IMPORTANT UPDATE: Dream Car Sales are now Redland Car Sales
At the end of October last year, I wrote an entry in which I mentioned a local car dealer: Dream Car Sales, Telford. We bought a car from Dream Car Sales to tide us over while ours was undergoing repair because I was heavily pregnant and could’ve gone into labour at any time.
The car we bought was an M reg Astra MK3 3 door, with a catalogue of problems (most of which we found after parting wth our cash) including:
- One tyre was so badly degraded it came apart in the tyre shop.
- The airfilter was missing, and the trunking was split hugely
- The brakes are shocking. The pedal goes to the floor.
- The exhaust sections are held together by bolts with no nuts, ceramic cement and cable ties
You can see the full list, including pictures, on Karl’s page.
Since writing the entry, I’ve been contacted by two separate people regarding Dream Car Sales. First, through by entry by a guy called Chris:
hi i am sorry to hear of your car i too got a car from dream car sales whats the word DREAM all about nightmare more like, JUST BEFOR CHRISTMAS it was my wifes first car and she was gutted she could not drive it i am in dispute and dealing with trading standards to get my cash back £500 he sold the car for spares or repair which is illegal to let you drive it away
…and then again through Facebook by a guy called Sam:
hi, just found your blog as i searched for dream car sales on google to see if anyone else had a whinge about them, they had my car put through a dodgy mot, it had very dangerous brakes, suspension faults on all four corners and several electrical problems. car nearly killed me in the snow last week, tracked all the previous history on motinfo.co.uk.
just a bit of advice if you still have the car, check the mot sheet and see if it says ‘yes’ in the advisory box, and check the left hand corner for the sheet of paper that they rip off that warns you how rediculously dangerous your new ‘dream car’ is…
you can use the mot number and the reg to find out all recorded mot history (when it went computerised 5 years ago) on www.motinfo.gov.uk. i only recently checked this but i did challenge the mot tester as it had been on the forecourt since the mot and had passed with a brake light, headlight out and the horn didnt work, but we didnt realise the extent it was gone until the brakes failed after not feeling right since i had the car. however the garage insisted it was normal on my shape clio and the car was very cheap for what it was.
mine had failures that then turned to advisories (advisory means you should sort them, if somethings failed and repaired it should be fixed and not mentioned on the retest, when it says ‘brakes are barely at pass level and should be checked thoroughly), and they rip this sheet off and sell you the car anyway. as they have done with me.
In addition to this, the last time Karl went to our local mechanic, he was told of another lady who’d bought a bigger car from Dream Car Sales as she was expecting twins, and she was left with an unsafe vehicle too. If the owners are willing to put pregnant women into cars that could quite easily fail at a moments notice due to failing brakes or a perished tyre, it won’t be long before one of their cars is involved in an accident, and I dread to think of the consequences.
If you’ve been sold a car by Dream Car Sales, please get in touch: jem@jemjabella.co.uk
19 Jan at 12:59 pm
I am so glad that you are chasing these ripoff merchants Jem. Hopefully lots of people will get back to you regarding this and you can actually get something done about them.
Their total disregard to people’s safety and the law in general should be looked at and if needs be, legal action taken against them to prevent this kind of thing happening to others.
19 Jan at 4:24 pm
Good luck with doing something about these guys! Most people don’t feel like taking the trouble, so I admire you for actually going after them.
19 Jan at 4:31 pm
…sue their pants off? I don’t know what it’s called in the U.K., but in the States we call it a class-action lawsuit, if you can get to them before they close up shop and move somewhere else under a different name.
Lousy crooks/swindlers.
19 Jan at 5:21 pm
I have one word. Shocking.
‘Businesses’ like these need to be shut down, urgently.
20 Jan at 9:32 am
Absolutely disgusting. I hope this places gets shut ASAP – or sorted out at least – for the sake of people’s safety. I know you can’t find problems in one look or drive but didn’t they let you test drive the car first?
Their website made me chuckle: "Sorry no car of the week at the moment."
20 Jan at 8:48 pm
I don’t know if the law works the same over in the UK as it does in the US, but it seems that their blatant disregard for human safety should make it easier to have them shut down, or some sort of sanction put upon them. The sad thing is that these people will probably blame the buyers for the troubles they’ve experienced.
20 Jan at 9:14 pm
Clearly it was the colour of the car that should have been the first thing wrong :P It looks horrid!
I find it pretty hard to believe that a place selling that junk still exists, and in a first-world country. :\ I’m glad you’re at least safe and the car didn’t spontaneously combust near you; especially in your fragile time.
Thanks for the birthday wishes on my facebook yesterday :) <3>
26 Jan at 7:53 am
I was quite shocked to hear your story. I don’t know how much you paid for your vehicle but Chris’ response says he paid £500, which is about $811. In the United States, if you pay $800 for a car, you should already know that things are going to be held together with duct tape (or in your case ceramic cement and cable ties). Here, it is also the buyers responsibility to have a mechanic look at it before they shell out their cold, hard cash.
It’s unfortunate that dealers like this exist, especially with no remorse for what could possibly happen. Chances are, they buy these cars "as is" and they don’t bother to inspect them theirselves. They just sell it "as is". As long as they make their money, they aren’t bothered with others affairs.
31 Jan at 7:41 am
Wow that sucks about your car. Tires and brakes are routine maintenance, though a dealership should take care of it before it is off the lot. Maybe you could be covered by your state’s lemon law?
02 Feb at 4:16 pm
I can’t believe that…I have come across dealerships like that before and had my own bad experiences but surely you are covered by law within 6 months of purchase? The car has to be sold in a road worthy condition!