At the beginning of the year I decided to replace my seven-year-old VW Golf. It had given me excellent service and I wanted another Golf - a 1.6 SE 5-door hatchback. But where to buy one?
First I approached my local VW dealer, hoping for a discount in these competi tive days. They barely wanted to know. They would throw in the metallic paint - a £240 saving on a £12,000-plus car. Time to look elsewhere.
I tried Trade Sales in Slough, Berkshire, who advertised "the lowest priced new reg. cars in the UK". It's a kind of wholesaler and for the car I wanted, it offered a discount of £2,000. The problem was it did not have the interior I liked and could not order it specially. As I didn't fancy what it had, I felt it was again time to look elsewhere.
To the internet. Two dealers stood out, offering discounts of just over £2,000 - Virgin Cars and OneSwoop. Both buy from suppliers in mainland Europe. Virgin Cars offered a shorter delivery time - an estimated 13 weeks, against OneSwoop's 15 to 19 weeks. Virgin won it on delivery.
I placed the order on February 22, paid the necessary 10% deposit and waited. "Now sit back and relax, your brand new car is on its way," the Virgin Cars Team wrote.
There was no hurry. I wanted the car for a holiday starting in mid-August; a 13-week delivery time meant that the car was due in late May. On April 30 Virgin Cars emailed to update me - "we estimate that we will deliver it to you in early June 2002".
What followed was silence. No more updates were to come, only a circular offering me a case of wine for half price. I should have bought some. Before the whole business was over, I would need a drink. At the end of May, I rang the Virgin helpline. I was told that delivery would be late rather than early June.
In mid-June I tried again. Sorry, the car hasn't yet been received at the supplier in the Netherlands. Delivery would now be early July. I began to suspect they were guessing. And concern started to creep in that I might not have the car for my holiday in August after all.
July dawned, still no update on delivery, let alone a car, but there was a communication. "We are very sorry to have to inform you that Volkswagen have increased the price of your car ... a price increase of £145.62 ... to avoid further delays, we now need urgent confirmation from you, within the next 48 hours." I had no option but to confirm. Had the car been delivered on time a month earlier, I would have avoided the increase.
Finally, on July 5, I received a letter saying "we are pleased to confirm that your new car has now arrived at the supplier ... we need your funds (the balance) immediately". And immediately was underlined. A cheque was no good, payment would have to be by electronic transfer. And delivery? "Normally takes an average of four weeks," it said.
Things were now running close to the holiday deadline. I transferred the cash- at a cost of a further £18 and waited eagerly. But the next five weeks verged on a nightmare.
On July 17 I was told by Virgin Cars that the car had been collected from the supplier and was likely arrive in the UK on the 22nd. Delivery would be within seven to 10 days from then. That was a relief - not later than the end of the month, I was told. I sold my old car privately to understanding buyers who had agreed to wait.
I rang Virgin on July 23 to check if the car had arrived. This time I was told "you were given wrong information last week; your car hasn't been collected yet. It will be collected in two days and should arrive the UK by the 29th". Why was I given wrong information? No explanation was offered.
I rang on the 30th and, yes, the car was now in the UK. Could I have delivery within a week, I asked? They could not guarantee it. Two days later I rang again and was told that the car was waiting for its "certificate of conformity". This normally came with the vehicle but not in this instance, it seemed. And without it, the car could not be taxed and registered. The supplier was sending the certificate by courier and Virgin expected it by August 5. I rang then, but Virgin couldn't trace it.
The next day, I rang again and was told: "You were given wrong information last week. The certificate hasn't been sent yet. In fact the supplier hasn't received it from the manufacturer." Virgin Cars hoped to have it in a few days. At this stage, I was past believing a word they said.
I phoned the helpline - to fast track the tax and reg istration procedure and deliver the car by August 14.
If necessary, I said, I would collect it from their compound at Leighton Buzzard. That's the way it turned out. They could not deliver it by then, although delivery was part of the deal.
When I drove the car away, it was all I had dreamed it would be and I reckoned I deserved it. But I'd collected it not 13 weeks after placing the order, but after almost 25 weeks. I wonder how unusual this is.
I faxed the managing director of Virgin Cars to ask for an explanation for the delay and why I was misled on at least four occasions. I have not received a reply. I saved nearly £2,000, but the cost was a lot of hassle.
And as for sitting back and relaxing while I waited for my car - come off it, Sir Richard!
How to steer clear of trouble if you plan to buy via the web
As long as prices in UK car showrooms remain much higher than in mainland Europe, there are big savings in buying on the net. But you need to know the pitfalls.
· Order well in advance of when you need it.
· Query the estimated delivery time. Ask the dealer what the average it takes them to deliver the model you want is. If they won't say, double their estimated delivery time.
· If you contact the helpline, try to get a name and so establish a personal contact. That way you are less likely to be misled.
· Helpline staff do a difficult job. Make it clear that your frustration and anger is not directed at them but at the company.
· The prices of cars sold on the internet vary enormously. Shop around - www.carpricecheck.com is helpful. Look carefully at the specification and terms. One seller, for example, may offer two years' warranty, another three years.
The dealers
The internet dealers listed buy from suppliers in mainland Europe and sell to UK buyers at lower prices. Most internet dealers are not well known and might usefully say more about themselves on their sites.
OneSwoop
Describes itself as the UK's leading online car retailer, "offering over 1,500 new cars with up to 30% off UK RRP".
Virgin Cars
Offers more than 1,300 new vehicles. "For too long the car buying process has been controlled by the car manufacturers and their franchised dealers, we're going to change all that, by putting you the customer first and making it fun," says Sir Richard Branson.
tins
Helpfully, says something about itself. Part of Pendragon which claims to be "the UK's largest dealer group".
Jamjar Cars
Based in Croydon, Surrey, it works in partnership with Dixon Motors of Thorne, Doncaster.
Wundercars
Based in Yorkshire, describes itself as a car supermarket offering "the best deals on wheels".
