Is it safe to buy a used car online and get it delivered?

Is it safe to buy a used car you have not sat in?

It can be, and the law treats it differently from a forecourt sale on purpose. Buying online and having the car delivered is a distance sale, and a distance sale carries a cancellation right that a walk-on-the-forecourt purchase does not. The practical side matters just as much: a car bought online is only as knowable as the information published about it, so the depth of the advert is the thing to judge a seller by.

What is a distance sale?

A distance sale is a contract agreed without the buyer and seller meeting in person — online, over the phone, or by message. Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013 regs 29–35 give a distance or off-premises contract a 14-day cancellation right. A car bought from ONECARS online and delivered is a distance sale: there are fourteen days from delivery to change your mind and return it.

How long is there to change your mind after delivery?

Fourteen days from the day the car is delivered. That is a cancellation right rather than a fault-based one, so it does not depend on anything being wrong with the car — it exists because the buyer did not get to stand next to it before agreeing. Faults are a separate matter, and returning a used car to the dealer sets out the other routes in general terms.

What can you check on a car you have not seen?

More than most people expect, and all of it before any money moves:

• The MOT history. Anyone can check it free on GOV.UK with the registration number — each test's result, the advisories and the failures, and the mileage recorded at each test. Our guide on reading a used car's MOT history explains what the advisories are telling you.
• The mileage pattern. The recorded mileage at each test is the single best cross-check on a car's story. How to tell if the mileage is genuine walks through it.
• The photographs and the full spec. Every ONECARS car page has the car's photographs, its full spec and its MOT history, and anything that needs doing is done by ONEFIX before the car is handed over.
• The questions. The questions to ask when buying a used car work just as well on the phone as on a forecourt.

Is the car checked before it is delivered?

Yes. Every ONECARS car is checked on 34 points by ONEFIX, our own workshop on the same site at Plas Acton, Wrexham — the full list is published at how we check our cars. Where that check leaves work outstanding, the car is not handed over to its buyer until ONEFIX has put it right; that rule sits in the ONECARS system rather than in a sales line. Before a delivery leaves us the car is checked, valeted and fuelled.

How does ONECARS delivery work?

Delivery is free within 20 miles of Plas Acton, Wrexham, on weekdays, in hourly slots, with the car checked, valeted and fuelled before it leaves. Our delivery page has the detail. A tidy small car is the sort of thing that travels well to a doorstep — our 2014 Citroen DS3 at £2,995 or the 2010 Volkswagen Polo at £2,995 are fair examples.

Can a car be held while you decide?

Yes. A reservation holds an ONECARS car for fourteen days. Inside those fourteen days it can be cancelled for any reason and the fee is refunded in full, and if the buyer goes ahead it comes off the price. There is no admin fee either: the price shown is the price paid.

Do you need to tax and insure it before it arrives?

Yes to both, and this is where online buyers most often get caught out. Vehicle tax does not transfer with a car: the new keeper must tax it before it is driven on a public road, which can be done straight away online with the V5C reference. A car must also be insured before it is driven on a public road, including the first mile after it is delivered. Our guide on taxing a car before you drive it home covers the sequence.

What paperwork should turn up?

When a car changes hands the seller tells the DVLA, and the new keeper receives a new V5C log book in the post. What paperwork should come with a used car lists the rest of it, and it is worth reading before delivery day rather than after, so you know what you are looking at when it is handed over.

What happens if something is wrong once it arrives?

There are two separate things at play, and it helps to keep them apart. The cancellation right above does not need a reason. On top of that, every ONECARS car comes with a free three-month warranty on the engine and gearbox, up to 2,500 miles, with repairs carried out by ONEFIX on the same site, and longer paid cover is available — what our warranty covers sets out the scope. Your rights under the Consumer Rights Act are a third thing again, and a fault in the first six months explains those in general terms.

What if you would rather come and see it?

That is always an option, and plenty of people do both — browse online, then come and stand next to it. We are at Plas Acton Garage, 282 Chester Road, Wrexham LL12 8DU, with a second forecourt at Ruyton near Shrewsbury; viewings are by appointment, Monday to Friday 9 to 5 and Saturday 10 to 4. What to check when you view a used car and what to look for on a test drive are both worth reading first. We have 5-star reviews on Trustpilot and Google, and the office number is 01978 356983.

After the sale, ONEFIX — the workshop next door — services, repairs and MOTs the car, which is the part online buyers tend to appreciate most: the people who checked the car before it was delivered are the people who look after it afterwards.

Where to read next

• Delivery and how we check our cars
• Buying a used car in Wrexham
• Part exchange explained
• Our used cars or get in touch