivery.

A while ago I read a long thread on such a company, a couple of posters (shills?) claimed to be driving around in the best car they had ever bought- at a bargain price too, but the rest were too cautious to throw any money away.

One had found the address of the warehouse and the company office and google maps didn't look promising.

Try running the pictures of the car through google images & tineye etc. to see if they pop up in adverts elsewhere.

What about the escrow company- are they legitimate?

Not the best business model, most people will be very suspicious of a car that is locked away in a secret warehouse that they can't visit, only the gullible will bite, which tells you all you need to know really.... 

donatviking

Thank you for your time and the responses... Sorry for the delay in reply, I am new to posting on the forum and am just learning how to navigate my way around. In answer to your responses, the deposit is definitely more than I would be comfortable parting with, sending money out into the universe and hoping a car comes back does not sit comfortably with me. I do know a couple of people who have done this successfully but not with this company.  I did finally get a response via telephone from the company with regard to my questions about how to make payment and they do not have any facilities for credit/debit card payment.  I was given all the usual assurances that they are genuine and some information about where there vehicles come from. Apparently they purchase cars via auction that were on finance/HP and have been recovered due to none payment and sell these on hence the competitive price. This car does not have any outstanding finance on it. They are a small enterprise and hold a small amount of stock. I have checked with regard to their listed accounts and finances on the companies site. I am very reluctant to go ahead and feel like I have asked all the right questions. I have double checked my understanding of where I would stand with my bank in the event of none receipt of the car if I paid by bank transfer. If it was a scam I would have to go through the fraud processes and if the car was not fit for purpose and they did not take it back then it would trading standards/small claims court for redress. If the deposit was a small one then it would be obviously less risky and I would would have the ability to await for redress in the event of issues. I am just surprised that there is no scam information on them whatsoever due to the amount of time the company has been registered. Return of the car in the event that it is not suitable for any reason should be within 10 days of receipt by notifying the company and they arrange collection and return funds within 24 hours once this is done. I did look for financial regulation information on their website but did not see that so thank you... I thought they should be FCA registered too. Their registered office address at companies house is the same address for the warehouse where they hold their vehicles. The car information checks out on all the sites with regard to mileage, MOT etc but then it's also very easy to use someone else's car advert as they don't directly advertise on their own website. 

Isthisforreal99

Appreciate you are new but please use paragraphs if you want people to read your posts.

When I looked at the companies house address it looked like it was a residential property.

Net assets £6/7k in last 2 sets of companies house info.

Seriously, look elsewhere.

facade

donatviking said:

Apparently they purchase cars via auction that were on finance/HP and have been recovered due to none payment and sell these on hence the competitive price.

Hmm.

If you watch the youtube channels of the car dealers, e.g Chops Garage, there is no such thing as a cheap car at auction for any reason  other than the car is very obviously no good (like it is actually on fire or something)

Copart sell a few repossessed cars that have no keys and are therefore non-runners, so they are cheaper as non-runner often means "needs new engine/transmission" (which is why the owner stopped paying the finance), but anything that drives will go through the likes of BCA and isn't cheap. 

In The Real Olden Days if you "knew the right people" you could get a repossessed car cheap as they would be disposed of for what they owe (sometimes less than market value), but nowadays they have to go to auction and find their best price (and often owe more than they are worth anyway)

I wouldn't risk my money....

Myci85

If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

As far as I can tell, the only people who would agree to buy a used car without seeing or test driving it are ones who believe that they're getting a bargain so prepared to look past the fact that it may be a pile of junk. 

Car scams are everywhere nowadays, so the only way I'll buy a used one is by seeing it with my own eyes, driving it, and paying for it in person after doing all the usual due diligence. 

Johnmcl7

Myci85 said:

If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

That's what I normally go by and also someone recently suggested if you have to ask if it's a scam, it probably is which I find usually holds true.  

As you say there's so many scams it would be crazy to pay any money to this company when there's so many red flags.