Virgin Cars - www.virgincars.com

Lovely car, did not really lose anything when traded in for a new one recently, but bought this from a franchise. If Virgin Cars had got their act together I am sure they could have still been trading.

It seems a little pointless writing a review on a company that is no longer trading vehicles but Virgin as a brand goes on and some unfortunate people are still experiencing problems even now. Virgin is such a huge empire it should be careful who it lets use it's name/brand. Probably due to all the problems they pulled out? However, as I did, many people who bought a car this way probably did so with confidence because of the branding. I still have not received the log book after 6 months and still contacting customer services without any joy......NEVER AGAIN.

We ordered a brand new Renault scenic 1600 expression paying 11500 up front after a deposit of 500, over Xmas I logged onto the Virgin website to find they had stopped taking new orders....this dashed my confidence completely! then I went on this review site to find so many negative comments I felt like ending my life there and then...anyway after waiting 5 weeks we were given a delivery date...great we thought, the following evening we had a phone call to say that the passenger door was stuck and they would have to order a part....wwwhhhaaaat! now I was worried...anyway after a few phone calls from them and us we were told the car was fine and would be delivered on Wed the 18th of Jan, anyway the car arrived in perfect condition, we love the car , the price probably saved us 2-3000, all in all it wasn't such a bad experience as I imagined it would be., the virgin staff were always polite and helpful , we have a great car at a great price and are all very pleased after a rather stressful waiting time of 6 weeks.

I ordered a nearly new Ford Fiesta Zetec 1.4 5 door (AC), £6500 21st December 2005. The Virgin Cars sales staff were great at approving the finance agreement. I sent off all the relevant paperwork and sat back to enjoy Christmas, knowing of course no progress will be made on the order until after Christmas / New Year.

On 27th December 2005 I noticed a message on the Virgin Car site, stating they are no longer accepting new orders for vehicles as of 22nd December, but existing orders will be processed as normal. I phoned Virgin Cars to confirm everything is continuing with my order, it was.

I received the vehicle registration confirmation first from the finance company, Black Horse Ltd, on 30th December 2005 in writing. I called Virgin to confirm this was correct, it was. Estimated vehicle delivery still 7th January 2006. I called Virgin two days before expected delivery to check if everything is moving along as expected. They were still claiming the delivery to be 7th January, but we're unable to confirm to me any other details, i.e. specific time and so on. I called Friday 6th and were now told they had not received the vehicle from their supplier due to a delay receiving the money from Black Horse Ltd, but they expected delivery "early next week" (Week commencing Monday 9th January). Mildly disappointed, I accepted the fact that I did order over the Christmas and New Year period and such delays are possible. I called Monday afternoon to check they had received the vehicle, they hadn't. I called Tuesday, they hadn't received the vehicle. I called Wednesday and they hadn't received the vehicle. At this stage I called the finance company directly, Black Horse Ltd, to express my concern over the problems that are beginning to surface. An hour later, I received a call from a manager at Virgin Cars (Coincidence .. ?). He now told me a different story

He claimed there had been an invoicing mix up at the supplier, Virgin Cars had paid for the vehicle as invoiced by their supplier, but for some reason this payment was not picked up by their supplier. Another vehicle, the same spec as my order, became available, they retracted the original payment and paid the supplier for this vehicle. Again the payment was apparently not picked up by the supplier. Both of these vehicles were subsequently sold to different customers by the supplier. The Virgin Car manager told me this all occurred at the start of January, with the 2nd bobo occurring 5th January. But yet I was still told up until 6th January that I should still be expecting the original vehicle, registration confirmed by Virgin Cars and Black Horse Ltd, 7th January by delivery.

Guess what? He called back Thursday 12th to explain it had happened again. This time he offered a free upgrade, the vehicle will have the optional Climate Pack, he said he'll e-mail me in 15 minutes to confirm the vehicle registration, after an hour I called to check there was not a problem with the e-mail address, the manager called me back to say they are still awaiting the registration from the supplier and I should now expect it tomorrow (Friday 13th). Now an upgrade is great. But if they are incapable of telling me the truth and getting the vehicle to me what confidence do I have that they will get the vehicle to me at all and the vehicle as advertised?

I rang Virgin Friday 13th, as I had not heard anything throughout the day regarding the vehicle. Another manager told me they are still waiting for the vehicle registration details and that I will be called back later today. No call came, my patience now wearing thin. Later in the evening on Friday, I searched for reviews on Virgin Cars, only to discover a wealth of bad reviews. I decided to pull the plug on Virgin today (Monday 16th), after reading the bad reviews and after being constantly misled only a fool would continue the order. I went to my local Ford dealership Saturday (14th Jan) and bought exactly the same car, £800 more, but it's an 05 plate, rather than 54, less mileage and I actually saw the vehicle and sat in it, so it does exist!

I have now cancelled the order with Virgin Cars and the agreement with the finance company has been cancelled, they have assured me I will be receiving my deposit back, (£99) within 5 days. Ford have accepted the finance agreement and I am collecting the vehicle this Wednesday (18th Jan).

I tried to save money using a well recognised brand, but failed. I went to my local Ford dealership, although I paid more, the salesman was a very nice chap and the experience a great deal better than with Virgin Cars. Virgin Cars offered a great price, but it's a shame I never got the vehicle. Quite when I would have received the vehicle is anyone's guess.

I would like to re-iterate what Brendon from Manchester has said, I was promised my car several times & even paid Virgin Cars the full price but never got the car. I finally ran out of patience with them & requested my money back - this was the only thing they kept a promise on & I got my money back less £75 admin fee. I then went to Sigma Cars & they were brilliant - got the car on time & saved £1K on the Virgin price. Virgin turned what should have been a very good experience into a nightmare & what a relief when I got the money back.

After ordering my car from Virgin Cars in August 2005, I was promised delivery on the 23rd of September, this was changed to September 30th, then this was changed to October 12th, yet again this was changed to October 15th. I advised them I would be away on October the 15th, so they said I could pick the car up on my return from holiday on Sunday the 23rd. I had already had the car reg from the finance company, and arranged the insurance... Surprise, it wasn't there on the Sunday. After numerous phone calls and no one phoning me back until Tuesday 25th, I had no alternative but to cancel. If I couldn't get anyone to call me when I was buying a car, then how on earth would you get hold of them if anything went wrong with it? I even lost money on my insurance through, them and they did not offer to reimburse me even though it was their fault.

I bought a Xzara Picasso 1.6HDI Diesel brand new with 19 miles on the clock (saving £5,500 on the list price) from www.virgincars.com. The whole process was painless and completed by phone. There was a ten day delay on the delivery date but given it was August that was to be expected. The car drives like a dream and I am getting an amazing 58 miles to the gallon.

I recently purchased a new Volkswagen Golf 2.0 GT TDI from Virgin Cars, and I have to say that I love the car, a real good drive and great fuel economy.

I probably won't make many friends saying this, but I had a very positive experience at Virgin. I ordered my car after finding it on their internet site, delivery time was said to be 8 weeks. I was happy with this, as I was saving myself a good couple of grand compared to my local VW dealer, with not a considerable difference in waiting time.

Time went on, and as it is revealed in some of the other reviews on this site, there was not a great deal of contact from customer services. After 6 weeks, I was updated, and my car was still expected to be delivered on time. Very good, I thought.

Two days before delivery, I had a call that everything was in place, and to come and collect the car from their collection depot. I in due course collected the vehicle from very friendly people in Sheffield.

The whole experience was pretty smooth for me, and the most important thing for me is the saving at the end of the day. Some people are more bothered with customer service levels than saving money, but they should probably stick to the dealerships if that is what they want.

I liked the fact that you don't have to travel around dealerships, not getting hassled off salesmen, and saving yourself a wedge of cash in the process.

I am surprised at some of the negative reviews on this site to be honest, though probably best I didn't see them until after I ordered the vehicle! Putting these other reviews aside, I would definitely recommend people to Virgin Cars.

I tried to buy a used Vauxhall Zafira from Virgin Cars. I paid a deposit and signed and returned a contract. They then called me to tell me my car was no longer available, and offered a replacement for an additional £800. I refused and from then on, had to chase them. I eventually saw a car on their website, same make, but not as good (1.6 litre instead of my initial 1.8, and 17,000 miles instead of my initial 15,000). It was advertised for £500 more than my offer. I called them and said I was happy to order that one, but for my initial price offer, which I thought was pretty helpful of me, and they flatly refused. I am now waiting for a full refund of my £1000 deposit, and I have found a better deal for the same car with a Vauxhall dealer near my home.

I've read all the reviews about virgin cars. I can relate to them as I have come accross a lot of the problems encountered, but ask yourself after all is said and done and the car is with you are you happy with it? Yep the reviews I read scared me no end! But hey I decided to buy a New Pre Reg Megane Scenic from the website. I Ordered a silver got a call later saying they have a black in stock. I took it, collected it (within 10 days) and the ABS was faulty. Drove from Inverness to collect it found the problem carried on, on holiday (checked with the Rac to see it was safe to drive) sent a letter to Virgin saying I would be out of the country can you book it in to be fixed. Came back told car booked in all problems solved. I did have a few issues with things I was told I would get, but didn't . They tape the calls and everything I was promised they have honoured. Now I bought a Clio from my local Renault dealers 3.5 years ago and the hassle I got from them even after paying full list price!, hey Virgin is a breeze. I will be Honest the intial buying the sales team promise you the earth but if they promise they will deliver. I know the car I bought had a problem but Virgins Service team are A1 and go out of there way to help you. All new cars come with the chance of a problem thats life. At the end of the day I saved nearly £7000, my local dealer could not match that. I have the car that I wanted at a fraction of the price, and it is more satisfying to know that it cost me less than I could have bought it locally. Would I buy from Virgin again Yep 100% you've got to think, If I save the amount I did how much is the hassle worth? well yes I've had some hassle but hey yes its been well worth it!

My car is an import but its no different to any I would buy here. A wee tip though, Log all your calls and what is said, and who you spoke to for your own reference, bring the time and date up if needed.