Ive just spent a week trying to purchase a car through dealers but arent alllowed to test drive because of the lockdown. I can however pay the full cost & have the car delivered to my home ,tax it,insure it & try for 2-4 weeks If I dont want to keep it I can return for full refund .That seems a lot of messing with DVLA who lets face it are bad enough in normal times. Insurance not so bad as can insure just for a month. My question is what happens if in that trial period the dealer ceases to trade .? Would anyone recommend this method & point me in the right direction .

There are various insurance based warantees you can buy, in fact most traders also sell these warantees. They usually don't cover most small stuff or items subject to regular wear but covers the expensive stuff provided you choose the right policy (yes, there are some rogue policies around).

If its not essential to purchase now, why risk it? If you desperately need transport, buy a cheap banger now and get a better car later in the year.

I don't agree with the Government classing car sales as non-essential - not forgetting that at the same time they state to avoid the use of public transport???

Hi Digging ,I was hoping you’d join in .The car is for my disabled Daughter who because of her condition cant use public transport.She purchased a car & sold the one she was using only to find the replacement car was faulty so returned it to the dealer for a refund . Shes still not had her 50% refund (pip)from DVLA for the returned vehicle which she applied for on 24th September so as its still in the pipeline shes having to wait not only for the refund but for all her original documents plus theV5 which the dealer needs.I asked the dvla to put a stop on the application but they refused it has to go through then return the change of ownership slip then apply for a refund of whatevers left of the tax. Shes not had a vehicle for two weeks & a letter today says it will not be dealt with until 27th then there will be another 5 days for refund to arrive so a months tax wasted.