Share your car haggling tips

No 1 tip is always remember you can go somewhere else and don't be afraid to walk out without buying.

A couple of years ago I went looking at a Citroen C1/Peugeot 107 (near identical cars, made in the same factory). The Peugeot dealer was quite rude and wouldn't budge on the price much at all, so I just walked out without trying to haggle any more. Got to the Citroen dealer and they knocked £1000 off the asking price without even having to ask!

Don't think it was anything to do with one car being 'better quality' or anything, they were genuinely identical except for the badge.

1) Never sign on the day, walk away. You'll start getting phone calls/emails the following days with better deals.

2) Don't buy the paint protection, GAP insurance, Tyre Insurance, Alloy Wheel Insurance. If you want paint protection, tell them you know they buy the kit for £50, they'll do it a lot cheaper once they are rumbled. If you want GAP insurance, Tyre Insurance, Alloy Wheel Insurance third parties do it cheaper.

3) If trading in get a value for your car in your head that you think is fair stick to it. If it has slight parking dents, you may get the old "ohh, that door needs a respray @ £500" scam. A dent (with unbroken) paint is usually £50 a panel to fix. If they start knocking value off for scuffed alloys tell them to !!!! off. Nobody cares about scuffed alloys these days, and if they do they are cheap to repair.

4) If you have decided on one car, play dealers off on each each other, even if they are owned by the same company. Most Ford dealers are owned by Trustford were I live but was able to get my local dealer and the one in Belfast to haggle with. At the end of the day each dealer has targets.

5) Salesmen are not your friend. The one who was friendliest to me, and when I took the kids to test drive the car gave them balloons and sweets, was the one who gave me the worst deal.

6) Kind of like number one, but take your time. There are loads of cars out here.

I ended up with my target trade in, £2000 off list price and 2.9%APR on a Ford Fiesta. Was 4.9%APR but they dropped to 2.9% when I walked away.

Know the market for the car.
Know the likely issues on the car (if used).

A bit of research can save you a load of hassle.

Buying new.

Check the brokers prices, it gives you a very good idea on what the dealer margins are and what wiggle room they have.

Never be afraid to walk away.

Do your homework before you set foot in a dealership.


Loads of free info on the web for checking what a reasonable part ex price is for your car and what price you should be paying for the one you are buying.


Have a firm idea of what model and variant you are looking for and don't be swayed by the sales staff.


Don't go for the additional protection packages they offer. They are expensive and sometimes, in the case of the paint protection, inferior to treatments that can be applied by a third party specialist.


Consider buying with manufacturer finance, even if you have the cash in the bank. They often offer significant 'deposit contributions' which you can bag and keep even if you cancel the finance within 14 days and settle in cash.