Vertu Motors has launched a used car website that it says is the first to offer UK customers the option of buying entirely online.
Shoppers using the Bristol Street Motors Buy Online website can choose from more than 6,500 used cars. They can choose between customer journeys that include viewing a car in a dealership, buying it online and then picking it up, or buying online for home delivery.
In addition, shoppers with a car they wish to part exchange can use an online valuation tool and questionnaire that enables them to deduct the value of an old vehicle automatically from the cost of their purchase. Outstanding finance can be settled if required during the course of the transaction.
Robert Forrester, chief executive of Vertu Motors, which owns brands including Bristol Street Motors, Macklin Motors, and Vertu Toyota, said: “This is a move by the group to give customers more choice in how they purchase their next used car. I believe Vertu Motors is the first major motor retailer to have created an entirely online buying process for used cars, introducing true innovation to the motor retailing sector.”
He added: “Shopping online has only been around for just over 20 years and nobody could have foreseen how quickly it would become the norm for so many people to buy their groceries, clothes, furniture and much more this way, so buying a car online is a natural progression.
“With the launch of Bristol Street Motors Buy Online, we are offering customers more choice, enabling them to create a bespoke buying process that suits their needs.”
Vertu Motors says the new portal is part of its strategy of continued investment in its sales and marketing channels, in the light of the growing importance of online sales.
The new Bristol Street Motors website claims to bring online shopping to the used car market for the first time.
In January, Hyundai launched what it said was the first end-to-end online car buying platform for new cars in the UK.
More recently, SEAT has introduced digital stores, bringing a multichannel car buying experience to the Westfield and White City shopping centres.
