>> when they have gone back they are treated with contempt

The only place that treated me with contempt was my local vw dealer. I was buying a car for towing a caravan, and when they couldn't find me the kerb weight of the car the salesmen they went to the 'car weight doesn't matter' then made loads of jokes about 'pathetic' caravanners between themselves! As you'd expect, I walked out. Their audi branch gave perfect customer service.

My experience of cazoo was very positive. I'd use them again.

There is no simple answer - it depends on the buyers and the age of the car. A generality - newer cars tend to be covered by a warranty and reliable

Buyers are split between those who:

• see cars as expensive white goods. Read a few reviews, decide what they want, search online for best deal.
• like to understand what they are spending their money on - concerned about personal comfort, precise spec, want test drive etc

Age is also important:

• new cars are mostly leased or PCP. Brokers already well established. Little point in visiting a franchise unless you want to see one "in the flesh"
• up to ~5 years old - online will increase. Cars generally reliable, honest mileage, warranted, known histories, and bought in bulk. Online has a much lower cost base than franchised dealer network with glass palaces.
• s/h over ~5 years old will often be on second or third owner, more variable condition, mileage, service history, etc. Too old for most franchised dealers and too many inherent risks (returns, claims etc) for online sales.

In summary - the private buyer will:

• increasingly go online for new and s/h up to ~ 5 years old to get the best deal
• continue to go to non-franchised dealers and private ads for cars over ~5 years

None of these dealers are charity shops and you pay your money and take your chance. Frequently on here you have people who have bought from the above and when they have gone back they are treated with contempt, warranty of not it all comes off their profit. I have no experience of any body buying from the likes of Cazoo so how their warranty stands I do not know but they must have a high margin to operate like this but no glass palaces for overheads. Where they store and prepare their cars I do not know and if a buyer has a problem where is a car repaired? If I were buying second hand I would consider Motorpoint as they seem to have a fair selection at reasonable prices. I do not think the new brigade threaten the franchise dealers and I would not consider buying a car without seeing it. My preference has always been buying private and getting a much lower price. Much of the dealers profits are finance commission in whatever form

Your comments on the new online sellers were equally made about the then new car supermarkets when they came out - the fact is that all forms of selling cars can give trouble to the unwary, and sometimes to the wary too!.

My preference is to buy new from a franchised dealer, as a factory order to my exact specification - but at very long intervals to reduce the effect of the massive depreciation when new - family members can't afford that so I encourage them to buy nearly new on manufacturers' approved schemes - when I wanted a 9-year old runaround, that was bought privately.