Has anyone used Cinch to buy a car?

[Whu]

I’ve come across Cinch and it seems to have good reviews (although I’m aware these aren’t always genuine!) so looking for some
experiences before I take the plunge.
It seems you buy the car, they deliver it to you, you have 2 weeks to trial it and if you don’t like it they collect it for a full refund.
It seems amazing and hassle free but I wanted to be sure it’s not too good to be true.

Yes - did exactly what it said on the tin - very good and no complaints at all.

I did. I gave them a try because I couldn't find the model I wanted locally, and I really dislike test drives in areas I don't know as I find I pay more attention to working out where I am going than really paying attention to the fee and sound of the car.

I found them excellent! The whole experience was extremely smooth, no issues. When delivered the guy went over the car in great detail and was really detailed on going over and checking every aspect of the car and we went though the delivery report line by line to make sure all was accurate.

I found having 2 weeks to decide great. There was a mileage limit for returning without cost, from the top of my head this was 200 miles in the two weeks, but I can't remember exactly. I took the car on a variety of trips to check I enjoyed driving it for short and longer trips and the boot etc worked for us.

I kept it so I cannot comment on the service when you return, but if it's anything like the pressies I wouldn't expect a problem.

We are thinking of getting a second car, a more "fun" one, and will look on Cinch again.

Yes I have. No problems at all, car was exactly as stated, everything went very smoothly. Found it much less stressful than the usual dealership experience.

Just to add I didn't return it so can't comment on how good they would be at that bit.

I felt the same about buying a car online but I can honestly say that Cinch were really good. I love the car and the whole process was stress-free.

I had a bad experience with cinch
The car had a lot of noticeable flaws in the paintwork that were not listed and would have been over £1k to fix. They had (badly) to cover these up. The car also wobbled terribly at speed over 50 mph.
It took me 4 months of constant complaining (3 email complaints raised every week, numerous phone calls) for them to take action.
They did eventually respray the bonnet and side panels as they were that bad.
They replaced the tyres but have replaced them with ones unsuitable for the type of car. I'm still waiting for this to be rectified
The after sales customer service is shocking. I wouldn't recommend them to anyone

I used Cinch without any problems at all and the car has been faultless .

Got DD's car via cinch earlier this year.

Whole process was very easy and smooth going.
No issues with car or the process.
Great value too.

Thanks everyone. So glad most people have had a positive experience.
@maltikat I’m sorry to hear that you did not. Did you not want to return it within the 14 days once you noticed it was not as described?
My plan is to buy one then take it to the local garage for the once over and if not happy return it.

I'd recommend your suggestion to take it to a local garage to be checked over. Cinch just ensure the car has a MOT - not necessarily that it's roadworthy. Mine needed new brake pads at the front and rear, the wheels were out of alignment, the electric wing mirrors didn't work, or the rear window demister.
They were willing to repair the issues but at a main dealership which was completely the other side of town and a PITA for me to get to. Having said that, it was returned, within 14 days, no problem - just a wait for the £250 they withhold until you return the owner certificate. Do not buy at the end of a month. I got caught out and had to pay two months of road tax instead of one.
I've had no problems with the 2nd car I bought from them and they gave me a discount because of the issues I'd had with the first.

We used Cazoo - great experience

Cazoo went bust a few months ago. Another company bought the brand name. There is still.a Cazoo website but it's not the original company.

Why not just buy a car from a local dealers in the first place then?

Yes, great experience! Part ex’d with them and it was a seamless process!

Yes it was a great experience ..so easy and stress free.

Don’t want the hassle of going to show rooms and shopping around - I would rather look online and get it delivered to my home I know what make and model I want so it gives me more choice too online. Plus some local dealers don’t have the best reputation. This seems a better option.

Done it twice and both times worked really well.
It meant I could look for make and model I wanted rather than take what was on offer locally.

I have. The first car was a disaster and had a catastrophic engine failure 3 weeks into ownership. Cinch couldn't have been more helpful and arranged collection of the car almost immediately on the back of an RAC report. They organised a hire car for me until the refund was processed and then let me keep it until my new car was delivered. On the basis of their excellent customer service I ordered my replacement car from them and have had no issues whatsoever with this one. I'd highly recommend them and will use them again.

Yes, bought mine in October on finance. My neighbour has now used them to buy her car cash. So far so good!

For us they were much cheaper than the local dealerships!

Probably why the go bust at a rate of knots. Carzam was first, then Cazoo. They're known as market agitators, there to disrupt the usual model by selling at a loss to gain market share. Risky strategy as those aforenamed 2 companies will attest. I guess it works for people who view a car like a washing machine, but for any car lover, youd want to see the car and drive it before buying.

@Grazianoscubanheel I mean, a ford focus is a ford focus whoever I buy it from. This gives you two weeks to try it, not just a few minutes up and down the dual carriageway which is all you get elsewhere.

But yes, it's a fragile business system.

@Whu just to make you aware, Cinch is part of the same company as BCA (British car auctions) and webuyanycar. They sell the cars which have ended up in the group inventory via these two channels. These are also the same cars offered to other dealer groups who may or may not have decided to purchase at auction.

If you buy a car that still has the existing new car manufacturer warranty, that warranty transfers to you (for some manufacturers additional conditions apply, for example Kia and Hyundai only maintain cover providing the car has been serviced at a main dealer). This is better than a used car warranty which is applied to vehicles which are out of the original manufacturer warranty and used car warranties are insurance backed products which do not cover the vehicle to the same level.

A lot is made of a 14 day money-back guarantee but these are your consumer rights regardless from what type of dealer you purchase from. And you actually have 30 days under those rights…

You’ll be offered all sorts of products but if you are financing the car, get a GAP insurance policy independently (it’ll be cheaper than the one offered to you by a dealer) GAP insurance covers the difference between what you owe on finance and the payout you might receive if your vehicle is stolen or written off.

Happy shopping!

A lot is made of a 14 day money-back guarantee but these are your consumer rights regardless from what type of dealer you purchase from. And you actually have 30 days under those rights…

Not sure thats accurate. Sure, if theres a fault you have rights to return depending where you bought it, but with the distance selling rules, you can buy a car off Cinch and return it just because you don't like it. It doesnt need to be faulty. You cant do that at a main dealer where you've seen the car first.

I probably didn’t explain myself properly.

The distance selling rules apply to all dealers and the 14 day rules apply. However, if the dealer doesn’t inform you of your right to cancel for up to 14 days, you have up to 12 months to return the car. And the dealer is legally obliged to refund you in full and no fault has to have been found. I was pointing out that Cinch’s premise of using your consumer rights as a selling tool is a bit ‘car dealery’. These rights will of course change if the deal is not at a distance but as Cinch is a largely online business, it is worth pointing out.

Yes, your rights change if you’ve had a chance to inspect the car or drive it before the sale (only fair)… but groups such as Mercedes-Benz offers a similar guarantee but it is a 30 day /150 mile no quibble return policy and this applies to distance and non distance sales.

Posters above commented on Cinch cars being returned because they had a fault. And these rights are actually for 30 days regardless of how you bought it, and as another poster mentioned last up to 6 years.

Lots of dealer groups offer end to end online sales, not just Cinch.

More details can be found here:-

https://www.themotorombudsman.org