Is Online Car Shopping a Good Idea?

Online car shopping is very swiftly becoming a thing but is it wise to make a car purchase this way? For most of us our cars are the second most expensive thing we’ll own besides our house. Your car will depreciate over time, houses generally appreciative.

Just like a buying a house you want to make sure your car will fit your needs and personality. Shopping for a car online just can’t give the prospective shopper the same feel as an in person experience. So why is buying a car online becoming such a popular thing?

One word explains the rise online car buying, pandemic. The Covid-19 virus disrupted and changed many facets of our daily lives perhaps forever – somethings for the better, others not so much.

During the viral outbreak many people were stuck at home and not able to get out and a lot of us needed to replace our cars and SUVs. Some enterprising companies saw that need and obliged.

Carvana and many others built their companies around online car shopping and although that firm is facing some stiff financial headwinds, a new retail paradigm is born. Is the car dealership as we know it headed the way of the dinosaurs?

In Canada companies like, Clutch.ca and CarGurus are also getting in this niche created by the pandemic. Many people, especially after the dotcom bubble, thought online shopping was a fad, but Amazon didn’t.