So you’ve put a deposit down on your new car.. now what? You already went through the process of negotiating and then signing a contract.. Now it’s time to wait for car delivery. What can you expect before and at car pick up?
Monitoring the delivery date
Unless you are explicitly hearing from the dealership on a frequent (2-3 day) basis close to delivery date, you need to be ringing them. Unfortunately many of our buyers have experiences whereby there is limited contact, and no updates on delivery. It is within your right to be calling and checking on progress every few days. Afterall, you are paying a lot of money for this.
At car pick up
When you finally hit that delivery date and you can pick your new car up, there are a quite a few things that you can do to safeguard your experience.
Checking under the bonnet
- Make sure all oils and coolants have been topped up.
- Start your engine. Recommended to step out of the vehicle to inspect the sound of the vehicle.
- Check the Battery. Usually cars and batteries have indicators showing the health of the battery.
Scratches and dents
- Inspect the car upon delivery for any cuts, scratches and dents. This applies to the internal and external of the car
- If windows have been tinted prior to pick up, check both inside and out for scratches.
Mechanics and Auto
- Check all lights, indicators, door locks, window winders, seat adjustment mechanisms are working properly.
- Try out the sound system: this includes android auto/apple car play setup as well as phone being connected
- Test all doors, hood & boot that they open and shut properly and that all rubber linings are in tact.
Is there anything else I need to check when picking up my new car?
Have a look at the kilometres or the odometer of the car just to make sure that its sitting under 100km if you’ve bought it new.
It shouldn’t really have much more than that or it would be considered a demo or demonstrator.
Another thing that you should really check is the compliance plate.
The compliance plate is put on at the port when then new car has first arrived into Australia and it shows information like the build date or build year of the car.
If its a 2019 car that you’ve ordered and will be delivered, then it should have the build year of 2019 on it.
If the dealer said they would throw in a tank of fuel, check the fuel tank.
Lastly, don’t forget to go through the car’s handbook, warranty books, service books, security info, radio code/immobiliser code and of course, ask for any spare sets of keys
Do I need to service my car at the dealership where it was purchased?
This is a pretty common question that most buyers have in mind that they buy a car… definitely not! You don’t have to take a car for a service to the same dealer that you bought it from.
You can take it to any dealer, so if you bought a Mazda CX-5 you can take it to any Mazda dealer and they’ll be able to do that service for you.
Alternatively you can take it to your local mechanics that are able to do a logbook service, and just by doing that, you wont be voiding any warranties.
The car will be covered under warranty as long as the mechanic can perform a logbook service.
Thinking about a new car? Make sure you know our things to check when buying a new car.
