Is it safe to buy a car from a dealership 100 miles away?

Goudy

Yes, it's nothing to worry about.

I bought my car from my nearest dealership, though they weren't that local to be fair.
It's still under warranty but since then, the supplying dealership has closed down.

It's still has a warranty, it wasn't a dealership warranty but a manufacturers warranty.
It's a pan European warranty. If it had a warranty issue anywhere in Europe, the local dealer would fix it.
(though I think there's a few exceptions, like Albania and some other Balkan states)
 
The next nearest dealer is all to happy to service my car but it's never needed any warranty work.

On the last service receipt from the new dealership I had "misc joint fitted" on it with £0 cost.

I asked what it was for and they told me it was a updated part had been fitted due to a technical service bulletin.

GoldenOldy

Final thing, sorry, forgive me! I have just looked at the dealership reviews on a page called ‘trustpilot’ and some others. They marks given to the dealership are very split with about 46 pc 5 star, and 43 1 star, with very little in between. Main issue was handing over money, deposits not being returned, promising thins and not delivering, Main problem was no one answering emails and phones at head office once you had signed up. What do you think? Last question honestly! Cars are such a lot of money these days , and i dont want to get it wrong as rely on car for hospital transportation etc.

GoldenOldy

Ps… I have no one else to ask , so again my apologies.

Goudy

You will find a lot of reviews are:
"They were very good to me, so I must post a review to reflect that"
Or
"They messed me about a bit so I'll get my own back on them with a snotty review"

Not many people bother with:
"They were adequate" reviews.

You are only buying from them so really, for this dealership you only have a couple of things to think about.
How you pay them or arrange finance?
Will they deliver the car you select on time? 
What if there is a delay?
Hand over.

You can ask the salesperson about these worries, see if they seem genuine with their answers, but as you can imagine, there isn't just the one person that only deals with you and your car until it's delivered.
There are a good few people at the dealership in the chain dealing with lots of customers to get them their cars.

They can get busy, normally have a couple of days off a week, go on holiday, be sick and so on. 

Dealers don't usually mess customers around when it's time take your money, but finance can sometimes go wrong, which is often out of their control.

They probably wouldn't still be in business if they tried to palm off cars to customers they didn't order.
Yes orders from the factory can go astray or between ordering and delivery the manufacturer changes the specs of their models or sometimes even prices if there's a long lead time for a new build, but it's unusual. 

Yes, delays happen and there's not much a dealer can do except keep you informed.
Some are good at this, others not so but you can expect a rough delivery date and if everything is going as planned, as it gets closer they will start letting you know.
If they don't, this is the time to start asking what is going on.

Handover is usually a simple thing.
Just before that is due they may ask you for some details, like insurance so they can register and tax it.
They should run through some of the cars features with you and will more than likely introduce you to the service department. hoping you bring it back for those.

Little goes wrong but you must inspect the car carefully for transport damage.
Sometimes they pick up scuffs and small scratches when they are transported from the factory to the dealers, they should arrange for those to be rectified if they haven't been spotted and fixed before hand.

Check you have all the cars paperwork, handbook, you have all the keys and it's the spec you ordered (has it all the options).

Off you go to enjoy your new car!

GoldenOldy

Goudy, Thankyou so much for that excellent advice . I now understand your point re the reviews. I shall travel there tomorrow now and go and  inspect it in the flesh.

ontheroad1970

I don't trust review sites.  They just aren't balanced enough.  People rarely feel incentivised to go on one and give a good/decent review -but if things badly, you can't keep them away.  I use Trip Advisor as a source of amusement, for example.

400ixl

How are you planning on paying for the car? Are you buying it outright or financing?

Pay the deposit on a credit card, if the final invoice value is under £30k then this gives you Section 75 protection.

Even if you are a cash buyer, ask about whether there are benefits with taking finance in full or partial. To give an example, with Audi if I paid £10k on finance I got a free 2 year service pack. I checked it was still valid if I exercised my right to withdraw from the finance within 14 days, which it was. So I took the finance and then cancelled it keeping the serving.

If financing, then who is the finance with, an agent of the dealer or with Hyundai.

Typically how it all works is you view the car and negotiate on the price, trade-in, finance, extras etc and then on agreement pay a deposit (by CC if possible)

You then leave them to do the final delivery work on the car to be collected on a specific date / time.

If you have chosen any finance, this is usually done online between then and collection date. Sometimes they will get you to tax the car as well through a link they give you.

On collection date you turn up with your trade in (if you have one). You give them the car, keys and part of the V5 logbook that goes to them and keep your part. You then finalise the finance, or you pay then the remaining balance (Debit card or bank transfer). The sort the registration over to you and off you go.

Just ask then to walk you through all of the steps before you agree to the sale so you are comfortable.

When viewing:
Check for condition carefully pointing out anything you want them to fix before delivery. Being new this shouldn't be much but take your time and don't be rushed. Send them away if you want to do that in piece.
Test drive the vehicle and make sure you do that for as long as you need to be comfortable, don't let the salesman dictate. Some allow you to go on your own, others will insist on going with you.
Get them to print out any service history, again this may not be anything if new, but if a pre-reg it may have some
If un-registered, ask if you can have a choice of registration
They will try to upsell some add-ons:
- Gap insurance - if you want it - check if your insurance does new for old on a the first year of registration - if it does kick that can down the road - if it doesn't, get a quote online before you go. It will likely be a lot more expensive for their first offer, but telling the what you can buy it for online forces them to match it or shut up
- protective coatings - likely to be offered at a few hundred £'s. Not worth it as the do a very basic job. For similar money you could take it to a proper detailer who will do all of the paint correction and ceramic protection to a much higher standard for similar.
- Service plans - as before, if they offer them, see if they can be offered free as part of finance if not and you are interested then make sure it is a manufacturer level plan that can be used at other franchised dealers.

Good luck and hope it is the car you want.

Grumpy_chap

Good luck OP - hope you have a great trip tomorrow and please do report back with the outcome.
I am sure you will be happy

Stubod

..if the car is actually there, I don't see uch of a problem. Not as if you are orediering it, paying a deposit and then waiting for delivery?  As above, if paying "cash" pay a percentage using your credit card as this will give you some addded protection. When I got mine they only wanted a few hundred pounds deposit, and I then paid the balance on collection...

...enjoy the moment, and hope you enjoy the car....  

GoldenOldy

How kind of you all. And what thorough thorough advice. I have become rather emotional reading the replies from all you wonderful people. My trip has been delayed by a few days as I have developed a lower lung infection and as yet am not chipper enough to make the journey. I am hoping to do so by wednesday.I thank you all from the bottom of my heart.  Godbless x