Cinch: Slick Interface, Shady Service? My 30-Year Auto Trader Streak Ends in a "Faff"
For nearly 30 years, I’ve used Auto Trader to buy my cars. It’s always been a reasonably straightforward process, even if the quality of the cars has varied dramatically. There’s something grounded about supporting a local small business—even if it means turning up to a scrap of industrial land on the outskirts of town to drink instant coffee while poring over old service records.
This time, with my current car broken and my travel options limited, I needed something local. I set my criteria to a 50-mile radius and found what looked like a great deal: a car advertised just 16 miles away. The purchase started through a company called Cinch using a "slick and easy" online interface. You fill out the paperwork in the comfort of your own home instead of a dingy porter cabin.
The 240-Mile "Local" Car
The "slick" process hit a wall the moment the paperwork was done. Suddenly, I discovered the car wasn't 16 miles away in Taunton; it was actually in Corby, 240 miles away. To make matters worse, they wanted to charge an extra £300 to pick it up from where they said it was in the first place.
"This is all starting to sound a bit fishy... but you can't really pull out because if you're buying with finance, you've already run your credit check and you can't run lots of those and expect to keep getting approvals."
I spoke to a representative who admitted the 16-mile advertisement was "a bit misleading" and suggested I just buy the car and they would refund the transfer fee. Spoiler alert: they eventually refused to refund that money, which I believe is a breach of consumer law and advertising guidelines.
A "Luxury" Dacia and a Missing History
I eventually went to Avonmouth to pick up the car. Despite receiving numerous emails saying it was ready, it was actually locked in a compound they didn't have control over. I had to wait around for quite a while just to get my hands on it. This wasn't the staff's fault at Avonmouth they worked really hard to correct cinch's mistake.
The car itself—a Dacia—actually feels like "absolute luxury" compared to my old Skoda. It’s smooth as butter, but it came with zero service history. For the most expensive car I've ever bought, I was miffed to find nothing but a vague piece of paper from a BAC fleet solution company with unchecked boxes for oil levels and tire torque.
When I challenged customer service, the representative constantly talked over me, claiming their status as an "online retailer" meant they couldn't possibly put accurate locations on Auto Trader because they use regional hubs. It’s warped logic.
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