Car Sales in Scarborough

Buying a car from a one-man family business

L.A Motors has been selling cars in Scarborough since 2001, these days from Pavilion Garage on Somerset Terrace, and Lex has spent more than 25 years in the motor trade. There's no showroom floor, no sales team and nobody working towards a monthly target. When you ring, you get Lex. When you come to look at a car, Lex walks you round it. When you buy, Lex hands you the keys.

That makes for a different sort of car sale. A large dealer group has to shift volume, so the person in front of you often has not driven the car and cannot tell you much beyond the windscreen card. Every car on this forecourt was bought by the person selling it to you, driven by him, and looked over properly before it was advertised. Nobody will chase you afterwards, and nothing gets bolted onto the deal at the last minute. You can see what buyers have said on our reviews page.

What is on the forecourt at the moment

It is worth being plain about what this is, because it saves a wasted journey. We're dealing at the honest end of the market: small hatchbacks, superminis and practical family cars. If you want a three-year-old SUV with a service plan, we're not the right place.

Which makes are on the forecourt changes from week to week. Corsas, Astras, Zafiras and Merivas, Fiestas and Kas, 107s and C1s, Picantos, Rios, i10s, Aygos and plenty besides have all been through here. What does not change is the type: first cars, second household cars and sensible runabouts, which is what actually sells in Scarborough. Stock and prices change daily, so the current stock list is the place to start, or the filtered view of everything under £3,000.

From the first phone call to driving away

The process is short, and none of it is designed to keep you in a building longer than you want to be there.

• Ring or message first. Lex is often out collecting cars around Scarborough and the coast, so a call or WhatsApp to 07900 910 588 means the car is out, unlocked and ready rather than parked in behind three others.
• Look it over in your own time. Open everything, check the boot, and start it from cold if you can. A cold start tells you more in ten seconds than a warm engine will in ten minutes.
• Drive it. Bring your licence and allow enough time to get the car up to temperature and onto a faster road, not just round the block.
• Bring your old car. Part exchange is welcome, subject to appraisal, and it is far easier to look at both cars on the same visit.
• Agree one price. Written down, with nothing added afterwards. No admin fee at the end.
• Collect. Once the car has had its pre-handover service and carries 12 months MOT, we agree a collection day.

What comes with every car we sell

Four things come with every car, at no extra charge.

• 12 months MOT, not the four months left on an old certificate.
• A full service before handover, so the oil and filters are fresh from the start of your ownership.
• A three-month engine and gearbox warranty, covering the two components that cost the most to put right.
• A 50-mile road test and mechanical health check before the car is ever advertised.

Fifty miles is long enough for a slipping clutch, a noisy wheel bearing or a gearbox that baulks into second to show itself. A lap of the block won't find any of that, which is why cars occasionally disappear before they are ever listed.

On the warranty, it is an engine and gearbox warranty and means exactly that. If something does go wrong inside those three months, ring 07900 910 588 first, before anybody starts taking the car apart.

Paying for the car and the paperwork

Payment is bank transfer or card. We don't offer finance, HP or PCP. That's simply what a small family business looks like: no credit check, and nothing that ties you to monthly payments for four years. Plenty of buyers arrange their own funding, which isn't a problem at all.

The paperwork is short: a written invoice, the V5C handled properly at the point of sale so the change of keeper goes through, the MOT certificate, and whatever service history came with the car. Nothing bundled, no deposit scheme, no online checkout.

Why history matters more than mileage

The most common mistake we see is ruling out a good car over its mileage. A 2012 Astra with 95,000 motorway miles and a folder of receipts is usually a better buy than the same car with 55,000 town miles and nothing to show for them. Motorway miles are gentle; short urban journeys are the opposite, and they are what wears an engine out.

Age works the same way. Between 2009 and 2016 these cars changed very little mechanically, so a 2011 Picanto and a 2015 Picanto are much the same car and condition matters more than the plate. If your budget is tight, that is the lever that buys you a better car for the same money, which is worth reading alongside the cheaper end of our stock. If you need two pedals rather than three, ask about automatics, which come through less often.

Part exchange and buying your car outright

Part exchange is welcome, subject to appraisal. The appraisal is not a formality: what your car is worth depends on its condition, its MOT, its history and whether it is the sort of car that sells on the Yorkshire coast, none of which can be judged over the phone. Bring it when you come to view and you'll have a figure the same day.

Lex also buys cars outright across Scarborough and the surrounding villages, whether or not you are buying one from him. If you simply want rid of something and would rather not have strangers turning up at your house, selling it to us is the quiet way to do it. Bring the V5C and the keys, agree a price, get paid.

Coming to see us in Scarborough

We're at Pavilion Garage, Somerset Terrace, Scarborough, YO11 2PA, a short walk from the town centre and easy to reach off the A64. Opening hours are Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm, with weekends by appointment.

Please ring before you travel. Lex is regularly out collecting cars, and a two-minute call on 07900 910 588 is the difference between a car sat waiting for you and a locked gate on Somerset Terrace. Buyers come to us from Filey, Bridlington, Malton, Pickering and Whitby as well as from Scarborough itself, and nobody enjoys making that drive twice. Directions are on our find us page.