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Original poster

Have you bought a car online with no test drive?

46 replies

NCfor24 · 18/04/2024 13:50

Exactly that!
Need to replace the family car and have quite specific needs, and can see competitive deals online but it's an entirely online purchase.
DH wants to buy from a local dealer, see the cars, test drive etc. But there are significant savings to be had and money is tight!
Would be looking at a car no older than 2018 and spending £15-20k..budget was £10k but we decided to borrow and stretch to hopefully get a car which will last as kids become teens.

So can anyone share experiences of buying online please?

OP posts:
DeltaAlphaDelta79 · 18/04/2024 13:51

Personally I would pick a few models I was interested in, then test drive them then find the best deal I could either online or in a showroom. Thats if you have the time to do that off course. I would be very unlikely to buy a car without a test drive of at least the same model.

kitsuneghost · 18/04/2024 13:54

Second hand I would be wary
Twice I have liked the looks and specs of a car only to get in and find it smell of wet dog. That was in person, not sure what I would do if it was online.
(I know you can return but it's the hassle and cost of being transportless)

CMOTDibbler · 18/04/2024 13:57

Yes, we did. The car was perfect, but the only proble was it got delivered to the wrong house and they actually put the keys through their door! Fortunatly though our neighbours were somewhat confused by a car being left, they did give us the keys :-)

Iloveanicegarden · 18/04/2024 13:59

We bought a Honda from an online company with no test drive etc. We've been happy with the car except we didn't get a manual - the car keeps beeping at us and we have no one to ask.

Original poster
NCfor24 · 18/04/2024 14:02

DeltaAlphaDelta79 · 18/04/2024 13:51

Personally I would pick a few models I was interested in, then test drive them then find the best deal I could either online or in a showroom. Thats if you have the time to do that off course. I would be very unlikely to buy a car without a test drive of at least the same model.

Thanks....I think we have 2 or 3 models in mind and plan to take a look at them. Time is an issue but it's a big expense so we need to find a way!

OP posts:
aperolspritzbasicbitch · 18/04/2024 14:03

We once bought a car from an approved dealership without seeing it in person.

We had test driven one at our local dealership, but they messed us around a bit (don't think they thought we had the funds to make a purchase) so we found what we wanted 4 hours away, put the deposit down and went to pick it up a few days later.

PollywithaP · 18/04/2024 14:10

Yes I did. I wanted an exact model, age, colour and mileage and there were only about 5 for sale in the UK. In fact I didn’t even test drive the actual model I wanted because they sold so quickly I was unable to! I looked locally at prices (south central) and then looked at prices around the UK. I found one 400 miles away in Scotland but from a main dealer which was nearly 3k cheaper than the two in my area. I rang the dealer, had a chat about delivery costs and cooling off period etc and decided to go for it. Sorted all the finance over email and phone. Overall I saved about 2k on prices of equivalent cars near me, even with delivery cost! The car turned up with a professional car transport company and it is excellent! No issues for me but if any arise I can take the car to a main dealer near me. I would not have done it without the main dealer guarantees though, and definitely not from a small garage.

moozles · 18/04/2024 14:12

I have and in the standard sale contract, you have 14 days to return for any reason, even if you just don't like it! I had the same reservations

chatenoire · 18/04/2024 14:19

Yes, with Cinch. Can't fault them. Word of advice, do pay a main dealership do a thorough check -up. Do this within the first 2 weeks and Cinch will cover any remedial work, no matter how big or small.

Unopenedpackofmenssocks · 18/04/2024 14:22

We bought through Cazoo. It was great, and you have the option to return it if you don’t like it so the lack of test drive wasn’t a huge deal.

SlipperyLizard · 18/04/2024 14:25

I’ve bought online & from a dealership with no test drive. Most online places have a 1-2 week return period, don’t they?

CTW23 · 18/04/2024 14:26

We used cazoo, strongly recommend

Original poster
NCfor24 · 18/04/2024 14:35

This is really useful thanks all.
I think with a 2 week return window, if we test drive the models and look at them locally, I'd feel pretty comfortable with an online purchase.

OP posts:
D20 · 19/04/2024 08:06

Yes, a number of times and via different dealerships/chains. Never been an issue thankfully.

Latest was a car we bought via cinch and that went smoothly. Nice handover of the car - inside of the windshield had never been cleaned during the cars life though and cinch didn’t do it either. Noticed a small chip on the windshield and a stone chip that hadn’t been described but small fry. It was the cheapest car with the lowest mileage of the type we wanted so the price was fair for the condition.

ViaRia01 · 19/04/2024 08:09

I have not done it but I would use a site such as cinch to buy online. Their advert says you can return it if you change your mind for any reason so (although that may be a real faff) you do have some way out if it is really not what you had hoped for in terms of driving.

spicychilli82 · 23/04/2024 08:05

Yes we have bought two cars online from Mercedes Benz approved used, the first one we went down to Bedford to collect it and the second came from Leeds which was quite a distance so they delivered it. Buying a car is always a gamble, whether new or used or in person or online! So my advice is to shop around to get the best price. My friend bought a brand new Porsche, in person, that had to go back to the garage a week after purchase so there’s no guarantees even when buying new!

Mum2three63 · 23/04/2024 08:41

My hubby bought his online, it's OK but not worth what he paid and he wouldn't have bought it had he have seen it first. I have recently purchased a second hand car, had to drive 50 miles to the dealers but was able to see and test drive the car and negotiated some money off. We both feel that my car was better value for the price paid

chunkyfunkier · 23/04/2024 08:53

Yes, I bought a 10k used car from a dealer about 200 miles away from me. The day it was delivered I took it to my mechanic who gave it a proper inspection and declared I'd got myself a good deal!

I would recommend thoroughly checking the garage's online reviews on more than one review site. It's normal to get some negatives/grumps but if the garage is a 4+ on say TrustPilot and Google Reviews, you're probably in safe territory.

Also, buy part of the car on a credit card as it gives you more protection in case you've accidentally been sold a dud!

I'm about to PX mine now after 3 years but I have been very happy with my purchase.

greenismyfavouritecolour · 23/04/2024 10:32

I bought a car in May last year from Cinch. Touch wood… it has been great! You get a 2 week cooling off period so I booked it in with my local trusted garage and they had a look over it once it arrived. Couldn’t fault the process either

Newmum288 · 23/04/2024 11:09

We bought a car via Cinch and it has been great. If I recall rightly you can return it within a couple of weeks, no questions asked, if you didn’t like it.

Tahlullah · 23/04/2024 17:38

I have done but it was an approved used car from a main dealer with the associated main dealer warranty. I did test drive one of the same model locally so I knew if I liked the drive. The rest was entirely online/phone, including part exchanging my old car.

Had no issues at all, the car was perfect and exactly as described/ pictured. Would I do it again? Yes, absolutely, but only from a main dealer, unless it was a cheap run around.

ThisOldThang · 23/04/2024 17:43

Personally, I wouldn't borrow money to buy a car.

You say you've got £10k which should be plenty to get a decent second hand Toyota/Lexus or Honda. They always come top in the reliability surveys.

ChooksnChicks · 23/04/2024 17:43

I did this for my current car, but through a dealership. We went there and test drove a similar model but didn't like certain aspects, discussed the other model and ordered one that had just finished production and was being shipped to the UK already. We bought it sight unseen but no regrets, it was everything we wanted.

YeahComeOnThen · 23/04/2024 17:49

I wouldn't because I'm far too much of a fussy bum!

my bloke did though and he loved the process (very very easy and 14 days period you can return it, no hassle) and they fixed a few minor things through the warranty. He serviced it himself though and fiddled about with it as it had not been serviced as the book said. He's ex mechanic so it absolutely sings now...interior & exterior were immaculate.

might not be quite so perfect if you're not a mechanic?

he used Cinch, we picked it up in a csrpark🤣 not far from us.

WeightoftheWorld · 23/04/2024 17:54

We found ours online and reserved it but it was at a dealership so DH still test drove it before he paid for it and took it home.