"Life is what happens when you're busy making other plans" - a well-known saying attributed to John Lennon and what could be the anthem for 2020. Hands up those who had planned to get into a new car early this year but have had to put those plans on hold due to COVID-19.
While some aspects of Australian business have returned to normal trading, many industries including the car sales sector, have pivoted to a contactless business model to deal with issues around coronavirus. Good news for car buyers – you CAN proceed with your car purchase and source your car loan in a contactless business environment.
We cover off on what you can expect, a few tips on what to be mindful of and how Jade Car Loans can assist you.
Buying a New Car Online
Nothing new there, online car sales marketplaces have been around for years. Yes, but this is a different take on an online sale. As distinct from browsing the online marketplace and brand websites to look at cars and make enquiries, the new trend is to order your new car online.
Some new car dealers are offering a range of contactless purchasing processes including buying your car completely online. That is, without an in-person inspection or test drive. What about experiencing that new car fragrance that we so associate with buying a brand new car? Guess you have to wait until your vehicle arrives.
According to reports out of the motoring industry, COVID-19 has led to more dealers offering an entirely online option and more people taking advantage of the service. While this is still quite a small percentage of total sales, it could be the way of the future if this pandemic experience is anything to go by.
Would you buy a car completely online?
If you’re buying a brand new car from an authorised dealer and you know the brand and you are essentially updating, then many people may just place their order online without a second thought. If you’re relying on a valuation on your trade-in, the dealer will have to see your trade in person to complete that side of the transaction. For those trying to gauge their financing options, using a business car loan calculator can also be of immense help during this process.
For limited edition models and much sought-after but in short supply releases, buying online and pre-release may be the only way to ensure you get one.
Under consumer laws, buyers are covered for cars purchased through a dealer and you should always check what assurances the dealer will provide should your first drive after getting the keys not meet your expectations.
When it comes to buying a used car completely online, especially when considering hire purchase cars, we would expect far fewer people would be prepared to do that and it would not be strongly advised in most cases. Consumer laws do not cover all sellers and while online shopping from reputable outlets is a convenient and largely successful process for most purchases, the same may not be for used cars.
If this is your only option, you may consider engaging a reliable mechanic to inspect the vehicle and give you a condition report before you commit.
Who’s gone online?
It probably won’t come as much of a surprise that the always surprising Tesla brand carries out a large amount of its sales via its website. Closer to home, Subaru first offered online purchases in 2012 with their BRZ and followed successfully in later years with other limited edition models.
Toyota did the same with the Supra at one stage and Volkswagen Australia is currently selling vehicles online with some exclusive online clearance offers.
Contactless Buying
While the full online purchase process still has limited availability, many new and used car dealers, especially those offering sole trader car loan options, have changed their process to offer contactless car purchases due to COVID-19. This process may include bringing a car to your place to inspect and test drive, providing a COVID-safe showroom, and other practices that adhere to social distancing while still allowing buyers to get involved with the purchase.
Contactless Car Loans
At Jade Car Loans, we’ve been operating in a contactless environment for many years. We handle your car loans with a combination of phone and email contact.
- Call 1300 000 003 to discuss your car loan requirements with one of our consultants.
- You may opt to receive a quick quote via phone email or even text message.
- If accepted, we request documentation from you to complete your application.
- Documents can be scanned and emailed.
- If a personal engagement is preferred, our consultants can hold virtual meetings with our customers via Skype, FaceTime or Zoom.
- Our consultants conduct the loan sourcing process entirely via phone and email.
- On acceptance of our loan quote, we finalise the paperwork through to settlement, completely contactless.
Our contactless car loans are available for Personal Secured Car Loans and Business Car Finance.
So if you’ve put off your car buying plans due to COVID-19, maybe it’s time for your plans to take priority over life’s events and order your new car online and arrange your car loan through Jade Car Loans. As for that new car smell – you’ll just have to wait to experience it in person.
To discuss a contactless car loan speak with a Jade Car Loans consultant at 1300 000 003
DISCLAIMER: THE INFORMATION PROVIDED IS FOR GENERAL CONSIDERATION. ANY REFERENCE TO OFFICIAL GOVERNMENT POLICIES HAS BEEN SOURCED FROM AUSTRALIAN GOVERNMENT AND STATE GOVERNMENT SOURCES. INFORMATION ON INDIVIDUAL VEHICLE SPECS IS SOURCED FROM THE MANUFACTURER WEBSITE. NO LIABILITY IS ACCEPTED FOR ANY ERRORS IN PRESENTATION OR INTERPRETATION OF THE FACTS AS PROVIDED BY THESE SOURCES. WE ADVISE ALL INDIVIDUALS AND BUSINESSES TO REFER TO THEIR ACCOUNTANT OR FINANCIAL ADVISOR FOR PROFESSIONAL ADVICE SPECIFIC TO THEIR INDIVIDUAL CIRCUMSTANCES.
