Car sales - paid reservation and have to wait a week to view. Is this normal?

[2023ideas]

Just that really. I’m looking for a new (to me) car. I found one at a large car dealership online, paid the £99 to reserve it and phoned the next day to check all was ok. I was told it was off-site having the pre-sale checks done and she’d phone when it was back, the next day or 2. It’s been 2 days and I haven’t heard anything. I phoned and was told it was still off-site and the computer says it’ll be back on site next Tuesday. That’s a week after I’d reserved it (it’s a 2018 car, so hopefully nothing wrong with it!)

is that normal? Or should I be wary? I assumed with a second hand car, I’d just got and visit it.

Honestly, sounds odd to me, but I've never 'reserved' a car. I've bought loads of secondhand cars and I've always just found them online, rang to arrange a viewing, gone and viewed them, thought about it, decided I wanted to buy, rang them up and paid a deposit, then paid in full at collection. I've never paid to hold a car I have never laid eyes on. My concern would be if they aren't reputable, they do this loads of times, you finally see it and it's rubbish, they still get to keep your money and on they go to the next person who reserves it.

@mindutopia Seems to be reputable (big dealership with lots of good reviews). But it doesn’t sit well with me.

I had a similar experience. It took over a week for a main dealership to get the car onsite and prepare the car for viewing.

Probably the car is stored at another location/dealership.

It's probably just come into group stock. Will need prepping and bringing over to site. Perfectly normal.

I bought my first car in March this year. I was astonished at how flipping long it took to get it.

I found one I liked online in a local dealership, part of a national chain so reputable and presumably efficient. But it was a fortnight before I got the keys.

They listed it before they had received it themselves, then it needed a full MOT style check, then fixing, then another check, then a full valet (although I said I'd forgo that, but it wasn't an option). THEN I could go and pick it up. Whereupon they talked my husband into a finance deal that took an additional three days to sort out.

I swear I could have built the car in that time.

I’d say normal

It might have only just come in, then it won't be the only car they are dealing with, you know how slow everything is nowadays, there is probably not many staff to do stuff, so sounds par for the course

So if you don't like it do you get the £99 back?

Quite normal.

Unless you have been to a dealer and actually seen the car you are interested in it is going to be stored either at another dealership or at a storage facility. They need to arrange for it to be relocated, checked over and perhaps even valeted as it may have been sat around for a few days/weeks/months.

Oh, ok. Thanks everyone. Sounds fine then. I think the part I worried about lost was that the rear action holds it form3 days. I guess I need to phone them and check that it’ll still be held for me.

@Cookerhood yes. If you don’t like it, they at you back. All the cars in interested in are miles away from where we live, so the only sensible option.

@Cookerhood * pay you back!

Normal.