Is it worth buying a car on a marketplace? Pros and cons

For several years now, it has been possible to purchase cars on marketplaces in Russia. However, paying for the purchase in full without seeing the car in person seems risky. However, there are advantages to such an acquisition. Autonews.ru journalist Sergei Ivanov shared his personal experience of buying a car online.

Image source generated by the DALL•E 3 neural network

Pay only immediately

One of the main conditions for purchasing on a marketplace is the need to pay the entire amount immediately by bank card. This means that your bank account must have an amount sufficient to pay for the goods.

It is impossible to take out a loan for the purchase, but it is possible to pay for the purchase using a credit card, including a grace period. This is quite real. It is important that you use only one card to pay for the entire purchase amount. That is, you need to add to the credit card an amount equal to the difference between the cost of the car and the credit limit.

Options can be declined

The first thing the car dealership manager asks is to provide the buyer's mobile phone number, as the marketplace hides it. After receiving the necessary information, he sends a list of additional equipment. But, for example, it may turn out that it costs three to four times more than on the marketplace itself. The same floor mats from a dealer will cost 5 thousand rubles, and on the site they can be found three times cheaper.

Ivanov noted that he refused the entire list of options, and the manager did not insist. He immediately connected him with his colleague from the insurance department, who offered CASCO and OSAGO policies.

However, there were difficulties with the OSAGO registration. If the tire size for purchasing a winter set was reported by the manager immediately, then the VIN number, which is necessary for issuing the policy, could only be found out a couple of hours before receiving the car.

How the car was handed over

The car was delivered directly to the house in three days - one day earlier than the agreed date. Although they promised to warn a few hours in advance, the courier called only ten minutes before arrival.

The car was delivered by a tow truck based on the GAZ "Valdai" with an unusual superstructure - a covered retractable body for transporting cars. This made it possible to deliver the car in a clean condition.

The car was driven by a driver-technician, there were no other dealer representatives at the handover. After inspection, they asked to sign the acceptance certificate and the purchase and sale agreement, gave out two sets of keys and said goodbye. Now the vehicle passport is issued electronically.

With these documents and the issued OSAGO policy, it was possible to register the car in the traffic police almost without problems. Almost - because the technician-driver, when handing over the car, did not indicate the date in the act (but put his signature).

Disadvantages of buying a car on a marketplace

Ivanov noted that if he, as a journalist, could not verify the information that the car on the marketplace is offered at a discount by the official representative of the brand in Russia, it would be much more difficult for him to morally transfer the required amount from the card to an unknown seller.

Therefore, the first disadvantage is that you must first pay, and then look at the car. According to the rules of most marketplaces, you can refuse the purchase within a few days, and then, if the car has not yet been delivered, the money should be returned to the card.

The second problem was that neither the dealer nor the manufacturer's website had a single photograph of the car's interior in the basic configuration. Only after the purchase, after studying the instructions, the journalist learned that seven versions of front panels are available for this Chinese crossover. However, all materials on the manufacturer's website and at dealers contain photographs of only the top version. As a result, the client had to buy a car without having any idea of its internal equipment.

The third disadvantage is not directly related to online shopping, but it is there. The journalist purchased a car with a basic engine and automatic transmission - a naturally aspirated engine with a capacity of 113 hp and a CVT. Such cars were never offered for test drives to journalists, so he did not have the opportunity to test it. Ivanov could only test a car with a 147 hp turbo engine and a CVT, but a different model. Ivanov also failed to find reviews from colleagues about the car specifically in the purchased version.

The fourth and, perhaps, the main disadvantage is the impossibility of buying on credit. There is also no possibility to trade in an old car. However, this is partly compensated by the fact that you can pay for the purchase using a credit card or a consumer loan taken out from a bank. In addition, you can sell the old car to another dealer for cash.

Another disadvantage is different discounts on cars of different colors. Without a discount, all cars cost the same, but with a discount, it turned out to be most profitable to buy white or black metallic crossovers. For red, blue and silver colors, it was necessary to pay an additional 90 thousand rubles.

The manager could not report the VIN number of the car and the EPTC number for a long time, without which it is impossible to issue an OSAGO policy. At the same time, he did not explain the reasons for his behavior.

Advantages of buying a car on a marketplace

The most important and decisive advantage was the price. This was a limited offer, within the framework of which a discount of 300 thousand rubles was offered. The cars ran out two days before the end of the promotion, but reappeared a week later - already 100 thousand more expensive, but still about 200 thousand cheaper than the official price.

A source at Autonews.ru, who attended a marketplace presentation organized for car dealers, said that the online store's commission is 2%. This means that out of 1,770,000 rubles paid for the purchase of the car, the marketplace should have received 35,400 rubles.

The second important advantage is the absence of additional services imposed by the dealer. Yes, the dealer offered a list of popular options, such as alarms, mats, mudguards and others, but this was done as part of the offer, and not in the form of pressure.

The third positive point is free delivery of the car to your home. You can pick up the car yourself from the showroom, but we also offer a delivery service. This is especially convenient if you buy a car just a few days before the driving test in the traffic police: you can pick up your new car immediately after you get your license.

Advice for buyers

Further analysis of marketplaces showed that cars on them are represented by two types of sellers:

Independent car dealers.
Representative offices that work through dealers, but are created specifically for online sales.

The journalist advised to carefully monitor all offers on the market. Now the prices for the same car models on marketplaces change every week. New promotions are announced for some cars, and for others, on the contrary, they end.

Ivanov noted that he was lucky to buy a car at the minimum price, and now it costs more. However, other models that he considered have become cheaper since my purchase.

Earlier it became known that used cars willbe sold on marketplaces for the first time. Initially, the range will include used cars of brands such as KIA, Renault, Volkswagen, Changan, Audi and others, costing from 950 thousand rubles. This list will be regularly updated.

All cars have been certified under the Pango Select program. It includes a comprehensive technical and legal check, which covers 129 parameters, as well as pre-sale preparation.