Take the stress out of buying a new car
More than half of car-buyers experience frustration when purchasing a new vehicle, with close to a third preferring to avoid negotiating altogether, according to RAA research.
In response, RAA has launched a free online car-buying platform that automates the purchasing and negotiating process for new vehicles, saving South Australians money and time when buying a new car.
RAA CEO Nick Reade says the website seeks to give more transparency to anyone buying a new car.
“Purchasing a new car brings with it a raft of pain-points,” Nick says.
“South Australians have told us that the car-buying process can be time-consuming and stressful because it’s hard to know who to trust.
By having better visibility of the car dealers’ best offers, users will be able to make a more informed choice about who to buy from, without the stress of wondering if they got a good deal or not.”
RAA New Car Buyer is designed to help South Aussies who are ready to make a purchase, once they have done their research and know the make and model of car they want.
Isabelle Langley bought a Mitsubishi ASX Sport GSR through the RAA New Car Buyer website and says she was able to purchase the next model up because the quotes she received were below her budget.
“I got three quotes for my Mitsubishi, and they were all between $2000 to $5000 cheaper than the usual retail price,” Isabelle says.
“In the end, I spoke to the dealer and bought the model above what I wanted originally because it was still within my budget.”
Isabelle says one of the benefits was not having to go through the negotiation process.
I usually hate negotiating, so to be able to just put my car in and have all the available offers back within two days was amazing… I loved the experience – it made the process so much easier.”
How the platform works
The new platform gives buyers full visibility of the current prices and stock levels of their chosen vehicle from more than 2800 vetted car dealers, removing the need for hours of research and negotiation when purchasing a car.
To see the best deals on offer and availability of a vehicle, the buyer simply needs to make an enquiry on the platform and the registered car dealerships will then respond within 48 hours.
Buyers can then choose which dealership to purchase from based on price and estimated delivery time before organising for the car to be delivered, all on the one platform.
Each car dealer is vetted before they can register on the platform, giving users peace-of-mind they’re purchasing from a reputable outlet.
Nick says it means car dealerships will be competing against each other for the sale, which will hopefully lead to lower prices for buyers.
“The buying process is that of a reverse blind auction, where the dealers are encouraged to give their best price in order to get the sale,” he says.
“The platform also gives South Aussies an open and transparent picture of where that vehicle is currently in stock, which is a huge benefit at a time when availability is a challenge for many popular models.”