Buying wheels revs up

Oodles of online information can convert the potential car owner an informed buyer, reports PETER GRIFFIN.

Buying a car is an immensely physical thing.

We are not content making auto-buying decisions on the basis of digital pictures and the online spiel of car dealers we cannot look in the eye.

Perhaps that is why predictions that 20 per cent of cars would be sold via the web by 2000 were woefully inaccurate.

But the image of a heavyset man tapping away on an over-sized calculator in a port-o-cabin office is starting to date.

Whether a would-be buyer is after a sensible sedan, sleek sports car or a veritable workhorse, traditional car-buying channels - dealerships, newspaper classifieds, auctions and fairs - all have an online element.

Hundreds of car dealers nationwide use cyberspace to announce their physical location and the types of cars they deal in. Petone-based Elcheapo and West Auckland dealership Croydon Wholesalers are good examples.

Other vehicle dealers include searchable databases and links to finance and insurance companies in their online offerings.

Major dealership Enterprise Cars and Carspot are good cyber-dealerships that regularly update their stock lists with pictures and specials.

More useful for comparing prices and features are dealer meta-sites that include the cars of dozens of dealers, all searchable through a well-maintained database.

Autonet has more than 80 dealerships registered nationwide and AutoVillage has a similarly comprehensive database.

Armed with comparative prices and information, prospective buyers can gain a wider picture of what they should be paying.

Autohunt is the spot for placing free motoring classifieds.

Most of the dealers encourage car buyers to e-mail them or fill-in request forms to arrange test drives or receive further information.

E-mail could be the perfect channel to make a brazen offer.

Few dealerships encourage the entire buying process to take place online but some are set up for credit card transactions, especially where associated services such as finance and insurance are factors in a sale.

Links to insurance provider Fintel are common and the company's insurance calculator is available on every site displaying the Fintel logo.

Major insurers such as State also offer insurance calculators.

Loan re-payment calculations can be made at the likes of UDC's site.

New car dealerships also are online.

With money for website development, the likes of Toyota, Ford and BMW have lavish sites good for checking out makes and models. Most have avoided alienating their dealers by leaving the buying process off-line, making the websites just a taster for what is available.

If buying a second-hand car, the classifieds, traditional haunt of the unlicenced car dealer, has to be the best place to start and that search can now begin on the web.

The weighty automobile section of Trade and Exchange is online and a fast and efficient search engine cuts out squinting at columns of small type and coating your fingers in newsprint.

The much-loved Auto Trader is on the net, as is the Herald's motoring classifieds section.

Another popular option is to log-on to see what cars are up for auction.

Check out the stock lists for upcoming auctions on the sophisticated sites of Turners Car Auctions, based in Penrose, and Hammer Auctions.

Cars are also being auctioned online alongside car stereos and furniture. While online auctions are yet to take off in a big way, websites such as TradeMe and Ebay are featuring cars more commonly, though their success rate is unclear.

Car-buying rights are outlined online by the Consumers Institute and a wealth of Automobile Association information can be found on their site.

The Land Transport Safety Authority lets you see how new cars stand up in crash tests and its Motochek website allows registered users to obtain ownership details based on plate or VIN (vehicle identification numbers).

But for all the information out there, caveat emptor is as applicable online as in the real world.

A browse of motoring enthusiast sites unearths a host of angry car buyers who have had their online car-shopping soured.

As one car buyer visiting carbuyingtips.com warned:

"I searched for pre-owned Volvo 850. I checked about 30 cars on autoweb.com and all the VIN numbers are invalid.

"It looks like these are made up cars just to get leads."

The internet, however, is making consumers more informed car buyers.

A shaken Nissan dealer vented deep reactions in a posting at www.womanmotorist.com about "The goofball who comes in with all the consumer info, consumer reports print outs and a chip on their shoulder saying 'I will not get screwed!!!"'

A little auto information is a powerful thing.

Links:


Elcheapo

Croydons

Enterprise Cars

Car Spot

Autonet

Auto Village

Autohunt

FinTel

State

UDC

Toyota

Ford

Team BMW

Trade and Exchange

Autopoint

Herald Classifieds

Turners Car Auctions

Hammer Auctions

Trade Me

Consumers Institute

Automobile Association

LTSA

Motocheck

Car Buying Tips

Woman Motorist

cars.co.nz

Carspot

Autofinder

Car Plaza

Giltrap