So after an unfortunate incident I found myself needing to replace my car (well, since the other one was written off by some else’s recklessness) and since car’s are harder to get than Hen’s teeth I went on Cinch and bought myself a “new to me” one.
Just curious to see if anyone else has done this before. Must say, it felt strange putting a car into my shopping basket and clicking checkout.
EDIT: Switched new to new to me, to make it clear it’s not a brand new vehicle 
Normally this is what I do, but there is absolutely nothing around me (well, based on the criteria) so I went online.
Apparently, you can refuse on delivery and have 14 days in which to change your mind and send it back FOC. So, we’ll see.
Do you take it to the Post Office and have them scan a barcode on your phone to print the label to attach to it?
Returns won’t be a problem once we all have self driving cars.
Ha can you imagine 
Do you get a warranty from cinch?
Copying your question into Google revealed this:
Thanks Paul, was being lazy there. My only advise whether buying online or in person is get as much done under the warranty as possible, that’s what I have done in past. Maybe even more so the older the car is, my Audi was 7 years old when I bought it, got door lock replaced under warranty, had to replace another 6 months later at my own expense, paying for one was bad enough, at least warranty covered one.,
Yes, you get a three month one which for me is ok, cars these days tend to be decent enough.
I do take comfort in the whole return within two weeks thing but I’m not expecting it to be needed, the reviews are pretty decent about them.
Well, it arrived.
Interestingly it was as described and the dude who dropped it off was really great showing me around and checking I was ok to accept.
It came with a chip on the windscreen that hadn’t previously been mentioned, but they told me about on drop off.
Good thing to test our their word so I rang them and I could either return it no cost or they would resolve it for me. So that’s what I’ve done and I imagine it’ll get fixed soon enough.
Would use again
Last November I also needed a car unexpectedly went to Cazoo and ordered a car no real problems and got a great deal and car. Paid with my Amex Cashback card as well! Very happy with car and service from Cazoo.
Don’t think I’d ever buy a car online unless it was brand new from the manufacturer and I was able to configure it.
Second hand car - absolutely not. You couldn’t discount the car enough for me to buy it online. The car could look absolutely fine visually, but the proof is in the pudding when you drive it, listening to all the noises and also looking under the bonnet.
I can guarantee that plenty of people are buying cars off Facebook Marketplace Steve. And are frequently disappointed.
I’d be pretty wary about buying a car online as well. I suppose it’s a bit discriminatory, but even if you don’t know much about cars, at lest you get a feel for the sort of person you’re buying off when you buy second hand.
No, I’ve done this and it’s fine. The settlement figure can be low
My last car was from Cinch. The car came exactly as described. In fact it did get a chip on the screen which they pointed out straight away on delivery and paid to get it fixed.
I thought that these websites like Cinch etc all have guarantees so it’s no different to buying from an approved dealer?
If it arrives and it’s nothing like what was depicted or described (unlikely) you can return it for free. Then, you get the same cooling off period where you can return it within X weeks with no hassle and any issues you find in the short term all get fixed under warranty too.
I’ve never used one personally and I’d still feel a little uneasy about it myself - but I think it’s mainly because it’s a new concept when in reality it’s not much different to a normal car buying process from any reputable place.
In the case of PCP the “balloon payment” at the end doesn’t typically apply. So the settlement figure will be low. The payment only really applies if you get to the end and want to keep it really, which no one does.
I hadn’t ever thought to use it but circumstances (someone hit me head on and wrote my car off) I hadn’t much choice.
It was a great experience. The car you see is the actual one you get and they go into real detail on any marks etc.
It’s a bit strange just having a car turn up (you do get a tracking status) and you can actually refuse it there and then if you don’t think it’s as described. If not a 14 day period with a 250 mile limit applies.
Overall a great experience and I would definitely buy from there again.
I did that… paid back the PCP and got a better new car for less monthly than i was already paying. That was when the second hand prices were at their peak… doubt I could pull that off now.
1.5k positive equity doesn’t sound a lot to me but I guess it depends what the cost of the replacement car will be…