My brother bought a car off Arnold Clark. He found a nasty gauge under the bumper and drove a considerable distance to have it repaired "no problem". After leaving it with them for a day all they had done was spray over the damage with a non matching rattle can to cover the rust. They insisted that their profit margins do not allow for more than that. nuff said.

I bought my present car on line from a Skoda main dealer in Doncaster whilst we were living in France, a good video, and lots of info gave me the confidence, flew over and drove it back, 8 years on and still driving it, Ask loads of questions and get lots of pics

I'd definitely be prepared to buy this way. I have bought my last three cars online - the first from an independent Volvo/Saab specialist in Derby, the second from an official Volvo dealer in the West Country and the third from a private individual in Bradford. All had comprehensive information supplied and I ended up buying all three. The first i am still running as my main car 70, 000 miles later, the second we have recently sold on after adding 60,000 miles to it and the third is going well after 10,000 miles of ownership. the first two had some form of warranty - the Volvo main dealer's being the most comprehensive. I always make sure i do my homework before purchase and have a good look at the cars in person on collection.

I assume that, if the car is delivered to you, you have a get-out clause if you are not happy on delivery and it is then taken away again? You could ask a knowledgeable friend, or local dealer to check it over when it arrives?

Hi Roger. I have an eight year old Tiguan which you can have for half the price I paid ( mind you that salesman was bloody good). My camera is broken so no pictures. However it has four wheels not including the steering wheel. I think the carpets are ok and will check when I get rid of all the sand (damn dog). You can’t see any of of the dents in brilliant sunshine and the dull cow-pat colour is all the rage. My neighbours always cheer the exhaust noise when I drive away (I can see them waving - Sarah says those are fists but I like to think they are cheery goodbyes). My local mechanic likes it. He told me today I was hero driving it off his forecourt (whatever that means). Still in it’s prime - these days 200,000 miles is nothing - All the windows bar one are clear but at least you get to lean out of the drivers side window. Very cool in summer and and a thick pullover in winter will keep the frostbite at bay. Just let me know if you are interested.

Talk of sand in the car reminds me of the classic AA advert from 1988 "In the Sand":

https://youtu.be/wxtMPdM7wBE

"Yes, it could well have sand in the engine..."