Distance buying a car and having it delivered - circa £10k m

[Mrinsignia]

I am looking at buying a car and have noticed a lot of independent car sales dealerships offer nationwide delivery with 14 days to return it. If I was buying new or nearly new I wouldn't worry, however I will be spending circa £10k or a car that I expect will be 7/8 years old. My question is has anyone done this and did it work out ok? How easy is it to reject a car or sort any warranty issues, would I potentially need to drive the car 100s of miles to get it back to the dealer to sort it or would they collect it? Any advice appreciated!

[Raccaccoonie]

See loads of threads with issues. Just buy one local.

Edited by Raccaccoonie on Saturday 25th March 21:20

[037]

Never again
Dealers are unable to tell the truth

[Hugo Stiglitz]

037 said:

Never again
Dealers are unable to tell the truth

Honestly you can zoom in in pics until the cows come home then see the car in person and think WHOA.

BUY LOCAL.

[anonymous-user]

037 said:

Never again
Dealers are unable to tell the truth

It's fairly easy to tell when dealers are lying - their lips are moving

[snorkel sucker]

Unless it's from Cazoo or Cinch, don't do it.

I bought a car as a Distance Sale in early 2022. It was a heap of junk, rejected it.

Now March 2023 and I'm still waiting for a refund, currently going through the courts to try to sort it.

Don't do it.

[edc]

I bought one from Swansea but live in Surrey. Never saw it or driven it in the flesh. Saw some photos, had a video walk around did all the checks I could re service and what was to be included etc.

[bobsavage789]

We bought a 2019 Focus ST from a dealer in Devon; we’re in Manchester. It cost £23k, so was a massive risk.

In terms of due diligence, we (actually it was me, inevs) did loads of research into the dealer (reviews across various websites; accounts/history on Companies House etc), had a video call with the salesperson, insisting on close ups of various bits. Still unconvinced, I actually put a call out on PH for someone local to have a look at it in person. He reported no issues.

Would I do it again? Only if there were absolutely nothing similar nearer by. Has it caused us any problems? Not in the 2 months we’ve had it *touch wood*.

[Jamescrs]

I'd always make the effort to travel and see a car in person, even if it meant getting it delivered to me at a later date I'd still want to see it in person before paying out the cash for it.

[jonwm]

Looking for a car for the wife, found one with the spec etc we want in Hampshire, we are midlands. It’s £9k good history etc, I can’t get down till next week and it’s a ball ache in and out of London train journey.

I got a quote to ship it £200 on a trailer, dealer said they are not selling it to me unless I go and see it, they said it’s a perfect local car etc but are a small family business and by the sounds of it know they will sell it fairly easily so don’t want the hassle of me moaning if it’s not as described.

They won’t take a deposit and said best they can do is on the morning of travelling let them know and they won’t let anyone view that day till I’ve seen it.

Potentially got a lift Wednesday so just need to see if they still have it.

I’m driving past them in 2 weeks going to a wedding but feel it will be gone by then.

[av185]

snorkel sucker said:

Unless it's from Cazoo or Cinch, don't do it.

Don't be fooled by Rylans shiny teeth both have their fair share of dogs.

Many are ex rental tat with dodgy/missing/no history.

[Mr Pointy]

I bought a £22k Karoq from a garage 300 miles away & the wife of the finance director drove it over one Saturday morning. It was in excellent condition, but that was a AU vehicle from a Skoda main dealer with 2 years warranty. It was under Distance Selling regs but if I rejected it I would have to have driven it back to them.

A £10k non-AU vehicle from a dealer? No chance. At that level you should buy local.