Cazoo, Cinch and BuyaCar: Your guide to online car buying websites

Online car buying websites have grown in popularity in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. We explain the various options.

Online Car Showrooms

Google ‘online car buying website’, and you’ll be greeted with the name Cazoo. It’s arguably the most famous such website, helped in no small part by the company’s shirt sponsorship of Aston Villa and Everton football clubs.

Growing numbers of car buyers are comfortable buying a car online, as the coronavirus pandemic sees a shift in consumer behaviour. Online car showrooms have benefited from lockdown and social distancing measures, while traditional retailers have suffered.

Many car makers are developing an online buying service and contactless delivery or collection, but it’s the online car buying websites that are set to benefit from lockdown measures.

The positives are obvious. You can browse online listings from the comfort of your home. Scroll through multiple photos, watch video tours of cars for sale, arrange finance, compare prices and complete the entire buying process online.

Once you’re happy, the car will be delivered to your home within a matter of days, many coming with a money-back guarantee.

This doesn’t spell the end for the traditional new and used car dealer, but it represents a big shift in the way we buy and sell cars. Here, we explore some of the major online car buying websites, including Cazoo, Cinch, BuyaCar and Car Store.

Cazoo

A Cazoo delivery

Cazoo launched in December 2019, promising to deliver ‘an entirely new way to buy a used car’. Its founder is Alex Chesterman, famous for creating LoveFilm and Zoopla. He received an OBE in 2016 for services to digital entrepreneurship.

The company raised over £80m in pre-launch funding, then acquired Imperial Car Supermarkets in July 2020. It now has customer centres in Birmingham, Cardiff, Bristol, Wembley, Manchester and Bishop Auckland – with more being added every month.

How it works

Cazoo owns all its cars, which must pass a 150+ point inspection before they are listed for sale on the website. The checks include the bodywork, engine, suspension, brakes, electrics, underbody and boot. The company says it buys less than five percent of the cars it looks at.

The car will be delivered to your home address or it can be collected from one of the customer centres. All cars come with a seven-day money-back guarantee, a 90-day warranty with RAC breakdown cover and seven days of free driveaway insurance. The cost of delivery is included in the purchase price.

Cazoo offers two types of finance: Personal Contract Purchase (PCP) and Hire Purchase (HP). It will also part-exchange your current car, giving an instant online valuation.

Alex Chesterman said: “The process of buying a used car is outdated and not fit for purpose for today’s consumer. Cazoo is reimagining used car buying to make it simple and convenient, whilst adding transparency and quality to an industry which suffers from a lack of consumer trust. We take away the need to travel, to haggle, to spend countless hours at a dealership and to risk any buyer’s remorse.”

Cinch

Apply for a driving licence online

The Cinch advertising campaign is fronted by brand ambassador Rylan Clark-Neal. The process is similar to Cazoo, but Cinch also offers consumers the chance to buy from approved used car dealers. Manufacturers, leasing companies and dealers can offer vehicles directly to consumers via the Cinch platform.

How it works

All cars must pass a 225-point inspection and be less than seven years old with up to 70,000 miles on the clock. A 14-day no-quibble return policy is available for customers who aren’t satisfied with their purchase. Finance packages and a part exchange scheme are also offered.

Joanna Kerr, marketing director at Cinch, said: “Since the beginning, our vision has always been to make the car finding and buying process as easy, transparent and trustworthy as possible. Consumer behaviour has evolved in the last 10 years and the global pandemic has accelerated the need and desire to buy online.

“As a society, we’re more and more comfortable buying a variety of items online through trusted platforms. We want to give our customers the chance to enjoy the same experience when finding and buying their next car.”

BuyaCar

Key worker and car

BuyaCar is Britain’s most popular online car supermarket when measured in terms of organic traffic to its website. The company buys cars directly from dealerships when orders are placed, then collects them for delivery to the customer’s door. Launched in 2002, BuyaCar has around 20,000 sales to its name.

How it works

Customers search for cars online, then pay a deposit to secure a purchase. Low-rate finance options are available, with all cars delivered with a 14-day money-back guarantee. If the manufacturer’s warranty has expired, BuyaCar will provide a 30-day mechanical warranty.

BuyaCar will also take a car in part-exchange, if it’s under 10 years old and has up to 85,000 miles on the clock.

The company celebrated its busiest ever summer period following the Covid-19 lockdown. Even during the first month of the lockdown, more than £1.1 million of cars and vans were delivered by the business to key workers.

Christofer Lloyd, editor of BuyaCar.co.uk, said: “It is appropriate that we have now passed the four million milestone for total deliveries to the customer’s door, in a year which has seen BuyaCar performance records broken several times.

“Our average delivery distances between the supplying dealer and the purchasing customer typically hover around 160-180 miles, but many customers choose cars from hundreds of miles away that they would never have a chance of buying without BuyaCar.co.uk.”

Car Store

Skoda virtual dealer

Evans Halshaw Car Store is the used car brand for standalone retail sites within the Pendragon group. Crucially, it offers consumers the chance to buy a car online, with the option of home delivery or click and collect from one of its retail stores.

How it works

All cars undergo a 104-point inspection before sale. The six-step process includes the bodywork, under the bonnet, interior, underneath the car, wheels and tyres, plus a road test. The car will be delivered with a three-month guarantee and a seven-day money-back guarantee.

You also get a 14-day price promise. If you find a like-for-like car at a competitor car retailer within 14 days of buying from Car Store, and within a 40-mile radius of the store, Car Store will refund the difference.

Car manufacturers

Volvo Online

It’s also possible to buy a car online from a manufacturer. In 2019, Volvo launched an online sales service, proudly boasting that the entire process can be completed in as little as 20 minutes.

The approach is broadly similar to the other online car showrooms, with the key difference being that you’re restricted to buying a Volvo. You can part-exchange your own car, choose a finance package, then decide whether to buy a Volvo from stock or build your perfect car.

Other manufacturers with the facility to buy online include Hyundai, Dacia, Peugeot, Vauxhall and Mitsubishi.

Other online services

You don’t have to buy a car online. There are a number of websites that offer a valuable sales tool, without the commitment to buy online.

Heycar is one example. The company launched in the UK in August 2019 and has around 3,700 UK dealers signed up to use its online service, with an inventory of more than 170,000 vehicles. All Heycar vehicles come with a warranty, are less than eight years old and have fewer than 100,000 miles on the clock.

Customers use the Heycar platform to browse for used cars, then message or call the dealer via the website.

Carwow is another example of a company transforming the way we buy a new car. It works like a price comparison site, with approved dealers submitting offers based on the customer’s search criteria. Carwow says its saves buyers an average of £3,600 off the recommended retail price. Cars can be delivered to a home address or collected at the dealer.

Online car buying websites: the pros

To some people, buying a car via an online showroom is the perfect solution. There’s no need to visit a dealer: the hassle is taken away. Everything is included within the price, so there’s no need to haggle or negotiate.

You also get an almost unlimited choice of cars. Visit a local dealership, and you’re limited to what they have in stock or is available within the wider dealer network. Online, you can view and compare cars, finance packages and offers. Just don’t get too carried away – it’s easy to break your budget when you’re not dealing with physical cash.

In the midst of a pandemic, it also feels like the safer alternative to visiting a showroom. The car is delivered to you, which makes it the best – possibly only – choice during a national or local lockdown. In the case of companies like Cazoo, Cinch and BuyaCar, there’s the knowledge that the car will be delivered without any hidden defects, cleaned and ready to go.

Online car buying websites: the cons

You’re likely to pay more when buying a car via an online showroom. The cost of preparation and delivery will be included with a margin, so it will almost certainly be cheaper to buy an equivalent car elsewhere. You may also get a longer warranty when buying a car from an approved used scheme.

It’s also worth remembering that you won’t be able to test drive the car before it arrives, so there’s no guarantee that it will meet your expectations. The driving position, boot space and quality of the infotainment system are just three considerations. Do your homework first.

The growth of online car buying websites doesn’t mean the end for physical dealerships. Instead, it means consumers will have greater choice when buying a new or used car, which should encourage traditional outlets to raise their game.

In the midst of a pandemic, buying online is the safest way to buy a car. Beyond 2020, online buying car websites will continue to shift the way we buy and sell cars.

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Gavin Braithwaite-Smith
Gavin Braithwaite-Smithhttp://www.petrolblog.com
Writer with a penchant for #FrenchTat. Owns 15 vehicles of varying degrees of terribleness. Also doing a passable impression of Cousin Eddie in an Italian-German beige motorhome. Doesn't get out much.

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