Buying a car from a dealer 5 hours away?

Honest John Back Room » Motoring discussion
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Fri 26 Mar 2021 16:19
Buying a car from a dealer 5 hours away? - Warning

I was interested in a car, but only about 70 available in the country.

Although I have a car, I would have to go by train to if I wanted to pick it up. Even then not so keen on getting on a train due catching you know what and all the various train changes.

The other option is to go by car, but then a tow truck. The car dealer does not offer delivery (so I would have to find a reputable one).

The car is about 150 miles away......

They dealer said they only let people drive in their compound, but have to speak insurers about going on the open road.... (sounds peculiar)....

I don't know if it a good idea or not....

I can wait for another car to turn up..... I don't know where or when....

Edited by Warning on 26/03/2021 at 16:20

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Fri 26 Mar 2021 16:23
Buying a car from a dealer 5 hours away? - Xileno

I would wait until the lockdown eases. Buying any second-hand car carries risk, your proposal just seems to be adding to the list of things that could go wrong.

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Fri 26 Mar 2021 16:28
Buying a car from a dealer 5 hours away? - mcb100
I’m guessing they only allow people to drive in the yard as dealers are (supposed to be) operating on a click & collect basis, with the car paid for in full before a customer arrives to collect it, not view it.
If you’re test driving it on the road, and are involved in an accident, the insurance company would be curious as to why it was being test driven.
Will the dealer hold it, following the placing of a refundable reservation fee, until April 12th when we are allowed to travel further and dealers, hopefully, reopen?
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Fri 26 Mar 2021 17:11
Buying a car from a dealer 5 hours away? - Ian_SW

If the dealer won't even offer to arrange delivery for a fee, I'd walk away.

If they are that disinterested in trying to sell the car to you, I'd hate to think what they would be like if there is a problem with the car after you've bought it. Remember as well that you would have to return it to them first to attempt a fix if there were any issues, which isn't so easy when they are that far away.

Unless the car is something particularly special / unusual, it would be better to wait for one to come available locally.

If you still want to buy the car, there's no need to mess around organising someone with a flatbed to take the car back, just book a one-way hire car to get there which will be much cheaper.

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Fri 26 Mar 2021 17:34
Buying a car from a dealer 5 hours away? - mcb100
It’s always possible that the dealer doesn’t fancy a long
distance sale with the potential complication it would entail.
If they’re not set up to offer deliveries, I’d suggest they’re happy to wait for a local customer to turn up, given that the car, whatever it is, is a bit of a rarity.
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Fri 26 Mar 2021 17:01
Buying a car from a dealer 5 hours away? - _

WARNING !!!

Sorry, couldn't help that. :<)

Unless it is something very special and with a full main dealer history, sold by a main dealer with a manufactueres warranty, It will be up to you to get it back to the dealer for fixing in case of problems.

Never believe them when they say take it to your local garage and the scrap of paper that consitutes a warranty is useless as it won't cover existing faults.

But I think you are probably aware of all that.

In the past, I have crisscrossed the country to buy cars at a distance, but ALWAYS with a manufacturer warranty and full service history.

Edited by _ORB_ on 26/03/2021 at 17:33

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Fri 26 Mar 2021 17:55
Buying a car from a dealer 5 hours away? - Andrew-T

I wouldn't worry about the train journey. I travelled from Cheshire to Aberdeen last month, and most of the time we had the carriage to ourselves. |The two of us had booked seats a long way apart, but we sat together anyway as it made no difference.

I would be more worried about examining the intended purchase and finding [a] I didn't want to buy it or [b] having to sort out problems after purchase, when the same question might present itself. However if neither [a] nor [b] is a worry, go for it. Three times I have bought elderly cars from about 200 miles away, going by train (admittedly not during Covid) with no problem.

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Fri 26 Mar 2021 20:39
Buying a car from a dealer 5 hours away? - catsdad
Both my last cars were manufacturer approved used just over a year old - Civic and Golf. The Civic needed four return visits to the dealer in the first month and the Golf three. Luckily they were about ten miles away.
Without going into tedious details the faults included the Civic needing a bonnet respray under warranty to deal with transit film shadowing and the Golf had several inches of water in the spare wheel well. Both required the cars to stay with the dealer for a few days.
I would therefore be very reluctant to buy at a distance. If you are determined to buy then you could perhaps get the dealer to pay for a full AA inspection? I think they would have picked up all the faults in my case.
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Fri 26 Mar 2021 21:03
Buying a car from a dealer 5 hours away? - johncyprus

Out of interest what car is this?

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Fri 26 Mar 2021 21:41
Buying a car from a dealer 5 hours away? - daveyK_UK
Pre reg car with manufacturer warranty left - no problem

3 year old + car - no way
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