Using the Internet to Buy a Car

Did you know it’s possible to go shopping for a car from the comfort of your own home?  ICAN has put together a list of must go to websites to use when shopping for a car online. Buy a car the smart way and use the following websites to your advantage, presuming you’ve worked out what type of car you want and how much you’ve got to spend, you can visit these websites to have a shop around.

The advantage of looking for a car online is that you can get an idea of prices without having the pressure of a car salesman trying to get you to buy the first car you see. Whilst shopping around these virtual car yards, it is important to take note of who is selling the vehicle. Is the car being sold privately or through a licensed motor dealer?

Licensed Motor Dealer

Motor Dealers that advertise online should be licensed. A licensed dealer will provide a statutory cooling off period and a statutory warranty. A licensed dealer also legally has to conduct a Register of Encumbered Vehicles (REVS) and Written-Off Vehicle Register (WOVR) checks. 

Private Sale

If the car you like is being sold privately, it probably costs less than the same vehicle at a licensed motor dealer. It is important to remember though that you aren’t protected with either a statutory cooling off period or statutory warranty when buying a vehicle this way. So if something goes wrong you’re in trouble.

To avoid something going wrong you need to get the vehicle checked by the RACQ or an independent mechanic (see vehicle checks) to make sure you’re not buying a lemon. Some other checks you’ll need to make are;

Last but not least make sure you check that the registered owners name, number plate, vehicle identification number (VIN) and engine number corresponds with the cars registration certificate.

Price Check

So you’ve found a couple of cars that you’d potentially like to buy, it’s now time to check if the price is right. You can do this at www.redbook.com.au . It is important to take as much information down about the car you want as possible. Some info examples would be the age of vehicle, number of kilometres, make, model, auto or manual, engine size and number of doors. NOTE: It is also possible to get an idea if the price is right from looking around the sites listed above.

Red Book can also give you an idea of how much money you’d get for a trade in on your current vehicle.

Vehicle Checks

So you’ve found a car that looks good and is the right price, what next? Once you’ve found the car you want you should organise for it to be inspected by the RACQ or an auto association in your state. RACQ offers a wide range of vehicle inspection services, catering to a range of needs and budgets. The benefits of having an independent inspection is that it prevents you from spending a lot of money on a vehicle that doesn’t meet your needs and any major faults with the vehicle can be fixed before purchase. If your still in the shopping around stage and want to do your own inspection you can download the ICAN Car Buying Checklist from our website. The checklist will give you a good idea if you want to get it professionally inspected.

NOTE: You should always personally inspect the vehicle before purchase, as photos on the Internet and magazines can be misleading.

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Time to Pay

Once you’ve found you ideal car for the right price and have had it checked by an independent mechanic, you can go ahead and make the purchase. If you are getting finance for the vehicle or have decided to save, the "Infochoice" website is a great resource to check out. You can compare interest rates and fees on car loans, personal loans as well as interest baring savings accounts, all on the Infochoice website!