C2forWRX

Just wondering what you guys do when trying to get a good deal. surely if we share all out knowledge and skill we will all get better deales next time? what haggleing techniques do you use? how do you beat the price down? how do you get them to give you more for your part ex?

EVOLUTION

Dont introduce the part ex till you are happy woth the price of the car your buying.

agree the price and whatever extras your going to get, once you are happy with that, then introduce the p/x

But you must have a sensible price tag on your car, ie, the trade price and dont be to high above.

I just did this with mine, bew 05 WRX, got money off the list price and a cpouple of extras thrown in, about £240 (retail). Then i tell him that i want £6500 for my V reg FTO, he called some traders that dealt in imports and said 5.5k was the best he could get. i walked away and basicly told him that if he wants a sale, £6200 is the final price.

He called the next day to do the deal.

Before this i tried the usual way, p/x first, they were glad to give me the £6500 for mine but no money off retail nd no extars.

Thats my way of doing it, it worked for me


John

C2forWRX

lucky get! I think they would ask pretty early if you have a trade in though? I have a C2 furio with 15 on the clock. I know they would sell it on the forecourt for 6995+ so i dont think its cheeky to ask for between 6 and 6.5 but i know they will only offer me something like 5.5 as its a citroen obv.

how do you beat the car price down then? surely the screen price is there for a reason?

EVOLUTION

go onto parker or the autotrader and get your car vaued.

What kind of car you buying and where from??? Ie, new subaru, if not how old and is it from a dealer or just a garage.

It might also pay you to find out if they are a dealer, do they have a citroen dealership.

If you think they will retail yours at £6995, i would think that even just a normal car dealer is going to want about a grand in your car, again, check the trade value on it, they wont be to far away.

As for mentioning it, if asked do you have a p/x, (cos they do always ask first) tell them your selling it privately, its your lasses car whatever, then at the end, introduce it, so, what if i were to p/x this against it???

It doesnt always work, its not a sure fire way remember.

Its got to be said, the best way is going in with the money and having no p/x to introduce, or cloud things up, the simpler you can keep the deal, the less chance there is of a sneaky salesman stinging you with extra costs. Such as the finance. Remeber you can arrage your own finance with the likes of Lombard, although when buying mine, i took the dealer finance as it was the 8% flat, pretty much the best deal on the go at the time


John

barrybudden

The trader might value your trade in with CAP and the one your buying with Glases guide. There will be a diference in price as cap is more based on auction values and will be lower.

New_scooby_04

iTrader: (4)

1) Do your homework, use Parkers so you know what your car and the one you want is worth. Despite what they say these figures ARE a valid guide of a vehicles value, its what the trade often use themsleves. Know about competitors and what deals they are offering, don't be afraid to point this out....nicely! Remember you are the customer they need you more than you need them.

2) Disarm them by being very friendly and conversational. Be firm when need be but make a joke out of it if you can, don't be combative, they'll be much more adept at dealing with those kind of punters than one who is really good to them.

3) Never say how much you are willing to pay: Counter with "depends on what deal you offer"

4) If you're accompanied on a test drive, do not negotiate price then, its an old trick used to get you whilst you're distracted.

5) If you want the car inspected- negotiate a provisonal price, subject to no faults being identified by the inspection. Do not start to negotiate after the inspection as they'll know you'll not walk away from a car you've invested money in to have inspected and have you over a barrel.

6) Take it down to the wire, say that'll you not be prepared to accept any "today only deals" If they say they're going to see the manager to discuss an offer, don't be put off; its more often than not a ploy to make you think that you're being unreasonable in some way.

7) Just before you seal the deal, get a tank of petrol thrown in, and maybe some mats!

8) Remember: he who dares wins!

9) If you find they're really not budging on the price of the car, then go for the optional extras...there is ALWAYS room to negotiate here, don't forget to watch the finance deals too, it may be that you can secure a better one with the dealer than a bank. Be careful though, as more often than not, this is the part where punters can get shafted with some crafty calculations that hide a daft APR!! Personally I think it can be better to keep things simple and go armed with the dough!

Have fun.

NS04

The Trooper 1815

iTrader: (31)

If they say "I need to speak to the boss" say "Ask him/her to meet you". Produces a McD look, slightly gormless, but it works most of the time!!! Go for the top.

Don't forget to tell them you are going to see another car later in a different dealers thats cheaper.

Varboy

very good point, I've had dealers try it on with CAP before.

What I do is get an online valuation from Glass' or Parkers (ie that take into account mileage and options). I then take the printout with me, when they p*ss around, pull out the trump card.

EVOLUTION

oh, and another trick, dont leave a deposit, if they tell you too because "there are people coming to see it tonight"

Walk away. keep to the story that you have others to see, try n keep the ball in there court all the time

John

C2forWRX

thanks lads. this IS a lot of help.

I certainly wont want finance as they are a con. I buy something when i can afford it.

the hard bit is going to be my part ex and accepting probably sweet FA for it. I dont want to have to sell it privately as its always hassle and its easy to just dump at the dealer and not have to worry bout it.

Boro

iTrader: (1)

Parkers guide? LMAO. If i see a customer with a parkers guide in his hand, i automatically get defensive! They are next to useless and worth the couple of quid they cost.

Get your hands on a professional guide. Either Glass's or CAP. Better still, both.

EBRWRX

Look for the body language when you get up to walk away. It is a fair indication of how desperate they might be to do a deal.

Boro

iTrader: (1)

Ask to see the guide price. After theyve offered you the p/x price. Just to make sure they arent completely stiffing you. Also ask to see the trade/retail price of the car you want. Again, just to make sure they arent asking well over the odds.

If theyve got nothing to hide, they wont mind.

Dunk

iTrader: (1)

Always start off with requiring finance, act naive to the interest rate & haggle purely on the cost of the car. The dealer will concede more than usual on the price knowing he can make it back on the interest/finance charge. Just before you conclude based on finance, change your mind & pay cash. (Or check the T&C's to see if you can settle the finance early & without penalty.)

D

st33ly

It's funny what everyone is talking about. As boro said you see anyone with parkers and just laugh. The best thing is go to a few garages and get your car valued. Either that and get a copy of glasses guide but remember it's just a guide and depending on the motor your trading they may pay into book. You will have a rough idea on what the lowest you will pay for the car so stick to that and say to the salesman you give me X amount for my car and give me the Subaru @ X amount and we have a deal. None of this trump card pish as you start playing that then your falling into the dealers game. I've been in the trade loads of years and playing games with customers is what am good @ and the key to it is always make sure thecustomer feels as if he's winning!!!! So just be up front with what you want and if you don't get it then go to a dealer who wil give it to you!

Cheers

tath

An important point is to remember not to act like Mike Brewer as this will portray you as a gonad.

Boro

iTrader: (1)

Tell you what works with me. If a customer tells me his offer, as long as it isnt TOO stupid. I will do my best to beat it. So maybe go in with a reasonable offer in your favour and see what happens.

Remember, once youve got what you want, the salesman will expect you to get your cheque book out.

C2forWRX

LOL that guy makes me cringe! thats the best bit of advice lol!

C2forWRX

my mum recently bought a new mitsu colt and went with her every time when she was making a deal and when she first went she looked for finance but when she backed out (obviously) the dealer just plain and simply said i cant do the deal. there is a cash price and a finace price.

funilly enough they offer her 5500 for her 03 yaris colours collection and another mitsu garage 50 miles away offerd her 4500. I knew they would sell it for at leased 6K and funnily enought it was on the forecourt the next day for 6K. when getting the price for her car they both went away and consulted some book. so either one was being generous or one was having our eyes out.

fromage au pantalon

dont forget that the time of year can get you a good deal, they will bite the hand off anyone looking to buy a car just before christmas.

also if the car has been on the fore court for a while he will want rid of it, the normal turn around for a car is five weeks .

happy hunting

Boro

iTrader: (1)

Check out Broadspeed for an idea of what deals are available.

DARKSSLASH

Spot on thread very intresting read

C2forWRX

more tricks and ways then please....

monty baber

After just going through all this (what a nightmare!) I thought i'd add my tuppence

Firstly I always go by Parkers (even though its obvious that the salesmen arent interested), you will always be asked 'how much do you want for the car' and give an accurate valuation (taking into account milage etc) from the guide, when this is dismissed let them know that the car you are looking at is priced the same/above Parkers dealer/retail value and the question 'which value is incorrect, surely if Parkers has overvalued my px then surely your car is overpriced also (not saying this works but it does start up an interesting discussion most of the time).

I wish i'd had a quid for every time my px was classed as 'not good enough for my forecourt so I will try to ring around a few garages and ring you back'
If I feel my car would be at home on his forecourt then I normally argue its case, this happened last week on a couple of occassions firstly in a Vauxhall dealership when I argued that there was in fact a Peugeot 206 older than mine and with higher milage, I was told that the Pug was more 'mainstream' and at this point I knew that he was looking for excuses, I told them that I am looking to deal today and if I am rung at home I will not respond as I will have already bought a car, if you cant give me a value on mine now then I will walk. (he gave me a value )
I tell them that I am not interested in how much my car is worth to another garage I am interested in my cars 'true value', another good one is try to get a px value with no specific car in mind (this really winds them up).

If I have a px I normally get that sorted very quick (not nice so get it out of the way) I have found that if you bring in a px later on then the deal usually starts from scratch again, If you negotiate a px for yours early you the have a figure to beat down (usually this is met with reluctance tbh) but you can normally get some off as the salesman can smell a sale and he already knows he ahs profit in the px and the new car, lastly you ask for the extras, mats, petrol etc etc and keep grinding him down, be prepared to walk even when it gets down to adding a tank of fuel etc as you will get a phone call later on.

Its a horrible experience and it will wear you out, as much as the market is slow at the moment great deals are not easy to find, make sure you do your homework on the cars you are looking for and remember that you are the one who can walk away at any time, you are the one thats going to be spending money not the dealer.

Stringpants

You have watched a few episodes of Wheeler Dealers....they will know you ar'nt messing about!

HTH

Stringpants.

EVOLUTION

well i think you have enough info now, i suggest go go and practice on some dealser that you know you wont be buying a car from, see which you find the best...


Practice makes perfect lol


John

Floyd

iTrader: (9)

The first thing to say is that you're shopping around and that you want his best price. If you get a better deal you will come back and give him the opportunity to better it. Its honest and he'll appreciate that you aren't wasting his time so he's more likely to cut the crap and give you a deal.

F

st33ly

"The first thing to say is that you're shopping around and that you want his best price."

When a customer says that to me mate I reply. You go and get your best price and then come back to me and i'll beat it! Am sorry but i am not getting into a dutch auction with another dealer!" Come back and see me. Any good salesman would say exactly the same thing. Just be up front. With regards to the PX prices vairying. Remembert that every dealership uses glasses guide and they all see exactly what your cars guiding at in n black in white! Best time time buy a car is at the end of a sales quater, if the dealer gets paid on order take that is, not registration.
Cheers

monty baber

I knew the glasses value of mine and was never quoted near it, when I enquired what guide was used to value the car they always answered glasses, most dealers assume that its 'special' and impossible to get hold of outside the business so try to use it against you.

If its in black and white and every dealership uses glasses then why was I never quoted the glasses value for my car (even though it was a low mile car with 1000's of £'s of factory extras etc).

btw the cars I was looking at were a similar price (I understand that some cars offer more profit etc),surely glasses allows a profit with its valuation and there will always be profit in the car you are buying so why shaft you and then kick you when you are down with the px? greed!

st33ly

A dealer will never pay into book for a car mate unless the market dictates that. For example. This month you try and get a Civic Type R @ auction and you'll be paying £1k into book for it. That means a grand over the guide price. Go back 2 or 3 months ago and you would pay a grand behind book. With regards to extras and milles. You'll never see a dealer look at the miles adjustment table @ the back and adjust up because of low miles.They only adjust if it's higher than average miles.Plus that means it will be more attractive to sell on the forecourt. Extras mean nothing in trade mate unless you step into BMW, Merc stuff then it makes a huge difference.! Am only trying to help bud, any further questions PM me and i'll point you in the right direction.
Cheers