Buying a used car distance away from home

serenade2015

Just a little curious about what people do if anything goes wrong the car?

Due to be buying a used car the end of the month and been looking close to home(30 miles), a lot of good deals far from me but surely if something goes wrong with the car don't you have to take it back to the original garage?

I will be buying under the Volkswagen 12 months warranty

MysteryMe

If you buy with a manufacturer warranty you can return to any manufacturer approved dealership for warranty repair.

serenade2015

MysteryMe wrote: »

If you buy with a manufacturer warranty you can return to any manufacturer approved dealership for warranty repair.

Thanks i thought that might be the case with any stuff covered under warranty, i am thinking of anything 'not covered' by warranty - then it would up to the original garage to sort it?

arcon5

Yes you would.

If your buying decision is based on wanting comeback against the seller then keep as close as possible or within 25/30 miles ish depending on where you are.

force_ten

the last five cars i have bought have all been purchased from dealers over a eighty miles away as i go where i get the best deal and living in a rural area we are not spoilt for choice

I bought two cars from Derby (150 miles away)and had any warranty work done at a local dealer which is about 30 miles from here and never had any issues

the last car i bought had issues that were not corrected pre delivery so the selling dealer collected my car took back to their dealership 80 miles away repaired it and then delivered it back to me

buying from a dealer outside your area is not an issue and something that lots of people do now as with the internet you can see cars anywhere in the country and further afield

if i was buying a nearly new car and i knew all the details and car was still under manufactures warranty i would even risk buying it blind and have the dealer deliver it to me

mad_rich

You seriously reduce your options if the dealer is at a distance. Sure, warranty work can be done by a local franchise, but they won't have any 'goodwill'.

You have to take it back to seller for that sort of thing - you can't just 'bring it in this afternoon and we'll take a look'.

Your choice, of course, but I would pay extra for the ability to go back and see the whites of their eyes if necessary!

force_ten

mad_rich wrote: »

You seriously reduce your options if the dealer is at a distance. Sure, warranty work can be done by a local franchise, but they won't have any 'goodwill'.

You have to take it back to seller for that sort of thing - you can't just 'bring it in this afternoon and we'll take a look'.

Your choice, of course, but I would pay extra for the ability to go back and see the whites of their eyes if necessary!

I had a front spring break on a car with only 19K on the clock and six months out of its three year warranty, the car was purchased 150 miles away from motorpoint derby and it was a parallel import

took it to my local dealer for repair agreed a price and said go ahead with repair, three days later i called in to collect the car and the dealer said the cost of repair had been covered by good will as the spring should not have failed at 19K on a three year old car

it was the service manager that pushed for the good will repair as i would have just paid the bill but fair play to the dealer for going above and beyond on a car that they never even sold

MysteryMe

mad_rich wrote: »

You seriously reduce your options if the dealer is at a distance. Sure, warranty work can be done by a local franchise, but they won't have any 'goodwill'.

You have to take it back to seller for that sort of thing - you can't just 'bring it in this afternoon and we'll take a look'.

Your choice, of course, but I would pay extra for the ability to go back and see the whites of their eyes if necessary!

I don't think that is the case at all, the local dealer may well see you as a potential customer for future servicing. They have every incentive to build up a relationship.

MysteryMe

force_ten wrote: »

if i was buying a nearly new car and i knew all the details and car was still under manufactures warranty i would even risk buying it blind and have the dealer deliver it to me

A colleague at work did that, the way many people buy their cars these days has changed.

force_ten

MysteryMe wrote: »

A colleague at work did that, the way many people buy their cars these days has changed.

it certainly has

i bought and paid for a car over the phone on the strength of photos on the net and talking to the salesman

it was a low mile fairly fresh car and the salesman said it was a minter, so i paid the full amount on a credit card over the phone and arranged to pick it up five days later

the salesman said if the car was not as described and i was not not happy with it he would give me my money back and cover the train fare i paid to go collect the car

when i got to the train station i rang the salesman and he picked me up at the station in the car, I jumped in drove it around a bit and then back to the dealers to check it over and finalise the paperwork

the salesman was right it was like a new car and i kept it for six years and it never missed a beat

marlot

Me too.

Last time my wife changed her car, the local dealer wasn't competitive. I rang a dealer 100 miles away and did the deal by phone, including trade in. was completely honest about the trade in, talking him through every defect. honoured the px value and I was away from the dealer within 45 min with the new car.

I've also bought from further away. toyota both times, and nearly new. local dealer was happy to service and do warranty repairs.