End of the tyre kick test: The ultimate guide to contactless car-shopping

Published on 10 November, 2020

Overview

With salesrooms closed under lockdown regulations, dealers are increasingly using hi-tech digital platforms to shift some metal. Right now a lot of such activity is for new-reg January/February delivery but is it possible to buy for imminent delivery? And not have to go near the dealership?

Is it too complicated for low-tech dinosaurs like me? I mean, how do you physically get your hands on the car?

That’s what I set out to find out - on your behalf.

To make the process a bit more realistic, I asked the well-known Frank Keane, Liffey Valley dealership, in Dublin, to assume I was a real-world customer so that normal checks and balances would apply.

It was all designed so that I (and by extension, you) could go through the stages and steps together.

I asked the dealership to assume we were trading in a well-minded, 172-reg 1-litre petrol Golf in Highline trim.

And ultimately I settled on ‘buying’ a 1.5-litre petrol Golf in Style trim which is nearest to the Highline spec but better.

It is important to remember that it could just as easily have been one of several models and makes from other dealerships and brands that are selling this way now.

Does it mark the beginning of the end for the tyre-kicker? To a large extent the old way of turning up to a garage with only a vague idea of what you want and kicking tyres while you haggle and sample several models is in swift decline.

Every dealer will tell you that, nowadays, even when potential buyers can visit the dealership they arrive with most of their homework already done. Everyone is so clued in, only minor details often remain to be addressed.

And so here are the main steps we took to ‘buy’ the new car:

1 Looking into the detail

Shortly after enquiring online/over the phone to the sales department a video specific to the car we wanted would be on the way. It carries lots of detail on spec, technologies, engine and so on. While there is a lot of useful information to get through, with so many of us working from home now, surely we have more time to absorb and re-read?

2 Assessing the trade-in value

From their digital platform, the Frank Keane sales people can send an online device that lets me show them pictures of our trade-in so they can assess its trade-in value. We agree an assumed mileage of 80,000kms.

3 Crunching the numbers

All of that info would prime head of sales Alan Fitzgerald’s department to let us know how much it would cost to change from our 172-reg Golf 1-litre petrol Highline to the new Golf 1-litre Style, what deposit (if any) we’d need and how much the changeover would cost in monthly repayments under a PCP plan (70pc of their sales are PCP). When all the number crunching was done our monthly payment came to €371 without any cash deposit being required.

4 Sealing the deal

Shortly afterwards, in the real world, all the relevant purchasing information (contracts, etc) needed to buy the car, as well as details of the finance deal would be sent online.

5 Showing the ropes

At that stage we get a detailed new video online to show every aspect of the new car’s workings: from simple things such as setting up Bluetooth for a hands-free phone to establishing preferred settings. This would normally take place at the physical handover stage on the dealer’s premises but as we don’t want to, or can’t, go to the garage this is a good alternative. Big plus: you can check back on the video anytime you’re not sure of something.

6 To test-drive or not test-drive?

I tell them we’ll forgo a test drive if the Golf can be delivered quickly. Yes, not having a pre-ownership drive may be a bit of a drawback to traditionalists (like me). But I’m told it is not nearly as big a stumbling block any more. Donal Geoghegan, dealer principal at the Frank Keane, Liffey Valley, says: “You’d be surprised by how many people are prepared to buy without a test drive.” A new Golf is a new Golf, they say.

7 Taking delivery

And so, within a few days (maybe sooner), weeks (depending on availability) ‘our car’ is scheduled to be delivered. There is no charge for doing so – within a reasonable distance. The person delivering can sanitise the keys, put them in a sealed plastic bag and drop them through the letter box if needs be. Meanwhile, you can hand over your sanitised trade-in keys or arrange to leave them somewhere safe.

This is the nearest thing to home delivery for a ‘car takeaway’. And it is only going to become more popular and streamlined as motoring joins the contactless era.