www.cheap-cars-online.co.uk

Rheumatoid

Anyone used these or know anything about them. There is not much to be found on the web other than their own site and the WHOIS record doesn't give many clues. They have some good deals but would not want to send them several grand for them to do a runner!


TIA

R.

zeon999

Never herd of them before and they look like a very new company, I would also be very wary of getting anything from such a company.

InnesL

I have just taken the plunge with these chaps. My car has a 4-6 week delivery time and I have only just ordered, but I will let you know what I have found (and surmised) and (in due course) how things work out.

Their cars are new but pre registered (I assume in the name of the leasing company).

Using a domain history tool (sorry I do not have the details to hand, but it lets you see all the updates to a given page) it seems that their current website has been active for a couple of years with no real changes except for the vehicles offered. (So no recent phoenixing)

You can collect the vehicle from their depot in person in Birmingham paying the balance on collection (after the £99 deposit) by bankers draft. (I have taken this option to minimise the risk).

They look to be (or to be affiliated with) a hire/leasing company (It is their name that appears on my credit card statement), but they do not make any reference to the company on their site or literature. The leasing company looks legit, but my guess is that they could be stretching the terms of their supply contract with the manufacturers when they sell the cars like this (as opposed to hiring or leasing them).

It is my best guess that they are genuine. I have assessed the risk and for the deal I am getting decided to take a gamble.

NB. I have not posted the name of the leasing company intentionally. (Don’t want to risk losing out if they are breaching their terms of supply with the manufacturers).

I would still be glad to hear from anybody who has dealt with them though.

Rheumatoid

Thanks for this. Have you managed to investigate the depot in Brum? How do you propose to try and ensure the vehicle is legitimately theirs to sell when you collect?

R.

InnesL

I am asking to see the V5C at the time of collection, although I accept that they will wish to retain this in case of manufacturer audit (they are obliged to retain the vehicle for 3 months, but the manufacturer only needs to see V5C not the car).

This is a bit of a grey area legally, but for an extra £25 you can request a duplicate V5C once the sale is complete.

I am currently waiting for them to confirm that the V5C will be available and that the car will not be subject to any commercial finance arrangements or potential lien.

I will keep you posted...

DealDrivers_company_representative

There's no grey area, don't convince yourself of that. The DVLA are the enforcers of the requirement in the UK of a V5 needing to be handed over along with the car, the seller of any vehicle is obliged to inform the DVLA of a change of owner immediately.

The DVLA have to be able to identify the owner of a vehicle on UK roads at all times.

You have not yet mentioned your insurer...around half of UK insurers require you to be the registered owner of the vehicle...if you tick the form question that asks if you are the registered owner, you are completing the form fraudulently as your name is not shown on the logbook so you need to insure the car as a 'keeper'. Nor can you produce your V5 should you be required to, and if your vehicle is involved in an accident during the 'retention' period you won't even be shown at the DVLA as the registered keeper, let alone owner.

Three car manufacturers successfully stopped this practice on their brands at the end of last year and the others will follow. It devalues the cars too quickly and contributes to the depreciation drop the public are horrified about on new cars at present, as there are still people using this process to bring a new car down to the price of something a year old immediately, operating outside the terms of their brand franchise contracts with the manuf'rs...it directly and immediately impacts used car values.

It's great to think you can 'beat the system' but not when the money is lost at the back end when the model dives to pavement level on value within 2yrs as a direct result of this practice.

SDF_2

Hello folks. I had not heard of them before but just yesterday paid a small deposit towards a pre-reg Focus. After reading this board I have become a bit concerned. Firstly I was going to have the car delivered but now I am considering collecting it even although I live in Fife.

After some investigating this afternoon I have found out about the 3-6 month retention of the V5 that was mentioned above.

On checking the DVLA site I see you can complete a form and provide your details as the reg keeper/owner if you do not recieve a V5 from the seller - V62 I think. Does anyone know if this would cover the fact you are not issued with one at the point of sale?

InnesL

Hi SDF

I have to say that I am not to worried about my order, although I am taking what I consider reasonable precautions by collecting and applying for the V5C in the day of purchase.

I am confident that applying for the duplicate V5C will cover us.

Dealdrivers is quite right to raise these concerns but the fact that he does not mention this solution is probably not unrelated to the fact that he is a competitor who is probably a bit cheesed off at being undersold by a somebody not sticking stricty to the rules.

I notice that another of their competitors is scare mongering that the £99 deposit affords you no protection from the credit card company as it is under the £100 limit set in the Consumer Credit Act. This is untrue as you can see here ( http://www.tradingstandards.gov.uk/kent/factsheets/FS43NEW%20nov07%20equalliability.pdf ) and eleswhere on moneysaving expert. The total contract is over £100 so the credit card is equally liable with the seller for any breach of contract.

I am certainly not worried enough to walk away.

SDF_2

InnesL - cheers for the link!

My wife has become nervous about the possibility of there being no V5 to see when we collect the car. If that is the case then there will be no document to view.

As I mentioned before there is a V62 form that you can submit to the DVLA with the new reg keepers details. This is apparantly for when the seller does not have a V5 at the time of sale. I was thinking of forwarding that on on the day of purchase but I'm not 100% that it would be acceptable to the DVLA in these circumstances.

When the car is collected the buyer should also sign the V5 but I get the impression that will not be the case.

I must be honest we are still in two minds at the moment.

InnesL

It's a tough one i agree, it is easier to sow doubts than ease them.

I have asked them a whole raft of questions and will let you know the response.

In the meantime it would be really great if we could hear from a customer (satisfied or otherwise) who has completed their purchase.

Anybody?

SDF_2

I emailed them yesterday with some questions and chased them again this morning but have still to get a response.