Anyone bought from the ebay no reserve seller?
Discussion
I did buy a car from them. Here's the story.
Was a Citroen C6 2.7 HDi. eBay hammer price was £2500. I turned up and the car was a dog - the drivers window had been broken in transit, it had poor wheels and tyres, EML light on, gearbox issue, you name it. I came back to the bloke and said 'this is a trade car for spares'. I got chatting with him, he was a nice chap. They buy the cars from BCA blackbushe, wash and a quick valet and put them on the 'bay. As I was in the trade at the time I said 'what did you pay' and gave him a tenner over that (£890). On the drive home it dropped all it's coolant, lunched the engine
Sold it for spares for £650 a week later to a chap from Poland.
You need to be aware that the model is very simple - cars from BCA, often grade 4/5, meaning they have proper issues. If you're a competent mechanic or know one, then you might get a bargain.
If you know nothing about cars, and are looking for solid, reliable, family transport, be careful.
They're nice people mind you - very friendly. They're only trying to make a living like everyone else. One major positive is that they won't try to pull the wool over your eyes. Mind you, I've been buying and selling cars for a long time.....
Was a Citroen C6 2.7 HDi. eBay hammer price was £2500. I turned up and the car was a dog - the drivers window had been broken in transit, it had poor wheels and tyres, EML light on, gearbox issue, you name it. I came back to the bloke and said 'this is a trade car for spares'. I got chatting with him, he was a nice chap. They buy the cars from BCA blackbushe, wash and a quick valet and put them on the 'bay. As I was in the trade at the time I said 'what did you pay' and gave him a tenner over that (£890). On the drive home it dropped all it's coolant, lunched the engine
Sold it for spares for £650 a week later to a chap from Poland.
You need to be aware that the model is very simple - cars from BCA, often grade 4/5, meaning they have proper issues. If you're a competent mechanic or know one, then you might get a bargain.
If you know nothing about cars, and are looking for solid, reliable, family transport, be careful.
They're nice people mind you - very friendly. They're only trying to make a living like everyone else. One major positive is that they won't try to pull the wool over your eyes. Mind you, I've been buying and selling cars for a long time.....
I've always admired the C6 from afar, shame they never built it in estate form for a truly modern interpretation of the DS.
Although I would class shill bidding as trying to pull the wool over your eyes, which is my only issue with them.
Well that and it would be nice for a little more detail like you example it would be more than a little disappointing to find that much wrong with it after a 2hr+ drive. A quick, window broken, EML on, gearbox fault in the description wouldn't take more than a minute yet we know why they don't put it in.
Although I would class shill bidding as trying to pull the wool over your eyes, which is my only issue with them.
Well that and it would be nice for a little more detail like you example it would be more than a little disappointing to find that much wrong with it after a 2hr+ drive. A quick, window broken, EML on, gearbox fault in the description wouldn't take more than a minute yet we know why they don't put it in.
I bought a car from them recently. I searched for reviews of them beforehand and found this thread helpful, so here's my contribution.
TL,DR - the car was ultimately as described/a good un, but their operation is total chaos and the process of viewing/buying was a frustrating one.
A family member wanted a hand buying a car; they knew exactly what type they wanted and what their budget was, however they're not mechanically savvy so asked for help with viewings. I looked at a few for them, including one at carswithnoreservereading.
Due to the nature of their auctions we opted so wait to see if we won the car before making the effort to view (they openly advertise unlimited viewings/test drives after you've won the auction). We won the auction, rang and left the £100 deposit they request within 24hrs - we arranged to go down on Saturday morning to view. On Friday afternoon I called again to confirm and all was well.
We travelled down first thing on the Saturday morning to find the car not there. The Sales Person (Jason) told us if had broken down in Swindon the night before (They'd taken a deposit on it, knew I was coming and they are based in Reading, so why was it in Swindon? I couldn't get a straight answer). I was told they were going to call to let us know but hadn't got round to it before we arrived. They were unable to confirm what was happening with the car/where it was/when it would be fixed/etc. - it all smelled a bit fishy to me, I suspected they had sold it to someone else and not had the courtesy/organisation to let us know. I was told I'd get a call when it had been repaired. Disgruntled, I got the deposit back and left, putting it down to experience.
A week later and not expecting anything more to do with them/that car, we got a call to say the car was back and fixed and would I still like to proceed. They gave me a walkaround of the car via facetime/whatsapp and showed me receipts from their neighbouring garage showing it had a new rad hose after the other had split/leaked. I still suspected a rat but was passing Reading again in a few days time so would pop by to see it. They agreed to hold the car...
It was about 10 days later before I was in the vicinity so dropped by, out of the blue to see what the situation was. I didn't expect the car to still be there, but was literally passing-by. The car was sat pride-of-place in front of their portacabin, dusty, and warm from being used. I asked about this and they said they use their cars for running about in up to the point of sale. I spotted one of the other cars that was currently For Sale on their auction page with a trailer hooked-up and a car on the trailer.
The car turned out to be exactly what we were after, we took it for a 1.5hrs drive all over the place - motorway, A/B roads and sat in traffic. We parked up in the nearby retail park, out of the way and gave the car a thorough going over. It all seemed straight and above expectations for the price point.
I returned and asked to see the documentation. They couldn't find it. How was this possible? I'd seen flashes of it on the facetime a couple of weeks prior, but was told they had not received any yet (not even a V5) and were chasing BCA for the docs. By this point they'd had the car a good month, so how were they in this situation? Again, the Sales Person Jason got in a flap and gave me a million word response without the answer I needed. How did they expect to sell a car without a V5? The car was advertised with an itemised list of services it had over its lifetime - how had they got this information if they'd never seen the documents? I was perplexed by the operation, but as I hadn't lost anything other than a couple of hours as I was passing-by, I bid them farewell and carried on with my life.
Again, unexpectedly we had a call from them a week or so later saying they had all the documents. This time I dealt with the other Sales Person there - Justyn. This was a much more straightforward affair. He took photos of each page of every document they had - V5, service book, receipts, invoices - and emailed them over to me. It was extensive. I called back and said I'd take the car, but was loathed to make a trip again to them after the previous chaos. He was sympathetic and offered a multitude of options - the car could be transported to me, but they'd need payment up front. Or I could leave a deposit and they'd hold it for me. We agreed that I'd pop down on the train to collect and they'd cover the costs.
I collected the car a couple of days later, paid the amount we'd agreed and drove off in to the sunset. The car has done nearly 4k miles in four months in the hands of my relative and is a good, honest motor.
TL,DR - the car was ultimately as described/a good un, but their operation is total chaos and the process of viewing/buying was a frustrating one.
A family member wanted a hand buying a car; they knew exactly what type they wanted and what their budget was, however they're not mechanically savvy so asked for help with viewings. I looked at a few for them, including one at carswithnoreservereading.
Due to the nature of their auctions we opted so wait to see if we won the car before making the effort to view (they openly advertise unlimited viewings/test drives after you've won the auction). We won the auction, rang and left the £100 deposit they request within 24hrs - we arranged to go down on Saturday morning to view. On Friday afternoon I called again to confirm and all was well.
We travelled down first thing on the Saturday morning to find the car not there. The Sales Person (Jason) told us if had broken down in Swindon the night before (They'd taken a deposit on it, knew I was coming and they are based in Reading, so why was it in Swindon? I couldn't get a straight answer). I was told they were going to call to let us know but hadn't got round to it before we arrived. They were unable to confirm what was happening with the car/where it was/when it would be fixed/etc. - it all smelled a bit fishy to me, I suspected they had sold it to someone else and not had the courtesy/organisation to let us know. I was told I'd get a call when it had been repaired. Disgruntled, I got the deposit back and left, putting it down to experience.
A week later and not expecting anything more to do with them/that car, we got a call to say the car was back and fixed and would I still like to proceed. They gave me a walkaround of the car via facetime/whatsapp and showed me receipts from their neighbouring garage showing it had a new rad hose after the other had split/leaked. I still suspected a rat but was passing Reading again in a few days time so would pop by to see it. They agreed to hold the car...
It was about 10 days later before I was in the vicinity so dropped by, out of the blue to see what the situation was. I didn't expect the car to still be there, but was literally passing-by. The car was sat pride-of-place in front of their portacabin, dusty, and warm from being used. I asked about this and they said they use their cars for running about in up to the point of sale. I spotted one of the other cars that was currently For Sale on their auction page with a trailer hooked-up and a car on the trailer.
The car turned out to be exactly what we were after, we took it for a 1.5hrs drive all over the place - motorway, A/B roads and sat in traffic. We parked up in the nearby retail park, out of the way and gave the car a thorough going over. It all seemed straight and above expectations for the price point.
I returned and asked to see the documentation. They couldn't find it. How was this possible? I'd seen flashes of it on the facetime a couple of weeks prior, but was told they had not received any yet (not even a V5) and were chasing BCA for the docs. By this point they'd had the car a good month, so how were they in this situation? Again, the Sales Person Jason got in a flap and gave me a million word response without the answer I needed. How did they expect to sell a car without a V5? The car was advertised with an itemised list of services it had over its lifetime - how had they got this information if they'd never seen the documents? I was perplexed by the operation, but as I hadn't lost anything other than a couple of hours as I was passing-by, I bid them farewell and carried on with my life.
Again, unexpectedly we had a call from them a week or so later saying they had all the documents. This time I dealt with the other Sales Person there - Justyn. This was a much more straightforward affair. He took photos of each page of every document they had - V5, service book, receipts, invoices - and emailed them over to me. It was extensive. I called back and said I'd take the car, but was loathed to make a trip again to them after the previous chaos. He was sympathetic and offered a multitude of options - the car could be transported to me, but they'd need payment up front. Or I could leave a deposit and they'd hold it for me. We agreed that I'd pop down on the train to collect and they'd cover the costs.
I collected the car a couple of days later, paid the amount we'd agreed and drove off in to the sunset. The car has done nearly 4k miles in four months in the hands of my relative and is a good, honest motor.
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