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Lockdown #2 Car Collections?

2K views 17 replies 10 participants last post by  Sputnik72 
#1 ·
I'm just wondering, if I purchase a car online, am I allowed to travel to the dealership (around 60 miles) in order to collect the car? I'd be travelling by train by myself as I live alone in my household. The dealership have said that cars can be purchased and done on a click and collect basis from the dealership as long as everything is in place beforehand, the car would basically just be collected on a socially distanced basis.

Anyone got any ideas on this or experience on this during the original lockdown? If it's going to be too difficult then should I complete and arrange to collect the car after lockdown ( I really don't want to risk losing out on the car, and avoid someone else 'beating me to it'), the only issue with that is IF it isn't eased I could be left in limbo...

Thanks.
 
#2 ·
This is the official guidance New National Restrictions from 5 November
If it was local I'd definitely say you are OK. The main advice is to avoid public transport as far as possible and if not to do such trips at a quieter time.
But 60 miles is possibly pushing it.

If you really the need the car and it's difficult to find one suitable nearer then I think you can justify it. But if it's nothing special and just a bit of a good deal, maybe not.
 
#5 ·
I entirely agree - but the regulations are seriously stupid. What is to stop a person at one end of the Country choosing to click and collect an item from a shop at the other end of the Country that they could have got more locally? If I fancy taking a trip out can I serious drive 200+ miles and justify it all by arranging a click and collect Supermarket pick-up?
 
#4 ·
The rules say "essential Travel Only" so it's a play on the word "Essential" If you need a car, it's a one off purchased to meet your domestic arrangements, so yes it's essential. If they are open and selling to the public (including click and collect), then obviously it is an essential item.

On the first lock down, we were all paranoid, it was a strange new world, we didn't know what was happened next and we all wanted to be seen doing the right thing. Since then seen mass gatherings on the beaches and student raves, puts things into perspective. Lockdown 2 is going to be more relaxed, obviously people will be reserved and keep their distance from others. But doing things that doesn't endanger others, sensibly is going to be the order of the day.

If a train is running it's there to be used, no different to going to the supermarket for essentials, just need to be sensible and responsible to others.

Also there a lot more businesses open this time around so expect more traffic on the roads and more work activity going on for example the council were outside this morning cutting the grass, that wouldn't have happened on the last lock down.
 
#6 ·
I asked the question to the 'Car Dealer Magazine' and they said yes you can. The government guidelines state you can travel to buy goods and services from premises that are open. If I do, I'll of course be super careful and follow all social distancing guidelines.

11. Travel
If you live in England, you cannot travel overseas or within the UK, unless for work, education or other legally permitted reasons, and you should look to reduce the number of journeys you make. However you can and should still travel for a number of reasons, including:

  • travelling to work where this cannot be done from home
  • travelling to education and for caring responsibilities
  • to visit those in your support bubble - or your childcare bubble for childcare
  • hospital, GP and other medical appointments or visits where you have had an accident or are concerned about your health
  • to buy goods or services from premises that are open, including essential retail
 
#8 ·
If I do, I'll of course be super careful and follow all social distancing guidelines.
The worst that can happen (legally at least) is a £200 fine. If it came to that it would just a bit of the cost of buying.

This excuse for a lockdown is full of holes in the regs, just go get the car, who is going to police it?
The use of the word 'lockdown' for it is frankly laughable in my view. It's basically just closing less-essential, higher-risk businesses.

The press have so overused all the superlatives over the last decades that they are all devalued. We've reached a point where it's a struggle to actually describe something extreme.
 
#12 ·
An individual making one trip is at minimal risk of infection, and assuming that the OP is young and otherwise healthy the consequences to him are unlikely to be serious. But the terms of this lockdown are so loose that it is likely to have relatively little effect - children are still at schools/colleges, a large number of people are still working as normal, and the rules are widely exploited and broken (which is partially why we are in this situation).
 
#13 ·
At the end of the day, it's your call.
Do you want the risk of possibly catching or spreading the virus?
Is it essential.. possibly not, unless you could argue the car is for work, essential shopping, ability to travel for medical reasons etc. Of course, the chances of being "caught" or prosecuted are very slim.

Another option is to pay a car courier/transport company to collect and deliver for you.
 
#14 ·
At the end of the day, it's your call.
Do you want the risk of possibly catching or spreading the virus?
True but with respect,
The whole world does not revolve around ‘the virus’

The OP could have a major health incident that day, be involved in an accident, mIght even catch one of the myriad of other respiratory infections that readily spread this time of year.

I continue to live my life, if ‘the virus’ wants a go at me then i await the day me meet but i certainly wont be hiding from it.
 
#16 · (Edited)
I was listening to the Jeremy Vine show, on radio 2, at lunch time, they had an expert in interpreting COVID Lockdown rules on, called Peter Barnes.

He was able to answer queries from listeners pertaining to the Lockdown rules, this was the question somebody asked:

"I live in the South East of England and have purchased a vehicle using on line click and collect in the North West of England, am I allowed to travel to pick the vehicle up during Lockdown"

Answer: "Yes", if you have ordered something, paid for it, and the terms of that transaction stipulate that it is to be picked up, then that is allowed under the rules and you are allowed to travel to pick that item up.

This only applies to England.

Hope this helps to clarify the situation.


The article starts at 1 hour 8 minutes in - specifically at 1 hour 29minutes - 30 seconds in
 
#17 ·
Just to be clear, there is nothing even in the guidance that says only "essential travel" is permitted. You are only allowed to be out of your home if you have a legally permitted reason, but one of those is to pick up goods on a "click and collect" basis, and car dealers are expressly allowed to operate in that way. It's all part of the balance between the economy and disease control; they don't want the collapse in car sales they saw in first lockdown. So you could argue that it's your civic duty to go and pick up the car...
 
#18 ·
Thanks, yeah just waiting for a few things to fall into place, if they do before 'lockdown' ends I'll go and pick it up. I drive for a living and to be honest the amount of cars on the road currently, there's little to no difference between now and a week ago, it's a different world compared to the first lockdown.
 
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