I Want To Buy A Car Online
In an era in which we are more concerned about the use of our time than anything else, the traditional car-buying process seems archaic. Undoubtedly, you've asked yourself this question: "How can I buy a car online?"
i want to buy a car online
After all, we can purchase almost anything else we want online, and we can do it from the comfort of our family rooms in just minutes with a few clicks. So the idea of going to a massive balloon-bedecked dealership on a traffic-choked commercial street to spend several hours hashing out a vehicle purchase has all the appeal of do-it-yourself heart surgery.
By concentrating on available online processes and resources, it will tell you how to make all the critical steps in your online purchase process from the research and shopping process through financing and negotiating techniques.
Turning your back on the traditional car-buying approach might seem too good to be true, but thousands of car buyers do it every day. That said, there are some disadvantages to the online buying process, and we will reveal those to you in addition to pointing out the many advantages.
During the research phase of the online car-buying journey, what is necessary is to access and leverage the helpful information that is available to you to narrow your choices until you land on the one car that will fulfill your expectations. Learn more in our How to Research a Car Online article.
Of course, just because online car shopping is simple and available to you doesn't mean that you shouldn't apply some discipline to find the best car and the best deal. If you hope to land on the vehicle that will best suit your needs, your finances, and your lifestyle, you should approach the process with the idea of accomplishing tasks in a logical way.
Negotiating the price of a new car is painful for many of us. Bargaining, haggling, and negotiating are alien and uncomfortable processes we just aren't used to. The happy news is buying a car online can relieve you of those uncomfortable tasks.
Some online car purchases involve no negotiating at all, and perhaps that's the tack you want to take. On the other hand, to get the very best price and the very best deal, you might feel you have to negotiate.
By this point, you are very well-positioned and well-armed to negotiate your online purchase. You've decided which car you are going to buy. You know what consumers like you are paying for it. You've seen what deals are available in your area. And you've already arranged your financing.
If you like the idea of buying a car without going to a dealership, you should know that alternatives exist. Each will enable you to do all of your vehicle searches online, and each will offer you ways to complete the entire deal online. But before you turn your back on car dealers forever, you need to know that while online car-buying alternatives offer potential advantages over the local dealer, they also have drawbacks.
Auctions are another car-buying alternative, and they can provide many of the benefits of purchasing from an individual private party. Online public auctions are open to everyone, and some websites enable non-dealers to participate in dealer auctions. But there are challenges associated with buying a car online through an auction.
Purchasing a former rental vehicle from a car rental company is another alternative to buying from a car dealer. Prices tend to be low, and no-haggle prices are typically posted online. Often you can pick up the vehicle at a local outlet of the rental car company so you can test drive it for as long as a couple of days before deciding to purchase it. But there are both pros and cons to this alternative.
Buying a car online is convenient and time-efficient, and these days many consumers are comfortable with the process. The future points toward online car-buying as the go-to method of auto retailing. But what are the pros and cons of buying a car online?
Deciding whether to buy a vehicle online or not depends on what you want and need. If you seek speed, convenience, and lack of hassle, buying online could suit you very well. But if you want to see, touch, and drive the car before you buy it, you would still be well-served by using the conventional car-buying process.
Buying a preowned or new car online has many advantages over the traditional process. Few consumers will tell you they enjoy the face-to-face negotiations that still occur on car lots every day. The back-and-forth between car buyers, salespeople, and sales managers is one of the last vestiges of free-wheeling price negotiation, but its days may be numbered.
Fortunately, nearly every step in the car-buying process can be completed online with much less stress. In most cases, though, a final trip to a dealership is still needed to go for a thorough test drive, to sign the paperwork, and to take delivery of the car. Even that part of the process is changing, however, with more dealers willing to bring the car right to your home. Moreover, electronic signatures are beginning to take the place of signing paper documents.
In this guide, we'll look at eight easy steps to follow when buying a car online. We'll mainly be looking at purchasing new or used vehicles online from dealerships in this article. Check out our guide to buying a used car for information about buying from a private seller.
Smart consumers know never to approach a local dealership, whether in person or online, without having a preapproved financing deal in hand. Not only does getting a preapproved loan help you set a reasonable price range, but it also gives dealers a benchmark deal they must beat if they want to be the ones providing the financing for your new or used car.
Some buyers know exactly what car they want, right down to the color and trim, before they even think about starting to shop. Others have no idea what they want and need some guidance to find a vehicle that fits their needs and budget.
The next step in an online vehicle purchase is to email or chat with a dealership's Internet sales department or Internet sales manager. Dealerships frequently assign experienced people to these departments, as they understand the potential sales boost the Internet offers and know that consumers buying online tend to be more knowledgeable and savvy than those walking through the front door. You have a better chance of a no-haggle buying experience on the Internet than you do in a face-to-face purchase at a dealer.
The final thing you'll need to do at the dealership is to sign the purchase paperwork. It is crucial that you read each document before you sign to ensure it is accurate and complete. Make sure the papers match the deal you agreed to online and no spaces are left blank. Never sign documents that are incomplete or incorrect, even if you are told they'll be corrected later. It's easy to change the paperwork before your signature is on it, but it's much harder once you've signed.
If a dealership changes any price quotes when you show up in person and refuses to honor the online agreement you came to, politely decline and find another dealer. Your most powerful negotiating tool is your ability to walk away, though few buyers take advantage of it.
Things are different with online platforms. First of all, not all online platforms handle vehicle trade-ins. But for ones that do, the process may be able to be handled online depending on the company.
Most people already use the internet to determine what type of car they want and find out as much as possible about the make, model and options. Websites offer expert reviews and articles on hundreds of vehicles, detailing the best vehicles for myriad lifestyles, says CarGurus Deputy Editor Matt Smith.
But beyond dealerships that may allow you to submit an online application, look for private sales. There are numerous sites that help buyers and sellers connect, and you may be able to find a good deal by skipping the dealer entirely.
You may also want to consider shopping with mixed in-person and online dealers like TrueCar. This way, you can easily browse inventory at both the local and national levels to keep your search broad, especially if you want to buy a specific used model.
By now, you should be working with the dealership that has the car you want to buy and that has offered you the best deal. At this stage, you may still have to visit the dealership to finalize the bill of sale, sign any required financing paperwork and pick up your keys and vehicle. But many dealerships are also now delivering cars and paperwork right to your driveway, allowing this final step to be completed at your home.
A build-to-order vehicle from the manufacturer ensures you get the exact car, color and option combination that you want, and it's a little-known method to save time tracking down a vehicle that fits your needs. This special-order vehicle, as it is sometimes called, is usually arranged at the dealership, but for some brands, ordering online is the only way to buy. It is also a way to circumvent "market adjustments," aka dealer markups, which have become all too common these days. While you may not necessarily get a discount with a custom order, you could very well get a better deal than if you bought off the lot.
So what's the catch? You'll need patience for the process since it can take between six and eight weeks for a domestic-built vehicle, roughly three months for a vehicle built overseas, and even longer than that if you want an electric vehicle from a lower-volume manufacturer such as Tesla, Lucid or Rivian. In Griffith's case, he was told about three to four months, and his Subaru was delivered near the end of that timeframe.
You might wonder why you can't find a car with the exact options and color combination you want. It's because the vehicles that are available on dealer lots come with popular options that dealerships think have the best chance of selling. If their research shows that a highly (or minimally) optioned model or particular package doesn't sell, you're less likely to see it on the lot. The same goes for colors. You're more likely to find such popular colors as black, silver and white in stock. Vehicles in less popular colors, such yellow, brown or green, might be far and few between. 041b061a72