Shopping online – your next car when you want it – at a big saving
As you’d expect, the car-buying landscape has changed hugely in the last couple of weeks but one thing seems clear: people are still buying cars.
They’re doing so online of course – and they’re doing so with a particular eye on vehicle dealerships already in stock. This makes a lot of sense, given factory closures across the world that will mean future waiting times for new model bespoke orders will probably be lengthy.
When the lockdown is lifted, there’s likely to be a huge demand for any models remaining in stock, so clever buyers are increasingly concluding that the time to go online and complete a purchase is now. That’s certainly the conclusion of a survey carried out last week by online car buying site Carwow. A survey of 440 motorists conducted between March 17 and 25 revealed that 80 per cent of buyers would prefer to buy a new car available immediately from dealer stock, than place a factory order if it meant facing delays in delivery.
The Carwow website’s own in-stock views over the last week have increased by 10% and other retailers are reporting a similar trend. It all seems to confirm the fact that the consumer appetite to buy a new car remains, but people are less inclined to wait for a new car configured to their personal preferences.
This trend was also underlined by a further Carwow study last week that saw 54 per cent of survey respondents still intending to change their car in the not too distance future. That figure jumps to 70 per cent in Greater London – suggesting that similar rises can be expected in other major cities. All of this of course, assumes that dealers will solve the issues of social interaction and exposure fears that potential customers understandably feel at the moment. In the Carwow survey for instance, nearly 30 per cent of respondents wanted home-delivered test drives and 28 per cent wished for a home delivery service for their purchased car.
Fortunately, local dealers around the country are now meeting this need. Just tell your local garage what you would like them to do. You’ll find that most can commit to a ‘Delivery & Disinfection’ package, where the delivery driver will spray and wipe down the interior, keys and door handles. The driver will also drop documents through your letter box, leading to a zero contact buying experience.
New and Used car dealerships – buying nearly new: an even cleverer choice?
Buying a nearly new car has always made a lot of sense: a way for you to get a virtually new vehicle at a potentially huge price reduction. And with likely delays in new car deliveries looming for later in the year and dealer stock of new models limited, the nearly new route that many dealers offer is looking increasingly attractive to many customers.
As we all know, one thing you can’t avoid when buying a brand-new car is depreciation. Most new cars will lose around 15-20 per cent of their value immediately as they are driven away from the dealer. And another 8-10 per cent can be lost in the first year of ownership. Buying nearly new means you avoid these loses.
Buying a nearly new car certainly isn’t the risk that it once was, as the latest models are built to last much longer now, plus the cost of insurance is often less – as you’ll discover if you check before you buy. There’s plenty of peace of mind on offer when it comes to maintenance too. Many dealerships are now happy to throw in generous warranty lengths on likely-to-be-reliable nearly new models. Though in some cases they don’t have to, owing to the increasing prevalence of cars being offered for sales with long-term warranties transferred from the original buyer.
If the dealer you have in mind is a new car franchise, ask them about ex-demonstrators that might be coming up for sale. These will have been extremely well looked after and typically are very generously specified.
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