Buying a car in lockdown?

[isthatatree]

I work in an office and need to be in at the moment to train a new colleague for a month and then once trained we will return home. This training cannot be done remotely or we would do it this way. There is 2 of us in a huge office and we have a whole set of toilets each and a kitchen each so its very secure.

Anyway my car is broken and the mechanic has just told me that its going to cost more than the car is worth to fix (great but at least he told me over the phone so I didn't get any charges).

So I need to buy a new second hand car ASAP, can I still do this in lockdown? I live in the middle of no where so getting to work without a car is impossible.

We will have to drive to collect one (car is drivable but will fail its MOT in a week).

YABU - this is not allowed
YANBU - this is allowed

We bought a new one just a few days ago - Scotland zone 3. I didn't see anything in the regulations when I checked to suggest there was any reason we couldn't. Why not check your local restrictions? You'll get a more informed decision than asking people on here who don't even know where you are.

I am in the south west of England and I'm pretty sure the restrictions are the same throughout! The travel restrictions say you can travel to buy something from a retail premise that is open but this would be a private sale!

I'd look into hiring maybe ? Think they will drop a car off to you.

I wouldn't have a problem with doing this. It seems fine.

Anyway my car is broken and the mechanic has just told me that its going to cost more than the car is worth to fix
I've spent more than a car's value on repairs before. I never understand why people make the comparison - it's meaningless because you could easily wind up paying a lot more to get back to same position.

There is public transport, could you use that, perhaps only a limited number of days each week travelling? Strange if they need to be with you five days per week.

I work in car sales. You can only click and collect. Dealerships have to be closed top

Yes you can. My work are still selling cars over the phone

@isthatatree Could you afford the cost of the repairs? Is it a reliable car? Only because you could easily buy a second hand car (cost money) and then have to pay out for repairs they may not have been honest about.

My car is 13 years old (my husband's old car) and it's had a fair amount spent on it over the years as we know it's a reliable car x

Accidentally pressed post.

They have to be closed to the public so no test drives, etc.

The bonus to the customer is that it then becomes a distance sale, so you have a 14 day cooling off period that you wouldn't have had otherwise.

I've spent more than a car's value on repairs before. I never understand why people make the comparison Yes, more sense to compare with the depreciation on the car you would replace it with. If it'll cost you £400 to get your old banger to survive another year, and your replacement would depreciate by £500 in that year, then repairing is perfectly sensible.

I'm in the middle of buying a car via click and collect (it was loaded onto a transporter today - I'm so excited ). Good to know there's a cooling off period buying it this way as I won't be able to drive it until it arrives at my local branch.

it probably depends on what you're looking for though. I'm quite comfortable buying from a distance as it's a three year old car with very low milage and a brand new MOT and service. If I had been looking for a cheap runaround I'd have wanted to inspect it properly.

Yes you can, and I just have done. You can't test drive them though. So if you want to try out a particular model you will have to hire it, which will be a separate expense.
All the car supermarkets are operating. With with either a click and Collect service or delivery.

@ArnoJambonsBike

Accidentally pressed post.

They have to be closed to the public so no test drives, etc.

The bonus to the customer is that it then becomes a distance sale, so you have a 14 day cooling off period that you wouldn't have had otherwise.

Not necessarily.

The dealer can ask you to pay a refundable holding deposit over the phone. You come and collect it. You check it over, the dealer refunds the holding deposit, you pay the balance in full. It's now no longer a distant sale.. Loads of dealers are being told to do this to get around the 14 day cooling off period.

Yep click and collect at my place of work in NW England. Plenty of people still buying cars

You can buy a car online and have it delivered - I know someone who did this during first lockdown and it was delivered to her office. Might be worth looking into.

I work in a car dealership (Scotland) and we are very much open and selling loads of cars just now. Test drives are happening, cars sanitised before and after and customers test driving alone wearing masks.

It is my first car and was given to me but is quite a rare model of Citroen so the parts are really hard to get and therefore expensive. There is an issue with the roof and the electrics so to replace it all is going to cost about £900 and the car is only worth about £500. Also it is not reliable I have had many issues with it and the mechanic has explained that they are prone to lots of repetitive issues and I would be better off investing in a new (second hand) car. And considering this advice is meaning he doesn't get make any money I think its pretty fair!

I shall take a look online and see if I can do the delivery or collect thing!

Also there is one bus a day that goes to my workplace and that is at midday and none come back so public transport is not an option. And I do need to be in 5 days a week!

Thanks all!