Saturday 29 October 2011

Taking delivery of a car as a new owner

So you have signed the contract and the money has been handed over. Now it is time to pick up your new or used car from the dealer.

Check and make sure that any options you ordered have been fitted to the car. Check the mileage.

Go over the entire car and look out for any damage on the exterior, interior, in the boot or under the bonnet. I have seen brand new cars damaged whilst being transported by dealer staff or when fitting accessories ordered by the buyer.

A dealer will repair the damage and sell the car to an unsuspecting buyer as new, so treat a brand new car as you would a used car.

Look at the car from various angles for any mismatch in colour, clear coat application; alignment of panels, lights, or bumpers; damage to wheels, tyres, front or rear bumpers.

DO NOT TAKE DELIVERY OF THE CAR IF YOU ARE NOT HAPPY WITH HOW IT PRESENTS INSIDE OR OUT.

The reason I mention this is because once you take delivery of your car and drive away, if you find an issue or if an issue develops, your issue will be handballed over to the service department to fix on their timeframe and terms, rather than immediately as it should since you are now the new owner.

I recall a salesman who accidently damaged a brand new car he was scheduled to deliver for his customer one afternoon. Rather than doing the right thing by informing his customer, he hid the damage by parking the car to be delivered under cover with limited lighting so that the customer would not notice.

Once the customer picked up the car and drove away, the salesman could then say to his customer that the damage did not exist before delivery and he would "help" by getting the service department to look at it asap. Meaning in other words, "it's not my problem, the car has been sold, if you have an issue, take it up with service."

I have assisted sales staff with delivering cars to customer's homes or workplaces. Sometimes customer's can't make it to the dealer to pick up their car which is understandable. However, do note that if any damage occurs as a result of transport, the pressure and obligation is placed upon the customer to accept the car as is.

Why put yourself in a position where you feel pressured to say yes or no in the first place?

It is significantly better to pick up the car yourself. If you can't take delivery of a car on a certain day, organise a day when you can pick up your car in person.






 

2 comments:

  1. This is great!
    We are about to pay off my Dodge Durango this month! I'm so excited! We got it brand new, and it only has 41,000 (about 66000 kilometers). I love my SUV, but hubs wants another one. So, we are excited to purchase a new car in about two months.

    I have forwarded your post to him!

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  2. Thanks for the support LLuvi, I hope I am able to inform many more potential buyers out there

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