Buying a new Car- how to Haggle?

hesmywatermelon

Hi All,

I need some advice.

Im looking to buy a new Golf, Blue Motion Match model. The list price is just over 20k, (£20,290) but WhatCar.com tells me that the max I should pay for the car is £18,795.

I have test driven etc, and gone for the match model specifically because it comes with a load of extras, like Bluetooth, steering wheel controls etc etc.

Now, I should tell you I’m looking to go for their finance deal where you effectively are renting the car from them- I think they call it 'solutions'. I pay a deposit, VW also 'contribute' 1k deposit and I pay monthly for the car. In 3 Years, I either pay up for the rest of it, give it back and walk away, or give it back and switch for a new VW.

I am also looking to trade my car in, a 53 reg Mini Cooper. I think privately I could get about £3,500 for this, but to be honest to rid myself of the hassle I would take £3200 from the dealer to trade. Dealer offered me £2500 for my mini :eek:
So anyway, the dealer offered me a price, and I think he could still come lower. He didn’t take enough off the car to take it to the whatcar recommended price. So I told him, as a package (inc my car) it just wasn’t cheap enough, so id give it a miss. He just said 'ok' (didnt ask how much I was hoping for etc) and we hung up.

Whilst I wait it out (this is a game of chicken right!?) I was thinking what my next steps should be?!

What do you think? Should I go to another VW garage and tell them that this guys has offered me X, and I was wondering if he could beat that?
PLEASE advise me!

Strider590

Tough one really....

Due to VW's now undeserved reputation for reliability and everyone wanting small (new Golf is actually as big as an old Volvo Estate, but never mind) economical cars, the dealer probably thinks he can charge what he likes. They also have a general rule that if you don't leave the showroom with a new car, they're far less likely to make the sale.

On the other hand, I would not pay over the odd's for a car which isn't exactly rare or hard to come by.

hesmywatermelon

Hmmm- thats my thoughts exactly! Im not asking for LOADS off, just a mere 10%

Im also considering waiting until Jan as I figure they'll be a bit more 'desperate' for sales...?

rodenal

I would just try a different dealer - also have a look at what the likes of drivethedeal are selling the Golf for. You may well be being a bit optimistic with your trade in value (though it doesn't affect the base price of the golf) - if you think it's worth £3.5k as a private sale i'd expect the dealer to be offering in the region of £2.5-2.8k for it

*edit, had a quick look and with no options drivethedeal are suggesting you'll pay £17k for the car - worth investigating. If you could go for something like that you'd be able to sell your own car privately (and quickly) for about what the dealer is offering you*

Also just so you know the 2.0 tdi bluemotion match comes in at an apparent £18k - a vastly superior engine to the 1.6 which is quite frankly horrible to drive (i'm assuming you've driven one and are happy enough with it though)

Hotspur

Assuming it is a VOLKSWAGEN GOLF DIESEL HATCHBACK 1.6 TDi 105 BlueMotion Tech Match 5dr.

The car is £18,221 at Carfile with no negotiation required. The franchised dealer they put you in touch with will often take px but at bottom book. Must be worth a call. I have used Carfile in the past and will do so again.

As far as haggling goes - do your research and when ready to buy actually visit the dealer(s), see what they offer you and then say 'I can get the car for 'x' at another dealer. What can you do?' They will be unlikely to meet a brokers price but should be able to get within a couple of hundred if they want the sale. Always have the figure you want to pay and be prepared to order there and then if the dealer meets it. If they think you are serious then they should be too.


H

TonyMMM

Dealers won't enter into a real "haggle" over the phone - they want you on the premises to be able to look you in the eye.

Gloomendoom

How about trying a reverse auction such as autoebid?

Even if you don't buy through them, you will get an idea of the leeway the dealers have on price.

verityboo

To get an accurate valuation for the mini try the valuation service on the vaushall site - it is provided by CAP who most garages use when valuating a partex car - they are far more accurate than Parkers etc but the values tend to be a lot lower.

http://www.vauxhall.co.uk/offers-finance/value-my-car.html

If the garage will not match the whatcar target price then ring whatcar on 0845 508 0499 and they will suggest a garge that will - as shown in the yellow box on this page

http://www.whatcar.com/new-car-deals/

Thicko2

My advice. Look on line for the webuyanycar price for your car. The first price that comes back, not after they visted and made more stupid reductions for scratches etc. This is a fair proxy for trade price, not aspiational private sellers price etc. Its what they will get if they pass it on.

Find the cheapest online broker price for the car you want, like for like. e.g. buying brand, brand new, or pre-reg.

Go to dealer and say i want this price on the new car, after 3 hours of huffing and puffing they will match or refuse. But be clear you will sign the deal today if they match.

The trade in, i think its a lot less hassle than selling your car, anything above the webuyanycar price from them and your onto a winner.

Then at last moment, throw in i want tank of petrol and full set of mats.

It worked for me at 3rd garage i visited, i was only trading in a 10 year old volvo so opportunity cost of trade in versus private sale was pretty minimal.

sillygoose

Draft a quick polite email asking can you please give me your best price for the following car and include detailed specification of what you want, any extras, colour choices etc. Don't forget some contact details.

Go on the VW site (or any brand site the same applies), look at the find a retailer area, start with your town and then widen to other towns do a search, you will get lists of dealerships, click on each one in each list, go to contacts, most will have a link for a sales email. Click on the link to email and copy/paste you email text into each one and send it off. Its a good way of passing time during the adverts on TV and you can go as wide area as you would be willing to go to collect the car. I have done this many times as my employer used to let me buy a new car every 2 years. I always found a dealer somewhere that really wanted a sale or had a new car in stock or already on order for a demo, or a too late cancelled order that wanted to do a deal, often several. Best I did was a £22600 car for £18,000.

Always_Harassed

Went looking at cars at the weekend and a couple of dealers were keen to do business as it was nearing the end of the month. I would imagine that this will also be the case for the next couple of months. I would check out a couple of garages in your area and visit in person. Give them your phone number and they will contact you if you leave without buying. Telephone callers may be other dealers checking them out or mystery shoppers. In this current market I would wait till you get a deal.