Webuyanycar

[DRM]

They use the same tactics as car leasing firms do.
My neighbour had a leased Nissan Joke. At two yrs old it was due to go back to the company.
The inspector made an appointment, spent well over 2 hrs inspecting it even having it turned around so he 'could get the sun on the other side'. He wanted nearly £6000 for damage that would 'have to be put right'.
My neighbour showed me the 'report'. Each tiny stone chip on the front was itemised and priced. some finger nail marks around the driver's door were itemised and priced. He measured the depth of paint all over the car and claimed the rear right panel had been repainted (It hadn't, it was always on his drive, so unless he'd had a bump, and got it repaired and repainted the same day!....) and would have to be 'done properly'. It went on and on. The cost for touching up just the odd stone chip was more than the quote my neighbour got from a paint shop for a full respray!
So he took it to a repair centre, got it inspected and was given a quote for putting all the minor marks bang to right, it came to under £200. Armed with this he handed the car back and told them he'd see them in court, and warned that he'd recorded the mileage at inspection, repair quotation and at hand back. After a couple of solicitor's letter demanding the £6k, which he refuted, repeating 'see you in court'. It was dropped.
He bought his next car.
I've heard a similar story from my son who toyed with selling to WBAC. He traded it in in the end.

I’ve heard similar when our work vans go back, these are mobile offices/workshops/canteens/toolboxes, they way they go on it’s as if they expect the firm to lease them, and leave them parked up inside without being used for five years.

 

[Pale Rider]

Indeed, it was a car. The Suzuki was a little less than that, but the sales guy was a complete arse (we got up and walked out when he started raisiing his voice to us, then rang to apologise the following morning, followed by a call from his sales manager. Not an experience we're likely to repeat. Total contrast to the VW dealership, who've been great to deal with every time we've been in for servicing etc too.

I thought you were going to say the sales manager told you he'd sacked the salesman.

Pretend sackings to emotionally blackmail the customer into buying a car were done in the 'good old days' of the motor trade.

Despite the sharp suits and glass palaces, it's always worth remembering buying and selling cars is still like horse trading, only on four wheels rather than four legs.

 

[screenman]

I’ve heard similar when our work vans go back, these are mobile offices/workshops/canteens/toolboxes, they way they go on it’s as if they expect the firm to lease them, and leave them parked up inside without being used for five years.

When you sign a leasing contract you sign to return then in the description on the contract, that is why the payments are so low, tell your works to buy them if they are unable to stick to an agreement.

 

[screenman]

I thought you were going to say the sales manager told you he'd sacked the salesman.

Pretend sackings to emotionally blackmail the customer into buying a car were done in the 'good old days' of the motor trade.

Despite the sharp suits and glass palaces, it's always worth remembering buying and selling cars is still like horse trading, only on four wheels rather than four legs.

It has changed slightly over the years in lots of places, certainly I have seen major improvements, mind you some customers are still a pain.

 

[DRM]

When you sign a leasing contract you sign to return then in the description on the contract, that is why the payments are so low, tell your works to buy them if they are unable to stick to an agreement.

The point being they’re used, not abused, they are second hand as soon as they leave the supplying dealership, They go back cleaned inside & out, any damage gets sorted prior to collection, If the vans were trashed, then fair enough bill the person leasing them, these are just cowboys trying it on, at least the current fleet are so crap that the things must be in negative equity due to the repair costs I’ll put money on it they’re trying to claw some revenue back, plus if companies did buy vehicles instead of leasing them, they wouldn’t have a business.

 

[DRM]

True, but it might have been a Suzuki if the other place had played ball. Plus we got rid of an Alfa which was getting a bit long in the tooth and becoming unreliable.

My current car is a Suzuki, the local dealership are the polar opposite of where you went, salesman came out as we were looking round, introduced himself and said if you want to look inside anything let me know, went back inside, sorted a test drive, got a decent price for the trade in, the car was immaculate when collected, then we got a follow up call from the garage owner a couple of weeks after collection to make sure everything was good with the car and the buying experience.

 

[screenman]

The point being they’re used, not abused, they are second hand as soon as they leave the supplying dealership, They go back cleaned inside & out, any damage gets sorted prior to collection, If the vans were trashed, then fair enough bill the person leasing them, these are just cowboys trying it on, at least the current fleet are so crap that the things must be in negative equity due to the repair costs I’ll put money on it they’re trying to claw some revenue back, plus if companies did buy vehicles instead of leasing them, they wouldn’t have a business.

The leasing company inspectors have rules to work from and have to abide by those rules, I am sure you can find them online, as I repair lease return vehicles for companies most weeks I am quite familiar with different people's opinion on damage is. The guy last Thursday with a small dent in the sliding door of his van, or that was his description over the phone, my estimation was it needed a new do it and rear1/4 panel. The small stone chip in the middle of the Soul Red Mazda door, no sir that while side needs painting at a cost of £700.

 

[Drago]

Most lease contracts have a fair wear and tear clause. However, most customers never read that, and most leasing firms know that most customers never read that, and bend them over accordingly.

The clauses are quite sensible, only damage above and beyond that which would be expected on a used but very well cared for vehicle would be accounted for. Stuff like penny dents, stone chips/scratches under a certain size, etc, wouldn't normally reckon on the ones ive seen (for example, Motability), provided theyre not excessive in number. If people cant trust themselves to take very good care of someone elses vehicle then they should buy their own instead, but some customers like to try and have their cake and eat it.

 

[icowden]

Has any one ever used them?

As most people have said, they should be called "We scam any car.com". Boggles my mind that Schofield continues to do dreadful adverts for them.
They give you a quote online to make you think you will get a good price. Then you take it to one of their centres where they start to find faults "this car has been driven" etc, so that they can then come back with a "revised" offer that is no-where near what you thought you were going to get,

This relies on the fact that most people still want shot of their car there and then, so they accept the under-valued price now on offer.

 

[byegad]

Most lease contracts have a fair wear and tear clause. However, most customers never read that, and most leasing firms know that most customers never read that, and bend them over accordingly.

The clauses are quite sensible, only damage above and beyond that which would be expected on a used but very well cared for vehicle would be accounted for. Stuff like penny dents, stone chips/scratches under a certain size, etc, wouldn't normally reckon on the ones ive seen (for example, Motability), provided theyre not excessive in number. If people cant trust themselves to take very good care of someone elses vehicle then they should buy their own instead, but some customers like to try and have their cake and eat it.

I think you'll find Motability one of the better lease deals.
My neighbour, as small business man, is astute enough to read contracts, and even used to hire another car for his longer trips to avoid typical motorway stone chips.

 

[screenman]

As most people have said, they should be called "We scam any car.com". Boggles my mind that Schofield continues to do dreadful adverts for them.
They give you a quote online to make you think you will get a good price. Then you take it to one of their centres where they start to find faults "this car has been driven" etc, so that they can then come back with a "revised" offer that is no-where near what you thought you were going to get,

This relies on the fact that most people still want shot of their car there and then, so they accept the under-valued price now on offer.

I disagree with that, they offer a service and people have choice.

 

[screenman]

Most people not in the trade have very little idea of how much prep costs nowadays, even myself who has been in the trade close to 50 years gets it wrong. Windscreen chip that will be £600 for a new glass and of course another £150 for alignment, bent alloy £250 each if they are beyond straightening, 3 inch scratch on the middle of a door on a tricoat that will be £600+ to paint one panel and blend into the other two, engine management light on, who knows the sky is the limit of that one. Previous owner smoked in it, that car will never get sold to me for sure. Of course you will get more selling it privately, you may get more selling it to garage in some cases or a trader even, the choice is yours, now I guess most of us have been to buy something second hand at times, maybe even a bike and you think how on earth did this guy describe that thing it is a wreck, well that is what us guys in the motor trade get daily.

This one was described as a very small dent to me over the phone, which they said would only take me a couple of minutes to do, what you cannot see unless you are seeing what I see is the bent impact bar,

 

[Drago]

I think you'll find Motability one of the better lease deals.

I found them terrible. They insisted on fitting a mismatched tyre that made the car feel all squirmy and nervous. I kicked off and they eventually relented and fitted the correct tyre to match its 3 chums and the cars roadholding and feel was restored immediately.

Thats a safety critical issue and they thought saving 30 or 40 quid on a boot was more important than things like handling, stability or stopping disatances, so when the lease ended we told them to shove it.

 

[Cavalol]

I get where you're coming from, Screenman, and totally agree about people's opinions of 'slight damage' but WBAC are incredibly, stupidly fussy and it's stuff going to auction that (to some extent) don't really matter. By that I mean, a couple of stone chips and a thumbnail dent on a 2009 Focus don't really effect the values round the block, imho.

 

[Cavalol]

Ps, I'll take my hat off to Notability, I've seen the absolute state some of their cars were left in (though I believe they charge to clean now) and I wouldn't let my dog climb into some of them.