Would you buy a car online??

Yes back in 2000 DH worked as a consultant to a new company selling new vehicles online. DH was confident in the system so we ordered a Ford Focus estate with three extras. The car was duly delivered and I looked it over whilst DH chatted to the delivery man. I had a little checklist in my pocket and I asked "Where is the sunroof, where are the roof rails and where are the side impact airbags?" I had ordered. As the car was not what we had ordered and paid for the delivery man took it away. After a tense phone call when the supplier agreed that the car was not as we ordered and it would take 3 months for a replacement vehicle to arrive, it was agreed to loan us the "wrong" car. The correct vehicle arrived in due course and we had saved about £5K by not going to the local dealer.

The "correct" car lasted 17 years with us and never let us down and was still on its original battery when it was scrapped - I cried when we left it at the scrap yard.

My husband’s life long passion has been cars ,he changes them frequently , and has more than one at a time .

On many occasions he has bought cars unseen , usually from dealerships in the north of the country or Scotland because prices are cheaper .

When he sells them he frequently makes a profit.

He usually has them delivered but occasionally we collect them if it is from an interesting place that we want to visit .

He bought something very special in Newcastle a couple of years ago and we hired a car to do the one-way trip so that I could enjoy the return journey in it with him . We had 3 other cars on the drive at the time!

Way back in the mists of time (30 years ago), when I was married we did it. We saw the show room model, test drove it. Then picked the elements we wanted in a vehicle, the colour, features etc and ordered it. It was shipped into Germany and we flew across and drove home.

I loved that car. Made to measure. Left it with the ex when we split tho.

I suppose it depends on the car or expectation of it? My. DH bought me a ‘special’ car some years ago, he knew I wanted one badly and I’d never even been in one. Quickly adapted to the handbrake in the right.

I can understand having a test drive, then getting various extras on a new model, but The Cazoo/Chinch ads seem that you just order and pay online and the car (all second hand I think) is just delivered to the door.
There’s some small print about a refund but I’m sure there must be conditions and charges to be met.

Yes, I will buy my next car from Cinch as there is a guarantee, I have previously bought from Ebay and luckily they have been good cars.

I always buy a used car and they are ridiculously over priced from a dealer.

Not a £20,000 car but, if necessary, I'd buy a car online. Ideally, I'd go to a showroom and test drive a car.

You can’t go to a dealership at the moment, so even if you buy from the dealership it’s effectively buying on line with someone else looking!

We bought a car the normal way in November. DH sourced a car that interested him. He drove to the garage, was able to examine the car and take it for a drive, having left his existing car keys with the garage and then bought it. All done outside and socially distancing.

No, I have used online configuration on vehicle dealers websites but I would have to go inspect it and test drive it before buying. I don’t drive anymore so moot point now ?

I would research dealers and the type of car I was looking for on line, but not buy one unseen. Fifty years ago, returning from employment in East Africa, we bought a new car through a dealer in Nairobi, to be delivered to us at Heathrow on arrival, but we did know what we were buying, though we hadn't seen the actual vehicle. It turned out to be a 'Friday Afternoon' car and we had infinite trouble with it!