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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

AIBU to buy a car online, unseen

46 replies

PanickedCarBuyer · 09/05/2022 10:41

I urgently need a new car. Mine has failed its MOT on something that is nowhere near cost-effective to fix, so I can't drive it.

I know what I want to replace it with but without a car, can't get to the only car dealerships which seem to have suitable vehicles available at the right price (they're all 1-2 hours away, motorway journeys). I don't have access to another car or any relative who could drive me.

Am I mad to consider a home delivery and buy one unseen? It's an established national dealer, not a main dealer but a car supermarket type thing, with branches all over the country; just not a branch that I can easily get to.

It's a newish car - 4 years old, low mileage, one owner, looks good on paper. There is a money back guarantee.

OP posts:
ShadowoftheFall · 09/05/2022 10:41

I recently bought from Cinch. Bloody brilliant, highly recommended.

ZoeQ90 · 09/05/2022 10:46

I did it. They sent me a video of the car, I'd already tested the model generally and was happy. I went for a dealer's approved used scheme for extra assurance or you can get someone like AA to go and check it for you (costs £65-120ish I think)

Catcrazy83 · 09/05/2022 10:48

Just make sure you put it on credit card for extra protection in the event the car is faulty

VickyEadieofThigh · 09/05/2022 10:52

Last year I did exactly this - car dealerships were unable to open to customers so I bought 2020 reg car and they delivered it and took the other one away in part exchange.

Best car I've ever had.

PrettyMaybug · 09/05/2022 11:04

I gather this is Cinch? It seems fairly popular, but I would never do it myself personally. ie, I would never buy a car without seeing it/test driving it first.

bridgetreilly · 09/05/2022 11:58

@Catcrazy83 A lot of car dealerships don’t take credit cards these days.

Catcrazy83 · 09/05/2022 12:01

You don’t have to pay full amount on credit card. Just the holding deposit will give you full protection. Personally if a company wouldn’t accept credit card, I would shop elsewhere.

TokyoSushi · 09/05/2022 12:02

I've got one from Cinch coming on Wednesday. I was wary, but the reviews are really good and the service so far has been fantastic, So simple and loads of communication. I had a question and customer service were exceptionally helpful too. I'll let you know how it goes!

TokyoSushi · 09/05/2022 12:02

I did put my deposit on a credit card just for extra protection, it was no problem at all.

Stickytreacle · 09/05/2022 12:03

My son did this and was very happy with the car he bought.

User0610134049 · 09/05/2022 12:04

I would, from a big company like that with a guarantee. I think lots of people do

DeusInAbsentia · 09/05/2022 12:27

Presume distance selling regs would cover this if there was an issue. In fact, I'd think it was probably easier to reject a car purchased at distance than one you buy from a forecourt.
Just use a decent company.

siblingrevelryagain · 09/05/2022 12:29

Did this last year, all good 👍

Duchess379 · 09/05/2022 12:32

Most of those companies like Cinch & Motorway offer a 7 day no quibble return. So if you don't like it, you can return it. Seems a good idea if you can't physically get to a main dealer.

OpposableThumbs2 · 09/05/2022 13:05

I bought one unseen through Cazoo about a year ago. With them you can return it within 7 days with no charge so I figured it was an extended test dive. I had no problems and kept the car. They were also brilliant at rearranging the delivery when I ended up in hospital.

Frazzled2207 · 09/05/2022 13:10

we did this once, from an independent dealer the other side of the country.
we paid £50 (bargain!) and they drove it over for us. All fine

Aprilx · 09/05/2022 13:10

I bought my last two cars unseen. One was seven years ago and I bought nearly new from a main dealership. The other one I bought last year after a FaceTime viewing, I think that became very normal during covid.

brainstories568 · 09/05/2022 13:21

We bought our car on Cazoo about 2 years ago. The car show rooms were closed at the time anyway and even if they were open we couldn't easily get to them as we didn't have a car and had a baby in tow. We would definitely do it again when we get another car, I hate the hassle of pressure from the sales people (particularly if you're also trying to occupy a baby who is just learning to walk) and the fact that you could "test drive" if for 7 days was fantastic.

Tbh now I wouldn't buy a car from a vendor who didn't offer a 7-14 day test drive experience even if I had seen the car before buying it.

Duettino · 09/05/2022 13:23

You should get 14 day return if you haven't seen it before hand.

My concern was transferring that much money to someone without the asset. In the end, I used Carshop. They shipped it from where it was to my local branch and I collected after test driving. I know it's the new thing to buy online but I just got scared. Luckily, they have a branch very close.

Where are you buying this from?

MrsMoastyToasty · 09/05/2022 13:28

We did it with Vauxhall's Network Q . Delivered to our local Vauxhall dealership from one at the other end of the UK. The only problem was the time it took as they only deliver once they have a full load for the transporter lorry.

Wilkolampshade · 09/05/2022 13:30

We used Cazoo for exactly this. There's a seven day no quibble return and the service was terrific. It took all the hassle out of it for us.

Bananacattoy · 09/05/2022 13:46

We bought a car on Cinch a few months ago. Check it carefully when it arrives - one of the tyres was damaged on ours, which DH didn’t check. While saying that, they paid the invoice for a new tyre quick quickly.

The car arrived with no mats, which was annoying, but they don’t cost that much.

Apart from that, we are very happy with the car.

Original poster
PanickedCarBuyer · 09/05/2022 14:07

Wow, seems I am panicking unnecessarily. Thank you all for the reassurance that this is ok to do.

OP posts:
badhappening · 09/05/2022 14:16

My friend did this and the car was terrible.
And it was also checked by the AA before it was delivered to her!! It was a big and costly mistake (£10k).
Her and her husband could have done the trip to check it out before the purchase (he had his own car), but they couldn't be bothered/thought it would be okay due to the AA check.

Imtryingveryhard · 09/05/2022 14:18

I have bought 4 second hand cars this way, only seeing them when delivered and with no issue at all. They were from Audi main dealers though, I wouldn’t consider this for any other sellers. Ironically, the only one I test drive and viewed before buying was awful.