Dealerships to offer contactless car buying

In light of the increasing protective measures against COVID-19, there are a number of car dealers across Australia that are starting to offer contactless sales enquiries while the industry is still allowed to remain open.

Several dealerships are promoting “contactless car buying” via email, their social media accounts and websites.

A large Sydney multi-franchise dealer, Parramatta Motor Group, have sent emails to their customer data base that reads: “We believe that all consumers deserve to have the opportunity to purchase any car of their choice and as easily as possible, so we’ve made it so easy you can literally do it whilst relaxing at home”.

The email continues with the group saying they can assist with basic enquiries over email or the phone and will deliver cars to houses for test driving and can value trade-ins over the phone or at home. Financing could also be arranged distantly.

Noble, another large dealer group, began a Facebook campaign stating it will start offering “contactless car buying” across its brands. They offer phone and email enquiries but not home test drives. They stated that they could deliver new cars to a buyer’s home address once the deal was finished.

Another preventative tool that dealers like Melbourne City are using are “virtual handovers” where guests can pick up the keys and documentation in person, but reps will explain car details over video call to ensure customers are well-informed about their new vehicle.

While these new measures aren’t being utilised by every new-car dealer, they may just take off as more members of the public are made to self-isolate by their employers.

The car industry has petitioned the state and federal government to stay open as an “essential service, in particular the parts and service departments as they perform routine maintenance and recalls, which are crucial to road safety.

In addition to this, more people are relying on cars as they avoid public transport and ride-sharing services to limit contact and the spread of COVID-19.

As of now, new-car showrooms and services centres are allowed to remain open, though some reducing hours and days they’re open as well as the number of staff so as to retain as many employees as possible.