Buying a used car unseen and/or without a test drive?

[The_Open_Road]

How common is it for someone to buy a used car unseen and / or without taking it for a test drive?

That is something I would never, ever do.

However, a few years ago my father bought a used Honda Civic unseen (albeit from a dealer that was recommended) without a test drive and was happy with it.

I recently privately sold my car (also a Honda Civic) to someone who just wanted to see it start up and didn't bother taking it for a test drive!

[davidd]

I've done it a few times, last one was a £63k jag. From a dealer though so I had recourse in the event it wasn't right. I also did a lot of checks on the dealer, HPI on the car, spoke to the previous owner.

D

[steve-5snwi]

My last 4 cars have been purchased unseen and the first time i've seen them was on hand over. I wouldn't have an issue unless buying from the midlands or manchester areas ( i spent 2 years buying cars from private sellers)

[ninjag]

I pretty much did with a Kia Sorento but unfortunately a week later whilst stuck in a field in the driving sleet in the middle of nowhere I discovered that the AWD system wasn't working. The center diff coupler was knackered - a common and very expensive fault along with the rest of the lightweight alloy AWD system which apparently wasn't designed to withstand the torque of the 2.2 diesel. KIA admitted this and a local Motor Engineer also told me and had literally just finished replacing one the previous day!

But, I had researched the dealership beforehand and thankfully they were honourable and refunded me in full. As a result I gave them glowing reviews everywhere I could find them listed online

[boyse7en]

I've bought a few cars off of eBay unseen and undriven. Priced in the £2-£2.5k range so not mega-money to some but a big spend for me.
I've either been lucky or the horror stories you hear about are rarer than a lot of people make out, but I've never had any major problems with the cars.

[FK]

Evening all,

Yes I've done this before. Paid for my first Focus before test driving it. Although, it's not as if I didn't know what to expect. With enough homework, it's not too much of a risk. If it was a Pagani Zonda F, I would want to look at it. Frankly, even if I wasn't buying the thing....

Buying completely unseen, I'm not sure I would be as comfortable with that personally. But it works for some people so I'm not one to judge!