to feel uneasy about paying for a car before i picked it up

[Isitorisitnot12]

I’m buying a car from a reputable dealer but as its 2 hours away i have not seen it in person only on videos. all details have been discussed but they are asking me to transfer the full balance a day before pick up.
It’s a cash buy so it’s a big lump sum.
Apparently it’s to do with accounts sometimes taking longer to receive money so they don’t want to do it last minute.
Is this the norm?

last 2 cars I bought I’ve had to do this. Just make sure you give it a good inspection on pick up/delivery before you ‘accept’ the vehicle

We bought a car recently and paid £30 I think it was, to reserve the car. If we didn't want it once we'd viewed, it would be refunded. Balance paid upon collection. Other cars we looked at were similar.

We recently bought a car from a known dealership and they requested the money prior to pick up as we were collecting on a weekend.

I tried to make the payment via my online banking but my bank stopped it due to the amount and first time paying this company. I had to call the bank and explain and she said really I should wait until on the day and question with them why if not.

I think it would have been fine for me to do beforehand but I rang and spoke to the dealership and they offered to do it on the day and they’d ring their dealership accountant (who doesn’t work at a weekend) to check it had gone through.

It is worth having your bank’s number available though (if you do leave it till on the day) just in case they stop the payment like mine and you need to ring to confirm it.

I wouldn't do it.

I viewed a car online and all looked great, but when I saw it irl it had mouldy seat belts and rusted seat belt clips. Put me right off.

Even reputable car companies make refunds hard.

When I bought a car I paid a £200 reservation fee on my credit card and the rest by bank transfer but not until I was ready to pick up.

However things should go more smoothly if you first pay, say £100, by bank transfer and the rest separately as the second payment is an established trusted payment so less likely to get tied up in anti fraud checks by your bank.

But see if they'll accept a debit card. They won't take a credit card for the whole amount due to the fees, but a debit card will be less likely to be delayed than a bank transfer.

I honestly would go and look at it. I remember when we were looking for a car, I saw one at a nearish car supermarket type place. Video was fine. In person, the seats were all damaged and sticky.
It is such a big purchase, I would make a day out of it. Maybe take the train there, look at the car, pay for it then have a day out at that location before driving home.

Thank you both. i have paid a deposit of £1000 already. I know the car and specifications. I have test driven the same type already. Its a main dealer not a car supermarket specialising in that particular model.
i have had papers to sign already but can’t help but feel a bit uneasy sending the whole lot. I know some other dealers asked me to do this before saying it may not clear in time.
i have emailed him to ask just now. Will see what he says

No absolutely not. You pay the deposit to hold it. Why would you pay the full amount before you actually see it?

i guess you would pay for something when you order it. I think my situation is different in that i can’t just pop over to have a look at it. They had to put a fresh MOT and new service so i guess they needed my commitment to do that so they have invested in this car being bought by me.

You shouldn't pay before turning up. Only before driving away.

It's not unusual to pay for a car the day before you pick it up. What is unusual is that you are buying it without seeing it. If it is only 2 hours way why on earth are you not making a journey to go and see it and test drive it.

Normally after that you agree terms with the dealer, go home and return a few days later to pick it up.

After a house, a car is probably the second most expensive thing you are going to buy. Not seeing it beforehand strikes me as madness.

I've just checked back to when I bought my car last year. I paid a £200 deposit to hold it which if I didn't want it after seeing it would be refunded.

I paid the rest a few days before collection so that they could so their accounts. But I did see it before buying it, I wouldn't have bought it without seeing it.

It was with a main Ford dealer as well so not dodgy.

I would never buy a car that I haven't driven. No two cars are the same. Even main dealers of high end cars sell dogs. Even with all our due diligence, and theirs, BMW had to give us a different (and better) car than the one they sold us, due to the original having an undisclosed, and dangerous issue, found by an independent service agent.

Nope don’t do it

Thanks everyone. i have seen a very detailed video of every tiny scuffs it may have just to be safe. I’m not sure by sitting and driving it i would be able to pick up any hidden problems especially if they try and hide it. I think that’s when it comes to reading reviews of the dealer and making judgement and have to put some trust in them.
I still have doubts paying out upfront but not sure i have seen any clear benefit to hold out from what i read here unless dealer is happy for me to leave it till tomorrow.
I work and have 4 children so a 4 hour drive twice is not as easy as some of you may think.

Don't buy a car you haven't seen. People usually pay to have a car checked over don't they.

To be fair if it is a large amount sometimes the banks put a fraud hold on the payment so won't go through straight away. This happened when we picked up our car even though we contacted the bank in advance to let them know a large payment was going out. Took an hour on the phone to the bank to sort out.

I would never do this. I’d only buy from a local dealer where I could see the car and test drive the actual car. Been stung a few times in this sort of situation- my Mum picked up a car after paying for it only to have it have a huge oil leak on the way home and the garage refusing to do anything about it. Awful.

I wouldn't. There's no need.

I emailed my bank, provided all the details of the vendor and their account details, and the amount and what it was for, and told them I would be making a bacs transfer the following morning.

I took my PC to the showroom the next day and transferred the cash while the sales manager watched.

I use HSBC.

Why are you buying a car that you haven't seen and test driven?

That's a crazy thing to do. Pictures tell you nothing about the actual vehicle.

Unless this a brand new car and you can afford to lose the money (you have no idea about the viability of the dealership) I really wouldn't do this.

I've never heard of any real, legitimate main dealer asking for full payment upfront before you even see the car.

Alternatively you can go to the showroom, see the car and take it for a test drive, then go to the nearest branch of your bank and ask them to do the funds transfer for you.

They will charge you a fee for this but it's a lot less risky than handing money over to a stranger. It's how I paid the deposit on my house too.

Friends did this via a dealer on fb turns out it was a scam and the scammer had used a reputable dealers fb page to advertise cars that didn’t exist. They paid 1k upfront to have their teenage daughter’s car delivered to their house and on the day it didn’t turn up. That was the first they knew about it being a scam. This was after weeks of messages and phone calls with the so called dealer discussing cars and prices. The police were involved and they did get their money back but it was an upsetting experience for them.

Dunno OP, but a test drive would.show if the tracking was out, the balance was off, there was a problem with the suspension, the electrics, the ventilation, engine. It's literally what a test drive is for.

A new blend door would cost a few thousand, and you wouldn't be able to drive the car if it had one that was stuck on recycled air. A test drive would pick that up.

Will they give you a full refund if you reject the car?

Otherwise they can just hand you a pile of scrap and there's nothing you can do about it.

That's something they would have to do for any customer . . .

Do not pay up front.

They are pressurising you.

Bank transfers are instant these days.