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?

This vehicle comes with a 12 month warranty so really not sure how it work for me to turn up and drive a car that falls apart. I feel like this thread thurned into a bit of shocking story telling rather than productive advice.
I was looking for opinion if this was the normal practice and thank you for those commented in regards to that.
Thanks @Meadowfinch that sounds like a good idea. i might suggest it 👍

Is this Arnold Clark by any chance?

If you have only driven the same type but not the actual vehicle make sure you do before you commit. There can be differences between ones which are the same make and model so you need to know you are happy with how this one drives first.

I paid for last car advance.

I wanted the dealer to deliver. I don’t think there was an option to pay the delivery driver cash on the day.

You can pay AA or similar to inspect the vehicle. It always seems like money well spent unless you are a car expert.

You have the option of rejecting the vehicle if not as described.

Clearly I am crazy !

@FullOfLemons I have got to the same stage. I have been looking for over a month. Been to many dealers. Have learnt quite a bit about specific models.
Im not an expert either but thats why i decided to buy a car from a reputable dealer with a year warranty. i feel i have secured the buying experience as safe as i can.
Im sure something can still go wrong and they could still be lying about things but one can only hope.

In my experience your middle paragraph is wrong. Last time I bought a car the first £10 test payment went through instantly, but the second payment (the balance) did not go through until I spoke to the bank's fraud department and literally said "I have seen the car, it is outside, I want to buy it, I have insurance and tax, and the keys and paperwork in my hand right now - please hand over my money to the person whose car I am trying to buy. I made the payment 2 1/2 hours ago and there's only so many subjects for conversation I can find to have with this random person who is kindly making me coffees."

If I were you I'd go there, look in person, and if you want to buy it then see if you can sort payment on the day - it should be possible so long as your bank's fraud department picks up the phone, which they do tend to do. If you can't then you might have to go back to collect.

When I bought my brand new car I did a bank transfer in the dealership at the time I collected. I wouldn’t do this op sounds like it could be a nightmare

Thanks @JamieCannister that sounds like a good plan. It’s under 10K as i have a part exchange as well so hopefully that amount should not be too much of an issue for banks.
i know when i transfer between my partner and I (halifax) it goes straight through but not sure if that’s different than transferring to businesses

Depending on your cc limit, pay by credit card? You get extra protection that way. You can always make a bank payment to your cc to give you more availability.

Completely normal, as is paying for a car in full and having it delivered.

Would it be an option to pay by credit card as that would reach them instantly. When I bought my car I did this, I had to pay in 2 transactions and transfer money between accounts to facilitate this as my limit wasn't quite hight enough but given how much I was spending it was fine.

Just on this myself and DH went to view a car a few years ago which online looked immaculate. Video and pictures both showed a beautiful car. Was also being sold by a main dealer. Went to view it and the smell of dog was absolutely horrendous. Like would choke you it was so strong. When we said it to the dealer his response was oh we plan on getting it deep cleaned but the was gleaming and had obviously been recently valeted. Fine to put a holding deposit on but I’d never buy a car I hadn’t seen in person or driven

Id be happy to pay in advance but id want to pay some of it by credit card to get Section 75 coverage. If it’s a dealer they should be ok with that. It will give you much more protection.

Have you thought about getting an AA report on the car before you buy it? It’s about £200. I know the cars got an MOT but that will have been done by the same garage.
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Also, make sure that ANYTHING they have said about the car is put in writing. If they’ve said it’s never been in an accident, only had one owner, whatever it is make sure it’s in writing. You can just send them an email to confirm what they have told you.

The most important thing though is to pay or partly pay by credit card.

i do not own a Credit card

You'll probably be fine - if they're a reputable dealer. Have you looked them up on companies house? There's a difference between "Bob's Great Cars" and a used car supermarket or chain of a main brand dealer.

However, I'd do what I can to avoid it - pay £500 or £1000 or £5000 or whatever now, to get the payment in and a second payment usually goes through instantly. If not, they can probably do debit card. And worst case, you accept a tiny risk that you can't get the car that day and have to go back - it's up to you to decide if you're ok with that.

I wouldn't even put a deposit down, purely because cars can be different from when you see them than in videos.Smells, stains, scratches etc. And might drive differently too. And some cars you just can't get on with when you drive. Getting money back from a dealer after you have paid it is probably hard work.

So many options these days in terms of cars. You can go with online that will deliver a car to you on 14 day approval. Or some dealers will drive the car to your house for test drive/inspection, for a price of course.

I would not pay in full before viewing.
We had a very detailed video once... Except it didn't mention absolutely reeking of cigarettes, or the many cigarette burn holes in the seats, which were, of course, very much not on show in the video.
Also made a weird noise when first started!

I would video yourself examining all the car for any signs of damage before you take the car away. Take photographs of any scuffs, dents etc.

Thank you. Just called my bank Halifax and set them up as recipient today so hopefully it won’t look suspicious tomorrow.
Yes that’s the risk i’m going to take. Put it down to a day of travelling but fingers crossed it will all work out.

If I was in your position and buying a car that I haven't seen in person I'd pay for an AA or RAC vehicle inspection. While I know there are many fine car salespeople, there are also way too many scumbags to take a risk with that amount of money.

I’d seriously consider getting one. It could potentially be extremely helpful if there was an issue with the car.

If not then you do get limited cover (“chargeback”) if you pay by debit card. You would have to make a claim within 120 days of purchase but it can vary depending on the card provider.

Paying by bank transfer gives you zero protection.

I sold a car on once after 4 pints of milk had spilt on the front passenger seat. Every summer it stank.

That car would look great on the photos!

Thanks for all the extreme likely scenarios!
All worked out fine