Test Drives of your prospective NB

[roland elsdon]

We got lucky with our fourth boat, the yard arranged for us to boat her the 12 miles back from the dock. By the time we had her back we had been smitten.

 

[Athy]

On 27/10/2020 at 18:06, roland elsdon said:

Would you buy a car without a test drive?

 

Astonishingly, there is currently a series of T.V. adverts encouraging people to do precisely that.

[magpie patrick]

1 minute ago, Athy said:

Astonishingly, there is currently a series of T.V. adverts encouraging people to do precisely that.

I don't think they even get to see it do they - they see a picture on the internet, but not the car until it arrives? 

 

And I suspect these people are paying rather more for their second hand cars than I do!

[Athy]

8 minutes ago, magpie patrick said:

I don't think they even get to see it do they - they see a picture on the internet, but not the car until it arrives? 

 

 

That is correct, and for such a large item of expenditure, it almost beggars belief.

What will be next? Buying a house without even visiting it first/

(Now watch someone pop up and say "Yes, we did that!")

Edited October 29, 2020 by Athy

[1st ade]

39 minutes ago, Athy said:

Astonishingly, there is currently a series of T.V. adverts encouraging people to do precisely that.

Not only a series but a series of series (at least three, one for a specific manufacturer and two others for second hand cars in general)

[noddyboater]

I'd guess there's currently people buying boats the same way as they pick their next company car, from the spec sheet and colour. 

How it handles/drives is irrelevant, and as many haven't even had a week on a hire boat what would a test drive prove?

Anyone who has steered a boat that's a proper boat shape, built by a boat builder not a fabricator in between skip orders, knows there's a massive difference. But if you haven't experienced it you'll never know. 

[Athy]

22 minutes ago, 1st ade said:

Not only a series but a series of series (at least three, one for a specific manufacturer and two others for second hand cars in general)

\I wonder why. Perhaps people are thinking "Oh, I must have a new car." But why? Most of them are working from home so they don't need the car to commute in. They can't take overseas holidays, so they don't need it it to drive to France or Spain. They don't wish to mingle with lots of people in shops, so they have all their groceries delivered, thereby not needing the car to go to a supermarket. In many cases, they can't even visit friends or relations in different parts of the country, so they don't need a car for those journeys. In our case, we changed our car just before the lock-down in March. It had 64 miles on the clock when we collected it. It still hasn't reached 2,000. This is probably fairly typical use. So why do people feel the need to buy cars, especially sight unseen?

[ditchcrawler]

1 hour ago, Athy said:

Astonishingly, there is currently a series of T.V. adverts encouraging people to do precisely that.

But dont they then give you a week to change your mind https://www.cazoo.co.uk/car-promise/

 

12 minutes ago, Athy said:

\I wonder why. Perhaps people are thinking "Oh, I must have a new car." But why? Most of them are working from home so they don't need the car to commute in. They can't take overseas holidays, so they don't need it it to drive to France or Spain. They don't wish to mingle with lots of people in shops, so they have all their groceries delivered, thereby not needing the car to go to a supermarket. In many cases, they can't even visit friends or relations in different parts of the country, so they don't need a car for those journeys. In our case, we changed our car just before the lock-down in March. It had 64 miles on the clock when we collected it. It still hasn't reached 2,000. This is probably fairly typical use. So why do people feel the need to buy cars, especially sight unseen?

Maybe its so they dont have to deal with used car salespersons, I have only ever bought one NEW car the rest have been low mileage second hand

[Athy]

16 minutes ago, ditchcrawler said:

But dont they then give you a week to change your mind https://www.cazoo.co.uk/car-promise/

 

 

I wonder how many you can send back before they get really cheesed off.

[JJay]

1 hour ago, Athy said:

That is correct, and for such a large item of expenditure, it almost beggars belief.

What will be next? Buying a house without even visiting it first/

(Now watch someone pop up and say "Yes, we did that!")

Yes, we did that!?

 

Well, actually it was a new build, bought off plan.  We had of course visited the development and viewed the show houses, but there was no show house of the design of ours anywhere in the country, so our first "proper" visit after substantial completion of the build only took place after exchange of contracts and our second on the day we moved in! 

 

Incidentally, we are very happy with our purchase.

Edited October 29, 2020 by JJay

[noddyboater]

2 hours ago, Athy said:

That is correct, and for such a large item of expenditure, it almost beggars belief.

What will be next? Buying a house without even visiting it first/

(Now watch someone pop up and say "Yes, we did that!")

A friend of mine did exactly that. After the purchase of the house he really wanted fell through he picked another with the same agent at a similar price and made an offer. 

When I asked him what the local area was like he merely replied he'd never been there but it was near enough to the M1 and there's a 24 hour Tesco up the road. 

I suppose we're all different,  but some more different than others. 

[cuthound]

6 hours ago, ditchcrawler said:

But dont they then give you a week to change your mind https://www.cazoo.co.uk/car-promise/

 

Maybe its so they dont have to deal with used car salespersons, I have only ever bought one NEW car the rest have been low mileage second hand

 

Likewise, except for a couple of high mileage ex-company cars from auction.

 

I also once bought a car from a car supermarket, when they first opened. Never again. I have never been subjected to such high pressure salemanship to purchase extended warranties, service plans, easy monthly terms, interior stain treatments and external finish treatments that I didn't want.  The only money extracting trick they missed was turning me upside down and shaking me to see if I had any small change in my pockets! 

[captain birdseye]

Last time I bought a boat through a broker they arranged for the seller to come down and meet me and we went out for a mornings run and he went through all the systems showing me how they worked. he also went through with me what could be left on board if I wished and what would be taken off so we knew exactly what we were getting. 

[Ewan123]

Back in the summer when we viewed our first boat, once we'd been inside, the staff of the brokerage proactively asked whether we'd like to take it out for a test drive. We declined on that occasion as we were already sure we wouldn't be buying that boat (put off by a smelly pump-out for starters) but it was nice to have the offer made. I would definitely request it before buying, happy to do so after putting down a deposit if required by the seller.

[roland elsdon]

On 29/10/2020 at 08:45, Athy said:

That is correct, and for such a large item of expenditure, it almost beggars belief.

What will be next? Buying a house without even visiting it first/

(Now watch someone pop up and say "Yes, we did that!")

One of my work colleagues in Victoria bought a holiday home in South Australia, over the internet, sight unseen, in the spring.

She didn’t visit it until Easter (Autumn), but left it on the agents books as a rental.

She came back the day after Easter Monday, and handed me her resignation.

Completely besotted with what she had bought, had already organised work and to transfer her professional registration. Gone a month later.

[alias]

On 29/10/2020 at 09:49, Athy said:

\I wonder why. Perhaps people are thinking "Oh, I must have a new car." But why? Most of them are working from home so they don't need the car to commute in. They can't take overseas holidays, so they don't need it it to drive to France or Spain. They don't wish to mingle with lots of people in shops, so they have all their groceries delivered, thereby not needing the car to go to a supermarket. In many cases, they can't even visit friends or relations in different parts of the country, so they don't need a car for those journeys. In our case, we changed our car just before the lock-down in March. It had 64 miles on the clock when we collected it. It still hasn't reached 2,000. This is probably fairly typical use. So why do people feel the need to buy cars, especially sight unseen?

My neighbour bought a new car a few months ago. In his case it was motivated by the refunds from his two cancelled holidays burning a hole in his pocket, coupled with a dealer so desperate to shift new cars preregistered with a 69 plate that he got about a third off.

[Ex Brummie]

I suspect lots of people buy boats without a test drive. When you commission a new build, you have no chance of a test drive and would have to argue snagging if it came as something you did not like. I know one person who, when the boat was launched, took it from the launch point, realised it did not steer. It went straight back for bigger rudder. If I bought second hand, I would expect to take a trip in it.

[Athy]

59 minutes ago, alias said:

My neighbour bought a new car a few months ago. In his case it was motivated by the refunds from his two cancelled holidays burning a hole in his pocket, coupled with a dealer so desperate to shift new cars preregistered with a 69 plate that he got about a third off.

Funny you should say that.....

[Jerra]

On 29/10/2020 at 08:45, Athy said:

Buying a house without even visiting it first/

I take it you have never seen the TV programme "Homes under the Hammer".    It often happens on there.

[Cheshire cat]

2 hours ago, Jerra said:

I take it you have never seen the TV programme "Homes under the Hammer".    It often happens on there.

Yes but for the most part they arent planning to live in them.

[Jerra]

2 minutes ago, Cheshire cat said:

Yes but for the most part they arent planning to live in them.

They are still spending the money and don't know what the potential problems might be, some haven't even read the legal pack.   The statement was buy a house not buy a home.