Top tips for car buying during a pandemic

Many of us are stuck at home, doing our bit to flatten the curve of the coronavirus. While the impact of the virus has sent shockwaves around the economy, it doesn’t have to derail your car buying plans.
Here’s our top tips for car buying during the crisis:

‍Use your down time to shop around

Hate negotiating with dealers? You’re not alone, in fact that’s one of the key reasons why we created Driva.

Luckily these days there’s no need to go door-to-door looking for the best price on your car. In fact, our friends at PriceMyCar have developed a resource that allows you to compare actual prices across a range of cars, for free.

You can leverage their technology to see what other buyers paid for the car you're looking at, and determine if you’re getting a good deal.

Get your car delivered

There’s more reason than ever not to visit the dealership with social distancing measures in full effect.

While many dealerships are still open for business, Driva also partners with providers that allow you to get your next vehicle delivered to you without even leaving your house.

Companies like Fleet Avenue leverage their car buying power to get you discounted deals. They’ll handle all the paperwork, and are now offering a concierge service where they’ll deliver the car straight to your door.

Drop us an email and we’ll put you in touch.

If you’re dealing with the seller directly, negotiate!

While we understand the importance of dealerships in providing Australian’s access to cars, it’s important to understand how to get the most out of your dealer when talking price.

Car dealers usually have a bit of room to move from their retail price, so it pays to haggle.

Dealers also value closing sales quickly, so coming pre-approved with finance to the dealership is also a great way to show your serious about the purchase and able to move quickly.

Do your financing homework

Just like the rest of the car buying process, it’s critical you find your best financing rate. With so many lenders in the market, it’s pretty difficult to make comparisons. What’s worse is that the rate advertised by most brokers and lenders are just the starting rates, and the actual rate you’ll receive varies depending on your personal circumstances and credit score.

Let Driva do the work for you, and use our free loan matching tool to get your best eligible and personalised car loan quotes in minutes.

In closing

Make the most of your down time to shop around and do your research for both cars and financing. When it comes to talking numbers, use free resources like PriceMyCar or Fleet Avenue to get the best new car prices, and if you’re going direct to the seller remember that now is a great time to negotiate.