How to buy a used car online and have it delivered (Cazoo Review)
A few years ago, no one will believe that you can buy a used car online, make payment and get it delivered.
It is now becoming a new normal to browse for car online and get it delivered without you going to the car show room to physically see the car before buying it.
In this article, I want to share my experience of buying a car online from Cazoo.
There are now a lot of websites offering car delivery. I mentioned Cazoo because I recently bought my used car on their website.
I think it will be useful to first take you through the most important part of car purchase.
Affordability and car choice
Decide on the car you want.
You have to decide on the type of car you want. Usually, it will be a type of car that can meet your need. As well, affordability needs to be considered at this stage. What is your budget? This will influence the type of car you can buy.
Shop around
It is important to browse around the internet to compare price on various automobile websites. Apart from Cazoo where I bought my car, one of the most popular marketplace for cars is Autotrader. On their website, you can browse and use various criteria to filter and find the specific type of car you want.
Finance or cash
You can either buy through finance or pay cash. Its up to you to decide which one works better for you. If you want to buy through car finance, it is important you check that the online car dealer do offer car finance.
Benefits of buying car online
The main benefit of buying car online and get it deliver is the time you will save. As we all know, time is very important.
Obviously, you will still need some time to browse the internet, place orders and sign documents online. However, you will spend less time compare to getting in the car or taking public transport to go to the car garage or showroom.
The second benefit is the convenience of sitting anywhere in your house and make a purchase.
Another benefit is the opportunity to easily compare price. The internet gives you opportunity to visit various car dealer website from the comfort of your home and compare prices.
The only disadvantage is the fact that you can not touch, feel and test drive the car before you make a purchase.
I don’t see the disadvantage as a red flag. With the modern day technology of the internet, there are high resolution photos and videos of the cars online. With my own experience, the car I bought was exactly like the photos I saw online. There wasn’t any surprises.
As well, you can request for a custom video to be sent to you. The dealer will be happy to capture video or photo of a specific part of the car you will like to see.
Cazoo review
I have to say I had a wonderful experience buying my car from Cazoo.
My initial search for a car started from Autotrader which I have used in the past to buy a car.
I found my car on Autotrader and found out the dealer who listed the car for sale on Autotrader is Cazoo. I then followed the link to continue the buying process on Cazoo website.
Making a purchase on Cazoo website
I found Cazoo website very user friendly and easy to navigate.
There was an image gallery for the cars.
Each car has over 40 high-resolution images of the car that is very useful for decision making for customers.
After finding the car you want. You complete the purchase through finance or cash.
All purchase process can be entirely done online. Obviously, you can contact their customer service through phone.
For me I did not need to make phone call. I did everything entirely online.
Communcation
I like the way Cazoo send emails keeping me up to date with how things were going as they put things in place to deliver the car.
You will receive various emails updating you after completing your purchase online.
The day of delivery
I woke up that morning looking forward to see the car. Obviously I was excited.
The delivery driver rang me when he was about 20mins away from my house to let me know he was close. He also asked me to get my prove of ID (driver licence) and the card I used to make payment online ready.
He asked me if I have a parking space close to my house where he can pack the delivery van. He said he will need about 20m long space. I assured him the space in front of our house will be enough to park the delivery van.
When the driver arrived, he asked for my driver licence and credit card. He explained to me he needed that just to be sure he is delivering the car to the right person.
He went further to let me know he needs about 7min to open the van and get the car out of the van.
The delivery man acted professionally and we had good conversation.
After the car was out of the van, he asked me if I have had any car similar to the car. I answered that I used to have old version of the car so a lot of things must have changed.
He then asked me to come into the car. I sat at the driver seat, he sat in the front passenger seat and walk me through the various functionalities in the car. He also explained to me about the warranty Cazoo offers.
He showed me various things like where to open the boot and fuel filler inlet.
Finally, he asked me if I am happy for him to sign that the car has been delivered and I said yes.
As well, he asked if I have any questions. He took a few pictures with his tablet device and explained to me that he needed the photo also as records of delivery.
Finally, he signed on his device and said hope I enjoy the car.
Cazoo Perks
The image below shows some of what you get when you buy a used car online from Cazoo. I surely got all of below so I am testifying to this.
7-Day Money-Back Guarantee
I love my car when it was delivered and I enjoyed driving it. It was high quality all over so I had no serious issue with the car so I did not think about returning it for money back.
However, I believe if I wanted to return within 7 days, Cazoo would have returned my money back. I must remember to mention that there was an alert on the dashboard which reads ‘Check Tire Pressure’.
I knew it wasn’t a serious problem. When I contacted Cazoo, their customer service was great.
They asked me to go to my local Kwik Fix for the car to be checked. Obviously, they sent me an email with a reference number to present at Kwik-Fit.
The reference number signifies that Cazoo already has an account with them which means I was not to pay any money for the work done on the car.
As mentioned earlier it wasn’t a serious problem. Within 10min I was out of Kwik-Fit and the alert on the dashboard was no longer there.
Quality assured
Despite the alert on my dashboard, I believe Cazoo quality assured message is true. There is nothing that is 100% perfect in the world. However, I can testify that my car is a quality car.
90-day warranty
The warranty is a very important part of the deal with Cazoo. I believe the period of 90 days for the warranty is a fair one.
RAC roadside assistance
I already have roadside assistance with RAC so this one is not so much of a benefit for me.
If you don’t already have roadside assistance, the 90 days roadside assistance they offer might help you in a time of unforeseen car breakdown.
Change of ownership
Part of Cazoo promise is that they will contact the DVLA to transfer the ownership of your Cazoo car.
As soon as my car was delivered I received email and SMS message from DVLA to notify me that the car ownership has been transferred to me.
You’ll receive a new V5C from the DVLA in the post, usually within 5-10 working days.
Small gift from Cazoo
Something else I thought I should mention which might not sound a big deal is some items that came with the car from Cazoo. The items are customised with Cazoo brand name
The items are umbrella, ice scrapper,car wash sponge and
Car Imperfection
If you are buying a used car, it is not going to be perfect. I don’t think anyone should be expecting a new car to be perfect.
I like Cazoo honesty, there was nothing hidden.
The image gallery of the car online shows you some of the imperfection with the car which will help you to make the right decision.
The imperfection with my car was not a red flag for me that stopped me from buying the car.
Below is one of the photos of my car imperfections.
