Buying a car during the pandemic

[Anonymous]

Forgive me for being 1) too lazy to do any research myself first and 2) being totally new to this. If it bothers you, move on.
I would like to buy a car within the next few months. I haven't owned a car for 20 years. I am pretty sure I could pick a model from Carmax or somewhere and they would just deliver it to me, correct? However, how do I go about registering it and getting plates and a parking permit and all the stuff that has to happen? Do I just suck it up and do everything in person? Is the DMV in DC open? Can I even drive my new car once it's delivered or do I have to jump through all the hoops first? Again, yes I'm lazy, but I'm also home trying to work with two kids and can't concentrate on anything, so thanks for any tips.

[Anonymous]

I think the dealer delivers with plates and then you get yours in the mail later. The dealer should be able to help you with all this. I would call a few and ask.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think the dealer delivers with plates and then you get yours in the mail later. The dealer should be able to help you with all this. I would call a few and ask.

Thank you!

[Anonymous]

We bought a new car at the beginning of January (in Virginia) the dealer completed the temporary registration and new plates right there in the dealer office. The official registration came in the mail later in the week. Ask the dealer if that is something they do?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We bought a new car at the beginning of January (in Virginia) the dealer completed the temporary registration and new plates right there in the dealer office. The official registration came in the mail later in the week. Ask the dealer if that is something they do?

+1. As long as you go through a dealer, everything can be done through them and/or via mail/phone. We had to call our county in Virginia to update our information so we pay the appropirate (higher) property tax. The dealer already informs the county that you bought a car. But you still have to update the info yourself.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We bought a new car at the beginning of January (in Virginia) the dealer completed the temporary registration and new plates right there in the dealer office. The official registration came in the mail later in the week. Ask the dealer if that is something they do?

+1. As long as you go through a dealer, everything can be done through them and/or via mail/phone. We had to call our county in Virginia to update our information so we pay the appropirate (higher) property tax. The dealer already informs the county that you bought a car. But you still have to update the info yourself.

Not necessarily, our County gets the information from DMV.

[Anonymous]

We were planning on buying something at the end of the year. We had our eyes on the Subaru Ascent and have a basic idea on the options we are interested in.

I found 4 different cars that match what we are looking for online at three different dealers and have been emailing them for the last three days, playing them off one another. Basically saying - This guy is giving me this, beat it or I go to him.

As of today we are at 9K under sticker price, 0% financing and the dealership will make the first 3 payments for us. We were going to pay cash, but with 0% financing available why not?

for the first day they were trying to play it cool, "Yeah that one will be gone by tomorrow, you got to get in here today or it's gone" By day three they were emailing me 5 times before 10am.

I'm going to keep going back and forth until the end of the week to see how desperate they get.

Don't give them your cell, or the calls never stop.

[Anonymous]

I got my last two cars via email alone. Did all the haggling and back and forth that way. I just showed up at the end to do the paperwork and pick up the car. You could probably get a decent price at the moment.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I got my last two cars via email alone. Did all the haggling and back and forth that way. I just showed up at the end to do the paperwork and pick up the car. You could probably get a decent price at the moment.

was this for a new car or for a used one? I always buy a 1-2 year old used car (with less than 10k miles/year) and am very interested to trade in my current 9 year car. was wondering if its worth the hassle to do this via email or if used car dealers are willing to deal. and i always pay in cash so no need for financing.

[Anonymous]

Just bought a brand new Jeep gladiator completely over email. Told them my OTD price and they gave it to me. They even beat the financing deal I had with my own bank. It’s way easier to negotiate over email. They delivered car to my house 50 miles away. The tags and DMV fees will be included in the final price.

[Anonymous]

You can do everything by email and I is easier and faster and more effective and you can negotiate the price
with few dealerships back and forth.

Buy a new car. You will have peace of mind, new cars do not break as the used ones. You are not buying
someone else's headache. Especially if you have not owned a car in decades.

New cars have tone more safety and comfort features and their interior are larger.

If you have a tough choice, get less new car then more old car.

Some Volkswagens have 7 year warranty. Certain models, certain years so beware.

[Anonymous]

Dealership can bring a car to you for the test drive. Yes, they can because yes they did.