Set the Wheels in Motion: a Guide to Online Car-Buying

It may only be a little over a decade since the internet began its rapid rise to universal ubiquity, but already it’s difficult to imagine how we ever got by without the World Wide Web.

Besides the countless communication tools, networked multimedia applications and a wealth of information available on tap, the one aspect of every day life the internet has changed almost beyond recognition is consumerism.

People no longer have to queue in banks during their lunch hour, wait in line in travel agents or battle the crowds on Saturday afternoon shopping sprees. A simple networked computer, credit/debit card and a spare ten minutes is all that’s needed to buy anything from holidays and groceries, to mp3 players and house insurance. Moreover, the World Wide Web is open 24/7, creating a convenient round-the-clock shopping experience that places control firmly back in the hands of the consumer.

Indeed, just about anything can now be bought online. Car shopping, for example, was once an extremely time consuming and exhausting exercise involving visits to countless automobile retailers and a sustained haggling offensive that would go at least some of the way towards achieving a fair price.

Now, however, this is no longer the case. Car supermarkets may have been around for several decades, but with the advent of the internet era, large multi-make car dealers and e-commerce have combined forces to create the ultimate platform for the buying and selling of used cars.

Firstly, there is the convenience aspect of shopping online. Independent car reviews and tips can easily be referenced from across the Web when narrowing down the desired make and model, whilst the research results can be matched against the cars on offer from online car ‘e-tailers’, removing any seed of doubt relating to the word of the archetypal second-hand car salesperson.

Of course, the benefits of using an online car supermarket extend a lot further than mere convenience. Given that many don’t have expensive showrooms and they source their stock directly from fleets and leasing companies which helps to cut out the middlemen, it’s estimated that prices can be anything up to 10% cheaper than traditional ‘bricks and mortar’ car retailers.

Combined with the fact that many online car supermarkets display comprehensive multi-angle interior and exterior photos, buying a car over the internet isn’t exactly a shot in the dark. Furthermore, whilst the World Wide Web isn’t able to facilitate full-on test-drives quite yet, most online used car retailers will not only deliver the car to the buyer’s door, but a 7-day money back guarantee should give ample time to test out the new wheels safe in the knowledge they have a full week to decide if it’s the vehicle for them.