Main agent quality cars offered today and everyday!

Three interesting cars offered today that you’re welcome to contact me for more information about. Compare with other cars advertised and your local dealer. Testimonials on website.

2006/06 Renault Megane Coupe-Cabriolet 1.9 dCi Diesel Privilege in Nordic Green with FULL LEATHER and Keyless Entry and Starting. Just 6000 miles and one owner. Estimated price £14995 (List £22400)

2005/55 Renault Megane 5 Door Hatchback Dynamique 1.9 dCi Diesel in Ink Blue. Just 6000 miles and one owner. Great condition throughout and good spec car. Unseen but assume last of the previous shape. Current list price £16420 Estimated price £8995

2004/04 Renault Grand Espace 2.2 dCi Diesel INITIALE 6 Speed manual  in Hologram Grey. 6 Seater flagship model luxury people carrier, price new circa £33000 offered at £15995

2002/02 MINI Cooper S in Dark Silver with Full Leather and Air Cond. One owner and 39000miles with FBMWSH and remainder of TLC Servicing until 2007 or 50000 miles. Described as clean all round and offered at £9995.

Many other main agent quality cars offered today and on a daily basis, let me know what you are looking for and I will offer them.

To contact me about any of these cars please click here.

How long to wait before something is done?

This Ebay scam advert (item number 260035715523) is still online despite my reporting it over 24 hours ago. Let’s see how long it takes them to remove the advert.

Check it out!

With so many cars being offered fraudulently online (as described in recent posts) it’s important that you make every effort to check a car’s authenticity – as well as the vendor. This applies in reverse too if you are selling a car!

A young customer buying her own car for the first time has been using HPI to check out one of my cars. Everything I buy into stock has the alternative Experian Gold Check to confirm details of provenance as well as all the identification numbers, if the car has been stolen, if the car is on a high risk register, Association of British Insurers register, DVLA flagged information, Finance Register, cherished number plate changes, keeper change details and colour change.

The HPI report she has purchased for about twenty pounds also includes a check as to the authenticity of the MOT Certificate as well as the V5 identification number. There’s also nothing to prevent you having a copy of any service history to check out servicing completed.

It seems wise in this day and age to not leave a stone uncovered because if scammers can be bothered to produce a 15000 positive feedback rating on EBAY, they will have plenty of time to forge and create false identities on desirable cars.

Here’s a tip if you’re selling and accepting a bank draft. As the person presenting the bank draft has to either produce two forms of ID at the bank to obtain a draft or be known to the bank, ask them to bring this ID with them. You can ask for a copy and or details of the draft in advance, but often I find when asked, banks are reluctant to confirm details. With the same ID as they have requested you have a little more security.

Here’s a link to HPI

Here’s a link to Experian with links to associated services

Here’s a link to The AA (Independent Checks etc)

My fingerprints

I’m flattered that people have lifted my (over) use of ‘Signature’ when describing a colour or specification unique to a particular model. It’s also quite amusing to see whole chunks of description that I have written cut and pasted into other adverts. If plagiarism is a form of flattery than I am happy to see my copy in abundance online. But be careful, too much copying and I’ll be accused of spamdexing! (Another new word from this Millennium)

P.S. The spellchecker has been unsuccessfully attempting to change spamdexing to Spandex – trust me, unlike Justin Hawkins you will never see me wearing Spandex!

Rare Black Renault Vel Satis Initiale 3.0 Diesel Available

Checking current adverts for top of the range Renault Vel Satis Initiale 3.0 dCi Diesel Autos this 54 plate example one is one of the best, if not the best currently on offer in this price range. Finished in the rare black metallic with contrasting full ivory leather and parquet wood fascias this Vel Satis Initiale flagship car has covered just under 30000 miles. It has the factory optional wooden rimmed steering wheel which neatly compliments the line of wood trim around the cabin as well as giving the car a classic steering wheel feel.

This model has huge standard specification including a Cabasse Auditorium HiFi, Climate Control Air Conditioning, Electrically Heated and Adjustable Front Seats, Four Speed Automatic with Tiptronic function for press-on driving. Full colour 5×4 Satellite Navigation is also built into the dashboard.

Safety is also part of the Vel Satis brief which carries a 5 Star NCAP Rating courtesy of its multiple airbags, safe seating, ABS Brakes with Electronic Distribution and Traction Control. An anti-reflective windscreen, Xenon halo headlights and front foglights are also fitted.

As a top of the range car there’s a huge amount of additional specification and features. Here’s the original press release which describes the concept and design brief as well as the technical specification of the vehicle, engine and gearbox.

The car has been photographed and is offered at £13995 with the balance of the Renault Warranty and AA Cover until October 2007 – Click here for more details. This price for a 2004/54 plate car is £17000 less than it was two years ago! Ideal for chauffeur and private hire as well as airport runs, this car also makes a perfect touring car for European holidays. If you tow a large caravan it was voted the 2003 Caravan Club towing car of the year in it’s larger car class over £25000 category.

Beloved of French Presidents and Ambassadors, I have run these myself and can testify that they are a quite superb car to travel long distances in with great diesel economy.

I can be contacted here if you would like further information.

   

Yet Another EBAY Scam Item

Just by clicking Renault For Sale I immediately saw a Renault Clio 172 at a too good to be true £2000 – fancy one for sprints and hillclimbs? Maybe it’s a Cat A B C or D write off, no dream on, it’s another scam post. Here’s the example and here’s the reply to an enquiry as to location and ultimate price. Worryingly there’s a good feedback rating, but on closer inspection there’s many duplicate buyers – this is a truly huge scheme.

Hello there,
I know that you have many choices on eBay and I appreciate that you contacted me.Although I am registered in the UK , but I recently moved in NY United States (where my family is from) and the car is being shipped from here. I made the auction for UK due to the fact it’s UK version (right handed), meet all the UK standards, and its better to ship it where it belongs, that means UK, because here in United States is very difficult to drive this type of vehicle, so i am trying to sell it as low as i can to complete the sale fast (my loss will be your gain). It still has UK registration, cos I didn’t paid for United States import taxes so it will be very easy for you to register the car in your country. Also the car is still registered there so you don’t have to pay any import taxes or any other fees.The car meets United Kindom DOT and EPA guidelines so there will be no problems regarding UK Customs policy on receiving the car.The car is in a perfect cosmetic and engine condition! s, and meticulously maintained. No damage, no scratches or dents, no hidden defects, the engine doesn’t smoke, runs and sounds awesome, the engine has never been repaired or something like that, never been into accidents and it is as advertised .The car comes with log book, HPI cleared, it is free of encumbrances and liens. You will get from me the keys and all documents to register the car in UK , and also a bill of sale in your name and signed by me.If the car is not how i described it, i will offer a full refund, upon the return of the item in original condition (return postage at my expense). It will be insured during transportation and will be delivered at your front door in maximum 2 weeks. Final price is GBP 2,000.00 (this price includes the shipping and insurance).
I wait your final decision and I will contact ebay and tell them to contact you with the transaction details in order to buy under their PURCHASE PROTECTION & REFUND PLAN. (SIC! sc)
Thank you!

No really, thank you for trying to rip me or anyone else off who is unfortunate enough to fall for this scam. Hopefully Ebay will soon eradicate these scam posts.

Found it on Ebay?

I recently received a link to a novelty song about Ebay. I’m not normally into that kind of thing but it is very clever. I’ve linked to it here but be warned you may get the odd pop-up if you click through.

I mention this because it relates to the good natured side of Ebay, where you can sometimes grab a bargain, and other times get a big chunk of buyer’s remorse, but take it on the chin because you had some fun bidding for that snow globe you had on the mantelpiece as a kid.

But of course as we all know, with good comes evil and Ebay is a great place for the unscrupulous to lurk and make us all wary of even the most reputable company trading there. The problem is that in my opinion Ebay, will always take the route with the least effort required to resolve a situation. Where an automated e-mail will do they will apply that as a solution. Quick to jump on you if you inadvertently ’spam’ a keyword (I mentioned the word Xenon in an advert title and the ad was summarily pulled) they have even made me complete a twenty minute tutorial for daring to reply to an e-mail address posted in an advert. I felt like I was completing Ebay Community Service! BUT when the real scams abound they seem to do little or nothing to get on top of it, despite protestations to the contrary in the press about regulating the system etc. Here’s a current example.

I have heard recently, away from Ebay, that the popular scam of recent times, the ‘phishing’ for people who will accept an International money transfer for more than the value of the goods so a shipping agent can be paid to collect them – but they then pull the money after you have advanced to the ’shipping agent’ – leaving you with either a loss to the value of the shipping, or maybe worse with a loss greater than the value of your car! had graduated to people emanating from Holland who are offering cars at silly low prices to extract the cash from us. They send a reasonably plausible e-mail response to an enquiry for a car that you expect to be in the UK to say that they are based in Holland and that the price includes ’shipping’ the car back to the UK. Safe to say the giveaway is that it’s a lazy cut and paste and they often refer to a completely different item in the text. But some people are going to be fooled into thinking they have grabbed an Ebay bargain.

I’m mentioning it here and have posted the e-mail for you to be aware of the scam, but the prevalence of cars worth around ten thousand on sale with no reserve at three thousand is proof that Ebay aren’t doing much to resolve the situation.

To cap it all, it’s impossible to get a direct e-mail link to Ebay, so I waited on hold to a phone number I have through my Pro account only to be cut off after fifteen minutes. Hence my blogging the complaint. I know by the traffic through the site that quite a few will read this and I would ask you all to propagate the message.

Here’s the content of the e-mail response sent to me, (see change in item mid-way!) so please take care.

Hello Steve and thank you for your interest for ”ANY HIGH VALUE PRODUCT ON EBAY WITH NO RESERVE”. First of all you should know that the Renault is in excellent condition, mechanically and aesthetically intact, it’s UK model with UK specs and it has less than 26,500 miles on it. This is an always garaged vehicle. The exterior is in mint condition, the overall interior is pristine throughout, no rips, tears, burns, stains or worn spots anywhere, NEVER smoked in. The car is road taxed until August 2007. There is no outstanding finance on the car and it is HPI clear. Although my ebay account was initiated in United Kingdom, I’m located in Holland for the moment and I’m willing to ship the item from here through Sea Cargo and cover the shipping and insurance fees to your location. The total price is £3,200 GBP with insured shipping included. The price is low because I had to sale the car to avoid local taxes here, and I thought selling this Volkswagen through ebay would be a good idea, giving the fact that I need some fast cash for buying a new bigger house here. I would like our deal to be supervised by eBay Motors. In case we have a deal I will notify eBay Motors UK transactions department so they can inform you about my reliability and how we can proceed with this transaction in a 100% safe way.
So if you are ready to proceed just let me know your full name and address and I will notify them so we can both get detailed information regarding proper payment, shipping and insurance to be used for this international deal. Please let me know your position as soon as possible.

Post script. I’m certain that at any time after the initial response certain plausible delays will result in a confusion long enough for them to extract our cash without dispatching the goods.

Useful Finance Information

In the course of a day I am often asked to explain different types of funding methods – both for private and business users. Here’s some of the most common with a brief description. If you have any further queries about finance options drop me a line or if you’re about to buy a car on a certain scheme or would like a quote please click here.

Business Contracts 

Contract Hire 

Not to be confused with daily rental. This product is a popular way of financing the depreciation on your company vehicles while not utilising the capital or borrowing capability of your business. 

The technical term is ‘off balance sheet funding’. It always includes Road Fund Licence for the term and can include full maintenance and replacement vehicles if required, thereby ensuring fixed costs for the whole life of the vehicle. 

At the end of the contract, the vehicle is simply returned to the finance company and alleviates any disposal risk to you or your company. You simply choose your next vehicle and pay a new deposit. Contracts can range to 60 months with mileage allowances up to 50,000 miles per annum. VAT is reclaimable on rentals at varying rates dependant upon usage. 

Finance Lease 

This is an ‘on balance sheet funding’ method, which gives you many benefits: 

Tax efficient method
VAT is spread over term of agreementNo mileage restrictionsReduced monthly payments by utilising a final balloon paymentThe opportunity to retain the majority of the sale proceeds  

Other benefits such as Maintenance, AA/RAC can be included if required. 

Contract Purchase 

This method of funding is ideal for companies who cannot fully reclaim VAT. The big difference between Contract Purchase and Contract Hire is that you have the opportunity to purchase the vehicle at the end of the contract. If you do not wish to buy the vehicle you can simply return it to the finance company. 

Other benefits such as Maintenance, AA/RAC can be included if required. 

Personal Contracts 

Personal Contract Purchase Plan 

PCP is a method of purchasing a vehicle using a low deposit and by making no repayment to the Guaranteed Future Value (GFV) it enables a low monthly repayment to be achieved. 

In other words, all you pay is the depreciation and with a guaranteed future value placed on the vehicle at the outset, there is no disposal risk. It is particularly useful when employees take a ‘cash for cars’ option from employers. At the end of the term you can take one of three options: - 

1. Give back the vehicle.2. Pay off or re-finance the outstanding balance (GFV) to keep the vehicle3. Part exchange the vehicle using equity as a deposit  

By far the most common option is No 3 (part exchange the vehicle). In most cases the GFV is lower than the market value of the vehicle thereby allowing a deposit for the next vehicle. It is, in effect, contract hire for the private individual and should you require it, full maintenance and road fund licence can be included 

Personal Contract Hire 

This scheme works in the same way as Contract Hire but is aimed at Ex-Company car drivers who are in receipt of a car allowance from their employer. 

Other benefits such as Maintenance, AA/RAC can be included if required.

Some great current PCP deals are listed here

Finance subject to status and terms arranged by licenced credit broker CCL 573607. Written details on request.

Audi Cabriolet For Sale – LOW MILEAGE

Lovely 54 Plate Audi A4 Cabriolet 1.8 Turbo Sport Model in Silver Metallic with Black Power Hood and Full Black Leather Sports Heated Seats. Great low mileage just 14128 miles from two owners and Full Audi Service History. This car has manual transmission and drives really well. The 1.8T engine has good smooth performance. The build quality on these is a cut above, something you notice as soon as you are inside the car, as well as all the controls being of excellent quality and function.

Other equipment includes: Audi Symphony Bose Hi-Fi, Dual Zone Climate Control, Multiple Airbags, Traction Control to compliment the usual ABS Brakes with Electronic Distribution. This is the 1.8T Sport model so it has sport setting suspension and 17″ Star Alloys. That said, you don’t really notice it has stiffer suspension in the ride, just the handling through corners is tightened up to make driving more pleasurable.

These look good with the hood up or down, so definitely a ‘Car For All Seasons’. Offered at £21495 with remainder of Audi Warranty until October 2007. Finance and part exchange available subject to status and terms.

More pictures and details are here – Contact link at top of page

Visit www.carbuyersinfo.co.uk

I’ve been working on a side project with an old friend and former colleague Ralph Spence. It’s called Car Buyer’s Info Designed to run alongside allvehicles.co.uk specifically to offer advice on the kind of questions we are regularly asked as well as new car and self-registered deals on all makes and models. We hope it will compliment the future aims of our businesses. Ralph was part of a ‘Super Team’ that I worked with at the end of the last decade and we achieved some outstanding results together. He has many years experience which you may also learn about by visiting his weblog ‘Tips From A Real World Car Salesman’  

His new venture is developing motor trade website traffic and sales using his detailed knowledge of search engine technology and preferences. The new site will be developed over the next few months using our combined knowledge and strategies but even in it’s current development (beta) state there’s some useful tips already as well as links to some very competitively priced delivery mileage Renault stock. Here’s an example.

Keep an eye on the allvehicles weblog for more updates on the project and bookmark the new site if you might like to pick up some great tips and deals in the future.

Make the right choice for you when you buy your next car – the www.carbuyersinfo.co.uk opening message is below.