Would you consider buying a 996 unseen?

Hi everyone, In the current light of COVID restrictions and lockdown many car dealers are offering a buy online click and collect service. Would you ever contemplate this for 996. If the dealer was recognised and said that he had done this sort of things many times this year bla bla and look at mu exemplary feedback etc. So I then started thinking about the legalities of this. Surely this is covered under distance selling regulations i.e. if not as advertised you are able to return the goods and or if there appeared to be a major issue then within a short time period you again could return for refund claiming it was unfit for purpose? Your thoughts? I have car in mind but can't view it etc. Mark

I would want lots of photos, a detailed run through of service history over a video call and any questions answered. If the car checked out and the dealer passed the attitude test then with an inspection from a trusted specialist I probably would. I'd feel more comfortable doing it with a specialist dealer like Friends Green whose reputation on these and other forums means more to them, than a non-specialist dealer.

Definitely not.

A friend of mine bought a 996 privately unseen but had it inspected. This was a few years ago when you could get one for around the £10K mark. edit: the inspection went fine, a price was negotiated and it was a decent car We bought a car recently from a dealer and it was covered under the distance selling act because it was delivered to us. With collection, I think there's a possibility it's not if you've been there before you collect it. I'm not 100% sure of the details on this. There's more info here https://www.themotorombudsman.org/distance-sales-faqs

AFAIK if you buy 'click and collect' or 'Deliver', distance selling rules come into play and you have 14 days to reject the vehicle. Mark

Yes, you're right, I've edited my post above. It seems as long as you do all the paperwork, money transfer etc before you collect the car, you're covered. If you do any of it when you're collecting it, you're not - this is my understanding

Depends on how much it is, if it's cheap enough I'd be ok with it, if it was more expensive then it would be very much based on the dealer being a known quantity.

It all depends on your attitude to risk, and how picky you are. If you go with top quality dealer you minimise risks. Of course check all the history, get photos, videos, etc. You can still get PPI done to reduce risk further. It's true many cars are sold this way, especially in last year. Personally I would always want to see the car myself, but I'm very picky and keep my cars for long time. So I want to know exactly what I'm getting. But then there are others that regularly swap their cars, and buy like this from respected dealers all the time. Ultimately it comes down to how much you trust the selling party, and how much risk you want to take. Plus how much you really want that specific car. If it's a rare car, maybe you take more of a chance. I'd always keep extra cash aside just in case. Good luck.

I'd at least post the link to the ad on here and get peoples views.

When I bought mine, I'd already had a good chat with the owner confirming some of my queries, checked MOT history and read through the list of jobs done. I would normally not have bothered travelling to see a Cat C car, but the owner came across as very honest and genuine, so I set off. Having been promised I would have no issues driving the 150 miles home. I didn't test drive it, there was no PPI, and I didn't spend much more than a couple of minutes hearing it running or even haggle. I knew I could add value to it at £7K, so paid the asking price. The seller sold himself to me as an honest, genuine bloke. That was more important to me. I'd have bought it delivered.

I bought my car unseen. I transferred the full amount then flew down and drive home. No video call. No inspection. Just went on gut instinct.

I wouldn't touch Friends Green Porsche after having read this thread; http://www.911uk.com/viewtopic.php?p=1378319&sid=e3986f749e40e3450fbcd83f7e0b5491 Just googling them; this thread is the third link down. (I'd be surprised if 'click and collect' is working for dealers. 90% of buying a car is the test drive)

+1

The problem is.. your definition of "immaculate condition" might not always coincide with the dealer's definition of "immaculate". I like to treasure my cars and really keep them in immaculate condition. Which means no dings, no paint chipped on the door edges, not even if it's a 15yr old car. No paint bubbling, etc etc. If there's a job recommended at service, I will have it done and not postpone it.. etc. Whilst others will hide behind the "it's a 15y old car", or "they all do that". So, seeing it in person, trying to keep a cool head on the viewing, and insisting on PPI i think it's all things we should remember. I am the first one to get carried away and get too enthusiastic too quickly. But in short, it's just a bit too much risk to buy unseen, even from reputable dealers..

Thanks for flagging FGP to the OP and any other would be buyers out there, I wasn't aware. I still think my point stands that marque specialists generally have a reputation they are willing to protect, so if buying unseen would be a safer bet than non-specialists. It is odd the FGP don't (or at least didn't 2years ago) see their reputation as worth protecting.