Do You Really Know The History of Your Motor?

Bank of Scotland Vehicle Finance is urging shoppers to ensure that stringent checks have been made on the purchase of their new used motor before they part with cash. The news follows the Bank’s decision to sell their ex-fleet vehicles via the specialist website carsite.co.uk.

Latest figures from HPI checks in 2005 highlighted:

4 out of 100 vehicles they check had, at some stage, been written off
HPI identifies nearly 30 stolen vehicles every day, with most getting sold as bargains to unsuspecting buyers who then have to return the car to its rightful owner
Five out of every 100 checks against the HPI National Mileage Register reveal mileage discrepancies
24 out of every 100 cars are still subject to a finance agreement

Buyers looking to purchase a used motor online in a safe and secure environment can now buy the Bank’s used vehicles direct from carsite.co.uk following an exclusive new partnership between the two companies.

The motors, which will clearly be marked as coming from Bank of Scotland on carsite.co.uk, will be sold either through a ‘buy it now price’ or an online auction which will be hosted via eBay but with the back office support of carsite.co.uk.

Chris Joyce, Head of Operations for Bank of Scotland Vehicle Finance, comments: “Unfortunately motor fraud is all too common in the sale of used vehicles, particularly within the online community. We want to encourage shoppers to always know that stringent checks have been carried out on the vehicle before any transaction takes place and to not part with large sums of cash before they have even inspected what they are buying! This is why we have teamed up with carsite.co.uk to sell our used vehicles in a secure and functional proposition that in turn eliminates the element of surprise for the customer. F undamentally, carsite.co.uk places a ‘firewall’ of protection, which gives the customer confidence and trust in the whole online car buying process .”

Key benefits of the new online experience, which aims to eliminate motor fraud, include competitive pricing and all vehicles being supported with extensive real photos including close ups from each independent RAC inspection. This ensures complete transparency and peace of mind for the customer. In addition, each vehicle comes with a free HPI report, which e xamines the vehicle's status under all legal registers providing a complete history of the vehicle.

Joyce concludes: “ I think what will surprise shoppers about this new way to purchase used cars is the fact that it’s safe, there are no pushy salesmen, the prices are extremely attractive and that when they come to pick up the car if there is anything they are not happy with then they can just walk away without having paid a penny.”