buying a car without seeing it and having it delivered

[djneils98]

There are lots of dealers now on Autotrader than offer nationwide delivery.
I have found a car that I like but it is too far to realistically go and view/collect as I currently do not have a car.
I've spoken to the dealer who seems like a good chap and have seen the car by video. The ad seems honest and pics look good also.
It comes with 12 months warranty that apparently would allow me to get fixed where I live should anything go wrong.
The dealer seems reputable and has positive reviews on autotrader.
He can deliver the car for £150.
Still I am nervous about this and wondered if anyone had done similar and if there are steps I can take to minimise any risk (e.g. pay by credit card)
thanks if anyone has any experience of doing such a thing

[Si 330]

I have done this the end of October although it was a main dealer used approved. I asked them to take detailed video, but this didn’t pick up 4 chips on the boot edge hatch, this wasn’t the reason for returning.

I have ended up returning the car and getting a full refund, I had 7 days or 1000 miles for a refund, or 30 days for an exchange.
It was wasn’t seamless getting the refund as they became difficult to get hold of.
Would I do it again, probably. I looked at a few this way and some give far better videos and detailed information than other’s.

[Trevor555]

djneils98 said:

There are lots of dealers now on Autotrader than offer nationwide delivery.
I have found a car that I like but it is too far to realistically go and view/collect as I currently do not have a car.
I've spoken to the dealer who seems like a good chap and have seen the car by video. The ad seems honest and pics look good also.
It comes with 12 months warranty that apparently would allow me to get fixed where I live should anything go wrong.
The dealer seems reputable and has positive reviews on autotrader.
He can deliver the car for £150.
Still I am nervous about this and wondered if anyone had done similar and if there are steps I can take to minimise any risk (e.g. pay by credit card)
thanks if anyone has any experience of doing such a thing

Do your deposit via a credit card, and then the balance from the same bank as your credit card.

[djneils98]

Trevor555 said:

Do your deposit via a credit card, and then the balance from the same bank as your credit card.

thanks - may I ask why you suggest this? (the part about paying the balance from the same bank)

[Canon_Fodder]

OP what 'risks' were you thinking of?

[Trevor555]

djneils98 said:

Trevor555 said:

Do your deposit via a credit card, and then the balance from the same bank as your credit card.

thanks - may I ask why you suggest this? (the part about paying the balance from the same bank)

You'll get the protection that the credit card gives you, and it'll also cover the rest of the balance paid from your bank, in case you have to do a chargeback.

[Trevor555]

Also, make sure you print out the dealers advert before they take it down.

That way you have their description of the car in case there's any discrepancies.

[djneils98]

Canon_Fodder said:

OP what 'risks' were you thinking of?

dunno - i'm just nervous the car won't turn up or more likely some issue arises when it does arrive and will I get decent customer service.
I did buy my last car from ebay in a similar way years ago and there were some issues (faults with the car) - the warranty went a fair way to sorting them and once it was the car was great for the next 7 years.
But this car is a little more money than i'm used to spending on cars (though still relatively cheap) so just a little apprehensive and was wondering how common this practice is

[djneils98]

Trevor555 said:

You'll get the protection that the credit card gives you, and it'll also cover the rest of the balance paid from your bank, in case you have to do a chargeback.

interesting - I did not know that - thanks

[djneils98]

Trevor555 said:

Also, make sure you print out the dealers advert before they take it down.

That way you have their description of the car in case there's any discrepancies.

good tip - thanks

[Canon_Fodder]

The only real difference the distance makes is that it becomes awkward if a fault develops in the first 6 months and the dealer expects you to take it back to him for diagnosis / repair.

You have to decide whether this car is worth that risk

[Trevor555]

djneils98 said:

so just a little apprehensive and was wondering how common this practice is

It's very common practise nowadays.

The dealers offering to sell cars this way will be clued up to the consumers rights, and most will make every effort to ensure you don't want to return the car.

So mostly, it's normally plain sailing.

[Easternlight]

Done this twice. 1st time used approved, the car was ok but some small damage not worth making a fuss about, also failed to pay the Dartford crossing so got a demand for that a couple of weeks later, only £2 so just paid it.
Second time was just random used car dealer, the car had a parking scuff on the front bumper which was repaired quite well but when delivered there was more damage on the rear which had been left. The dealer gave me some money back to get it done. It was a lot rougher than it looked in the photos I had been sent and pretty dirty inside. I had got it for a good price so just sorted it myself.
Two weeks later got a summons for speeding from the delivery driver, fortunately the trade plates were visible and I'd made them sign a timed delivery receipt.
Moral of the story.
Go in with your eyes open and be prepared that it probably won't be perfect.

[djneils98]

Easternlight said:

Done this twice. 1st time used approved, the car was ok but some small damage not worth making a fuss about, also failed to pay the Dartford crossing so got a demand for that a couple of weeks later, only £2 so just paid it.
Second time was just random used car dealer, the car had a parking scuff on the front bumper which was repaired quite well but when delivered there was more damage on the rear which had been left. The dealer gave me some money back to get it done. It was a lot rougher than it looked in the photos I had been sent and pretty dirty inside. I had got it for a good price so just sorted it myself.
Two weeks later got a summons for speeding from the delivery driver, fortunately the trade plates were visible and I'd made them sign a timed delivery receipt.
Moral of the story.
Go in with your eyes open and be prepared that it probably won't be perfect.

appreciate this little tale - thanks

[Funk]

Trevor555 said:

djneils98 said:

Trevor555 said:

Do your deposit via a credit card, and then the balance from the same bank as your credit card.

thanks - may I ask why you suggest this? (the part about paying the balance from the same bank)

You'll get the protection that the credit card gives you, and it'll also cover the rest of the balance paid from your bank, in case you have to do a chargeback.

I believe the credit card covers you for the transaction in full no matter where the rest of the balance came from....?

[Trevor555]

Funk said:

Trevor555 said:

djneils98 said:

Trevor555 said:

Do your deposit via a credit card, and then the balance from the same bank as your credit card.

thanks - may I ask why you suggest this? (the part about paying the balance from the same bank)

You'll get the protection that the credit card gives you, and it'll also cover the rest of the balance paid from your bank, in case you have to do a chargeback.

I believe the credit card covers you for the transaction in full no matter where the rest of the balance came from....?

I didn't think so, but happy to be corrected..

That's good if that's the case.

[Funk]

Trevor555 said:

Funk said:

Trevor555 said:

djneils98 said:

Trevor555 said:

Do your deposit via a credit card, and then the balance from the same bank as your credit card.

thanks - may I ask why you suggest this? (the part about paying the balance from the same bank)

You'll get the protection that the credit card gives you, and it'll also cover the rest of the balance paid from your bank, in case you have to do a chargeback.

I believe the credit card covers you for the transaction in full no matter where the rest of the balance came from....?

I didn't think so, but happy to be corrected..

That's good if that's the case.

From MSE site:

"Top tip – pay the deposit by credit card and you're covered for the whole cost of an item or service
The law's clear on this – you get the protection for the whole cost of an item or service, even if you only pay for a part of it on credit. The only condition is that what you're buying must cost more than £100 and less than £30,000 in total. As long as it does, you'll be covered for the full amount, even if you only pay 1p of it on your credit card."

I paid the £1k deposit on my new car by credit card for this reason, the £19k balance was BT from a different bank. Afaiui, putting the deposit on the card covers the whole purchase in the event of an issue.

Edited by Funk on Monday 17th October 19:46

[djneils98]

Funk said:

From MSE site:

"Top tip – pay the deposit by credit card and you're covered for the whole cost of an item or service
The law's clear on this – you get the protection for the whole cost of an item or service, even if you only pay for a part of it on credit. The only condition is that what you're buying must cost more than £100 and less than £30,000 in total. As long as it does, you'll be covered for the full amount, even if you only pay 1p of it on your credit card."

I paid the £1k deposit on my new car by credit card for this reason, the £19k balance was BT from a different bank. Afaiui, putting the deposit on the card covers the whole purchase in the event of an issue.

Edited by Funk on Monday 17th October 19:46

this is excellent advice I did not know - thanks

[Funk]

djneils98 said:

Funk said:

From MSE site:

"Top tip – pay the deposit by credit card and you're covered for the whole cost of an item or service
The law's clear on this – you get the protection for the whole cost of an item or service, even if you only pay for a part of it on credit. The only condition is that what you're buying must cost more than £100 and less than £30,000 in total. As long as it does, you'll be covered for the full amount, even if you only pay 1p of it on your credit card."

I paid the £1k deposit on my new car by credit card for this reason, the £19k balance was BT from a different bank. Afaiui, putting the deposit on the card covers the whole purchase in the event of an issue.

Edited by Funk on Monday 17th October 19:46

this is excellent advice I did not know - thanks

In amongst the bickering, PH has its uses sometimes...!

[Davie]

I'd also check the small print for that warranty. Rarely are they a blank cheque type of thing and usually have a list of exclusions as long as your arm and more than likely, an hourly labour rate cap.