From a prospective client’s point of view, there’s really no substitute for coming to see the car you want in person. and our viewings are strictly by prior appointment. However, for some prospective clients, due to time pressure and/or location, this may not be entirely practical. If that’s you, then please read on…
Despite our not offering an organised distance selling scheme, over the years, and especially since Covid, we’ve seen an ongoing uptake in customers electing not to visit us before buying one of our vehicles, instead opting to have us deliver a vehicle sight unseen. We’d like to think our detailed descriptions, lots of photographs, and probably most importantly our 2 videos (360 degree walkaround and driving impressions) of each vehicle have given buyers ample confidence to deal on this basis.
These days all paperwork, payment etc can be carried out electronically, and hence you never have to meet us – we can deliver to your door and put the keys etc through your letterbox if needs be. Naturally there are some T’s and C’s, but they’re pretty straightforward, as follows:
- all sold vehicles (and associated services including transport) to be paid for by bank transfer before the vehicle leaves us – NO EXCEPTIONS
- we’d prefer not to take part exchanges on the above basis, but if a part exchange is a requirement, please discuss with us first.
- deliveries are usually made by third party transporter rather than by driving your vehicle. However, due to very high current demand, transporter services may be subject to reduced availability and/or delays in collection from us.
- we reserve the right, if operationally expedient, to deliver the vehicle to you by driving on trade plates rather than by transporter.
- this is not an ‘organised distance selling scheme’ as defined by The Consumer Contracts (Cancellation, Information and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013. Therefore, even if you choose to not view your vehicle at our premises prior to purchase, you will not be entitled to cancel your order under any 14 day cancellation period. All other statutory rights remain unaffected.
delivery, shipping etc
We can deliver or ship vehicles anywhere within the UK, Europe or indeed worldwide. For transcontinental shipments please contact Transglobal Shipping on www.tglog.co.uk for a competitive quotation. However, please note we do not operate an organised distance selling scheme as defined by The Consumer Contracts (Cancellation, Information and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013. Therefore, if you choose to not view your vehicle at our premises prior to purchase, you will not be entitled to cancel your order under any 14 day cancellation period. All other statutory rights remain unaffected.
For all non-UK sales, our terms of business are strictly ‘ex works’ or EXW in business terms, meaning our responsibility ends once the vehicle has left us, and that, I’m afraid, includes any issues the receiving client may have in terms of customs. import issues and registration, and we will not be liable thereafter.
mileage disclaimer
Unless specifically warranted in the vehicle’s description, all odometer readings advertised should be taken as incorrect, i.e. not warranted. If we believe, from information we’ve received, that a mileage shown is incorrect, we will say so.
HPi clear?
Without exception, all the cars we offer are checked against Experian’s Car Data Check Database for such items as outstanding finance, condition (i.e. has it been an insurance write-off) theft, Police interest etc. Please note however, if the vehicle has been imported, said check does not show any information recorded in other countries. Where the odometer reading is declared as warranted, this will have been checked too.
Pre-purchase inspections
We welcome prospective buyers wanting to have an independent pre-purchase inspection of a vehicle carried out. With the best will in the world, we don’t sell brand-new vehicles with zero or delivery mileage, and hence there will always be areas that might benefit from improvement, even on the finest examples. However. any inspection must be made at our premises, and is at the client’s cost.
What we won’t entertain under any circumstances are conversations along the lines of; “I bought this vehicle from you X months ago and have taken it to my garage for a post-sale inspection, and they’ve said it needs this, that, and the other….” as, apart from the possibility of said garage attempting to obtain pecuniary advantage, the element of ‘independence’ is lost. Garages earn money from working on customer’s cars, and if you present a car to them and say ‘tell me what you think it needs’ you’re effectively signing a blank cheque. If you want a vehicle that performs as, and is in the condition of, a new car without the commensurate wear and tear of an older vehicle, Motodrome probably shouldn’t be on your radar, and there are plenty of new car dealers out there.
payment
I’m afraid we no longer accept Visa and Mastercard Debit Cards for payment. We now only accept payment by bank transfer using the ‘faster payment’ system, and, for international customers, the IBAN system.
Most banks these days operate the ‘faster payment’ system whereupon your payment is with us either straight away, or within a few minutes. The exceptions are the ‘fintech’ banks, Revolut being a case in point. Payments from this platform ‘disappear’ for 24 hours, and naturally we won’t release a vehicle until the funds are securely in our account.
with regard to our videos and descriptions
Whilst we always aim to paint a true picture of each car we sell in our videos, we cannot claim they are perfect analyses of any of our vehicles We welcome potential buyers arranging independent inspections (at our premises) for any vehicle we have for sale. We do take a really good look at the vehicles that come into our stock, but this only results in our unbiased personal opinions, not those of a qualified inspector, or the result of a really long test drive.
Additionally, please note that the videos on our site have been recorded using simple cameras which often result in ‘average’ sound quality; in particular, engines and exhaust notes can sound a little different to how they are in reality.
Collection, settlement etc.
When we put together an order form with a client (which forms a contract of sale) we put a ‘date of completion’ on said order form, which means we expect to be paid in full for the vehicle, and the vehicle removed from our premises, by said date. We understand that unforeseen problems can arise that can delay or preclude settlement, and if you at least enter into dialogue with us as to what might prevent settlement and collection by the agreed date, we’ll do our best to accommodate you within reason.
However, in Autumn 2019 we had a slightly bizarre situation where a buyer came to see a vehicle, agreed to buy it, signed the appropriate order form and left us the sort of deposit one doesn’t normally walk away from, and agreed to settle and collect the vehicle the following week. Then never turned up, and failed to respond to calls and texts from us. On legal advice, we had to write a recorded delivery letter to him stating that unless he got in contact with us within the next 7 days, the vehicle would be re-offered for sale, and any payments made to us thus far will be held in abeyance until we’d sold the vehicle again, at which time any and all funds left with us will be available for return, less any costs we’ve incurred. Fortunately this jolted him into life and the deal was completed, albeit a couple of weeks later then planned.
Please now regard the above as forming part of our terms and conditions. Furthermore, in future, as indoor space in our unit is at a premium, we reserve the right to charge £10.00 per day (or part thereof) for storage over and above the previously-agreed date.
Obviously all the above can be avoided if buyers at least keep us in the loop!
Part exchanges
We can take your car in part exchange in principle, and will normally offer a competitive price for doing so. Please note however we reserve the right not to take something in part exchange.
If you have a vehicle you want to part exchange with us, you’ll have to bring it to us for assessment. We used to be happy taking the owner’s word as to the condition of their car, but following at least 2 incidents over the past couple of years where part-exchanges were described to us as pretty good, only for us to find once they arrived that they were horror stories (one didn’t even start or drive despite being described as a ‘good car needing nothing’) and we had to get rid of it as such, and consequently lost too much money. So, as usual, a few bad apples have queered the pitch for honest sellers, for which I apologise, but there it is.
Please note however, that we will not take into stock any UK-registered vehicle where a full and current V5c registration document is not available. If it’s ‘lost in the post’ or ‘I’m just waiting for DVLA to issue a new one’ then please sort it out before you offer it to us. This also applies to cherished number transfers – if you want to keep the registration number currently on your car, please sort it out with DVLA beforehand so that when the car comes to us, it has it’s proper number plates fitted and a new V5c to match.
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