Does anyone know of this garage?

[mnkiboy]

Noticed a suspiciously cheap car on Gumtree earlier this week. The advert contained a link to a website: http://www.suttoncars-ltd.co.uk. Whilst the website looks genuine and contains a physical address, the cars on there are too cheap. I decided to enquire about the £7100 MINI Countryman, which is roughly £3000 cheaper than the cheapest one on Autotrader.

The guy replied with a number of photos (reg not visible in any of them) and an offer to deliver the car to my door for free. I'll ask if I can view the vehicle as i'm only about 10 miles away and see how he responds.

Clearly this is a scam. However, it looks like Sutton Cars is a genuine business as they have filed accounts for the past few years. Can anyone confirm if the physical site exists, as I can't find it on street view?

[marshalla]

Site looks fake to me, based on registration data (it's too new).

Registrant:
David White

Registrant type:
UK Individual

Registrant's address:
9208 Lemoran Ave.
Downey
CA
90240
United States

Registrar:
Register.com Inc t/a Network Solutions [Tag = NSI-US]

Relevant dates:
Registered on: 13-Mar-2014
Expiry date: 13-Mar-2016
Last updated: 13-Mar-2014


I'll do a proper check when I get back to base, but instinct is that it's a clone site scam. If you google for some of the text on the site, you'll probably find either the real company, or a lot of other clones.

[Hackney]

All the cars for sale photos are taken in different locations and no number plates are visible.
Immediately made me think they just go out with a camera and take photos of suitable cars.

Could be legit but that strikes me as odd

[SteBrown91]

Looks like a scam. If you street view the postcode the area looks nothing like the banner on the website.

An a5 2.0 tdi quattro with low miles is worth much more than 10k

I call scam

[rj1986]

Google the address, and google map it...
http://www.kinghamaccountancy.co.uk/contact.aspx
All types of scams.

[mnkiboy]

Ah, it looks like there is a genuine business named Sutton Cars Ltd. Just found their website. They're based at a different location in St Helens.

Just waiting for the guy to email back with an excuse as to why I can't go and view the car this lunchtime!

[benjj]

American spellings of some words (utilize etc.)

Run. Run away.

[OJ80]

rj1986 said:

Google the address, and google map it...
http://www.kinghamaccountancy.co.uk/contact.aspx
All types of scams.

It's not unusual for a limited company to use their accountant's office as their registered office, nothing suspicious in that. Strange they don't use the trading address on the website though. Those prices look far too good to be true, there's something going on here.

[rj1986]

OJ80 said:

rj1986 said:

Google the address, and google map it...
http://www.kinghamaccountancy.co.uk/contact.aspx
All types of scams.

It's not unusual for a limited company to use their accountant's office as their registered office, nothing suspicious in that. Strange they don't use the trading address on the website though. Those prices look far too good to be true, there's something going on here.

You would expect some sort of other address to view the cars though wouldn't you?
Although the dozen or so cars listed all have photos in different locations, so maybe a trade at home dealer? (which rarely goes well according to PH)

[marshalla]

According to Duedil - Cash : £50, Net worth £126, Current Liabilities £16.3k

Director's name is Norman and, if you Google the phone number, he lists cars on Gumtree under his own name, not the company's.

[mnkiboy]

marshalla said:

According to Duedil - Cash : £50, Net worth £126, Current Liabilities £16.3k

Director's name is Norman and, if you Google the phone number, he lists cars on Gumtree under his own name, not the company's.

The email I received was from Norman Barker.

This page http://www.companydirectorcheck.com/norman-barker shows he has been a director of Sutton Cars LTD since March 2003. I'm wondering if there's a real Norman Barker who runs the real Sutton Cars LTD.

[SteBrown91]

mnkiboy said:

The email I received was from Norman Barker.

This page http://www.companydirectorcheck.com/norman-barker shows he has been a director of Sutton Cars LTD since March 2003. I'm wondering if there's a real Norman Barker who runs the real Sutton Cars LTD.

Well the registered address is nowhere near the one listed in the website.

[996TT02]

Cheap cars + Delivery = S C A M

Just think, why would anyone, let alone a dealer, sell a car for 3k less than they know it could sell for?

It's all about appealing to greed, you jump in and the low price blinds you into overlooking the usual precautions you would take.

How about checking out the real deal? http://www.suttoncarcentre.co.uk/

Edited by 996TT02 on Thursday 20th March 12:15

[marshalla]

Does the photo on this web site look familiar ? http://www.kaimparkgarage.co.uk/about-us

(it's here : http://goo.gl/maps/sBWge )

[mnkiboy]

Just gave him a ring. He sounds rather foreign to have the name Norman Barker.

I might sign [e-mail] up to some interesting mailing lists.

[Driver101]

marshalla said:

Does the photo on this web site look familiar ? http://www.kaimparkgarage.co.uk/about-us

(it's here : http://goo.gl/maps/sBWge )

Well spotted.

[mnkiboy]

He wants me to make an appointment to view the (non existent) car. Let's see where this goes.

[Driver101]

mnkiboy said:

He wants me to make an appointment to view the (non existent) car. Let's see where this goes.

Save yourself the time and just send the money straight over to his paypal account.

[mnkiboy]

He's already given me his Bank Account and Sort code so I can pay him before I see the car!

And he's promised a full refund in case i'm not happy with it. What could go wrong?

[TTOBES]

Also, how often would a UK based car dealer use "inventory" rather than "stock" or "stock list"?