Buying a car and having it delivered (ie without seeing in person)... is it wise?

KLB

I'm looking on AutoTrader and see that lots of places will deliver the car you've bought to you. I live fairly rural and this obviously increases my options as to what I can buy.

I know it's obviously better to see a car in person and give it a test drive, but is it a fairly normal thing now, buying a car online and having it dropped off?

I think I would stick to the same model as my last car, so it's already familiar.

Are there any specific pitfalls to buying this way and is there any extra comeback if it ends up having problems that you weren't aware of?

Or is it just a bad idea all round?

Stubod

I would never buy a second hand car without seeing it and driving it...but that's just me car

KLB

I know... that was my initial thought. But I haven't bought a car in years and it was easy the last time (years ago) as I lived in London. I just wondered if it was more of a commonplace thing to do now...

knightstyle

Make sure it is delivered in daylight and have a really good look at it before accepting it, make some of the payment by CC and if you have to sign anything on delivery state unexamined by your signature.

AdrianC

If the transaction is genuinely completely remote - you never set foot on the dealer's premises at all - then you have 14 days to return the car, for any or no reason at all.

Obviously, that's more hassle than seeing and test-driving it before agreeing to buy it...

KLB

That's good to know! thank you!

HansOndabush

There have been threads on here where cars have been delivered with different spec, stuff not working etc. I would not do it this way myself. It sounds convenient but is then difficult to sort out problems. Is there a reason you can't buy a car locally that you can go and look at?

KLB

I'm a bit rural so it's a case of having a lot more choice online and the convenience of having it dropped off to me. But I think I'll definitely look locally first, it does sound like a bit of a gamble doing it online and I'm not terribly confident about buying in the first place.

justworriedabit

We've had around 15 cars delivered, the oldest was three yrs old usually up to 6 months old all from a main dealer and please check, they have a 14 return agreement with us if not as described, etc.

The three your old car was from a toyoat main dealer one owner different marque, often main dealers keep A1 cars that are not run of the mill and not their marque.

So, yes and the reason we have done that is often get a much better deal than london prices

Herzlos

You're only going to hear the horror stories on here, so it's hard to judge how bad it really is. I'd personally rather go and look at it first, unless I was buying brand new.

If it's a reputable enough dealer and you're confident in the spec of the car then it should be fine. Just have a good look at the spec and photos, ask lots of questions first, and for photos/videos of anything you're not sure about.

NBLondon

Given that there a few companies advertising on national TV (Cinch, Cazoo) it seems there is a market for this.  If you are buying the same/similar model again then the test drive isn't to see how it feels; it's to see if it sounds wrong or doesn't match the ad.

I'd say maybe you need to treat it like a hire car; examine everything you can before signing, use photo and video, just in case you do decide to send it back and they suddenly claim you have damaged anything in the meantime.

Interesting question though...