Can You Pre-Order a Car?

There are benefits to pre-ordering a car, but there can also be some drawbacks, too, as this article will outline.

Why pre-order a car?

When you pre-order a car, you’ll be doing so via a dealer, and will be able to customise your choice of vehicle according to the make and model, as well as specifying any accessories or trim that you want.

This has the advantage of making you less likely to pay for features that you don’t want in your car, which might result in some serious savings for you. It also means that you’re getting exactly what you want in your new wheels.

Depending on the dealer, you’ll typically put down a deposit – this can either be a partial amount or in-full. Once your pre-ordered vehicle is ready, it will be delivered to the dealer – or even sometimes to a location of your choosing – for you to collect.

Similarly, thanks to endlessly improving technology, the process of pre-ordering a car can save you significant time and effort. You don’t have to shop around, and can streamline and refine your search. Manufacturer websites are designed to make the process as appealing and interactive as possible, helping you to visualise what you want and specify what you don’t.

What are the drawbacks?

Whilst it may sound like pre-ordering a car has serious appeal, there are potential drawbacks.

Many brands like Ford and BMW allow you to pre-order a vehicle, but not all of them do. You could then be waiting for an extended period of time – even years – for your new vehicle to appear. If you’re waiting to trade in your current car in the meantime, it may well depreciate in value as a result of this wait.

It’s always worth establishing whether any deposit that you may put down on a pre-ordered vehicle is refundable if you should change your mind. Similarly, whilst you may be able to secure dealer finance on a pre-ordered car, you won’t be able to take advantage of various alternative car finance deals, which can leave you vulnerable to limited interest rates and overall terms.

Hit the road with car finance

If you’re looking for a fresh set of wheels and don’t want to wait for the long turnarounds of pre-ordered cars, you can still take advantage of a suite of modern makes and models. Plus, you’ll be able to make the most of a car finance calculator to gauge what kind of finance agreement you can take out to pay for the car too.

My Car Credit can help with this – contact us on enquiries@mycarcredit.co.uk to find out how.