Car insurance guide - delivery times

As you're starting the car buying journey, we want you to feel confident about the steps you need to take and relaxed about the whole process. So we've gone to the experts - Whatcar? - and we're featuring pages of help and advice from them right here for you.

We'd also like to try and save you some time and money on your car insurance. So, while you're here, get an online car insurance quote and find out how much you could save.

Get a car insurance quote

Car insurance information

Delivery times

Depending on whether you’re buying new or used, you can expect a variety of delivery times but make sure you know when the car is ready to be picked up.

New cars may have to be ordered from the factory, depending on the specification, so you can expect to wait as long as six weeks, or more if the car will need to be built in another country and shipped to the UK.
Pre-reg and used cars should be ready for collection fairly soon after you agree a deal, so agree a delivery time of no more than two weeks.
When buying privately, the seller usually wants to arrange the hand-over as soon as possible, so you should expect to set an early delivery date.
If the car requires servicing, optional extras fitted, or any other work, agree on a realistic timescale for it to be completed. Allow time for the work to be carried out correctly.
Stay in contact with the seller to ensure that you can collect the car when agreed.