Internet Car Showroom gone...
Discussion
I drive up the M3 everyday and have noticed that the amount of cars in stock at the Internet Car Showroom has been steadily dwindling over the past 8 weeks. They had around a dozen on Thursday (used to '000s). This is usually a sign that the writing is on the wall, and lo and behold - drive past this morning and the site is empty with the offices all cleared out.
Obviously, not enough customers wanting high mileage BMWs and Audis...
Obviously, not enough customers wanting high mileage BMWs and Audis...
CarlT said:
I drive up the M3 everyday and have noticed that the amount of cars in stock at the Internet Car Showroom has been steadily dwindling over the past 8 weeks. They had around a dozen on Thursday (used to '000s). This is usually a sign that the writing is on the wall, and lo and behold - drive past this morning and the site is empty with the offices all cleared out.
Obviously, not enough customers wanting high mileage BMWs and Audis...
Yes, I've noticed the same. Seeing the car park empty today was no surprise whatsoever. Obviously, not enough customers wanting high mileage BMWs and Audis...
JonRB said:
Do you remember when the premises were a derilict barn with tarpaulins over it? It was derilict for years and years.
I always thought that it was quite sympathetically restored when it became the showroom & offices of The Internet Car Showroom. I wonder what will become of it?
I do yes. The restoration went on for years...I always thought that it was quite sympathetically restored when it became the showroom & offices of The Internet Car Showroom. I wonder what will become of it?
Hmmm,
I`ve just googled the internet car showroom and it took me direct to usedbmdirect, a used BMW specialist in Sandhurst.
Their website layout is the same as the internet car showroom one if you hit the 'why buy from us' link.
Looks like they`ve rebranded and resurfaced already.....
I`ve just googled the internet car showroom and it took me direct to usedbmdirect, a used BMW specialist in Sandhurst.
Their website layout is the same as the internet car showroom one if you hit the 'why buy from us' link.
Looks like they`ve rebranded and resurfaced already.....
mattman said:
No great loss - bunch of cowboys - majority of their stock came straight out of BCA Blackbushe
I bought an E46 330i SE Touring from them once. Price was good, spec was spot on, car was pretty mint. And the buying experience was fine too. Minor issue when we went to collect it - one of the fog lights was broken but they swapped it out for one off another similar car there and then. Only fly in the ointment on the buying experience is that when we went to make a warranty claim through the RAC warranty we'd bought through them, the RAC had no record of the policy. Still, I'm sure that was an oversight. I never did get round to sorting that out as the wife had only gone and taken it to a BMW Main Dealer for the repair and paid for it there and then without talking to me first (and warranty companies don't like you doing that). It was only a failed parking sensor too - lazy cow could have managed without that for a few weeks.
That was a few years ago now and the car, the wife and, indeed, the Internet Car Showroom are all gone now.
Edited by JonRB on Monday 19th September 20:41
Back in 2004 I bought a BMW E46 330 Coupe from them. Was a great car and had no issues. However when I bought that car, a lot of their cars were low mileage and fairly new. Looking at their site now for cars around the same price I paid, the cars are nowhere near as good. When I bought that car, they did not have the premises that you could see from the M3, but they were in Sandhurst at what they now have as their contact details. Looks like they have moved back to their old site. I believe (accroding the the guy at Sandhurst bodyworks on the same estate) that when they moved to their large site, they still used the old site to prep the cars.
Talking of things you can see from the M3, you know the little grass airfield near J5? Some buildings, an airsock and a load of grass...
Earlier in the year there was a plane in the hangar and then one day the plane went and a small 4x4 parked in the corner of the hanger instead. It's still there - doesn't appear to have moved in at least 6 months if not much longer.
I wonder what's going on there?
Earlier in the year there was a plane in the hangar and then one day the plane went and a small 4x4 parked in the corner of the hanger instead. It's still there - doesn't appear to have moved in at least 6 months if not much longer.
I wonder what's going on there?
JonRB said:
Only fly in the ointment on the buying experience is that when we went to make a warranty claim through the RAC warranty we'd bought through them, the RAC had no record of the policy. Still, I'm sure that was an oversight.
Common used car dealer con.Take your money for the warranty, never register the warranty with the provider ("Oh sorry, forgot to post", "The rep hasn't been round to collect them") thus pocketing the money and leaving you without a warranty when you need it.
You can always get warranties cheaper and more reliably yourself, never buy one from a used car dealer, shop around on the web.
Yup, I noticed it had vanished!
Went there once to look at an E46 330i, awful service, car was ropey as hell, and they didnt seem interested to say the least. No major loss.
Although I presumed they had moved into the new construction to the right of the main site. Some sort of huge barn/warehouse job that appeared to take years to build is now finished and just sitting there?
Went there once to look at an E46 330i, awful service, car was ropey as hell, and they didnt seem interested to say the least. No major loss.
Although I presumed they had moved into the new construction to the right of the main site. Some sort of huge barn/warehouse job that appeared to take years to build is now finished and just sitting there?
ICS, a few years ago, 'specialised' in Mustangs. They knew the square root of f
k all about them and almost every ad they ran mis-represented what they were trying to sell. As the market for Mustangs is small in this country, they soon had to give up selling them, as their reputation spread. Hence the move to BMW and a much larger catchment. IMO.
k all about them and almost every ad they ran mis-represented what they were trying to sell. As the market for Mustangs is small in this country, they soon had to give up selling them, as their reputation spread. Hence the move to BMW and a much larger catchment. IMO.AdeTuono said:
ICS, a few years ago, 'specialised' in Mustangs. They knew the square root of fk all about them and almost every ad they ran mis-represented what they were trying to sell. As the market for Mustangs is small in this country, they soon had to give up selling them, as their reputation spread. Hence the move to BMW and a much larger catchment. IMO.
I think they paralleled the brands rather than moving to BMW. When I bought from them in 2006 they had loads of BMWs and a smattering of Mustangs. In fact I don't think I have ever seen anything other than loads of BMWs on their forecourt and any other brands have been in addition to the BMWs. Even when there were several Mustangs the BMWs outnumbered them. And I remember them opening - I've been driving that stetch of the M3 on and off for over a decade which more than encompasses their time on that site. k all about them and almost every ad they ran mis-represented what they were trying to sell. As the market for Mustangs is small in this country, they soon had to give up selling them, as their reputation spread. Hence the move to BMW and a much larger catchment. IMO.I once went to see a really really scabby E55 there. It looked like it had been to the moon and back. I didn't like their off hand attitude. They made out they were doing me a favour every step of the way in setting up the test drive. Needless to say I didn't buy from them and never went back.
AdeTuono said:
ICS, a few years ago, 'specialised' in Mustangs. They knew the square root of fk all about them and almost every ad they ran mis-represented what they were trying to sell. As the market for Mustangs is small in this country, they soon had to give up selling them, as their reputation spread. Hence the move to BMW and a much larger catchment. IMO.
Rumor has it that one of the directors was based Stateside and the price they were paying for them was stupidly low, so they tried to flog them over here for a quick buck.k all about them and almost every ad they ran mis-represented what they were trying to sell. As the market for Mustangs is small in this country, they soon had to give up selling them, as their reputation spread. Hence the move to BMW and a much larger catchment. IMO.Gassing Station | General Gassing | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff