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Are car dealers who operate by appointment only legitimate?

I've heard about car dealers who operate by appointment only and are usually home-based and claims it pre-dates the pandemic/lockdown push to work from home, but what are the advantages and disadvantages of these, especially for buying something like a Vauxhall Astra, BMW 5-Series, Toyota RAV4 or a Ford Transit or Volkswagen Transporter?

Are there advantages to these over main dealers and when are they good and bad?

Asked on 27 March 2024 by julholm662

Answered by David Ross
Although some dealers may have operated from home during the pandemic, we would be very wary of anyone purporting to be a dealer operating from a home address. Car dealers are bound by additional regulations in terms of consumer rights compared to private individuals, and it is this additional level of security which is reassuring for used car buyers. We would suspect that anyone operating from a home address is a private individual.
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