The coronavirus pandemic has hit the economy hard, and the\nmotor vehicle industry harder than most. In April, for instance, sales of new\ncars in the UK were down 97 per cent compared to the previous year \u2013 that’s the\nkind of drop that poses an existential threat to the entire industry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But that was a few months ago. Car dealerships in England\nwere allowed to reopen on 1 June, followed later in the month by those in\nWales, Northern Ireland and Scotland, and both new and used car sales have\nreturned to much more sustainable levels since. All the same, many people are\nunderstandably nervous about buying a car at all while coronavirus still poses\na threat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So here’s our guide to buying a car safely during the\npandemic. The advice will be slightly different depending on whether you’re\nbuying new or used, so we’ll look at each in turn.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Dealerships had at least six weeks of enforced lockdown in\nwhich to ponder ways they could minimise the risk of CV-19 transmission on\ntheir premises after reopening, and since re-opening they’ve had up to another\nsix weeks to fine-tune the procedures and protocols they came up with. So the\ngood news is that buying a new car should actually be considerably less hazardous\nthan, say, visiting your local supermarket. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Car showrooms are generally pretty open, airy spaces at the\nbest of times, and many dealers have reduced the number of cars that are on\ndisplay at any one time, which means there’s plenty of room for you to practice\nsocial distancing. You can also expect hand sanitiser to be provided, and for\nstaff to be protected behind perspex screens.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That’s if you have to visit a showroom at all! Many\ndealerships have been taking their work online \u2013 offering virtual video tours\nof the latest motors and adding remote buying features to their websites, such\nas comparison charts detailing the features of different models. Some are also\noffering live video calls so you can put any questions you might have to the\nsalesperson. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Many dealers also now allow you to take a car for an\nunaccompanied test drive. Conditions may apply here, so it’s worth checking you\ncan definitely do so before you leave the house, and don’t be surprised if\nyou’re asked to leave a deposit or your car keys as security.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The paperwork will need to be completed at some point, of\ncourse, but some dealerships now have the facility for all this to be done\nonline also. If this is an option for you, it’s a good route to go down because\nunder UK law you actually have more protection when buying goods online \u2013\nincluding the right to cancel your purchase within 14 days if you’re not\nentirely satisfied.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It’s worth mentioning at this point that you can also\nconsider buying direct from the manufacturer. ‘Cut out the middleman’ has long\nbeen a business mantra, so it’s no surprise that the likes of Tesla, Peugeot\nand Vauxhall already have their own direct sales platforms set up online and\/or\nin app form. If you’re buying new and have a particular car in mind, this is definitely\nworth looking into.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
On the whole, then, buying a new car shouldn’t currently be too much of a problem. Yes, there are new ways of doing things to get used to, but there are new ways of doing everything to get used to right now! A bigger issue is likely to be delivery. Car dealerships in the UK may have reopened, but that doesn’t necessarily mean the factory in Indonesia, China or Japan that supplies a particular component has, so you may be looking at slightly longer lead times than usual, which obviously isn’t ideal if you need the vehicle in a hurry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If you’re buying a secondhand car, then the situation is a bit different. Although on the plus side, you’re not going to have to wait six weeks for a particular part to arrive from overseas!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If you’re buying from a large, well-established used car\ndealership, much the same likely applies as for new cars above. If you’re\nbuying from a local used car lot, though, the situation can be very different.\nIf the office is a 10×8-foot room in a Portakabin, it’s quite hard to implement\nthe kind of social distancing measures described above, and small independent\ndealers are considerably less likely to have all-singing, all-dancing websites,\ncomplete with video tours and secure online payment systems.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And if it’s a completely independent sale \u2013 via eBay, Facebook, Marketplace or the classified ads in your local paper, say \u2013 then it’s a different story again. In this instance, it’s entirely up to you and the seller to work out a way of conducting the transaction safely.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Whether you’re buying directly from a motor vehicle manufacturer, from a new car dealership, from a secondhand dealer or from a private seller, at some point the car’s going to be delivered (or collected by you). And that’s a very good time to remind yourself that, while the death rate may be falling and lockdown may have eased, we ARE still in the middle of a global health crisis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
With that in mind, you should ensure that the car is given a thorough cleaning with disinfectant before you drive it, paying particular attention to frequently touched areas such as door handles, window controls, the steering wheel, gearstick and handbrake \u2013 not forgetting the faceplate of the stereo! Ideally, you shouldn’t even do THAT until the car has sat for at least 72 hours \u2013 that’s how long it’s thought that the coronavirus can survive on most<\/em> manmade surfaces.<\/p>\n\n\n\n More generally, you might want to double-check with yourself\nwhether you actually NEED a new car right now \u2013 after all, most of us aren’t\ngoing anywhere very much at the moment. While car dealers are doing everything\nthey can to minimise risk, that risk can never be eliminated entirely, and you\nmay decide it’s better to put up with your current motor for a few months\nlonger.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Then again, you may need a car in a desperate hurry \u2013 or you may just want to take advantage of some of the great offers that will likely be available over the next few months, as dealers strive to make up for the sales they lost during the most intense period of lockdown. And if you DO decide to buy, then hopefully this article has given you some idea of what to expect.<\/p>\n\n\n\n