Hi mate. I bought a 2016 Passat from Cazoo in May 2021. It had no service history and 97,000 on the clock. I agreed to buy it with their 7 day no quibble return policy if they did the cambelt and water pump and provided proof. Tge car arrived with no proof of the work. After 5 days I threatened to send it back and they admitted they hadn’t done it . The car went into Tonbridge Cazoo centre. I had a hire car for nearly a week. They gave me £200 compensation. Fast forward I had all the heater system renewed at vw dealer ( over £2000 bill ) , new windscreen , service , mot , front driver assist re calibrated, aircon regassed ,more hire cars in between and more compensation. All paid by Cazoo. I still have the car on 137k miles. I love it and it’s my second Passat. So underrated these cars. They obviously earned no money and probably lost money with my car. I’m not surprised they’ve gone bang. While my car was in and out I would sit in their little lounges with Apple TV , sofas , drinks hot or cold, all very lovely . Anyway I feel like the proper Cazoo expert. Thanks for all the videos. I’m a big fan of the channel. All the best Paul.
Much like my experience ,car was not as described and they had to use main dealer / other vendors to fix issues.There is no way they didn't lose all the profit and infact make a loss on my purchase.
You did well, I had a few issues with the BMW I bought, and even getting them to replace things like tyres and brakes which were defective when it arrived (and illegal) was a huge challenge.
I bought a Mini Coupe SD during Covid, just after the first lockdown< the car had 12000 miles on the clock was immaculate, purchased from just outside of London. I had been watching it before lockdown on Autotrader and got it for the right price as cars had not been moving for months. I owned it for 3 years al but a few days and did 9000 miles in it, I looked to sell it tried all the on line buyers, WBAC, Motorway etc etc Cazoo offer me £2500 more then I paid for it, so it went to them, sales guy said that’s the cleanest car I’ve ever seen and no rangling on the price offered, it was all done in 15 mins and sold. They put it up for £3k more then I got, within a week it was £2k, next week £1k after a month it was £300 more then I received. After 5 weeks it appeared to be sold!!! It went to auction and turned up on autotrader 2months later at the price I purchased it for back in June 2020 and that was at a main dealer. The model was obviously buying at high price and try to sell quickly when I didn’t get rid of it!
Hi Matt Having worked in the retail motor industry for over 30 years I follow your channel with interest. I left the industry during Covid. An opportunity that gave me time to reflect on the huge challenges of running a franchise operation and seeing new car targets going up year on year to a completely unrealistic number. Having this time I quickly made decision that this industry was no longer fun and not for me. I genuinely enjoy the content of your channel it still gives me my motortrade fix. As you know once it’s in the blood it’s hard to leave it !! Although I’m a distance from you when I’m in the market I will contact you as I like your honest approach….. if anyone else reads my comments trust Matt as an experienced professional within the industry for over 30 years I certainly would. Matt runs a great business which is fair to him and his customers. Congratulations to you on your honest work and your success. I wish you well Matt for the future 👏👏
Great insight Matt. I remember applying for a marketing job at Cazoo a few years back. I was intrigued by the sponsorship deals they were pulling particularly in the football world and their marketing campaigns in general - they seemed to be everywhere you looked! However, marketing on such a scale comes with hefty costs. Looking back they probably went a bit too hard but I did admire their bold approach. And no, I didn’t get the job and probably for the best. Heart goes out to those that have lost their jobs or will lose them soon.
Hi Matt I was one of many delivery handover specialist who was employed by cazoo ( 3.5years ) .. during COVID it was a brilliant concept, then COVID finished then other dealerships gave the option to buy online which made it harder for cazoo ..then the sponsorship which cost in excess of £50 mil ..and at the time they were sponsoring the whole of league 2 in France and at home it was every sport under the sun...then the move into Europe which again cost upto £550 mil opening cazoos equallant in European countries just to pull the plug 5 months after 😢...all this and bad management from the higher hyeracque and the way along , then when they realised it was going downhill they decided to try seek help and advice from the used car sector..but a bit late then ... All in all a lot of fantastic people lost their jobs due to bad decisions and management..😢
I bought a used car blind a couple of weeks ago because it was at a dealer on the Isle of Wight. I asked a lot of questions and the sales guy was completely honest. It was approved used & returnable so why not? I am very happy with the car.
You bought a car "blind"???!!! How on Earth did you pass your Driving Test? Do you use potholes as a form of Braille to help you navigate the roads? ;-)
With an honest dealer great, I have done a number of long distance transactions 5 times now, including one with a part ex. These were higher end transactions and four of these went smoothly but one was a disaster with service history and condition of vehicle not as described resulting in me rejecting the vehicle. I probably should have gone with gut feeling.
How did u know u were getting in the right car when u were at the showroom if you are blind? Was the sales man saying "no,no,no,yes" until you opened the correct car?
I purchased a car from Big Motoring World and they gave ‘the hard sell’ on all warranties and products which almost put me off buying. I walked away with the car and no extras, but to be honest, I wouldn’t use them again.
Same with Carshop. 10 minute handover turned into 90 minute hard sell of every possible add on. I know it's how they earn their commission, but it is very annoying. They ended up adding £250 onto my part ex so they could add the paint treatment (that they didn't actually do) onto the new car at no cost to me.
exacly the same here. very rude and borderline aggressive. I got the car and the car is lovely, no extras there, but I left them a google review and emailed them feedback about how horrible my experience was and making it clear that I will not be buying any car from them again.
I am one of those who bought a car from Cazoo, it was only because the car I wanted, I couldn't find anywhere else, it was the same as the car it was going to replace, but a newer model, so I ordered it, and come delivery day, they phoned and said they would not be delivering, as they found a fault and were waiting for parts, this was nearly 4 weeks after ordering, I asked when the parts would be there, and they said they would call me as soon as they arrived, 5 days later, they called and said they had fitted the part, and the next delivery slot was in another 3 1/2 weeks. I needed the car when I ordered it, so really didn't want to wait that long, so ended up having to go and pick it up myself, it took them another 2 months to refund the delivery fee. The car was in good condition, and I really have no complaints about that, but to take the best part of 8 weeks for them to be able to get it too me, was unacceptable. I had already come to the conclusion I would not take that route again when buying my next car.
I worked in the motor trade from 1985 to getting made redundant in 2020. You’ve just said pretty much word for word what I’ve been saying about Cazoo, but a lot of my colleagues thought I was talking crap as they put it. Now who’s words have come true. I’m completely out of the motor trade now and really miss it. I like your channel 😮
Used to work for a car supermarket a few years ago and I used to see Cazoo trucks everywhere, then it started to disappear slowly from the roads and now extinct and I wondered why I don’t see them anymore. They needed a showroom really instead of a delivery service, people like going in to buy their cars for the experience.
They had showrooms as well in the sense they were pick up points. The only added advantage from having the car delivered was the opportunity to see the car that you had paid for and interact with a service provider as the buyer inspected the car before agreeing to take it away
I used the dealers to make a choice of which car i wanted, thanked them for the coffee's, then once I knew what i wanted, used the Internet to decide where to buy it from. Because then it did become about price, and the included manufacturers warranty etc... I physically looked in Milton Keynes near home, and bought from a dealer in York. I feel for dealerships, as if I am symptomatic of consumer behaviour, its continuing to get tougher and tougher for them.
@@T90337exactly, I would not even consider purchasing a car without seeing and testing it. Even premium cars with fsh can turn out to be full of problems.
We bought a Volvo xc60 from Cazoo and collected it from one of their cazoo centres. It was about 2.5K cheaper then a local dealer, and they offered the best price on our trade in. The distance selling laws gave us the confidence to buy a car online, although it wasn't a problem as the car was exactly as described. Just before last Christmas we decided to change our second car.This time we saw a Kia Picanto in a dealership 80 miles away. We knew that they had a branch locally but we purposely didn't ask for the car to be brought up, or go down to Cornwall to look at it. Instead we brought the car sight unseen, and as it was a distance sale, we told the salesman that if the car wasn't exactly as described we would be asking for a refund under the distance selling laws. I think that concentrated his mind and the car was perfect.
I use to work for Cazoo as a accountant, when they were buying companies for parts and inspection.They had terrible people in positions and it was no wonder that they failed. i told them before i left that if they didn't hire good people they would fail to provide and seems like i was right.
I too used to work for Cazoo and predicted it. When certain members of management left over night I got a feeling in my water. It was a shame as I had a good two years there and made some great friends. The amount they were spending on repairs and parts was unbelievable and also they hired the wrong people in higher management and the customer services center was useless with no idear but still had a fully fledged bar and Uber delivery’s everyday. My site couldn’t even get a mop for the floors. Love the channel a response to my email would be good 😉
Brought from Cazoo just before collection advised they found an issue with steering column so provided me a hire car for week whilst I waited for fix.On pick up found a chip in windscreen they said they hadn't noticed ( on checking on MOT it was advised).They had windscreen replaced. Some further issues ( paint work ,non matching tyres , faulty blindspot ) all fixed all third parties .So in the end they spent 10 to 15% value of the car on repairs.I will say they did fix everything so I cant complain with that and they were prepared to take car back for refund but if that was a regular occurrence for them can see why it went wrong for them
I phoned a car supermarket fords of winsford and asked for a test drive, the car salesman response was what do you need to test drive for? It put me right off and i will never buy from a supermarket.
I had that when shopping for a Golf GTI Clubsport. I wanted to drive one and VW Milton Keynes had one in stock but wasn’t quite the spec I wanted. However I already owned a Renaultsport Trophy which was amazing so wanted to see if the Golf was worth the hype. If so I would’ve bought it when they procured one in the precise spec. Anyhow the salesman was a jackass and wouldn’t let me test drive it so I told him to get stuffed. Some of these guys are total idiots and shouldn’t be doing what they do for a living as they are just bad at it and lose potential sales through their mismanagement of customer enquiries.
I went to look at a golf 2.0TDI at FOW IT WAS A SHED wasn’t impressed needed re spray ,brakes were shot rear wheel bearing groaning Salesman kept turning radio up to mask noise. Went to reception only one key available. Ask about another four cars all only one available key. Left showrooms went to main dealership at Macclesfield sorted me a brilliant golf. This was 2013 never looked at FOW SINCE!
I’ve bought a car from Cazoo. The service was perfect, the trade in (cost to change) was competitive, the delivery was seamless and the vehicle I bought was everything I wished for. I couldn’t understand how Cazoo made their money.
Interestingly I brought a car from Cazoo in Early January of this year. Had no problem with buying online (in fact it made it easier as I was unable to view anything due to heavy work commitments) but the after sales experience was horrendous, took 60 mins each and every time to get through to anyone and even then it was never a satisfactory answer to the problem, ultimately been moved onto the next call centre op who seemingly just read from a script. There sad demise was no surprise given my experiences, that said the car is great once its issues were resolved…
Matt has often talked about how very generally the cheapest of cheap cars attract a certain type of customer; the type that always seems to have the most complaints and have unrealistic expectations. I wonder if Cazoo's tactic of undercutting the rest of the market and going for the lower end of the price market came with its own challenges with that kind of customer?
They didn't sell "cheap" cars though. Whilst they did undercut conventional dealers with physical showrooms, their cars were relatively new, low mileage and good condition examples which the price reflected so they wouldn't attract the typical customers from FB marketplace or low end dealers etc.
I use to work for cazoo on the imaging side and oh my god the stuff we use to get around was unreal. Cars missing trim and had parts not fitted until after imagining. I have loads of storys of working there some were bad and some were good but mostly bad and people would not believe what use to happen to get cars out of the door
I purchased a car from Cazoo and was very happy with their service. One thing that was difficult was for them to properly hand over digital service records and onboard you onto manufacturers systems - I bought an Audi Q5 and had awful trouble getting my profile added to the car. Whilst it was sorted, and paid for by Cazoo, it was inconvenient
Working from home becoming the norm after Covid made a difference. My mileage dropped 10,000 miles per year so I don't feel the need to change so often.
We literally bought our car from Cazoo in January - was a pretty good experience, great car, very chill experience for my socially anxious soul..! Was the first time I'd bought car and I fully understood my rights in terms of distance selling and being able to give it back if we didn't like it. I'd happily go to a dealership next time now I've owned a car and understand what I'm looking for, though
I bought a new (2nd hand) car 3 years ago and checked reviews and looked at photos online. I had a Mondeo MK4.5 auto at the time and got my fingers burnt with the box. I thought a Passat auto looked a good bet BUT when looking at it from drivers seat I hated it very plain and bland but sitting beside it was a Mk5 manual Mondeo liked inside and out and had a six speed manual. Test drove it, bought and apart from n/s wheel bearing nothing has gone wrong. Glad I never bought online 👍. Love watching your video's on the tube. Shame your up north and I'm a southerner as I like your honesty.👍👍👍
Here's a fun fact. If a retailer doesn’t give you information about your rights under a distance sale at the time of delivery, including your right to cancel the purchase within 14 days, then you’ll have up to 12 months to cancel your order and receive a refund!!
@@Bootneck-RMC absolutely correct... But sometimes it's not, in which case it's on them to tell you, as in my case, hence how I found out about this little known loophole in the first place
The other thing that people need to be aware of is, If they decide to return the item during the cooling off period then, they can be held resposible for the cost of that return delivery which depending what the item is could be expensive unless the seller states that they will pay which is very unlikely.
@767corpI read every inch of the paperwork I received with my car. I even got an email confirmation from the salesperson that he didn't know about distance selling regulations 😂
Personally I would never even consider buying a used car without seeing it , sitting in , driving it, even if I had sat in and driven the same exact model, and I don't know anyone that would ! It's Internet shopping gone way too far in my eyes, I would far sooner take a 200 mile round trip to see the actual car I'm physically parting with money for and I would be happy to even pay a bit more for the vehicle purchasing this way. I believe there will always be a place for dealerships like your own Matt and I hope that for the sake of good honest car dealers like yourself that I am proved right ! Keep up the good work and keep the videos coming chap.
I am planning to change my medium estate car for the large estate in their range to have more versatility and though everything looked perfect on paper, when I test drove it I realised it was just too big for easy town parking etc compared to my present one. So now I am buying a newer, top spec version of my present one. Without a test drive I would have regretted the change.
I did a couple of 100 mile round trips to go and test drive cars. You can't tell what the ride quality and noise will be like until you go in one. With one car I actually got a dealer to take me out in a second one as the first was so noisy I thought it must be faulty. There was no way I was spending £25000 on a car that made a Dacia Sandero (which my parents in law have) seem quiet and refined,
Love this Matt, great to see your interest in business of all types come through. Miss the property videos but also see why you felt it shouldnt go on. Fair doos. Being updated on your journey from the birds eye view would be awesome. Cheers Matt
Working in the car rental industry I have had plenty of customers who bought cars from Cazoo and Cinch that developed mechanical issues referred to us. Rather than a used car dealer like Matt giving them perhaps a pool car while his chosen local mechanic rectifies the issue promptly, Cazoo would pay good money for weeks on end for one of our courtesy cars while the customer's car is transported to and from their home to main dealers/established service providers. Hire bills alone could rack up hundreds or even thousands of pounds depending on the severity of the issue which would undoubtedly wipe out any profit they made on the sale
44yrs in trade tech here, another thing is, modern cars are so unreliable now, you need to have an affordable garage to repair them in, whereas they have to use main dealers [who aren't going to give a competitor a discount] as you know, a simple engine-light on situation can easily exceed £3K to fix these days most of their cars came from previous owners who part exed them in cheap [because they have underlying faults] so they were buggered from the start...
@ResevoirGod to be honest and IMO a new car is more 'reliable ' than a 1984 vauxhall cavalier BUT if you do have an issue, it tends to be an issue the normal owner can not resolve, so requires so called expertise computer equipment to diagnose the fault.
Don’t buy an unnecessarily complicated vehicle. All mates with Mercedes have their car at the dealership more often than on their drive. Mostly software and sensor issues. As an earlier post said the car is just the bait, the money is made on the finance and servicing now and most people under 40 don’t ever consider maintenance themselves.
Hi Matt you are spot on with your assessment of the used car game the customer has always wanted the hands on approach of taking the vehicle out for a test drive
those sponsorships were the least of their problems. Sponsorship most of the time will generate you a decent amount of revenue. I know I've visited their website more than 20 times because of those football shirts. And I live on mainland Europe.
As a retired businessman I often looked at the Cazoo model and couldn't see how it could work. It seemed too good to be true. A great video Matt. You told it just as it was!
I bought my Toyota Tacoma sight unseen by ordering from a Toyota dealer. It was my only option which made me very unhappy. I had enough information to know it wasn't a bad truck but still wanted to be able to test drive or at least sit in it first. Maybe its my age but their are certain things I want to be able to buy in person and a vehicle is one. Carvana is having the same problems in the US.
I worked within a organization closely linked to BCA when they created Cinch and the way they dominated the market during such uncertain times was also a tactical effort to displace other “up and coming” brand such as Cazoo with very little capital in comparison to themself… it definitely worked although nearly cost themselves too in the process too but it’s amazing to see how it’s all played out years later. Great video👍
I'm not a used car dealer but I am a business analyst and I agree with you on their rapid expansion. When I saw them sponsor football teams in France (?) I was imediately concerned they were overstretching on marketing spend. I'm a big fan of adapting traditional trade so kudos to you and your peers.
My dad was a mechanic (until he retired last year) and never let me buy a used car without him going over it. My job whilst he went all over any vehicle was to talk to the salesman, see if they felt trustworthy or evasive, and to spend a lot of time inside the car. Does everything inside work? Is it comfy and what i need? How do the doors open and close etc. on occasion we found cars we wanted but we find slight issues, if the salesman were funny about it we’d walk away, those that were great and said “yes we’ll sort that for you” we bought the car. I know im fortunate to have. Mechanic father who knows what to look for, but if I remember right one issue was the electric folding mirrors (which I tested) and another was an electric window motor that needed replacing. Both things sorted by seller before I collected what ended up being decent cars for the family
What you can do, which is what I've done three times in France, is look at the models you like. Take a test drive at the main dealer, then buy the one you want online. I loathe dealers, dislike the patter, and saved thousands on three brand new cars by going online with Aramis, which I think is more or less the same as Cazoo. Just looked online, got the car delivered to a center nearby and drove off without any hassle. That's how I like to buy cars.
@@jimmyccam that's why I've bought second hand cars from them too. I believe, pre-covid Aramis got their cars from ex rental and bulk directly from the factories. Now I wouldn't buy a car more than a year old, and the web suits me fine.
Cazoo was a great idea. We bought one from them. The amount of photos, details and description given online were second to none, was much more in-depth than a typical dealer's ad. The point you're making about lack of test drive is null, you had 7 days to test drive it and investigate every aspect of the car at your leisure at home, backed by a full 7-day money back guarantee. This is much better than only spending a couple of hours looking at the car and a quick test drive with the dealer. And delivered to your door so you don't have to trek many miles to see a car at any specific appointment time. I think it's the perfect way to buy. Just a theory here but I think their downfall was rising interest rates. The cars they had in stock they were buying on "dealer finance". When they sold the car the finance would be settled and the differential was their profit. That business model worked well when interest rates were virtually zero percent. When interest rates rapidly rose to 5% that business model became untenable.
I would never part with cash for a car without a test drive - the hassle of getting the car back and waiting for a refund, even if it goes smoothly can still take 1-2 weeks and I would then be without a car.
I sold 2 (unfinanced) cars, dropped off to cazoo centre. One worth £27,000 trade in they gave me £29,200 without moving it and promptly advertised for £29,500. Where is any profit from that!? The other car needed a new clutch... the customer was buying blind and so were cazoo, even when they had opportunities to check.
@@chrisbaete5842 I always buy the new car before selling the old one (unless trading in), specifically because you don't know for sure you will buy the car until you do. It is inconvenient paying tax & insurance on two cars for a short period, but if you find a problem and don't keep the new one it could be back to square one, spending weeks searching around for the right car again. Part of Cazoo's appeal was the "7 day test drive".
Bought a car from Cazoo and another from Cinch, great cars and a great service from both companies. Being out in the sticks it was a great way to get a broad range of cars from across the country.
I don't think there would be any point in doing it routinely. Unless they gave you 14 days of insurance and the car was free tax you'd lose a couple of hundred in insurance & tax and I assume return delivery charge, and they'd ban you after a few goes.
I picked up on that comment in the video too. "Exploit" can have a couple of different meanings depending on the context; it can be to simply make use of what is available, or alternatively about being more underhand and devious. It wasn't clear to me whether he meant Cazoo had just underestimated take up, to their cost, or if buyers were frivolously getting cars and then sending them back within 14 days.
Cazoo's dying breath was to pivot to an online marketplace for traders to sell through. (a disaster given how poorly Cazoo spoke of the industry when starting out). Their best bet would have been to take that huge amount of money and create that online marketplace from the start... Autotrader has the monopoly, it's a powerhouse of a business that can name its price and dealers just have to suck it up and pay because it's proven to work. No one has come close to building a strong competitor yet BUT if Cazoo had gone that route and run the sponsorship deals and huge ad campaigns for THAT platform, I think it'd still be here today and Autotrader would have to be a bit more competitive
Matt, I'm old school when it comes to car buying, I like to go and see the car, check it out personally and test drive it. Also I find face to face contact important, you can tell a great deal about the company and the dependability of the sales staff through chatting in person. I don't believe online car dealing is something i could ever come to terms with, I enjoy the personal touch and that only comes with face to face contact.
WBAC will be fine, it's owned by British Car Auctions, where the vast majority of auctioned cars get sold so there's a lot of market capture. As far as I know CarWow is a marketplace/platform and don't have much capital risk.
Great video. Grounded and informative. Ive been subbed for a few years now and im so glad you haven't turned into one of those channels that just destroys old cars, or flaunts wealth with nothing of substance.
You are spot on to mention how important it is to engage personally. Some things don't work on line - shoes for example - because you have to try them on. Cazoo had to succeed in making cars a commodity but the fatal flaw in that is that "what you see is what you get" doesn't work with cars. Every car is different so you have to be happy with how it drives, the condition and service history and check for concealed faults. Tesla can sell on line because Tesla have made their cars into a commodity, a Tesla is closer to a washmachine than a car (I like Tesla's but they are very different).
100% Agree Matt. Cazoo, Cinch, Motoway (all those online sellers) look great but.....why on earth would anyone want to buy a car before seeing if it's nice to drive, you fit properly in it, you fall in love with it. Absolutely no surprise it's gone bust. Cinch will be next. I HAVE to drive the car first. Well Done !!
Matt, for my sin's I'm in financial services. I've seen online this and that come and go over the last thirty-odd years. We have a saying - "people buy people first, and products second". That personal touch has always served me well. I've been following you for a couple of years now. I sort of feel I know you (obviously I don't), but I see many similarities in the way I think about things. (oh, and you operate out of the village my parents used to live, and you support City-like me). So would I buy a car off you - hell, yes, because I feel an element of trust. This is what Cazoo et al don't (can't) have. So this RUclips channel is one of your ways of marketing. How many cars (as a %) have you sold in the last year as a direct consequence of this channel?
I'm probably in the minority, but as a consumer I actually admire Cazoo's business model. I don't mind buying a car without seeing it first - because I've got 14 days to return it FOR WHATEVER REASON. Effectively I've got 14 days of free test drive!!! I'm not sure a lot of people realize this when they go "I'd never buy a car online without seeing it first. What if my pushchair won't fit in the boot?" Well, you've got 14 days to find out after it's delivered! I recently spent about a month to buy a car. I am extremely particular on what I am looking for in terms of the model, year, mileage, trim, spec, colour. So even if I look across the entire country, there might be just 5-7 cars I would actually be interested in buying at any given time. I would call up the dealer and asked about details, but sadly quite a few of those massive car supermarkets out there are horrible in terms of customer service. They would go "We have no idea! We can't take additional pictures! We can't get an on-site salesperson to confirm the details. Just come see the car and buy it if you want." I said I didn't want to travel 4 hours to your forecourt only to discover it's not something I wanted. They said "Yeah we understand. But our on-site salespeople are just too busy. Come see the car if you want." Finally I decided to take the leap on one particular car which seemed to tick all our boxes. I reserved the car, travelled 4 hours by train, only to discover that the car was in awful condition - ripped leather seats, massive scuffs and scratches all over the car, and a pretty big crack on a windscreen. When I pointed out these issues to the salesperson, they simply said "Sorry our business model means we can't prep them properly as our profit margins are thin enough already." Then they had the audacity to offer fixing those issues ONLY IF I decide to purchase their paint protection, extra warranty products etc.. Frankly, I would have been happy to buy the car if the initial asking price was £500-1k higher but the car was properly prepped. Anyway I wasted two more full-day trips travelling around to see cars only to get disappointed. The frustrating thing was all these dealers had extremely positive reviews online, so it was quite shocking. And, no, it wasn't just me being a perfectionist and nitpicky. I shared pictures of those defects to friends of mine with limited car-buying experience, and everybody agreed those defects weren't acceptable. I guess I was quite unlucky - and the dealers were just not very honest in terms of the pictures/ video they posted online. If the dealers had been upfront with the issues, then I could decide whether to make the trip or not. I got so frustrated with my car hunting experience that, towards the end, I was actively looking to buy from dealers who are willing to do a distance sale. The fact that they are willing to do distance sales means they are confident that their car is properly prepped, and in a condition most customers would accept. It may well be the case that Cazoo overspent in terms of advertising costs, or didn't properly factor the extra delivery/ return costs into their prices (you did mention in the video they had very low prices and hence thin margins). But personally as a consumer, I don't mind buying a car without seeing it first because, again, I have 14 days to test drive and return it for a full refund for whatever reason!!! It's well different from buying a house as it would be difficult to "return" a house after moving in! Again, I am well aware I am probably in the minority as I am so fussed with the exact spec. A good friend of mine had to buy a car recently as well. They just went to a used car dealership and stated their requirements - dark-coloured, SUV or hatchback, manual gearbox, within a certain budget, THAT'S IT! Then they bought the first car they saw. This was even though the car was a tad above market value according to autotrader. In some ways, I'm quite jealous - they had a much less stressful experience than me :D
@@JackBremer That's precisely the problem, mate - the pictures were taken in particular angles such that the flaws weren't at all visible, and they refused to take a walkaround video when requested. When I phoned them, they were like "Yeah the car's immaculate. All properly prepped in our state-of-the-art workshop!" If the dealers were honest and upfront, then I'd just decide whether it's still a car I want to travel/ buy for that particular price. If the price was cheap, I might consider buying a car even though it's in average condition and get the issues repaired myself (although one might question why I'd need to buy from a dealer rather than a private individual/ through an auction in that case). And to add insult to injury, when I demanded why they said on the phone the car was in immaculate condition when it clearly wasn't, the salesperson said "Yeah well... they're the call centre team who chatted with you on the phone... they never actually get to see the cars... so of course they'd need to say... you know... " Basically throwing their co-workers under the bus! Again, it might well be me just being very very unlucky. :(
So you’ve done the deal with Cazoo. You take delivery, they take your part X and you have the new car. 10 days go by and you think, don’t like it, sending it back. That’s all fine. They come and collect your car, refund the money and all sorted. Only issue is you now have no part x and no car to use. 🤷♂️
@@markpashley1831 might well be a very fair point - although I never part x with the dealer I’m buying from as I found I tend to get the worst value in return. When I sell, I try to sell independently. Besides, you might well run into the same issue even if you did a test drive and bought the car the traditional way - if the car worked fine when you bought it but then the engine goes flat ten days later, presume you’d have to put up an even bigger fight to return the car and get your money back? Not sure if you could get your px back as well? Also, we are pretty fortunate for being a 2-car household so we are able to live without one car for a short while. So whenever we want to replace a car, we tend to just sell it outright, then go car hunting with cash in hand.
My dad and I brought a car in Cazoo. My dad a 2018 Toyota Auris Hybrid in Spain. No problems at all, he still have the car very happy. Me, a 2014 C4 Picasso here in the UK. A nightmare. Since day one lots of problems. Looks like no one check the car before delivery. Noises in the rear axle, no heating in drive side and after few thousands miles, head gasket gone. In 10 months the car were more time in the garage than with me. I sold it to Arnold Clark before it cost me more money 😞
1:44 "People don't buy used cars like that." Yes and no. People who have an active interest in their cars would never buy a car from a company like Cazoo, IMO. But people who buy cars as a lifestyle accessory will buy the car that they think suits their brand/image from whoever has it. It's basically the difference between people who take pictures of their cars to show online, and people who take pictures of themselves with the car as an accessory. The closest I'd come to buying from a company like Cazoo, is buying from a car supermarket that I've spent time wandering around to find a car I liked the look of.
I think I read somewhere that the people behind the Cazoo enterprise borrowed massively to get the show on the road. The other thing that's interesting is the survival of, say, Cinch. What have they got right? Will they go the same way as Cazoo? The other thing I thought is they may have started too soon. The success of Amazon shows that there is a whole cohort of people who don't want interaction with sales staff and these might be younger people with older buyers still preferring bricks and mortar outlets. Really interesting video Matt.
Cinch is owned by the same company as We Buy Any Car and British Car Auctions. So they get first Dibs on vehicles to sell from both of those. At first Cazoo thought they would get BCA to prepare their cars for them ! As someone once said, selling is easy. It is getting stock in at the right price that is difficult. How many people remember that Tesco briefly tried selling used cars? They ran into the same problem with the only cars they could source to sell being ex lease Fords and Rovers.
I bought the last 2 used cars without a test drive or seeing it. I just made sure the dealer was fully aware that if it wasn't everything they said i would reject it, which they were OK with... But appreciate i may not be the norm!!
I could never understand how people could buy a car without looking at and driving said car first. One of these online retailers says on their advert you have 7 days to change your mind. So it seems that’s not exactly truthful.
Why Cazoo failed? The business model was wrong. People will buy a car online IF they are saving MONEY. There should be a discount. I sell all my cars online and at a DISCOUNT. I can provide discount because I've no salesman or showroom. We have a unit where cars can be viewed and have a test drive BUT no fancy showroom or salesman. That means I can sell cheaper. I have success doing it like this. People are happy because they are making big savings. Trouble with cazoo was they were no cheaper than going to a traditional dealer. They also had showrooms etc. They were no different to a traditional dealer with a showroom. The whole business model was wrong.
We the general public got lazy over the years online shopping became the norm. I can remember having to get up to change tv channels. Those were the days.
I agree regarding buying blind, during Covid I purchased a MB R230 2005, and though you have 14 days to return the car, in reality for me, this is a very short time, it's like an extended test drive, but you don't get to ask all the usual questions or see the car in 'the flesh' before you drive it, my SL was delivered to me from Coventry in February 2020. it was dark and wet, no time to really look at the car internally and externally, though the car was 2005, I didn't expect perfection, but had I the opportunity to view, I would have seen the bad repair job on the front off side wing plus some internal 'flaws', which I would have challenged or walked away from, all I can do is put this down to experience. I would never recommend anybody buy a car unseen, when this is generally the second most expensive item besides a property you will buy.
He's got a video up of his test drive, He was very unimpressed with the stupid screen and how much attention it requires to use, which has always been a major criticism of mine. You simply cannot beat separate physical controls IMO.
I would say it is a step up from many range rovers and older merc/bmers…. A new driving experience that will need learning and not just jump in and think it is like a petrol or diesel….
Thanks for the video Didn’t seen easy to have a look around last week because your colleagues couldn’t be arsed showing me the vehicle I was interested in.
I bought a car off Cazoo in 2022 and I have been really happy with it since I have had it, have had no issues, and any small issues I did have which turned out to be nothing Cazoo paid for me to go to main dealer to check them under the 3 month warranty.
This was a fascinating and informative video . I think that the main problem any mass market seller has is where do they source their vehicles from. They can’t afford to employ dozens of buyers to travel around and carefully source selected vehicles,so they end up buying vehicles from fleets and car hire firms just so they have enough stock. They can’t afford to be choosy because if they are,they run short of stock. Some businesses don’t translate to the mass market. Could you imagine a national chain of antique shops? It just doesn’t work because you can’t find enough good quality products to stock a national chain. The great advantage you have is that you know your vehicles and their history, what can a salesperson in a car warehouse in Manchester say about a car that’s just been shipped up from London along with 60 others? I worked for the biggest Renault garage in North Yorkshire; it was miles away from any big population centre but was successful because it offered great customer service. That is the way to build a successful business,and you have done that!
Enjoyed your insight on this Matt. With many products, people will go to an traditional store and try something out, then buy the same item cheap online. That sort of behaviour is nothing new and I'm sure many Cazoo customers had already test-driven the type of car they wanted at a traditional dealership first. I'm equally sure that someone will eventually hit the correct balance to make the online model work fairly well (Cinch it seems, still have a way to go if you read the reviews). But it is difficult to see how it would ever become the norm when buying something of the value/complexity/pitfalls of a used car.
Really interesting Matt. Great episode. With something as personal and as expensive as a used car people are always going to want a physical connection and experience. Period. It sounds like you're striking a good balance between the two models. And nothing wrong with being a bit risk adverse, this is how you're running a successful company after all!
I agree with your comments. We bought a 6 month old car in October 2020 and didn't even consider Cazoo; I wanted to test drive and 'feel' the cars before parting with my money. COVID restrictions made the process more of a faff but it was all still doable. I feel sorry for the Cazoo employees. Thanks for your great videos.
I have followed this story with interest as I work next door to what was an Imperial Cars supermarket which became a Cazoo customer service centre, complete with giant video screen telling people who had presumably already bought how great Cazoo was. From what I saw Imperial Cars always had a much nicer selection of cars; mainly two or three year old BMWs and Mercedes. Something not possible with the Cazoo model is upselling which would be easy when you have a dozen BMW 3 series parked in a row. "For £70 a month extra you could have this newer, lower mileage, one with the more comfortable seats". Finally I once counted eleven of the Cazoo delivery vans parked at the back of the site. How many cars did they think they would be delivering a day ?
My wife runs a successful wedding dress retail business and you guessed it she often deals with ladies in a blind panic who have gone down the "buying online" route and boy do many of them regret it. I think Cazoo's business model was fundamentally flawed from the outset but the killer blow for them was probably being too ambitious and greedily trying to buy market share with super low cost cars. Another spot on video Matt. Keep them coming.
One thing to consider is the rapid change in online technology. 40 years ago the web did not exist, but physical car showrooms were in essence the same as today. So, envisage 40 years from now (or even less than), it would short sighted to say that the online business model would be constrained by anything as we move into the future.
I bought a car from cazoo, I loved the idea. Worked well for me. Delivered to my door and they said I could test drive it etc to see if I wanted it. And I noticed the cars were very well priced. I bought a 2019 bmw f36, it was absolutely mint condition and was priced 4 grand cheaper than the average price of same model on other sites and garages advertised on autotrader. Gutted they've collapsed. The pics on the website were very good and had any , no matter how tiny imperfection highlighted . They also touched In any stone chips etc. All in all it was hassle free car buying and getting the car delivered was great. Saved me having to drive for 150 miles to see the other model I was interested in
It was a great option when the only option was to buy a car online, it was the perfect solution at the time, I used cinch, car was good value, perfect spec, everything we wanted for my wife, the car was delivered…… 3 options from the spec list were not on the car!!!! They first try to say cars can be modified by their owner including removing optioned items!!! Honestly who would remove 360 cameras?? After a few emails they gave me compensation, however I wouldn’t use again, really poor aftercare, 3 weeks to respond to emails, so frustrating, great video
You are spot on...Ive been in the industry for over 30 years and seen it before..we are a touch n try industry..people sell to people and I cant see it changing..
Superbly researched and presented video.. I never quite understood their business model from the start and distinctly remember you voicing your doubts about it. Ultimately Cazoo banked on too many customers viewing car purchasing as any other domestic appliance or commodity. However, for most people, car buying will be their most expensive purchase only second to their house, so buying a used car unseen is simply too risky, clinical and emotionally unattached.. It was an ambitious idea that failed because they presupposed how customers were going to buy cars in the future. Will be nice to see Autotrader searches back to normal...
I agree with everything you said. Call me old fashioned but when buying a used car I like to see it, drive and talk to the dealer. We've just bought a used car and when searching Autotrader I discounted any cars being sold by "car supermarkets" and instead opted for small independent dealers. We're very happy with the car and service provided by this dealer and they even knocked a little off the asking price. To my suprise, the dealer had to spend £408 to get the car ready for us which included a new Bridgestone tyre that had a split that "might have" caused a problem later.
I 100 per cent agree with you. We have a fantastic family run independent dealership about 25 mins drive from where we live that has won a customer service award from Vauxhall for 15 yrs now. A few years ago they were voted the 2nd best in the UK. We have recently spent over £25,000 there in the last year, purchasing not only my son’s 1st car after passing his test; but also at the start of this year I exchanged my car to a 23 plate. Nothing was too much trouble for them & they contacted us a few days later to see how happy we were & if we had any concerns.
A news article at the turn of the year stated Cazoo, at that time had spent over half a billion quid on advertising alone. Unsustainable i`d have thought.
Matt, you need to sell aftermarket products you may not like them but its additional profit. You can sell them honestly if they are good. Paint protection works if its applied correctly and warranty and gap are no brainers just read the small print!! I really like your work ethic and your moral compass points in the right direction. Keep them coming mate.......
Worked well for me, I had an Hyundai i20. Wanted to upgrade to an i30. My local Hyundai had no good used cars locally. Cazoo had a few and would deliver them. So I did some youtube searches and decided on an i30. Excellent service from Cazoo, worked for some but as you said there model was profitable enough.
Hi Matt great video I actually didn't know kazoo had gone bankrupt until now and I completely agree with what you're saying about visiting a showroom to buy a car it's much more visceral than ordering online .I recently purchased two brand new cars this Easter just gone and there's no way I would have done it online I like going into a dealership and test drive in and chatting and drinking coffee I'm talking to the actual salesman for me it's all part of the buying process and yes it worked in lockdown obviously but now you want the Showroom experience it should be fun buying a new car and I had a wonderful experience with Suzuki and you wouldn't get that online just like buying a fridge or washing machine it's just not the same...cheers Phil from Newark
Thanks for that video. I found it very interesting, especially to gain an understanding from someone who knows the nuts and bolts of the industry. Some things just don't work completely online.
I think you hit the nail on the head - when making a big purchase, you still prefer to see it in person. It's a scary move paying money into something you haven't seen. Especially with cars, they're complicated things, so you want to make sure everything is as it seems.
I bought a 2019 Kia Proceed from cinch 'blind online' and it was the easiest process ever. So much more convenient than the 'normal' way. No travelling all over the place looking at cars etc. The car was exactly as described and has been brilliant in the year we've had it so far.
I don’t think it could be explained any better, nail and head. They were simply too ambitious too soon, came in, thought they could be the biggest and sell big volumes without a second thought to everything you said. Great video.
Excellent video Matt - very informative and well analyzed. No doubt everyone should have a High Peak Autos Dealer to trust their used car purchase from, which would mean fewer headaches and troubles.
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I can just see it now, I BOUGHT A CHEAP SECOND HAND CAR COMPANY.....I MAY HAVE MASSIVELY OVER SPENT.
😂😂
All it needs is a good buff....
"A good buff, new coat of paint and a pair of good tyres and we're back in business!"
😂
😂😂😂😂
Hi mate.
I bought a 2016 Passat from Cazoo in May 2021. It had no service history and 97,000 on the clock. I agreed to buy it with their 7 day no quibble return policy if they did the cambelt and water pump and provided proof. Tge car arrived with no proof of the work. After 5 days I threatened to send it back and they admitted they hadn’t done it . The car went into Tonbridge Cazoo centre. I had a hire car for nearly a week. They gave me £200 compensation.
Fast forward I had all the heater system renewed at vw dealer ( over £2000 bill ) , new windscreen , service , mot , front driver assist re calibrated, aircon regassed ,more hire cars in between and more compensation. All paid by Cazoo. I still have the car on 137k miles. I love it and it’s my second Passat. So underrated these cars. They obviously earned no money and probably lost money with my car. I’m not surprised they’ve gone bang. While my car was in and out I would sit in their little lounges with Apple TV , sofas , drinks hot or cold, all very lovely .
Anyway I feel like the proper Cazoo expert.
Thanks for all the videos. I’m a big fan of the channel.
All the best
Paul.
Probably?? They’d have lost a fortune on your Passat.
Much like my experience ,car was not as described and they had to use main dealer / other vendors to fix issues.There is no way they didn't lose all the profit and infact make a loss on my purchase.
😂😂@@hughmarcus1
Interesting thanks for sharing.
You did well, I had a few issues with the BMW I bought, and even getting them to replace things like tyres and brakes which were defective when it arrived (and illegal) was a huge challenge.
When is this man going to get a TV program ?? Proper down to earth and a genuine decent dealer....
Unfortunately, with his stilted/robotic delivery style. He would not get anywhere near TV.
Ha I was just thinking he’s getting ready for it! His forehead looks a bit shinier and smoother than normal 🤔
I am sure MATT once said he had done some T.V. acting at one point
too good for tv, tv is shit these days
TV is dead nowadays, just the same old repetitive woke crap.
What is increasingly clear to me, as I watch your videos, is that you're one properly intelligent guy. More power to you.
“I’m a little bit risk averse”, brought to you by the same person as “I bought a cheap CL500”
@pedrodaniellopesferreira2916 sounds like a fun business proposition for somebody with money to burn 😋
And then advises others to use Car Vertical before you buy !
Car Vertical is so crap. for what you pay
@@Barbarapape all our video evidence currently suggests Matt uses carvertical AFTER he buys. The man loves a challenge
😂
I bought a Mini Coupe SD during Covid, just after the first lockdown< the car had 12000 miles on the clock was immaculate, purchased from just outside of London. I had been watching it before lockdown on Autotrader and got it for the right price as cars had not been moving for months.
I owned it for 3 years al but a few days and did 9000 miles in it, I looked to sell it tried all the on line buyers, WBAC, Motorway etc etc Cazoo offer me £2500 more then I paid for it, so it went to them, sales guy said that’s the cleanest car I’ve ever seen and no rangling on the price offered, it was all done in 15 mins and sold. They put it up for £3k more then I got, within a week it was £2k, next week £1k after a month it was £300 more then I received. After 5 weeks it appeared to be sold!!! It went to auction and turned up on autotrader 2months later at the price I purchased it for back in June 2020 and that was at a main dealer.
The model was obviously buying at high price and try to sell quickly when I didn’t get rid of it!
Cazoo sold that one on finance lol
Hi Matt Having worked in the retail motor industry for over 30 years I follow your channel with interest. I left the industry during Covid. An opportunity that gave me time to reflect on the huge challenges of running a franchise operation and seeing new car targets going up year on year to a completely unrealistic number. Having this time I quickly made decision that this industry was no longer fun and not for me. I genuinely enjoy the content of your channel it still gives me my motortrade fix. As you know once it’s in the blood it’s hard to leave it !! Although I’m a distance from you when I’m in the market I will contact you as I like your honest approach….. if anyone else reads my comments trust Matt as an experienced professional within the industry for over 30 years I certainly would. Matt runs a great business which is fair to him and his customers. Congratulations to you on your honest work and your success.
I wish you well Matt for the future 👏👏
Did exactly the same as you, end of lockdown 1 left a dealership after 20 years of sales - ‘no longer fun’ definitely sums it up!!
Great insight Matt. I remember applying for a marketing job at Cazoo a few years back. I was intrigued by the sponsorship deals they were pulling particularly in the football world and their marketing campaigns in general - they seemed to be everywhere you looked! However, marketing on such a scale comes with hefty costs. Looking back they probably went a bit too hard but I did admire their bold approach. And no, I didn’t get the job and probably for the best. Heart goes out to those that have lost their jobs or will lose them soon.
Hi Matt I was one of many delivery handover specialist who was employed by cazoo ( 3.5years ) .. during COVID it was a brilliant concept, then COVID finished then other dealerships gave the option to buy online which made it harder for cazoo ..then the sponsorship which cost in excess of £50 mil ..and at the time they were sponsoring the whole of league 2 in France and at home it was every sport under the sun...then the move into Europe which again cost upto £550 mil opening cazoos equallant in European countries just to pull the plug 5 months after 😢...all this and bad management from the higher hyeracque and the way along , then when they realised it was going downhill they decided to try seek help and advice from the used car sector..but a bit late then ... All in all a lot of fantastic people lost their jobs due to bad decisions and management..😢
higher hyeracque* hierachy?
@@135Ops Lamborghini hyuracan*?
@@135Ops hierachy* hierarchy?
@135Ops nike air huarache
@@akram_J477earache?
I bought a used car blind a couple of weeks ago because it was at a dealer on the Isle of Wight. I asked a lot of questions and the sales guy was completely honest. It was approved used & returnable so why not? I am very happy with the car.
You bought a car "blind"???!!! How on Earth did you pass your Driving Test? Do you use potholes as a form of Braille to help you navigate the roads? ;-)
With an honest dealer great, I have done a number of long distance transactions 5 times now, including one with a part ex.
These were higher end transactions and four of these went smoothly but one was a disaster with service history and condition of vehicle not as described resulting in me rejecting the vehicle.
I probably should have gone with gut feeling.
@@davidkmatthewslabrador in the passenger seat.
How did u know u were getting in the right car when u were at the showroom if you are blind? Was the sales man saying "no,no,no,yes" until you opened the correct car?
@@meme4onelol great comment
I purchased a car from Big Motoring World and they gave ‘the hard sell’ on all warranties and products which almost put me off buying. I walked away with the car and no extras, but to be honest, I wouldn’t use them again.
Same with Carshop. 10 minute handover turned into 90 minute hard sell of every possible add on. I know it's how they earn their commission, but it is very annoying. They ended up adding £250 onto my part ex so they could add the paint treatment (that they didn't actually do) onto the new car at no cost to me.
Didn't they also charge you 300 quid admin fee for the privilege of buying from them??
exacly the same here. very rude and borderline aggressive. I got the car and the car is lovely, no extras there, but I left them a google review and emailed them feedback about how horrible my experience was and making it clear that I will not be buying any car from them again.
Hard sell and cars are poor quality
Avoid Big Motoring World
I am one of those who bought a car from Cazoo, it was only because the car I wanted, I couldn't find anywhere else, it was the same as the car it was going to replace, but a newer model, so I ordered it, and come delivery day, they phoned and said they would not be delivering, as they found a fault and were waiting for parts, this was nearly 4 weeks after ordering, I asked when the parts would be there, and they said they would call me as soon as they arrived, 5 days later, they called and said they had fitted the part, and the next delivery slot was in another 3 1/2 weeks. I needed the car when I ordered it, so really didn't want to wait that long, so ended up having to go and pick it up myself, it took them another 2 months to refund the delivery fee. The car was in good condition, and I really have no complaints about that, but to take the best part of 8 weeks for them to be able to get it too me, was unacceptable. I had already come to the conclusion I would not take that route again when buying my next car.
I worked in the motor trade from 1985 to getting made redundant in 2020. You’ve just said pretty much word for word what I’ve been saying about Cazoo, but a lot of my colleagues thought I was talking crap as they put it. Now who’s words have come true. I’m completely out of the motor trade now and really miss it. I like your channel 😮
Used to work for a car supermarket a few years ago and I used to see Cazoo trucks everywhere, then it started to disappear slowly from the roads and now extinct and I wondered why I don’t see them anymore. They needed a showroom really instead of a delivery service, people like going in to buy their cars for the experience.
They had showrooms as well in the sense they were pick up points. The only added advantage from having the car delivered was the opportunity to see the car that you had paid for and interact with a service provider as the buyer inspected the car before agreeing to take it away
Can’t test drive = massive red flag.
I used the dealers to make a choice of which car i wanted, thanked them for the coffee's, then once I knew what i wanted, used the Internet to decide where to buy it from. Because then it did become about price, and the included manufacturers warranty etc... I physically looked in Milton Keynes near home, and bought from a dealer in York. I feel for dealerships, as if I am symptomatic of consumer behaviour, its continuing to get tougher and tougher for them.
@@T90337exactly, I would not even consider purchasing a car without seeing and testing it. Even premium cars with fsh can turn out to be full of problems.
@@MartinBennett-rs6thrasher 14 day cooling off period.
We bought a Volvo xc60 from Cazoo and collected it from one of their cazoo centres. It was about 2.5K cheaper then a local dealer, and they offered the best price on our trade in. The distance selling laws gave us the confidence to buy a car online, although it wasn't a problem as the car was exactly as described. Just before last Christmas we decided to change our second car.This time we saw a Kia Picanto in a dealership 80 miles away. We knew that they had a branch locally but we purposely didn't ask for the car to be brought up, or go down to Cornwall to look at it. Instead we brought the car sight unseen, and as it was a distance sale, we told the salesman that if the car wasn't exactly as described we would be asking for a refund under the distance selling laws. I think that concentrated his mind and the car was perfect.
Nonsense, try getting that enforced against a car dealer. You will be unpleasantly surprised.
I use to work for Cazoo as a accountant, when they were buying companies for parts and inspection.They had terrible people in positions and it was no wonder that they failed. i told them before i left that if they didn't hire good people they would fail to provide and seems like i was right.
Wow what an genius. You're a amazing accountant
It has become very difficult to hire skilled, productive and talented people - every company has issues in recruiting employees.
I too used to work for Cazoo and predicted it. When certain members of management left over night I got a feeling in my water. It was a shame as I had a good two years there and made some great friends. The amount they were spending on repairs and parts was unbelievable and also they hired the wrong people in higher management and the customer services center was useless with no idear but still had a fully fledged bar and Uber delivery’s everyday. My site couldn’t even get a mop for the floors. Love the channel a response to my email would be good 😉
Brought from Cazoo just before collection advised they found an issue with steering column so provided me a hire car for week whilst I waited for fix.On pick up found a chip in windscreen they said they hadn't noticed ( on checking on MOT it was advised).They had windscreen replaced.
Some further issues ( paint work ,non matching tyres , faulty blindspot ) all fixed all third parties .So in the end they spent 10 to 15% value of the car on repairs.I will say they did fix everything so I cant complain with that and they were prepared to take car back for refund but if that was a regular occurrence for them can see why it went wrong for them
I phoned a car supermarket fords of winsford and asked for a test drive, the car salesman response was what do you need to test drive for? It put me right off and i will never buy from a supermarket.
I had that when shopping for a Golf GTI Clubsport. I wanted to drive one and VW Milton Keynes had one in stock but wasn’t quite the spec I wanted. However I already owned a Renaultsport Trophy which was amazing so wanted to see if the Golf was worth the hype. If so I would’ve bought it when they procured one in the precise spec. Anyhow the salesman was a jackass and wouldn’t let me test drive it so I told him to get stuffed. Some of these guys are total idiots and shouldn’t be doing what they do for a living as they are just bad at it and lose potential sales through their mismanagement of customer enquiries.
They are not selling cars, they are selling finance, the car for them is just an incidental.
I went to look at a golf 2.0TDI at FOW IT WAS A SHED wasn’t impressed needed re spray ,brakes were shot rear wheel bearing groaning
Salesman kept turning radio up to mask noise. Went to reception only one key available. Ask about another four cars all only one available key. Left showrooms went to main dealership at Macclesfield sorted me a brilliant golf. This was 2013 never looked at FOW SINCE!
@@charleswillcock3235 Anyone who buys finave from a used car dealer is a mug
I’ve bought a car from Cazoo. The service was perfect, the trade in (cost to change) was competitive, the delivery was seamless and the vehicle I bought was everything I wished for. I couldn’t understand how Cazoo made their money.
Well they didnt make money clearly 😂
Interestingly I brought a car from Cazoo in Early January of this year. Had no problem with buying online (in fact it made it easier as I was unable to view anything due to heavy work commitments) but the after sales experience was horrendous, took 60 mins each and every time to get through to anyone and even then it was never a satisfactory answer to the problem, ultimately been moved onto the next call centre op who seemingly just read from a script. There sad demise was no surprise given my experiences, that said the car is great once its issues were resolved…
@@simonwood9028 What sad demise? they are still trading .
@767corpplus he made a shedload more with the Cazoo IPO
Because you overpaid for the car
Matt has often talked about how very generally the cheapest of cheap cars attract a certain type of customer; the type that always seems to have the most complaints and have unrealistic expectations. I wonder if Cazoo's tactic of undercutting the rest of the market and going for the lower end of the price market came with its own challenges with that kind of customer?
They didn't sell "cheap" cars though. Whilst they did undercut conventional dealers with physical showrooms, their cars were relatively new, low mileage and good condition examples which the price reflected so they wouldn't attract the typical customers from FB marketplace or low end dealers etc.
Not really I doubt they are selling 500 quid cars. Customer is no. 1. Companies think they can cost out but it never works long term.
@@ferrumignis That makes me wonder where they sourced the cars that they sold. Hire companies? Leasing companies? Auctions?
I use to work for cazoo on the imaging side and oh my god the stuff we use to get around was unreal. Cars missing trim and had parts not fitted until after imagining. I have loads of storys of working there some were bad and some were good but mostly bad and people would not believe what use to happen to get cars out of the door
I purchased a car from Cazoo and was very happy with their service. One thing that was difficult was for them to properly hand over digital service records and onboard you onto manufacturers systems - I bought an Audi Q5 and had awful trouble getting my profile added to the car. Whilst it was sorted, and paid for by Cazoo, it was inconvenient
Working from home becoming the norm after Covid made a difference. My mileage dropped 10,000 miles per year so I don't feel the need to change so often.
Your content vibe is just right, keep it up
We literally bought our car from Cazoo in January - was a pretty good experience, great car, very chill experience for my socially anxious soul..! Was the first time I'd bought car and I fully understood my rights in terms of distance selling and being able to give it back if we didn't like it. I'd happily go to a dealership next time now I've owned a car and understand what I'm looking for, though
I bought a new (2nd hand) car 3 years ago and checked reviews and looked at photos online. I had a Mondeo MK4.5 auto at the time and got my fingers burnt with the box. I thought a Passat auto looked a good bet BUT when looking at it from drivers seat I hated it very plain and bland but sitting beside it was a Mk5 manual Mondeo liked inside and out and had a six speed manual. Test drove it, bought and apart from n/s wheel bearing nothing has gone wrong. Glad I never bought online 👍. Love watching your video's on the tube. Shame your up north and I'm a southerner as I like your honesty.👍👍👍
Here's a fun fact. If a retailer doesn’t give you information about your rights under a distance sale at the time of delivery, including your right to cancel the purchase within 14 days, then you’ll have up to 12 months to cancel your order and receive a refund!!
The information is normally on the website and it's your responsobility to find and not theirs to tell you where it is.
@@Bootneck-RMC absolutely correct... But sometimes it's not, in which case it's on them to tell you, as in my case, hence how I found out about this little known loophole in the first place
The other thing that people need to be aware of is, If they decide to return the item during the cooling off period then, they can be held resposible for the cost of that return delivery which depending what the item is could be expensive unless the seller states that they will pay which is very unlikely.
@767corpI read every inch of the paperwork I received with my car. I even got an email confirmation from the salesperson that he didn't know about distance selling regulations 😂
Personally I would never even consider buying a used car without seeing it , sitting in , driving it, even if I had sat in and driven the same exact model, and I don't know anyone that would ! It's Internet shopping gone way too far in my eyes, I would far sooner take a 200 mile round trip to see the actual car I'm physically parting with money for and I would be happy to even pay a bit more for the vehicle purchasing this way. I believe there will always be a place for dealerships like your own Matt and I hope that for the sake of good honest car dealers like yourself that I am proved right ! Keep up the good work and keep the videos coming chap.
Bought my last 2 online.
I am planning to change my medium estate car for the large estate in their range to have more versatility and though everything looked perfect on paper, when I test drove it I realised it was just too big for easy town parking etc compared to my present one. So now I am buying a newer, top spec version of my present one. Without a test drive I would have regretted the change.
Totally agree, buying a car sight unseen is crazy.
I did a couple of 100 mile round trips to go and test drive cars. You can't tell what the ride quality and noise will be like until you go in one. With one car I actually got a dealer to take me out in a second one as the first was so noisy I thought it must be faulty. There was no way I was spending £25000 on a car that made a Dacia Sandero (which my parents in law have) seem quiet and refined,
@@terryc8164 It's like the automotive equivalent of 'Married At First Sight!'
Love this Matt, great to see your interest in business of all types come through. Miss the property videos but also see why you felt it shouldnt go on. Fair doos.
Being updated on your journey from the birds eye view would be awesome. Cheers Matt
Working in the car rental industry I have had plenty of customers who bought cars from Cazoo and Cinch that developed mechanical issues referred to us.
Rather than a used car dealer like Matt giving them perhaps a pool car while his chosen local mechanic rectifies the issue promptly, Cazoo would pay good money for weeks on end for one of our courtesy cars while the customer's car is transported to and from their home to main dealers/established service providers. Hire bills alone could rack up hundreds or even thousands of pounds depending on the severity of the issue which would undoubtedly wipe out any profit they made on the sale
44yrs in trade tech here, another thing is, modern cars are so unreliable now, you need to have an affordable garage to repair them in, whereas they have to use main dealers [who aren't going to give a competitor a discount]
as you know, a simple engine-light on situation can easily exceed £3K to fix these days
most of their cars came from previous owners who part exed them in cheap [because they have underlying faults] so they were buggered from the start...
Eh? Modern cars are so unreliable now? What on earth are you talking about, cars are now more reliable than ever 😂😂😂
@ResevoirGod to be honest and IMO a new car is more 'reliable ' than a 1984 vauxhall cavalier BUT if you do have an issue, it tends to be an issue the normal owner can not resolve, so requires so called expertise computer equipment to diagnose the fault.
@@ResevoirGodI think what he means is that when modern cars break - and they still do - that they are such a ball ache to get fixed.
Don’t buy an unnecessarily complicated vehicle. All mates with Mercedes have their car at the dealership more often than on their drive. Mostly software and sensor issues. As an earlier post said the car is just the bait, the money is made on the finance and servicing now and most people under 40 don’t ever consider maintenance themselves.
Hi Matt you are spot on with your assessment of the used car game the customer has always wanted the hands on approach of taking the vehicle out for a test drive
Sponsoring Everton & Aston Villa would also have cost Cazoo a tonne of cash
those sponsorships were the least of their problems. Sponsorship most of the time will generate you a decent amount of revenue. I know I've visited their website more than 20 times because of those football shirts. And I live on mainland Europe.
@@elisee9935 You've visited the site x20 but you haven't bought anything so has it generated revenue?
The sponsorship was to trick foolish investors to part with their cash as it made it look like they had lots of excess cash and we’re doing well.
It does seem a bizarre choice to sponsor two Premier League football teams...
@@elisee9935 visiting a website does not generate revenue!
As a retired businessman I often looked at the Cazoo model and couldn't see how it could work. It seemed too good to be true. A great video Matt. You told it just as it was!
As a retired accountant I concur!
I bought my Toyota Tacoma sight unseen by ordering from a Toyota dealer. It was my only option which made me very unhappy. I had enough information to know it wasn't a bad truck but still wanted to be able to test drive or at least sit in it first. Maybe its my age but their are certain things I want to be able to buy in person and a vehicle is one. Carvana is having the same problems in the US.
I worked within a organization closely linked to BCA when they created Cinch and the way they dominated the market during such uncertain times was also a tactical effort to displace other “up and coming” brand such as Cazoo with very little capital in comparison to themself… it definitely worked although nearly cost themselves too in the process too but it’s amazing to see how it’s all played out years later. Great video👍
I'm not a used car dealer but I am a business analyst and I agree with you on their rapid expansion. When I saw them sponsor football teams in France (?) I was imediately concerned they were overstretching on marketing spend. I'm a big fan of adapting traditional trade so kudos to you and your peers.
My dad was a mechanic (until he retired last year) and never let me buy a used car without him going over it. My job whilst he went all over any vehicle was to talk to the salesman, see if they felt trustworthy or evasive, and to spend a lot of time inside the car. Does everything inside work? Is it comfy and what i need? How do the doors open and close etc. on occasion we found cars we wanted but we find slight issues, if the salesman were funny about it we’d walk away, those that were great and said “yes we’ll sort that for you” we bought the car. I know im fortunate to have. Mechanic father who knows what to look for, but if I remember right one issue was the electric folding mirrors (which I tested) and another was an electric window motor that needed replacing. Both things sorted by seller before I collected what ended up being decent cars for the family
What you can do, which is what I've done three times in France, is look at the models you like. Take a test drive at the main dealer, then buy the one you want online. I loathe dealers, dislike the patter, and saved thousands on three brand new cars by going online with Aramis, which I think is more or less the same as Cazoo. Just looked online, got the car delivered to a center nearby and drove off without any hassle. That's how I like to buy cars.
The new car market is not the same as the used car market, which is what Cazoo did! ... and went bust!
@@jimmyccam that's why I've bought second hand cars from them too. I believe, pre-covid Aramis got their cars from ex rental and bulk directly from the factories. Now I wouldn't buy a car more than a year old, and the web suits me fine.
I bought a car through Cazoo well over a year ago and the service was brilliant, the price was good and the car is excellent.
Cazoo was a great idea. We bought one from them. The amount of photos, details and description given online were second to none, was much more in-depth than a typical dealer's ad. The point you're making about lack of test drive is null, you had 7 days to test drive it and investigate every aspect of the car at your leisure at home, backed by a full 7-day money back guarantee. This is much better than only spending a couple of hours looking at the car and a quick test drive with the dealer. And delivered to your door so you don't have to trek many miles to see a car at any specific appointment time. I think it's the perfect way to buy.
Just a theory here but I think their downfall was rising interest rates. The cars they had in stock they were buying on "dealer finance". When they sold the car the finance would be settled and the differential was their profit. That business model worked well when interest rates were virtually zero percent. When interest rates rapidly rose to 5% that business model became untenable.
I would never part with cash for a car without a test drive - the hassle of getting the car back and waiting for a refund, even if it goes smoothly can still take 1-2 weeks and I would then be without a car.
I sold 2 (unfinanced) cars, dropped off to cazoo centre. One worth £27,000 trade in they gave me £29,200 without moving it and promptly advertised for £29,500. Where is any profit from that!?
The other car needed a new clutch... the customer was buying blind and so were cazoo, even when they had opportunities to check.
@@chrisbaete5842 I always buy the new car before selling the old one (unless trading in), specifically because you don't know for sure you will buy the car until you do. It is inconvenient paying tax & insurance on two cars for a short period, but if you find a problem and don't keep the new one it could be back to square one, spending weeks searching around for the right car again. Part of Cazoo's appeal was the "7 day test drive".
Bought a car from Cazoo and another from Cinch, great cars and a great service from both companies. Being out in the sticks it was a great way to get a broad range of cars from across the country.
Dang ... I missed out on a free 14 day rental car. Good thing we don't have dishonest people that would abuse such a system....
I don't think there would be any point in doing it routinely. Unless they gave you 14 days of insurance and the car was free tax you'd lose a couple of hundred in insurance & tax and I assume return delivery charge, and they'd ban you after a few goes.
I picked up on that comment in the video too. "Exploit" can have a couple of different meanings depending on the context; it can be to simply make use of what is available, or alternatively about being more underhand and devious.
It wasn't clear to me whether he meant Cazoo had just underestimated take up, to their cost, or if buyers were frivolously getting cars and then sending them back within 14 days.
What a well delivered insightful video. Not come across your channel before. Will be looking out for more of your content.
"Hey Cazoo, it's the SEC. Why haven't you filed your accounts?"
"We...we have massively overspent"
Matt, very solid and detailed explanation!! Thank you!!love all your content!!
Cazoo's dying breath was to pivot to an online marketplace for traders to sell through. (a disaster given how poorly Cazoo spoke of the industry when starting out). Their best bet would have been to take that huge amount of money and create that online marketplace from the start... Autotrader has the monopoly, it's a powerhouse of a business that can name its price and dealers just have to suck it up and pay because it's proven to work. No one has come close to building a strong competitor yet BUT if Cazoo had gone that route and run the sponsorship deals and huge ad campaigns for THAT platform, I think it'd still be here today and Autotrader would have to be a bit more competitive
Matt, I'm old school when it comes to car buying, I like to go and see the car, check it out personally and test drive it. Also I find face to face contact important, you can tell a great deal about the company and the dependability of the sales staff through chatting in person. I don't believe online car dealing is something i could ever come to terms with, I enjoy the personal touch and that only comes with face to face contact.
Cinch will be following them soon, followed by “we buy any car” and “ car wow” all robbing entities.
WBAC will be fine, it's owned by British Car Auctions, where the vast majority of auctioned cars get sold so there's a lot of market capture. As far as I know CarWow is a marketplace/platform and don't have much capital risk.
Think car wow is a connecting system ? Link sellers to traders and buyers to commercial sellers ?
@@sIightIyboredCinch is also BCA, they sell the better cars gained from WBAC through Cinch, the rest go to auction!
Car Wow shouldn't be included in the list. They just pass details to third parties. It's up to the seller to accept the offer.
With all the car reviews and drag races carwow do I'm pretty sure they will be fine financially. Their YT revenue would be quite high.
Great video. Grounded and informative. Ive been subbed for a few years now and im so glad you haven't turned into one of those channels that just destroys old cars, or flaunts wealth with nothing of substance.
We used Cazoo as we knew exactly what we wanted and their p/x offer was way more than anyone else's; after sales however was non-existent.
Same here sold my car to them for 2k more than I paid for it 3 years previous somehow 😂 bought from them too and yeah aftersales was non existent
You are spot on to mention how important it is to engage personally. Some things don't work on line - shoes for example - because you have to try them on. Cazoo had to succeed in making cars a commodity but the fatal flaw in that is that "what you see is what you get" doesn't work with cars. Every car is different so you have to be happy with how it drives, the condition and service history and check for concealed faults. Tesla can sell on line because Tesla have made their cars into a commodity, a Tesla is closer to a washmachine than a car (I like Tesla's but they are very different).
100% Agree Matt. Cazoo, Cinch, Motoway (all those online sellers) look great but.....why on earth would anyone want to buy a car before seeing if it's nice to drive, you fit properly in it, you fall in love with it. Absolutely no surprise it's gone bust. Cinch will be next. I HAVE to drive the car first. Well Done !!
Matt, for my sin's I'm in financial services. I've seen online this and that come and go over the last thirty-odd years. We have a saying - "people buy people first, and products second". That personal touch has always served me well. I've been following you for a couple of years now. I sort of feel I know you (obviously I don't), but I see many similarities in the way I think about things. (oh, and you operate out of the village my parents used to live, and you support City-like me). So would I buy a car off you - hell, yes, because I feel an element of trust. This is what Cazoo et al don't (can't) have. So this RUclips channel is one of your ways of marketing. How many cars (as a %) have you sold in the last year as a direct consequence of this channel?
I'm probably in the minority, but as a consumer I actually admire Cazoo's business model. I don't mind buying a car without seeing it first - because I've got 14 days to return it FOR WHATEVER REASON. Effectively I've got 14 days of free test drive!!! I'm not sure a lot of people realize this when they go "I'd never buy a car online without seeing it first. What if my pushchair won't fit in the boot?" Well, you've got 14 days to find out after it's delivered!
I recently spent about a month to buy a car. I am extremely particular on what I am looking for in terms of the model, year, mileage, trim, spec, colour. So even if I look across the entire country, there might be just 5-7 cars I would actually be interested in buying at any given time. I would call up the dealer and asked about details, but sadly quite a few of those massive car supermarkets out there are horrible in terms of customer service. They would go "We have no idea! We can't take additional pictures! We can't get an on-site salesperson to confirm the details. Just come see the car and buy it if you want." I said I didn't want to travel 4 hours to your forecourt only to discover it's not something I wanted. They said "Yeah we understand. But our on-site salespeople are just too busy. Come see the car if you want."
Finally I decided to take the leap on one particular car which seemed to tick all our boxes. I reserved the car, travelled 4 hours by train, only to discover that the car was in awful condition - ripped leather seats, massive scuffs and scratches all over the car, and a pretty big crack on a windscreen. When I pointed out these issues to the salesperson, they simply said "Sorry our business model means we can't prep them properly as our profit margins are thin enough already." Then they had the audacity to offer fixing those issues ONLY IF I decide to purchase their paint protection, extra warranty products etc.. Frankly, I would have been happy to buy the car if the initial asking price was £500-1k higher but the car was properly prepped.
Anyway I wasted two more full-day trips travelling around to see cars only to get disappointed. The frustrating thing was all these dealers had extremely positive reviews online, so it was quite shocking. And, no, it wasn't just me being a perfectionist and nitpicky. I shared pictures of those defects to friends of mine with limited car-buying experience, and everybody agreed those defects weren't acceptable.
I guess I was quite unlucky - and the dealers were just not very honest in terms of the pictures/ video they posted online. If the dealers had been upfront with the issues, then I could decide whether to make the trip or not. I got so frustrated with my car hunting experience that, towards the end, I was actively looking to buy from dealers who are willing to do a distance sale. The fact that they are willing to do distance sales means they are confident that their car is properly prepped, and in a condition most customers would accept.
It may well be the case that Cazoo overspent in terms of advertising costs, or didn't properly factor the extra delivery/ return costs into their prices (you did mention in the video they had very low prices and hence thin margins). But personally as a consumer, I don't mind buying a car without seeing it first because, again, I have 14 days to test drive and return it for a full refund for whatever reason!!! It's well different from buying a house as it would be difficult to "return" a house after moving in!
Again, I am well aware I am probably in the minority as I am so fussed with the exact spec. A good friend of mine had to buy a car recently as well. They just went to a used car dealership and stated their requirements - dark-coloured, SUV or hatchback, manual gearbox, within a certain budget, THAT'S IT! Then they bought the first car they saw. This was even though the car was a tad above market value according to autotrader. In some ways, I'm quite jealous - they had a much less stressful experience than me :D
Those flaws sound like things you'd see in the vehicle photos before travelling to view, no?
@@JackBremer That's precisely the problem, mate - the pictures were taken in particular angles such that the flaws weren't at all visible, and they refused to take a walkaround video when requested. When I phoned them, they were like "Yeah the car's immaculate. All properly prepped in our state-of-the-art workshop!" If the dealers were honest and upfront, then I'd just decide whether it's still a car I want to travel/ buy for that particular price. If the price was cheap, I might consider buying a car even though it's in average condition and get the issues repaired myself (although one might question why I'd need to buy from a dealer rather than a private individual/ through an auction in that case).
And to add insult to injury, when I demanded why they said on the phone the car was in immaculate condition when it clearly wasn't, the salesperson said "Yeah well... they're the call centre team who chatted with you on the phone... they never actually get to see the cars... so of course they'd need to say... you know... " Basically throwing their co-workers under the bus!
Again, it might well be me just being very very unlucky. :(
So you’ve done the deal with Cazoo. You take delivery, they take your part X and you have the new car. 10 days go by and you think, don’t like it, sending it back. That’s all fine. They come and collect your car, refund the money and all sorted. Only issue is you now have no part x and no car to use. 🤷♂️
@@markpashley1831 might well be a very fair point - although I never part x with the dealer I’m buying from as I found I tend to get the worst value in return. When I sell, I try to sell independently.
Besides, you might well run into the same issue even if you did a test drive and bought the car the traditional way - if the car worked fine when you bought it but then the engine goes flat ten days later, presume you’d have to put up an even bigger fight to return the car and get your money back? Not sure if you could get your px back as well?
Also, we are pretty fortunate for being a 2-car household so we are able to live without one car for a short while. So whenever we want to replace a car, we tend to just sell it outright, then go car hunting with cash in hand.
But they don't work for the business itself. Very convenient for us consumers, but very expensive for the business making it a high risk venture.
My dad and I brought a car in Cazoo. My dad a 2018 Toyota Auris Hybrid in Spain. No problems at all, he still have the car very happy. Me, a 2014 C4 Picasso here in the UK. A nightmare. Since day one lots of problems. Looks like no one check the car before delivery. Noises in the rear axle, no heating in drive side and after few thousands miles, head gasket gone. In 10 months the car were more time in the garage than with me. I sold it to Arnold Clark before it cost me more money 😞
The biggest difference here is Japanese Vs French.
Don’t buy French/Italian cars - that’s my rule. Japanese cars are the best, generally speaking in my opinion.
So basically your father bought a Toyota and you bought a Citroen, got it.
C4 Picasso doesn't have a rear axle
@@jam365days8 I thought every car has two axles 😅
1:44 "People don't buy used cars like that." Yes and no. People who have an active interest in their cars would never buy a car from a company like Cazoo, IMO. But people who buy cars as a lifestyle accessory will buy the car that they think suits their brand/image from whoever has it. It's basically the difference between people who take pictures of their cars to show online, and people who take pictures of themselves with the car as an accessory. The closest I'd come to buying from a company like Cazoo, is buying from a car supermarket that I've spent time wandering around to find a car I liked the look of.
I got a cracking car from cazoo 2 years a go... ill have to preserve my cazoo goody bag now😂
Same, even got that tile Bluetooth key finder lol 😂
@@GrahamReid34 living the dream🤣👍i didn't get one of those 😵
I am still very happy with the car I bought from Cazoo in December 2020 and would have been happy to use them again.
My Cazoo umbrella and ice scraper are still in the glovebox 😁
@@ferrumignisHot property now mate 😂
Great information and edited to perfection. Well done, there's no stopping you. I think you need a full on tv show
I think I read somewhere that the people behind the Cazoo enterprise borrowed massively to get the show on the road. The other thing that's interesting is the survival of, say, Cinch. What have they got right? Will they go the same way as Cazoo? The other thing I thought is they may have started too soon. The success of Amazon shows that there is a whole cohort of people who don't want interaction with sales staff and these might be younger people with older buyers still preferring bricks and mortar outlets. Really interesting video Matt.
They will all follow like a domino affect. Just a matter of time really.
Cinch is owned by the same company as We Buy Any Car and British Car Auctions. So they get first Dibs on vehicles to sell from both of those.
At first Cazoo thought they would get BCA to prepare their cars for them !
As someone once said, selling is easy. It is getting stock in at the right price that is difficult.
How many people remember that Tesco briefly tried selling used cars? They ran into the same problem with the only cars they could source to sell being ex lease Fords and Rovers.
Cinch has the supply chain sorted with We Buy Any Car and as far as I can tell doesn't have the same degree of physical presence.
I bought the last 2 used cars without a test drive or seeing it. I just made sure the dealer was fully aware that if it wasn't everything they said i would reject it, which they were OK with... But appreciate i may not be the norm!!
I could never understand how people could buy a car without looking at and driving said car first. One of these online retailers says on their advert you have 7 days to change your mind. So it seems that’s not exactly truthful.
I recall the very video in which you questioned online car sales. I agree with you about the need to see, feel and drive a new car.
Why Cazoo failed? The business model was wrong. People will buy a car online IF they are saving MONEY. There should be a discount. I sell all my cars online and at a DISCOUNT. I can provide discount because I've no salesman or showroom. We have a unit where cars can be viewed and have a test drive BUT no fancy showroom or salesman. That means I can sell cheaper. I have success doing it like this. People are happy because they are making big savings. Trouble with cazoo was they were no cheaper than going to a traditional dealer. They also had showrooms etc. They were no different to a traditional dealer with a showroom. The whole business model was wrong.
Hi Matt, another excellent and informative video. All the very best from Nick in Wolsingham.
We the general public got lazy over the years online shopping became the norm.
I can remember having to get up to change tv channels. Those were the days.
I agree regarding buying blind, during Covid I purchased a MB R230 2005, and though you have 14 days to return the car, in reality for me, this is a very short time, it's like an extended test drive, but you don't get to ask all the usual questions or see the car in 'the flesh' before you drive it, my SL was delivered to me from Coventry in February 2020. it was dark and wet, no time to really look at the car internally and externally, though the car was 2005, I didn't expect perfection, but had I the opportunity to view, I would have seen the bad repair job on the front off side wing plus some internal 'flaws', which I would have challenged or walked away from, all I can do is put this down to experience. I would never recommend anybody buy a car unseen, when this is generally the second most expensive item besides a property you will buy.
You nearly bought a Tesla? That’d be some step down from your Range-rover in terms of driving experience I’d say.
He's got a video up of his test drive, He was very unimpressed with the stupid screen and how much attention it requires to use, which has always been a major criticism of mine. You simply cannot beat separate physical controls IMO.
I would say it is a step up from many range rovers and older merc/bmers…. A new driving experience that will need learning and not just jump in and think it is like a petrol or diesel….
Thanks for the video
Didn’t seen easy to have a look around last week because your colleagues couldn’t be arsed showing me the vehicle I was interested in.
Cazoo offered me £6k for my car ... 4 weeks later, they offered £3k .... they didn't end off with it 😂
Founder nose check required.🤨
@JamesSmith-qs4hx I was like how ... why ... they said that's it 🤔
@@stevenbrown8857 oiiiii veyyyyyyyyyy
Not the kind of content I expected, but still amazing. Also Ground news is a great sponsor I have been using them for years.
Cazoo appears to have been heavily into diversity judging by it's adverts.
Woke / Broke
You really nailed this one Matt. I could not believe that this concept could work - for all the reasons that you give.
You thought buying an EV was a good thing? No, really, you did? You? 😂🤣😂🤣
I bought a car off Cazoo in 2022 and I have been really happy with it since I have had it, have had no issues, and any small issues I did have which turned out to be nothing Cazoo paid for me to go to main dealer to check them under the 3 month warranty.
This was a fascinating and informative video . I think that the main problem any mass market seller has is where do they source their vehicles from. They can’t afford to employ dozens of buyers to travel around and carefully source selected vehicles,so they end up buying vehicles from fleets and car hire firms just so they have enough stock. They can’t afford to be choosy because if they are,they run short of stock. Some businesses don’t translate to the mass market. Could you imagine a national chain of antique shops? It just doesn’t work because you can’t find enough good quality products to stock a national chain. The great advantage you have is that you know your vehicles and their history, what can a salesperson in a car warehouse in Manchester say about a car that’s just been shipped up from London along with 60 others? I worked for the biggest Renault garage in North Yorkshire; it was miles away from any big population centre but was successful because it offered great customer service. That is the way to build a successful business,and you have done that!
Enjoyed your insight on this Matt.
With many products, people will go to an traditional store and try something out, then buy the same item cheap online. That sort of behaviour is nothing new and I'm sure many Cazoo customers had already test-driven the type of car they wanted at a traditional dealership first. I'm equally sure that someone will eventually hit the correct balance to make the online model work fairly well (Cinch it seems, still have a way to go if you read the reviews). But it is difficult to see how it would ever become the norm when buying something of the value/complexity/pitfalls of a used car.
Really interesting Matt. Great episode. With something as personal and as expensive as a used car people are always going to want a physical connection and experience. Period. It sounds like you're striking a good balance between the two models. And nothing wrong with being a bit risk adverse, this is how you're running a successful company after all!
I agree with your comments. We bought a 6 month old car in October 2020 and didn't even consider Cazoo; I wanted to test drive and 'feel' the cars before parting with my money. COVID restrictions made the process more of a faff but it was all still doable. I feel sorry for the Cazoo employees. Thanks for your great videos.
I have followed this story with interest as I work next door to what was an Imperial Cars supermarket which became a Cazoo customer service centre, complete with giant video screen telling people who had presumably already bought how great Cazoo was.
From what I saw Imperial Cars always had a much nicer selection of cars; mainly two or three year old BMWs and Mercedes. Something not possible with the Cazoo model is upselling which would be easy when you have a dozen BMW 3 series parked in a row. "For £70 a month extra you could have this newer, lower mileage, one with the more comfortable seats".
Finally I once counted eleven of the Cazoo delivery vans parked at the back of the site. How many cars did they think they would be delivering a day ?
My wife runs a successful wedding dress retail business and you guessed it she often deals with ladies in a blind panic who have gone down the "buying online" route and boy do many of them regret it. I think Cazoo's business model was fundamentally flawed from the outset but the killer blow for them was probably being too ambitious and greedily trying to buy market share with super low cost cars. Another spot on video Matt. Keep them coming.
One thing to consider is the rapid change in online technology. 40 years ago the web did not exist, but physical car showrooms were in essence the same as today. So, envisage 40 years from now (or even less than), it would short sighted to say that the online business model would be constrained by anything as we move into the future.
I bought a car from cazoo, I loved the idea. Worked well for me. Delivered to my door and they said I could test drive it etc to see if I wanted it.
And I noticed the cars were very well priced. I bought a 2019 bmw f36, it was absolutely mint condition and was priced 4 grand cheaper than the average price of same model on other sites and garages advertised on autotrader. Gutted they've collapsed. The pics on the website were very good and had any , no matter how tiny imperfection highlighted . They also touched In any stone chips etc. All in all it was hassle free car buying and getting the car delivered was great. Saved me having to drive for 150 miles to see the other model I was interested in
It was a great option when the only option was to buy a car online, it was the perfect solution at the time, I used cinch, car was good value, perfect spec, everything we wanted for my wife, the car was delivered…… 3 options from the spec list were not on the car!!!! They first try to say cars can be modified by their owner including removing optioned items!!! Honestly who would remove 360 cameras?? After a few emails they gave me compensation, however I wouldn’t use again, really poor aftercare, 3 weeks to respond to emails, so frustrating, great video
10:33 What the difference between the UK and Europe markets?
You are spot on...Ive been in the industry for over 30 years and seen it before..we are a touch n try industry..people sell to people and I cant see it changing..
Superbly researched and presented video.. I never quite understood their business model from the start and distinctly remember you voicing your doubts about it. Ultimately Cazoo banked on too many customers viewing car purchasing as any other domestic appliance or commodity. However, for most people, car buying will be their most expensive purchase only second to their house, so buying a used car unseen is simply too risky, clinical and emotionally unattached.. It was an ambitious idea that failed because they presupposed how customers were going to buy cars in the future. Will be nice to see Autotrader searches back to normal...
Excellent video, Matt. Brilliantly narrated. The comments are very interesting too
I agree with everything you said. Call me old fashioned but when buying a used car I like to see it, drive and talk to the dealer. We've just bought a used car and when searching Autotrader I discounted any cars being sold by "car supermarkets" and instead opted for small independent dealers. We're very happy with the car and service provided by this dealer and they even knocked a little off the asking price. To my suprise, the dealer had to spend £408 to get the car ready for us which included a new Bridgestone tyre that had a split that "might have" caused a problem later.
I 100 per cent agree with you. We have a fantastic family run independent dealership about 25 mins drive from where we live that has won a customer service award from Vauxhall for 15 yrs now. A few years ago they were voted the 2nd best in the UK. We have recently spent over £25,000 there in the last year, purchasing not only my son’s 1st car after passing his test; but also at the start of this year I exchanged my car to a 23 plate. Nothing was too much trouble for them & they contacted us a few days later to see how happy we were & if we had any concerns.
Great video. I agree I never understood why you would buy a car without looking at it, driving it, and the negotiation.
A news article at the turn of the year stated Cazoo, at that time had spent over half a billion quid on advertising alone. Unsustainable i`d have thought.
Matt, you need to sell aftermarket products you may not like them but its additional profit. You can sell them honestly if they are good. Paint protection works if its applied correctly and warranty and gap are no brainers just read the small print!! I really like your work ethic and your moral compass points in the right direction. Keep them coming mate.......
Worked well for me, I had an Hyundai i20. Wanted to upgrade to an i30. My local Hyundai had no good used cars locally. Cazoo had a few and would deliver them. So I did some youtube searches and decided on an i30. Excellent service from Cazoo, worked for some but as you said there model was profitable enough.
Hi Matt great video I actually didn't know kazoo had gone bankrupt until now and I completely agree with what you're saying about visiting a showroom to buy a car it's much more visceral than ordering online .I recently purchased two brand new cars this Easter just gone and there's no way I would have done it online I like going into a dealership and test drive in and chatting and drinking coffee I'm talking to the actual salesman for me it's all part of the buying process and yes it worked in lockdown obviously but now you want the Showroom experience it should be fun buying a new car and I had a wonderful experience with Suzuki and you wouldn't get that online just like buying a fridge or washing machine it's just not the same...cheers Phil from Newark
Thanks for that video. I found it very interesting, especially to gain an understanding from someone who knows the nuts and bolts of the industry. Some things just don't work completely online.
I think you hit the nail on the head - when making a big purchase, you still prefer to see it in person. It's a scary move paying money into something you haven't seen. Especially with cars, they're complicated things, so you want to make sure everything is as it seems.
I bought a 2019 Kia Proceed from cinch 'blind online' and it was the easiest process ever. So much more convenient than the 'normal' way. No travelling all over the place looking at cars etc. The car was exactly as described and has been brilliant in the year we've had it so far.
I don’t think it could be explained any better, nail and head.
They were simply too ambitious too soon, came in, thought they could be the biggest and sell big volumes without a second thought to everything you said. Great video.
Excellent video Matt - very informative and well analyzed. No doubt everyone should have a High Peak Autos Dealer to trust their used car purchase from, which would mean fewer headaches and troubles.