Dodgy Dealers

coolhans

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Hello everyone. This is just a rant really but a point that I think is worth airing. I recently bought a 1989 W124 300E from a dealer in Southampton trading as Prestige Car Sales. I saw the car in Autotrader for £599 and the description was great. 130,000 miles, taxed, FSH, everything working etc. I called the bloke and asked all the usual questions about condition rust etc and arranged to view it with intent to buy. I was given the usual dealer spiel but most people can read through that and I feel I know enough to know a decent buy when I see it. Long story short is that when I got down to Southampton things were not as described. There was no tax, sunroof and rear windows not working and the car had rust spots starting all over it and the mileage was 20,000 over what he had stated. I bought the car anyway after knocking him down on his price as it is basically a good car and if I sold it for spares I would get my money back but the point I'm trying to make is that I had to travel a fair way to view the car and it was not as described at all. This sort of behaviour really hacks me off and I just thought that I would warn people out there to be aware. Rant over.
 

Cole@MBS

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I no the name, just cant place them, whats the address??
 

PeterCLK

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Yes you have to be careful.

Recently helped my son buy his first car and the usual trawl of the net showed up several promising ones. The dealers websites looked professional so off we went.

Most were a disappointment - rough looking places and rougher proprietors but they had good websites - and poor cars.

You never know until you go.
 

gre1591

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Sorry to hear about your disappointment .I have travelled miles looking at cars and most of them are a disappointment. The trouble is as with most things in life people have different levels of acceptability and what will do for one is not up to standard for another.
Dealers I have found will tell you anything to get you to view the car with the hope (and it must be hope in some of the poorly presented cars I have seen) that your level of acceptability is low. I am sure they work on this basis.
 
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coolhans

coolhans

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14 Hope Road, West End, Southampton SO30 3GB. Cocky young chav driving an X5.
 

Cole@MBS

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About 3 miles from us, that's how i have heard of them.

Don't no him personally!
 
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coolhans

coolhans

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Yes it seems that a lot of used car dealers earn their cliched reputation. I recently spent a lot of time helping one of my sons find a car. Drove a lot of miles and saw a lot of sheds. It's amazing how some people interpret the English language, words like, stunning, superb, immaculate and "must be seen to be appreciated" spring to mind. If high street retailers advertised their wares like that they would be permanently in court.
 

type49

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Could be worse. I was asked to give a car the "once over", as the customer had recently bought it. Dont know how much he paid but I made up a hugh list on the car which only had 52000 miles. Being suspicious, I looked at the "hidden" info in ignition module - 83000km (52k). Strange, still didn't believe it so looked further, into instrument cluster history. Found out the car had had 37 services & actually had covered over 330000miles!! Checked warranty claims online & this confirmed claims with over 250000miles, nearly 2 years ago.
Watch out guys n girls, there are some right dodgy tossers out there......
 
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television

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Could be worse. I was asked to give a car the "once over", as the customer had recently bought it. Dont know how much he paid but I made up a hugh list on the car which only had 52000 miles. Being suspicious, I looked at the "hidden" info in ignition module - 83000km (52k). Strange, still didn't believe it so looked further, into insrument cluster history. Found out the car had had 37 services & actually had covered over 330000miles!! Checked warranty claims online & this confirmed claims with over 250000miles, nearly 2 years ago.
Watch out guys n girls, there are some right dodgy tossers out there......

It does not cost much to wind them back,,MOT's though must be a problem surely
 

type49

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It does not cost much to wind them back,,MOT's though must be a problem surely

Yep, customer bought a very bruised & battered 5 year old car with no service history at all:roll:

ALARM BELLS:rolleyes::rolleyes::confused:
 

dizzy lizzy

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Yes i'm afraid i may be a bit gullable when it comes to cars- i tend to believe them when they give their spiel - must see - great condition etc etc...it's only my dear old hubby that brings me back to reality...bless him
 

Alex M Grieve

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Yes i'm afraid i may be a bit gullable when it comes to cars- i tend to believe them when they give their spiel - must see - great condition etc etc...it's only my dear old hubby that brings me back to reality...bless him

Ah, but you can trust me lizzy. You might be gullible, but I am naive - the perfect combination for used car trading! ;)
 

television

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Posh Spice's dad was a car sales man,,about the most crooked you would ever find, I used to go to the car auctions with him.
 

television

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As his mentor, I presume? :rolleyes:

I could never understand the rubbish that he bought, till one day when I went to see him he was showing a customer how nice the car would clean up by T cutting the roof, the cills had long rotted away and fallen off,,but he got away with it
 

Topboy

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I've recently noticed a few ads appearing in the Motoring section of my local rag in Plymouth that just scream of being so wrong!

There was a Range Rover Sport 07 Plate, blah blah blah. £12,950. Ad Includes a phone number (Manchester code - only 300 miles away!) but instructions not to ring as seller can't get to phone. Email for further details and info. I also liked the bit that it was advertised with 10 months MOT.

There have been a couple of other ads in the same style (an Audi A5 for no money with a Liverpool phone number) with 'can't get to phone but email' instructions.

Do we reckon that said seller would like to meet purchaser half way in an old disused warehouse to exchange said motor for cash?

Never right.
 

kth286

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I could never understand the rubbish that he bought, till one day when I went to see him he was showing a customer how nice the car would clean up by T cutting the roof, the cills had long rotted away and fallen off,,but he got away with it

Just like the original poster - he actually bought the car even though it was worse than described - so the dealer got a sale because he lied.

If he had not lied and told all the bad things about the car, the buyer would not have visited the garage, and the sale would not have happened.

So, what is the situation.

Lie, and you sell cars !!!!!!!!!!!
 

television

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I've recently noticed a few ads appearing in the Motoring section of my local rag in Plymouth that just scream of being so wrong!

There was a Range Rover Sport 07 Plate, blah blah blah. £12,950. Ad Includes a phone number (Manchester code - only 300 miles away!) but instructions not to ring as seller can't get to phone. Email for further details and info. I also liked the bit that it was advertised with 10 months MOT.

There have been a couple of other ads in the same style (an Audi A5 for no money with a Liverpool phone number) with 'can't get to phone but email' instructions.

Do we reckon that said seller would like to meet purchaser half way in an old disused warehouse to exchange said motor for cash?

Never right.

Best to meet them on a lay by on the A1 and pay cash
 

D1gger5

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I am always wary of newly part/sprayed cars. My second car was like that for 3 months before the brown tinges and bubbles rose.
I also bought a 3 litre S Capri for spares in the early 90's that was a patchwork of filler/paper throughout. I only needed the mechanicals anyway but because it looked the business 9 months before I bought it people were offering the guy thousands for it. That owner - panel beater and sprayer (NUFF SAID).

As the original first poster has stated he saw the car, warts and all and identified it as a bargain, even if only for spares. That's how I've worked for over 20 years.

Diggers
 

type49

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I also bought a 3 litre S Capri for spares in the early 90's that was a patchwork of filler/paper throughout.
Diggers

Haha, I SOLD a black 3 litre capri in the early 90s ......... errrrrrrrr,, mmmmmmmmm was it mine?????:(
 


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