Anyone here actually bought a repo car from Cardwell Transport in Belfast?

[jennycarlotta]

Afternoon all

Bit of an odd one. Been hunting around for something sensible for my lad’s first car and stumbled onto a listing for a BMW 318d price looked very strong… almost suspiciously so

Did a bit more digging and it’s not a private seller at all, it’s through a firm called Cardwell Transport up in Belfast. Seems they deal with cars that have been taken back and resold from auctions, they’re offering to bring it over to me (I’m Bristol way), which is handy, but I’m struggling with the idea of paying anything before I’ve laid eyes on it

Has anyone on here actually dealt with them or similar outfits? Not keen on learning an expensive lesson
 

[Mistral]

Never heard of them specifically but there’s loads of these companies floating about now repo cars can be decent value but also depends what you’re getting. Some are fine, some have clearly been neglected
If it’s priced well below the market I’d be asking why before anything else

[WordSmith]

Can you not go up there and see it? I know it’s a trek but personally I’d struggle buying something like that without at least seeing it first
 

[jennycarlotta]

That’s the issue really, Belfast isn’t exactly a quick drive from here

They did say I can check it when it arrives but yeah… still feels a bit backwards paying first
 

[br1anuk]

Evening all
I actually dealt with Cardwell Transport about a month ago, ended up getting a Peugeot 3008 from them, was in the exact same position as you at the start, wasn’t 100% sure what to make of it. Spoke to them a few times on the phone just to get a feel for it
They explained the payment setup quite clearly though, money goes into a segregated business account and doesn’t get released until you’ve got the car and confirmed you’re happy with it
My bank did stop the transfer initially which didn’t help the nerves, had to ring them and confirm it was me

Car arrived about 7 days later, cleaner than I expected to be fair
 

[jennycarlotta]

@br1anuk thanks for that so you paid before delivery then? That’s the part that’s still bothering me a bit

[br1anuk]

Yeah I did not gonna lie I hesitated before doing it but I checked their company details, found a couple of mentions online, nothing that raised red flags
The segregated account thing made it feel a bit safer. It’s not like you’re just sending money straight to them with no control
Still a bit of a leap of faith though!!!
 

[keithmerc220]

I purchased from Cardwell Transport late last year an Audi A6 estate. Whole thing took just under two weeks from first contact to delivery they were actually quite straightforward to deal with, sent over a copy of the v5, invoice, explained how the payment is held etc
 

[AMG33D]

I’ll be honest I still don’t like the idea of buying a car unseen. Not saying anything about them specifically but in general it’s always a bit of a gamble
Photos can hide a lot

[keithmerc220]

Yeah that’s fair I just made sure I checked everything properly when it arrived before confirming anything
 

[dave783]

I’ve seen a few of these companies pop up recently as long as the payment is actually held somewhere secure and not going straight to them it’s a bit different than just wiring money
Still, I’d double check everything like others said

[jennycarlotta]

Appreciate all the replies

Spoke to them again earlier and they’ve now sent over the deposit invoice plus some more photos and details

Feeling a bit more reassured now compared to yesterday
 

[keithmerc220]

You should be alright by the sounds of it still got mine here if you want any pics or info
 

[jennycarlotta]

All good mate, thanks anyway 👍

[jennycarlotta]

Quick update in case anyone else comes across this

Car turned up this morning

Driver rang about an hour before arriving just to check parking and access, everything went smoothly

Had a proper look round it and took it out for a drive, no issues at all

Glad I went through with it in the end

Thanks again for all the input 👍