Car showrooms in England have not been classed as essential so have been ordered to close until at least 2 December under the latest lockdown. However, this shouldn’t stop you buying a new or used car as there are several Covid-safe ways of getting into a new motor.
With a no-deal Brexit a likely option that may see the price of new cars go up in 2021 thanks to additional tariffs, now’s the time to grab a deal.
Car buying also becomes essential if you’re a key worker and your car is involved in an accident and is written off. In the first lockdown, several car dealers made sure they were able to supply cars to these buyers even though showrooms were shut.
Dealers have learnt a lot in a short space of time this year and main lesson has been around how to sell cars without customers entering the showroom. As a result, while doors may be locked to customers, showrooms will be staffed so that phone enquires can be answered and video walk-arounds produced and sent out.
Pick your car online
With just about every new and used car being visible online, even when showrooms were open you more than likely started looking for your next set of wheels either on your phone or on a computer.
While you can’t take cars for a test drive during lockdown 2.0 you can read reviews online to find out what will work for your needs.
Once you’ve found your next car online, most dealers worth their salt will offer some form of reservation system, usually for a small, refundable, fee to show you’re serious.
Value your old car
Assuming you’re trading in your old car, there are plenty of online valuation tools to get an idea about what your car is worth. However, the easiest solution is to use the dealership’s own online system.
Pay online
With all the stages sorted out, next up is paying for your chosen car. If you’re paying outright the dealerships will be able to instruct you how to do this. If you’re using finance, online systems actually make the transaction simpler and less daunting than having a two- or three-hour long chat to the dealership’s business manager.
Click and collect or home delivery
In order to get hold of your new car there are two options. The first is click and collect, which the Government has said is allowed. This is something that was developed to work very safely during the first lockdown and also makes it safer for the dealership staff handling your part exchange as it means they can leave your old car for a safe period of time before they move it.
Home delivery may seem like the easy option, but it may come with a fee and you’re likely to be asked to leave your trade-in alone for at least 24 hours before your new car arrives – something that’s not always possible.
For more in our Showroom Secrets series see:
Keyword: Showroom secrets: How to buy a car in lockdown 2.0