Would you buy a car from a trader you hadn't seen?

BOWFER

One thing to bear in mind, when negotiating the price the fact you won't be taking it back to that dealer for anything that goes wrong can work in your favour and you can negotiate a bit more off.
The cost of any car they sell has a warranty built in, you don't want it so they should knock money off.
With the saving you can take out your own aftermarket warranty, if you like.

Herzlos

BOWFER said:

Whole of Scotland is either tier 2 or 1.
Travel is unrestricted in Scotland and between England/Scotland, unless the person is coming from a tier 3 zone (no clue or interest in how many tier 3 zones England has right now).

Sure, it might be an academic difference *today*, but we don't know when the OP is likely to actually travel and thus it's worth checking before getting caught out.
Is that pedantic enough?

Stubod

Would you buy a car from a trader you hadn't seen?

..no....

sheslookinhot

From a Glasgow base, I have travelled to o Huddersfield and the South coast for 3 cars for myself and daughter, all cars still on the drive way just be crystal clear with dealer to get an accurate description of the car and make sure  you can choose not to proceed with purchase if any issues emerge at viewing / collection. Bodywork to be free of dings was a deal breaker for me. I spotted 3 on 12 month old car for daughter who agreed with me. We decided we would not purchase car but a business manager assured us car would be fixed to our satisfaction on our drive. As it was. 

So answer is yes most definitely but do your homework. All had a service plan honoured locally.

MX5huggy

Would I travel for a private sale, yes you have no protection / warranty for a private sale if it 5 miles away or 500. Would I travel for a car under manufacturer warranty yes, you can get it fixed locally. I would not travel for a run of the mill 3 to 8 year old used car because you have to return the car to dealer to enforce any consumer rights. 

born_again

What sort of price range are you talking about?

Never heard of cars being cheaper in Scotland..
We have a town near us that sells cheap cars... There is a very good reason they are cheap. They are rubbish & the dealers go out of business as fast as cars move off their forecourts.

Do not rely on S75 to bail you out.

Grumpy_chap

I have never purchased a car from a Dealer without seeing the car in person first.  It is something I would never have done.  However, recently, I know people that have purchased cars remotely and simply had the car delivered and in those cases everything went perfectly well.  I am starting to review and flex my previous stance on this.

I think it does depend, in part, on the age of car that is being purchased and the caliber of the supplying Dealer.  If it is a relatively new car from a major company I would feel very confident with this approach.

One thing I have noted is, if buying a car from far away, then if it is a proper distance purchase and the vehicle is delivered to you, that is probably better than doing everything over the phone then collecting in person and signing paperwork as the right to reject in the period immediately following delivery is greater:
https://www.which.co.uk/consumer-rights/regulation/consumer-contracts-regulations-ajWHC8m21cAk

On a similar topic, I once purchased a car via an online auction site - it all worked out fine - but I only did so because the price was very low compared to forecourt for similar cars.  However, that is not something I'll repeat as I was so worried between "winning" the auction and collecting the car from 200 miles away.

Car_54

BOWFER said:

Herzlos said:

BOWFER said:

Herzlos said:

I'd try and view it if possible but it's worth noting that Scotland has different covid restrictions to England, if you are thinking of travelling up.

No we don't.

Yes, we do:

https://www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/explainers/coronavirus-lockdown-rules-four-nations-uk

Whole of Scotland is either tier 2 or 1.
Travel is unrestricted in Scotland and between England/Scotland, unless the person is coming from a tier 3 zone (no clue or interest in how many tier 3 zones England has right now).

If you have "no clue or interest", then it would be better to refrain from sweeping statements about the differences between England and Scotland.

FWIW there are no longer any 'tiers' in England. That is one significant difference to start with.

Johnmcl7

I've had to travel a reasonable distance for a number of cars I've bought because I want to see them in person first, a couple of cars I went to see were in worse condition than I expected for the age/mileage and in another case I just wasn't that keen on the car.  

BOWFER

[Deleted User] said:

BOWFER said:

Herzlos said:

BOWFER said:

Herzlos said:

I'd try and view it if possible but it's worth noting that Scotland has different covid restrictions to England, if you are thinking of travelling up.

No we don't.

Yes, we do:

https://www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/explainers/coronavirus-lockdown-rules-four-nations-uk

Whole of Scotland is either tier 2 or 1.
Travel is unrestricted in Scotland and between England/Scotland, unless the person is coming from a tier 3 zone (no clue or interest in how many tier 3 zones England has right now).

If you have "no clue or interest", then it would be better to refrain from sweeping statements about the differences between England and Scotland.

FWIW there are no longer any 'tiers' in England. That is one significant difference to start with.

Nice try, but tell me what difference this makes to my original statement.
I'll give you a clue - none.