Buying a used car | Vital Football

Buying a used car

nibbles

Vital Football Hero
Afternoon,

The mother-in-law is looking to buy a second hand car.

After finding something which fits her requirements at Big Motoring World, I’m a little concerned that there is apparently no access to the logbook, service book or no way of knowing whether the vehicle has a spare key until after you’ve paid your money and you pick up the car.

I’ve never bought a used car before but this doesn’t seem right. Am I right to be concerned?

Anyone able to offer views on Big Motoring World or simply share their experiences of buying second hand cars?
 
Sounds wrong to me and I personally would avoid. Worth paying for an hpi check? The info may be on that. Never done one myself so not sure.
 
Afternoon,

The mother-in-law is looking to buy a second hand car.

After finding something which fits her requirements at Big Motoring World, I’m a little concerned that there is apparently no access to the logbook, service book or no way of knowing whether the vehicle has a spare key until after you’ve paid your money and you pick up the car.

I’ve never bought a used car before but this doesn’t seem right. Am I right to be concerned?

Anyone able to offer views on Big Motoring World or simply share their experiences of buying second hand cars?

That's how they seem to do it for some strange reason? I bought a car from their West Malling branch at the beginning of the year, and the log book etc was at their Snodland garage? I picked it all up on the way home, and everything was there. Just seems odd why they are doing it like this. Some sort of fiddle?!
 
Sounds wrong to me and I personally would avoid. Worth paying for an hpi check? The info may be on that. Never done one myself so not sure.

They do have a confirmation certificate for each vehicle on their website though some info was missing in this case (e.g the VIN/VRM match)
 
They do have a confirmation certificate for each vehicle on their website though some info was missing in this case (e.g the VIN/VRM match)
The certificate sounds fine I suppose, it would at least act as some sort of guarantee if there was anything missing. I suppose I'm just a bit suspicious. Haven't bought a used car for years either so I might be a bit out of touch but the VIN etc are basics and you'd expect them to be recorded somewhere
 
Afternoon,

The mother-in-law is looking to buy a second hand car.

After finding something which fits her requirements at Big Motoring World, I’m a little concerned that there is apparently no access to the logbook, service book or no way of knowing whether the vehicle has a spare key until after you’ve paid your money and you pick up the car.

I’ve never bought a used car before but this doesn’t seem right. Am I right to be concerned?

Anyone able to offer views on Big Motoring World or simply share their experiences of buying second hand cars?

Are you WX Gill in disguise?
 
Big Motoring World have a less than sparkling reputation in the world of second hand cars. Google them and you may change your choice of dealer.
 
Big Motoring World have a less than sparkling reputation in the world of second hand cars. Google them and you may change your choice of dealer.

Thanks. I’ve read quite a few reviews on Trust Pilot. These actually prompted the question about the keys.
I tend to take online reviews with a huge pinch of salt as most people would only bother if either unhappy or incentivised to give a good review.

I find it odd that they are unable to have a system whereby whether there is a second key or not can be added to the info they hold about it.

With regards to the logbook they say they cannot show this due to data protection rules as it contains details of the previous owners however I would expect to be able to see this before parting with our money otherwise we don’t know what we’re buying.

The file also contains a list of each service but not what each one picked up (if anything).

Perhaps being overly cautious but just wanted to canvas opinions.
 
On the positive side they sell at least 20 cars a day and have mostly positive reviews. The log book is shown on line minus the last owners details. They also state that all docs will be shown at point of sale. I had the same concerns last time I looked there.

Personaly I dont like the way they log the service history on the website with little detail but is that much different from most dealers. They could easily list if there are two keys etc unless they always give 2 keys, would be good to know though.

They basically buy returned pcp cars or traded in cars from main dealers and from lease and car rental firms.

As stated above you can get the mot history online which tells you if there were problems or advisories at the last mot.

Daughter was going to buy a car from there but saw similar car for a little bit more at a main dealer.
 
A quote from another motoring site I use:

I'd rather drag my nutsack across a cheese-grater than buy a car from that lot.
 
I did not realise until very recently that when you privately sell your vehicle the buyer does not have to prove their identity or their address.

This is the main reason why there are so many untaxed / un-MOT'd / uninsured vehicles on the road.

I've always traded in my vehicle with the dealer.
 
Have a look online at the reviews- personally I'd spend another couple of grand and go to a main dealer, if it's a BMW she's after then there's loads of vehicles out there to choose from.

What is she going to do if she finds out that it's not been serviced for 30k miles after she's handed over her money?
 
I'd look on Autotrader to look at similar vehicles. My concern about these places is not the 90%+ odd of sales that go right but what they do when it's a problem. I've bought from knew and second-hand - usually main dealers, eg Hyundai and VW. My last car was from my brother's neighbour - I knew the car was OK because my bro is a retired AA mechanic and did any work on the car.
 
I’d want to know all that info the OP mentioned before I agreed to buy a used car. As someone mentioned, what if it hasn’t been serviced for 2 years or 30k miles? And a 2nd key in today’s cars can be upward of £200 with all the electronics in them (another rip off).

And the privacy law thing seems way ott in my opinion. But since it’s law, just delete/remove the owners details from the log book. Can’t be too hard.

If that dealer doesn’t want to do that then take your money elsewhere. Are they that cheap that it’s worthwile buying a car there?
 
Hi Nibbles, I’m a salesman for VW.
Big Motoring World as with any car supermarkets are hit & miss. Majority of their cars are bought from auction from cars that either don’t sell at main dealers and then sent to auction, or from traders who pick up cars at auction.
Whilst many cars should be & would be absolutely fine, there will be some cars that creep through that are no good.
With regards to the V5 log book, they are not obliged to and probably won’t show the log book - due to the silly GDPR laws.
The key situation, they will sell the car with however many keys it was sold to them with, they are not obliged to supply you with 2 sets.
However, the service history, 100% they should show you before you buy the car and are looking over the car, they can also print out an HPI report for you to show the car is clean etc (again though, not obliged to).
If you can, I would always try and buy from a main dealer - whichever you choose - reputable, offer better warranties, better service histories & genuine work being carried out on the cars to enable them to be sold on the forecourt.
Hope this helps & happy hunting
 
Only for what he sells Germans, I'd go with AntBears, Nibbles. He makes sense. Failing that, head down JLR, lease a shiny new XE R, and give the m-in-l your car.