buying from Cinch, experiences please

CarBuyer33

Good afternoon

I wondered if anyone here has bought a car from Cinch and used its part exchange programme with success?

My recent experience was this.

I selected a "new" car from their stock list (a 2019 Lexus)

Cinch confirmed a px value for my Porsche (car is mint and MOT) in writing.

They exchanged the contract at their valuation, and rang me to finalise delivery / collection details, the customer service assistant was very pleasant.

Cinch then emailed the next day to say

"Firstly thank you for placing a order with us!
In regards to the part exchange on your order, it has been raised that due to the age of the vehicle we are unable to accept the vehicle as a part exchange on the order".

Are Cinch legally obliged to honour their contract, or do I cancel the order and go to another retailer ?

Aylesbury_Duck

CarBuyer33 said:

Good afternoon

I wondered if anyone here has bought a car from Cinch and used its part exchange programme with success?

My recent experience was this.

I selected a "new" car from their stock list (a 2019 Lexus)

Cinch confirmed a px value for my Porsche (car is mint and MOT) in writing.

They exchanged the contract at their valuation, and rang me to finalise delivery / collection details, the customer service assistant was very pleasant.

Cinch then emailed the next day to say

"Firstly thank you for placing a order with us!
In regards to the part exchange on your order, it has been raised that due to the age of the vehicle we are unable to accept the vehicle as a part exchange on the order".

Are Cinch legally obliged to honour their contract, or do I cancel the order and go to another retailer ?

Only you have the answer to that question.  What do the terms of the contract you exchanged say?  I suspect there's something in there about the contract not being finalised until the transaction is completed, i.e. that delivery and collection have taken place.  

user1977

The terms are here: terms-and-conditions - cinch - not clear if any of the circumstances in clause 10.3 apply here.

CarBuyer33

Thanks for your response.
There is nothing in 10.3 that applies to my px.
It seems someone at Cinch reviewed their confirmed valuation and had second thoughts about their algorithm result.

It's an odd scenario for sure

CarBuyer33

Quick Update

The Cinch algorithm valued my px Porsche at £30,040, and the contract was exchanged on that basis.

The Cinch algorithm later valued my px Porsche at £24,000 the next day.

Then a human being stepped in and over ruled their algorithm. The person has now valued the Porsche at £18,000.

Nothing about the car has changed. But shows quite a difference between human and Cinch algorithm.

I doubt it was Rylan Clark doing the valuations !

talktodaveuk

Cinch have a big brand and we’re recommended to me by a family member. Unfortunately our experience purchasing a Tesla Model Y from Cinch has been beyond disappointing.

From collection there were already problems. The vehicle was still linked to the previous Tesla owners account and there was an outstanding supercharge, so I was effectively locked out of some Tesla ownership functions. We had to contact Tesla directly to resolve ownership transfer because this had not been completed before collection.

When we raised issues at collection, the staff at the collection desk were unable to deal with them directly and advised us to contact the general customer service number instead. Their role appeared limited to completing handover paperwork, which meant issues identified at collection could not be resolved there and then.

We later discovered the “service” completed appeared limited (for example pollen filter replacement and basic checks/fluids), which did not match our expectations of the level of preparation and inspection carried out before sale.

Within around a week of collection the front tyres required replacement after rapid wear. Kwik Fit advised the suspension was checked as they felt this may be the problem. 

Cinch could not offer one of their own garages for more than 6 weeks, so we arranged Tesla directly, with around a week being the earliest appointment available.

Tesla identified that non-Tesla Model 3 suspension had been fitted to the Model Y and provided documents/photos. Cinch requested video evidence, however were unable to upload videos through their platform - a known issue!

Issues were raised within the first week, however we were repeatedly told we were outside the 14-day return period despite the delay being caused by obtaining inspections and appointments.

The car has spent days waiting for approvals while we have had to rely on family vehicles. We were also advised we would not qualify for a courtesy vehicle because the repair itself was expected to take under 8 hours, even though the waiting time without the car has been much longer.

Our biggest frustration has been communication, delays, changing positions on what would be covered, contradictory promises on timescales, and the amount of effort required to move the process forward.