Has anyone had any experience dealing with Motorpoint?

I reall a thread about VRS's purchased from Motorpoint.

I have the opportunity to buy an Octavia 2.0 TDI L&K, from Motorpoint. It is new, but was supplied as a Malta import in November 2006. I have test driven the car and love it, but am wary as to whether there may be any pitfalls.

Are you able to advise?

Did the 2006 model have ESP, with hill assist, or was that added in the 2007 spec?

Is the spec the same as a car supplied for the UK market?

A few on here have bought from Motorpoint - one thread I found is http://www.briskoda.net/forums/new-octavia/my-new-vrs/53771/#post611295 but if you search on "Motorpoint" I'm sure you will find others.

With regard to potential pitalls, others may be able to confirm or add, but I can think of these....

• You may only get the 2 year Skoda warranty - the third year i something that UK dealers give.
  
• Check what RAC / AA cover you get - this may be different.
  
• Headlights might be on permanently (like Volvos) but this can be changed by a dealer (or possibly by yourself if the car has maxi-dot - do some more searching on here).
  
• I recall reading about some paperwork that needs doing to get it registered on the Skoda UK system for warranty work etc - not a big deal but again worth confirming.
  
• Potentially a lower re-sale value if its an import but not a big issue if you plan to keep the car for a while. I'm sure dealers will tell you otherwise though!
  

Overall, none of the above should really be a problem and will be more than offset by buying a car at the right price. I don't recall any Motorpoint horror stories.

Regarding ESP, I have a 2l TDI L&K , which I have had for a couple of months from new and I had to order ESP as an option, although the "new" L&K has it as standard. Imports may vary on spec though. If the model you have looked at has ESP it will have a button for it low on the central dash, ASR ( traction control ) instead if it doesn't. My ESP doesn't have hill assist , I think this is just on the very new L&K ( see skoda web site for spec details ).

It is nice to have the creature comforts of the L&K and the 2 litre diesel engine goes well too !

Over the years I have bought, for my Company as I run our car fleet, a variety of new cars from Motorpoint including an Omega TD Estate, six Fabias and an Astra.

Their sales system was very straight forward, a bit like a sausage factory, and as a dealer I could not fault them.

The main factor to consider is are you paying the right price considering specification differences. For example; my Omega, imported from Eire, was top spec'd to CDX/Elite level including full leather but had GLS alloy wheels - however I saved something like

Thanks for your quick reponses.

• Headlights might be on permanently (like Volvos) but this can be changed by a dealer (or possibly by yourself if the car has maxi-dot - do some more searching on here).

I think you'll find this is a delear or VAGCOM setting, I'm not aware it's a Maxidot setting, even on the latest cars like mine.

I think you'll find this is a delear or VAGCOM setting, I'm not aware it's a Maxidot setting, even on the latest cars like mine.

Correct; not a maxidot function.

One issue to be careful of is that the warranty starts when the car was purchased in Malta, in this case November 2006. I have purchased a car from Motorpoint in the past, found them very easy to deal with and would recommend them. The savings on some models are huge but the warranty issue is one of the things to be aware of.

I purchased a 2005 Vauxhall Astra diesel from them about 15 months ago. I purchased it via their website and they gave me a PX price for my old car over the phone. I collected the car from them but unfortunately it broke down within a week and after inspection had signs of corrosion in the doors and other minor problems. Because I bought the car via the internet I used the law that allows you to return the goods within 7 days for a refund and to Motorpoints credit they refunded my money the next day to my bank after the car was returned. They even had to give me the cash value of my PX as they had already put it through the auctions! So yes they are an honest company.