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Ford Tries Online Car Sales in U.K., Again

Ford Motor Co. is hoping for the third time to launch successful online sales in the U.K., its largest market in Europe.

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Ford Motor Co. is hoping for the third time to launch successful online sales in the U.K., its largest market in Europe.

The scheme offers Ford models through a company website (www.buy.ford.co.uk) that can be financed by private buyers using the country’s popular personal contract purchase financing, Automotive News Europe reports.

Buyers can arrange a test drive through a local dealer. But the online purchase is handled entirely through the website. The four-step process consists of setting a monthly payment, determining the value of a trade-in vehicle, selecting a new car and applying for financing from Ford Credit.

ANE says the purchased vehicle can be delivered to the buyer’s address or picked up elsewhere. Ford coordinates with an auction house to handle the trade-in.

Ford concedes that its earlier attempts in 1999 and 2000 to sell cars online in Britain were premature. Now, it says, consumers are more accustomed to buying big-ticket items online. The company says it may expand the U.K. program across Europe if it proves successful.

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