This is the promise on the Progress Letchworth website:-
“Understandably, a lot of people are a little nervy when buying a used car. Here at Progress ŠKODA we are an APPROVED ŠKODA retailer, so this is sure to take the uncertainty out of buying a used ŠKODA. We offer a whole host of checks, warranties and the like, so you don’t have to worry about anything but choosing the right car for you.”
We arranged to see a 2015 Skoda Fabia advertised as having done 12,456 miles. Having test driven the car, a close inspection showed excessive wear of the front tyres, one of which had a 3 inch crack in the tread and was therefore illegal and dangerous.
Suspicious that the car had done more than the stated mileage, we obtained an RAC car passport check showing it recorded as having done 20,124 miles 3 weeks previously! An Audi spec check revealed that it was recorded as having done 14,707 miles 18 months previously!
As it was reasonable to assume the vehicle had been “clocked”,we wrote to the Managing Director of the Progress group, pointing out the above information. We had a reply from his PA saying they take these matters “very seriously”. However, all the PA did was to forward to us correspondence from the sales personnel concerned.
In this, they made claims of having made errors on two separate occasions when entering information onto the databases. They maintained that the true mileage was the 12,456 miles advertised.
To support this, they forwarded questionable copies of records including one supposedly indicating that in the 8 months from first registration the car had completed just 16 miles!
We wrote back to Mr. Byrne challenging this information, but, from either Mr. Byrne or his PA, answer came there NONE.
Contrary to their website claim, clearly there is plenty of uncertainty when buying a used ŠKODA from this APPROVED ŠKODA retailer. They say they offer a whole host of checks, warranties and the like. But don’t be fooled. There is far more to worry about than just “choosing the right car for you”!
