Has anybody here purchased a repossessed car from Newtownards Transport in Belfast?

[jennycarlotta]

Good afternoon all!

It's a bit of a peculiar situation, if you catch my drift. I've been on the lookout for a sensible ride for my boy's first set of wheels and happened to come across a listing for a BMW 318d. The price seemed like a steal… almost too good to be true!

Did a little more sleuthing and it turns out it’s not a private seller after all it’s a company named Newtownards Transport up in Belfast. It looks like they’re in the business of flipping cars that have been returned and sold off from auctions. They’re willing to bring it right to my doorstep here in Bristol, which is a stroke of luck, but I’m having a tough time wrapping my head around shelling out any cash before I’ve had a good look at it myself.

Has anyone on this neck of the woods actually crossed paths with them or similar outfits? Not looking to bite the bullet and pay through the nose for a hard knock.  

[Mistral]

I've never heard of them precisely, but there are a lot of these businesses out there right now. Repaired cars may be reasonably priced, but it also relies on what you're receiving. While some are great, others have obviously been neglected. Before anything else, I would want to know why it is priced far below the market.

[WordSmith]

No way! You have to get up there to see it. I understand the difficulty, but I would have a hard time purchasing anything of that kind without first seeing it in person  

[jennycarlotta]

That’s the rub, really Belfast isn’t exactly a hop, skip, and a jump from here.  

They did say I can take a gander at it when it shows up, but it still feels a bit like putting the cart before the horse paying first.

[br1anuk]

I also interacted with Newtownards Transport about a month ago and ultimately purchased a Peugeot 3008 from them. At first, I was in exactly the same situation as you and wasn't sure what to make of it. I called them many times to get a sense of the situation.
However, they provided a clear explanation of the payment setup: funds are deposited into a segregated company account and are not released until I will receive the car and verify everything for 14 days.
Initially, my bank stopped the transfer, which made me anxious. I had to call them to make sure it was me.

About seven days later, the car came, and it was cleaner than I had anticipated.
 

[jennycarlotta]

@br1anuk Thanks for that! So, you put your money where your mouth is before the goods hit your doorstep, huh? That’s the thorn in my side that’s still nagging at 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]

At the end of last year I bought an LR Disco 4 estate from Newtownards Transport. the whole transaction took just under two weeks from initial contact to delivery they were really fairly easy to work with, provided over a copy of the v5, invoice, explained how the money is stored 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 👍