Diane

Disappointing, would not recommend

When placing my deposit, I explained that I would be flying over to England to purchase the car and driving it to the boat to bring it home to Northern Ireland. I asked if it was possible to view the car on the Sunday and complete the transaction at 9am on the Monday which Luke advised was not a problem, Luke did not tell us he doesn’t start work to 9.30am which we found out from another salesman on the Sunday. We were also advised we could not purchase the car at the weekend as they did not have an accountant on site. When we arrived on the Sunday, the car was not valeted, there was a fault on the dash, poorly fixed chip marks on the bonnet, a discoloured skirt and a dent on the passenger door along a curve making it easily seen. I had spoke with Luke and another salesman on two different occasions and had asked if there was anything I should be aware of any bumps or scratches and was assured there was nothing that couldn’t be seen in the photos or wasn’t as a result of wear and tear. Bearing in mind as soon as the deposit was taken the advert with all of the photos was no longer accessible. I requested the photos when viewing the car on the Sunday and was provided with them the following day and the dent was not visible. £100 was discounted for the dent however on consulting a bodywork specialist it will cost far above that to rectify. Luke advised that they have a guy who deals with dents and that they could call him first thing Monday morning but could not guarantee he could attend or fix before we needed to go to get the boat. Deposit had been taken on the 8th and this was now the 20th and I was reassured that the car would be ready for when I arrived. I left on Sunday afternoon deflated but reassured that the car valet would look at the bonnet chips and skirt and that the mechanic would correct the fault. When placing my deposit and asking about how long was left on the MOT, Luke advised that the car had no current MOT and that I would need to buy a pre delivery package at £99 to cover the MOT and any work that was required. In fact this is not the case, on the direct cars website it states, “All cars sold that have less than 6 months remaining on their MOT certificate will automatically get an MOT before collection”. I had to ask for the vehicle history check which should have been included in the pre delivery package and wasn’t eligible for the loyalty card due to residing in Northern Ireland. On Monday morning the bonnet chips had been repaired to a good standard, the dash fault had been cleared, only to come back after our first stop, we were advised the skirt discolouration could not be fixed and as a gesture of goodwill was given a full tank of fuel. I’ve never bought a car and had to take it to not only a bodywork specialist but a mechanic too after arriving home. I will not be dealing with Direct Cars again; it has left a sour taste in my mouth and ruined what should have been an enjoyable, exciting experience.