LEFT IN DEVASTATION
I’d like to share my full experience with this company so that it may help other genuine buyers make extra careful decisions in choosing car finance companies and prevent being sold a faulty vehicle and been left in possibly the worst car financial situation ever.
I purchased a vehicle with 25000 miles back in April 2024 then ten month later a light come on the dash whilst driving and the vehicle cut out.
During experiencing the fault with the vehilce I first thought it wouldn’t be that major but what I was told was absolutely shocking, the garage I had it recovered to said after a diagnostics there is a misfire in the third cylinder and no compression, I said what does that mean they said it’s the engine it’s done it needs replacing, couldn’t believe what I was being told, I only had the car for 10 months and it’s only done 47000 miles how can a 2021 ford fiesta STLINE X EDITION MHEV need an engine!! Maybe it was to do with being an ex hire car!! I found out that the car was actually indeed an ex rental hire car within airports and was owned by ALAMO ENTERPRISE NATIONAL, it couldn’t get any worse but it did the service history from the garage I got wasn’t genuine which lead to the 12 month free warranty they offered to be void and completely misleading and false reassurance, I was in shock and still in shock now to have found out i had been sold a vehicle that was an ex rental vehicle, at this point I knew Id be completely done over, maybe the garage knew it had engine problems and that’s why they weren’t clear about the next warranty millage service and just told me the next service due is the following year which was one year making me think that the recent service on the advert was correct but it wasn’t cause it was one year ago, I had no idea that the vehicle I was buying was an ex rental, there was no information in the advert stating this, which alone is scandalous, if I was made fully aware of this vehicles history I would not of lucked at it no body would. Surely ex rental hire vehicles have less value than on the market and at the time of purchasing it was higher than most similar make and models with similar millage so the price wasn’t genuine either.
Finally I managed to figure out a way to contact the rental company by lucking up the vendor on this printed headed paper I was giving from the selling garage what was supposed to be a service invoice, which had no information other than millage and date, according to the vendor no service was ever carried out. The trader has no other information either which suggests wasn’t legit.
Also It said 1 owner on the advert but 2 owners was on the V5 which a didn’t realise until the fault happened.
It said 2 keys but there was only one key on collection and it was crossed out on the paper they give me and wrote only one key. Thought that was weird at the time but got £100 towards another but now realise that was just another shifty move in offloading their faulty vehicles from ex rental auctions.
There was an empty tank on collection so had stress trying to find a fuel garage near by. Not what you expect collecting your new vehicle for the next 5 years or so.
Infact I returned the car within a couple of days cause the side skirt started hanging off thought that was unusual for a 3 year old vehicle at the time with apparently just 25000 miles!!
I then put all this evidence to the finance company who kept coming back with excuses talking around the evidence as if they have no intentions of offering any support, you’d think they’d want to help with technically owning the vehicle, but I have been left with a vehicle needing an engine with still over 4 years of payments, who wants that on their mind at night!! I’ve been unable to work during the past 3-4 weeks and have lost earnings. Been unable to sleep properly knowing the finance company have done absolutely nothing and left me in one of the worst experiences I’ve ever had buying a vehicle.
I chose this finance company based on reviews and APR rate but when you end up with a 4 year old fiesta with low millage and in need of an engine with no support after just 10 months of driving it, says it all really. It’s such a risky company who will talk around the evidence for themselves regardless of how customers feel after being completely robbed and left to find a way through it all on your own.
As I write this honest review the vehicle is at a garage needing an engine and have no ways of paying for it, I haven’t slept well for over two weeks it’s affected my mental health and have been left to deal with being robbed on my own.
PLEASE TAKE CARE CHOOSING THIS COMPANY AS THERE ARE HIDING RISKS WHICH UNFORTUNATELY ONESELF HAS FOUND OUT THE HARD WAY
I HAVE REPLIED WITH THE INFORMATION REQUESTED IN THE REPLY ON THIS REVIEW AND HEARD NOTHING BACK
I HAVE BORROWED £2950 FROM MY FAMILY TO HAVE THE ENGINE REPLACED THANK YOU AGAIN ZOPA
28 February 2025
Unprompted review