Buying a car over the phone - advice request
Discussion
Hi all,
I'm on the verge of buying a new (to me) car. I'm after a 4-5 year old XKR and I'm planning on buying from a main dealer. They're not completely rare, but if I want one that meets my spec/colour requirements I've accepted that I need to travel to get the right car.
I've only ever purchase locally before, so I'd appreciate any tips from anyone who has bought a car before seeing it (e.g. over the phone or the net).
For obvious reasons I'd like to agree the price before undertaking a few hours of travel - but at the same time I don't want to get screwed on price by appearing as a desperate buyer. When you can kick the tyres in person it's often possible to highlight items which justify a decrease in price - It'll be difficult to do this over the phone. What other methods can I use to try and get a price more in my favour?
When I've seen cars at the dealers locally, they all had badges on which said "drive this car away in 48 hours" or words to that effect. Obviously I want to be in a position where I drive the car away the same day rather than travel back and forth. Is it possible to achieve this? Will it likely require full payment in advance?
Nowadays, is it better to have a trade in or not? I've got a car worth about £1.5k. I'm currently thinking that it's best to just buy the new car outright and then try and sell the old car privately or via the likes of WeBuyAnyCar.
Has anyone got any tips on how to get greater assurance around the condition of the car? I could convince the dealer to take more photos/close ups, or request that a salesman walk around the car and talk through each element in detail. I'd appreciate any other pointers.
Sorry for the bombardment of questions, as I said I've not purchased a car like this before and I want to do my best to avoid wasting lots of time travelling, or even worse, risking losing cash by paying deposits/paying in advance and the car not turning out to be right. If you can help with any of the questions above I'd really appreciate it!
The last car of any significant value I bought was up for 31k, I phoned up and asked if there was any movement on the price, there reply was they had just dropped 1k off the price over the weekend so no further discount available, this was fair enough as it was the cheapest car of its kind available and it had been up for more. I then put a deposit on the car on the understanding that if I didn't like it when I saw it then it was fully refundable. I was in Essex, car was in North Yorkshire so travelled up to see it and was pleased with it so decided I'd buy it. Went back I home, bought car by bank transfer, car was then delivered FOC By the dealer.
Usually when buying over the phone from a main dealer, they ask for a deposit which is refundable if the car isn't as described.
Being a main dealer, the theory is that they prepare the cars to a consistent standard, so you should know what to expect. That said, I've seen plenty of variance in BMW AUC cars, so it's always worth asking the salesman to describe on the phone the condition in detail.
From that conversation you should be able to pick up on anything that may be a bartering point.
As for collection, how quickly you can take it away will depend on a few things - MOT, tax (that's a big one) and any prep required. You should be able to arrange all of that over the phone so it's ready for collection, and you pay the balance on arrival.
Being a main dealer, the theory is that they prepare the cars to a consistent standard, so you should know what to expect. That said, I've seen plenty of variance in BMW AUC cars, so it's always worth asking the salesman to describe on the phone the condition in detail.
From that conversation you should be able to pick up on anything that may be a bartering point.
As for collection, how quickly you can take it away will depend on a few things - MOT, tax (that's a big one) and any prep required. You should be able to arrange all of that over the phone so it's ready for collection, and you pay the balance on arrival.
Isn't the order of events:
View car,negotiate price,place deposit (or not)
Collect car and pay balance (or not)
Payment can be done electronically from a mobile phone these days, it's virtually instantaneous. That's how I did it on a recent purchase, driving from Surrey to Lancashire to view it then from Derbyshire to Lancashire to collect it.
View car,negotiate price,place deposit (or not)
Collect car and pay balance (or not)
Payment can be done electronically from a mobile phone these days, it's virtually instantaneous. That's how I did it on a recent purchase, driving from Surrey to Lancashire to view it then from Derbyshire to Lancashire to collect it.
I'd go and view first - I know this isn't always possible due to work commitments and family but its the best way by far in my opinion.
You get to see all the imperfections - and there will be some, drive it, have a coffee, look around it more and just see what feeling you get about it. It'll be a no-brainer instead of a nail biter.
Its a day out and as another poster said, it might be then delivered free of charge or maybe reasonably price. Think how exciting it will be waiting for the low loader to arrive with a car you are happy with!
Peace of mind is priceless.
Oh and before setting off, ask the dealer nicely if he'll hold it till you get there or ask if there's a way it can be held.
You might be giving away signals that you're keen but that's life - they've got exactly what you want.
You get to see all the imperfections - and there will be some, drive it, have a coffee, look around it more and just see what feeling you get about it. It'll be a no-brainer instead of a nail biter.
Its a day out and as another poster said, it might be then delivered free of charge or maybe reasonably price. Think how exciting it will be waiting for the low loader to arrive with a car you are happy with!
Peace of mind is priceless.
Oh and before setting off, ask the dealer nicely if he'll hold it till you get there or ask if there's a way it can be held.
You might be giving away signals that you're keen but that's life - they've got exactly what you want.
I've bought a couple over the phone, the last was an XJR for £20k'ish about 3 years ago.
Emailed the dealer a few times to get a price I was willing to pay. did a deal , paid a £500 deposit, Agreed they would deliver the car to their dealer local to me, I would check it over and if as described I would hand over the rest of the money. If the car had any issues and the deal didn't go ahead the deposit would be returned.
Emailed the dealer a few times to get a price I was willing to pay. did a deal , paid a £500 deposit, Agreed they would deliver the car to their dealer local to me, I would check it over and if as described I would hand over the rest of the money. If the car had any issues and the deal didn't go ahead the deposit would be returned.
Thanks for the advice guys. The two cars I'm looking at are based in Coventry and another near Brighton, so not exactly local (from Manchester). Honestly, if I know it's the car I want, and trust the dealer to give an accurate representation of the car (which I should be able to), then I want to avoid multiple trips where possible.
Delivery of the car is an interesting prospect which I'd not considered. That's something I'm sure we can agree beforehand.
Piersman, when you had the car delivered to a local dealer, I assume this was a dealer which was part of the same group? The two I'm looking at have no members of their network nearby unfortunately.
I'm also thinking of requesting the full history of the car (servicing and repair work) which the dealer should be able to provide. This should give me some indication if it's been looked after properly and highlight any recurring problems.
In terms of justification for a price decrease - in my experience there's always a degree of room, or an ability to get something thrown in (maybe further extending the warranty for example). As I'm willing to travel I think it may be possible to play the dealers off each other in an attempt to secure a better deal (looking online there are very similar specc'ed cars which can vary a couple of thousand in price.
Delivery of the car is an interesting prospect which I'd not considered. That's something I'm sure we can agree beforehand.
Piersman, when you had the car delivered to a local dealer, I assume this was a dealer which was part of the same group? The two I'm looking at have no members of their network nearby unfortunately.
I'm also thinking of requesting the full history of the car (servicing and repair work) which the dealer should be able to provide. This should give me some indication if it's been looked after properly and highlight any recurring problems.
In terms of justification for a price decrease - in my experience there's always a degree of room, or an ability to get something thrown in (maybe further extending the warranty for example). As I'm willing to travel I think it may be possible to play the dealers off each other in an attempt to secure a better deal (looking online there are very similar specc'ed cars which can vary a couple of thousand in price.
View some vehicles locally - despite spec and colour, the main parts are there that you should really concern youself with (engine, bodywork, tyres etc). Get an idea of what is acceptable for a given price.
Ask the dealer to email you some images of e.g. service records etc. Then you can check that area.
If it seems right compared to everything else you've seen, make the long trip. You are still going to view, but if its not up to what you consider to be an acceptable standard, then just come back home. A long round-trip is less of a headache than owning a car you're not entirely happy with...and less expensive.
Sometimes, you have to put in some effort
Ask the dealer to email you some images of e.g. service records etc. Then you can check that area.
If it seems right compared to everything else you've seen, make the long trip. You are still going to view, but if its not up to what you consider to be an acceptable standard, then just come back home. A long round-trip is less of a headache than owning a car you're not entirely happy with...and less expensive.
Sometimes, you have to put in some effort
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