Hey, can anyone advise me on how best to protect myself when buying a car from a main dealer 4 hours away please?
I’m not keen on buying a car without seeing and having a test drive but it sounds like it’s fairly common these days. The are offering to deliver it on a low loader.
It’s only 3 years old with 20k miles on the clock but I’m mostly concerned about the paintwork, condition and issues. I’ve seen its first MOT on the gov website and it has low tread on the front passenger tyre but it’s above the legal limit so not too concerned.
Do I need to make part of the payment on a credit car etc? If it’s not as described, am I covered by any distance/online selling laws? I found it on autotrader.
Thanks everyone. |
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"Hey, can anyone advise me on how best to protect myself when buying a car from a main dealer 4 hours away please?
I’m not keen on buying a car without seeing and having a test drive but it sounds like it’s fairly common these days. The are offering to deliver it on a low loader.
It’s only 3 years old with 20k miles on the clock but I’m mostly concerned about the paintwork, condition and issues. I’ve seen its first MOT on the gov website and it has low tread on the front passenger tyre but it’s above the legal limit so not too concerned.
Do I need to make part of the payment on a credit car etc? If it’s not as described, am I covered by any distance/online selling laws? I found it on autotrader.
Thanks everyone."
Get the car checked over in advance if you want piece of mind. Plenty of assessors out there who will visit and do you a full report, both mechanical and interior/exterior. Itll cost of course but worth it if youre not viewing yourself |
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Depending on how much you are paying I’d travel the 4 hours I travelled to Bournemouth to look at my last car unfortunately not many where up for sale when I was looking and there’s no way I’d part with ££ without looking at it even though it was from a reputable dealer and I’d suggest you do ya own checking on it car vertical is a good one to use it tells you if it’s got markers on it like outstanding finance and it tells you all previous MOT so you can verify mileage  |
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"Is it a known dealership or a private sale?
You could ask them to give you a live video tour of the car before committing.
Any big items are safer on a credit card!
"
Main dealer for ford but it’s a VW they’ve had in as a part exchange. |
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"Depending on how much you are paying I’d travel the 4 hours I travelled to Bournemouth to look at my last car unfortunately not many where up for sale when I was looking and there’s no way I’d part with ££ without looking at it even though it was from a reputable dealer and I’d suggest you do ya own checking on it car vertical is a good one to use it tells you if it’s got markers on it like outstanding finance and it tells you all previous MOT so you can verify mileage "
Yeah, I did wonder if this sort of purchase was different to how Cazoo and likes operate. They seem very much into… “if you don’t like it within X days then full refund” policy. |
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"Depending on how much you are paying I’d travel the 4 hours I travelled to Bournemouth to look at my last car unfortunately not many where up for sale when I was looking and there’s no way I’d part with ££ without looking at it even though it was from a reputable dealer and I’d suggest you do ya own checking on it car vertical is a good one to use it tells you if it’s got markers on it like outstanding finance and it tells you all previous MOT so you can verify mileage
Yeah, I did wonder if this sort of purchase was different to how Cazoo and likes operate. They seem very much into… “if you don’t like it within X days then full refund” policy."
when I looked at my car it was described as A1 but I found that the front disks where warped on the test drive and it had a slight misfire which was a very expensive fix for the garage to be fair they did the work and I went back 2 weeks later on the train and drive it back to the northeast as people have said just do your own homework and get some advice from a good mechanic most garages now are all above board good look anyway op |
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I wouldn't buy a car either without seeing it myself or sending someone I trust to do the same. Do you know anyone who knows what they're doing, who could go for you? Unless you drive it and listen to the engine and listen to it start etc, you risk buying a turkey. |
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"Hey, can anyone advise me on how best to protect myself when buying a car from a main dealer 4 hours away please?
I’m not keen on buying a car without seeing and having a test drive but it sounds like it’s fairly common these days. The are offering to deliver it on a low loader.
It’s only 3 years old with 20k miles on the clock but I’m mostly concerned about the paintwork, condition and issues. I’ve seen its first MOT on the gov website and it has low tread on the front passenger tyre but it’s above the legal limit so not too concerned.
Do I need to make part of the payment on a credit car etc? If it’s not as described, am I covered by any distance/online selling laws? I found it on autotrader.
Thanks everyone.
Get the car checked over in advance if you want piece of mind. Plenty of assessors out there who will visit and do you a full report, both mechanical and interior/exterior. Itll cost of course but worth it if youre not viewing yourself"
This..
The outlay for a qualified auto engineer could save you buying a crock.. |
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Great advice, thanks everyone.
Are there companies that will send a mechanics to give a full appraisal of it then? How much does that cost?
I guess the risk is travelling 4hrs by the train tickets and time spent. You have to be confident in being able to walk away to stop you buying a turkey if it’s looking that way. |
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"Great advice, thanks everyone.
Are there companies that will send a mechanics to give a full appraisal of it then? How much does that cost?
I guess the risk is travelling 4hrs by the train tickets and time spent. You have to be confident in being able to walk away to stop you buying a turkey if it’s looking that way."
Search for independent auto engineers..
Good luck |
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PM me. I'll be here forever otherwise.
I had a debacle of epic proportions over summer and it took over a month to rectify. Suffice to say I travelled 250++ miles to buy a car....I think I aged 10 years over the whole sorry saga.
But it concluded with a happy ending. |
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"PM me. I'll be here forever otherwise.
I had a debacle of epic proportions over summer and it took over a month to rectify. Suffice to say I travelled 250++ miles to buy a car....I think I aged 10 years over the whole sorry saga.
But it concluded with a happy ending."
^^^He likes happy auto endings  |
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 |
By *hippy57Man
over a year ago
Chelmsford |
I used to be a car mechanic,cars now days are all very similar engine and running gear,sadly unless you area whizz kid on electronics there is not much that can be assessed, the most obvious things to look for is accident damage,lots not recorded,check boot if it has one,lift carpet and see if it all looks straight as should be,same under bonnet,doors ,bonnet ,boot or hatchback,have consistent gaps,shut lines,credit card will give you more leverage if have problems |
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If you put anything over £1 on a credit card and the contract value doesn’t exceed £30k then you potentially have rights under section 75 (if there’s proven misrep or breach of contract blah blah)
I know because it’s my job! I’m sure it’ll all be fine though |
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"PM me. I'll be here forever otherwise.
I had a debacle of epic proportions over summer and it took over a month to rectify. Suffice to say I travelled 250++ miles to buy a car....I think I aged 10 years over the whole sorry saga.
But it concluded with a happy ending.
^^^He likes happy auto endings "
•
You can QuoteMeHappy, KC². |
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