Buying a vehicle has been made much easier thanks to technological advances. For instance, in the past, we had to look through thick (and often outdated) books filled with classified ads just to find something that we liked. It would be like eBay except the editions would be weekly or monthly and by the time you found a fantastic deal, it was likely that it would already be snatched up or the prices would have changed. As you might expect, it was hard to edit listings on printed media and it was fairly difficult to get our ad noticed considering the prices.
Nowadays, picking out a vehicle is much easier but there’s almost too much choice now thanks to the internet. With used car dealerships all over the place, new dealerships around the corner and about a dozen ways to look for classified ads, we’re going to break down the best places to purchase your next vehicle, how to find the car that you’ve been looking at for many years and where you can get the best deals.
Online Dealerships
There are plenty of places to purchase new and used cars online through online dealerships. Places like this site specialize in just Volvo cars and you’ll find this a lot because there are dealerships that will get special deals with the manufacturer themselves. This enables them to stock new inventory as well as specialized parts to help repair or service vehicles should they need fixing. However, keep in mind that when you look at online dealerships, you’ll likely need to visit them in person to pick up the vehicle unless they’re a continental company that offers shipping to nearby or distant locations.
There’s a lot to consider when purchasing online. Not only do you need to worry about estimated delivery costs, but there’s also some negotiation and one of the biggest downfalls is that you can’t inspect or test drive the car unless you go down there yourself and get into the vehicle. As a result, you’ll want to double-check the location of each online dealership you visit and try to find one that is close to you. This will let you test drive the vehicles and it will be easier to pick up the vehicle once you’ve finalized all of the costs. Keep in mind that prices can vary between online dealerships and you might want to look at ones further away especially if they offer better pricing.
With a specialized dealership, you’re going to get excellent service, cars that are guaranteed to be in great condition and also brilliant aftermarket support. As mentioned before, these online dealerships typically stock plenty of spare parts to ensure that they can fix virtually any issue that you might encounter with your vehicle. They’ll likely be able to ship parts out to you if you’re capable of fixing them yourself, but do keep in mind that you might also be referred to a nearby mechanic or a brand of garages that they recommend.
It’s also good to keep in mind that online dealerships offer many different financing options that can be handled either online or at the dealership itself. Again this highlights the importance of being physically close to the dealership to make the entire process smoother. Each dealership will offer different financing deals, so it’s best to take a look at all of your options to find the cheapest one available for your needs.
In short, if you can find an online dealership that specializes in the type of vehicle you want, be it a brand or the class of vehicle, it’s often one of the best places to get yourself a fresh new vehicle or a used one backed by excellent support and financing options. However, it’s also one of the most expensive ways to get a vehicle, but the number of customisation options is usually worth the added effort and it’s a great way to ensure you get the vehicle that you want. Unfortunately, if you’re after a very specific model of vehicle or want to make more savings, then an online dealership usually isn’t worth your time.
Car Supermarkets
One of the biggest mistakes people make when purchasing vehicles is assuming that dealerships are the only place to get cars reliably. This just isn’t true and there are now car supermarkets that offer huge selections of vehicles. These places are massive and make huge volumes of sales and trades, meaning you can both buy and sell your vehicle here. There isn’t going to be excellent service because car supermarkets are all about shifting lots of vehicles throughout the day to make their income.
This means you can often expect less-than-ideal quality in each vehicle. However, you can find some amazing bargains if you’re willing to look around and do a bit of digging. There are many like-new cars and you’ll find lots of older models which is fantastic if you’re after a specific vehicle. Sadly, not every car is going to be as advertised and you might find the pricing varying wildly if you’re checking out several different car supermarkets.
Many car supermarkets also have online websites attached to their services. This means you can browse and even purchase vehicles on the internet. As always, it’s best to actually be fairly close to the car supermarket so you can easily go into their business and make financing arrangements and inspect the car up-close.
The selection you’ll find at a car supermarket will be huge and varied, which is why we’d recommend taking a look at multiple different car supermarkets in your vicinity. You’ll find that bargains for luxurious cars might occasionally seep into the dealerships and you can pick up a fantastic vehicle for an incredibly low price, but this doesn’t always happen often. If you’re not in a hurry to buy a vehicle and want something cheap, then we’d suggest scouring the different car supermarket websites you have available to you and waiting on a bargain to appear that fits your needs.
To conclude, car supermarkets have lots of choice on hand and they’re a very common way to purchase your next vehicle. However, you often don’t get as much consumer protection as you would from purchasing at an online dealership, but you do get an advantage by paying less for the vehicle itself, so it’s a tradeoff that you’ll need to decide on.
Classified Advertisements
There are dozens of places to look for classified ads and it can be a great place to purchase your next vehicle if you’re willing to put in some extra work and go out to physically meet the owner. You can find some amazing bargains if you’re good at haggling, but not everyone is accepting of bargaining and some people might be incredibly difficult to work with. You also need to be careful of classified advertisements because many of them can be scams or the vehicles will have underlying issues that won’t be discovered until you take the car for a full inspection.
The advantage of classified advertisements is that you often get an incredibly specialized selection of vehicles. If you’re looking for an exact make or model of a vehicle, then you can easily search online ad directories or you can put out an offer and list your proposed price. Buying from an independent owner over the internet or local to you will obviously come with risks, but if you’re willing to do a bit of research and look for recommendations from your friends or members of groups and communities you’re a part of, then it’s possible to find amazing deals and a huge selection of cars at different prices. Unfortunately, many people are put off by the lack of consumer protection you’ll get, which is why you need to be extremely thorough when looking to purchase from a classified ad.
In short, purchasing from classified ads comes with some risks, but it’s important to embrace these risks as part of what it takes to get a fantastic deal. You’re going to find ridiculously good prices for certain vehicles, you’ll see some unique cars up for sale and you’ll have a much large selection than if you visited an online dealership.
Final Words
As you can see, consumers have access to several different platforms to purchase a new vehicle. Online dealerships are generally best if you want to have guaranteed quality and aftermarket service. Car supermarkets are for people that want a good balance between quality and price. Classified advertisements are good for people who want to find a fantastic bargain or if they want to look or a very specific make and model of a vehicle.
All three are great ways to purchase a vehicle and they all come with advantages and disadvantages. Hopefully, this guide has given you some insight into how you should purchase your next vehicle and find the best value for your money.
