Advice on buying a new car please?

FRISKYVENUS7963

only problem with buying a car that is a year or 2 old is that they are mainly reps cars who thrash them to death as they are company cars which means you might get more things go wrong with it, you may think you are getting a bargain but i think at least you know what your getting with a new car, and you have 3 years warranty so hopefully no problems

sniperpenguin

Im currently in the process of doing this myself (buying a new car)

1. Ignore the nay-sayers... Yes, you lose some cash, but you could get a duffer! Its all down to personal choice

2. Find the make / model car you want FIRST (In your case, the Volvo S40 / C30.... nice choice BYW - mine was a toss up between the C30 and Civic Type S).

3. Find your local Volvo dealships and ring them to sound them out. Weed out any sales idiots and try to get on a name-basis with at least one guy from each dealership. Find out what you want first (building it online can help) and ask them a few "final questions" (i.e - their opinions on trim, explanation of certain options - this tells them you are likely NOT to be a casual shopper).

4. Get quotes from each dealership and take everything into account - finance costs, how much is their servicing (can you get a discount?) This way you can compare like for like.

5. Finally once you've decided on the car (DONT be afraid to change your mind - I changed my options at the 11th hour twice!), the dealership, and the finance (sorting your own can be sig. cheaper - Try northern rock or A + L, but they get fat cheques for you going through them so they make give you extra incentives), walk in there and tell confidently "I'll order NOW if you can do xxxxx". I have never seen this fail (where the request is realistic )

Good luck, and try to find a buyer's forum to see what a realistic discount will be on your car.

Seagull

sniperpenguin wrote:

3. Find your local Volvo dealships and ring them to sound them out. Weed out any sales idiots and try to get on a name-basis with at least one guy from each dealership. Find out what you want first (building it online can help) and ask them a few "final questions" (i.e - their opinions on trim, explanation of certain options - this tells them you are likely NOT to be a casual shopper).

5. Finally once you've decided on the car (DONT be afraid to change your mind - I changed my options at the 11th hour twice!), the dealership, and the finance (sorting your own can be sig. cheaper - Try northern rock or A + L, but they get fat cheques for you going through them so they make give you extra incentives), walk in there and tell confidently "I'll order NOW if you can do xxxxx". I have never seen this fail (where the request is realistic )

SP talks good sense on a lot of points, although I wouldn't be swayed by the servicing offered by each dealer, you can go somewhere else after you've purchased if you need to.

If you are thinking of getting finance to help you buy the car, DO NOT TELL THE SALESPERSON ! Negotiate a price for cash first (you need that to compare deals), then you can discuss finance IF you wish after the cash price has been hammered out. Always check with the local banks and or online finance houses just in case.

Good luck.

emeraldbugle

I bought my car from https://www.broadspeed.co.uk, my husband bought his from https://www.drivethedeal.com

Would thoroughly recommend both.

pedro3gb

Searched the internet for the best price on a Toyota and took the quote to dealer in Salford who matched it - saved going to Staffordshire. Even got a bottle of wine thrown in. Delivery was quick but the p/x was poor (as was internet dealer) so sold privately.

My tip therefore is get best price on all internet sites (don't discount Sainsburys as they came up with a very good deal) and print the quote out. The internet price will probably be from a big dealers eg. Inchcape so they will still be able to get a good commission.

Ped

Angelina-M

Some really interesting info on this thread, im glad I decided to ask!

One thing that has thrown a spanner in the works though is that Volvo have knocked £2000 off the price of the brand new S40, bringing the cheapest down to £13750. Now i've been looking around and the same models that are six months old are still going for approx £14500! It seems that the £2000 discount hasnt filtered down yet. (the decrease only came into effect 2nd feb)

So how will this decrease affect cars one year old and younger? I'm interested to find out how its going to filter through. My S40 is about six years old so im assuming its going to be nearly worthless now

Looking at the comparison websites, they are still showing the S40 as being £15750 so they arent a true comparison at the moment.

Llyllyll

I bought an S40 (very pleased with it) about 10 months ago from a Volvo dealer in Birmingham as they were the only place that had the model I wanted. I drove up from S Wales to view/test drive etc twice and then they delivered it to me when all the paperwork had been sorted out.

The chap I dealt with did a good price for me and give me a very good deal on the (much newer, but crapper) Seat Leon that I wanted to p/x.

Nytehawk

I have just bought a new Civic through Broadspeed, where they negotiate a discount for you then you deal direct with the dealer........... I went to Lindhill Honda and was treated like a real customer... HIGHLY RECOMMEND BOTH BROADSPEED & LINDHILL HONDA :beer:

sniperpenguin

One thing that has thrown a spanner in the works though is that Volvo have knocked £2000 off the price of the brand new S40, bringing the cheapest down to £13750.

That springs two questions to mind

1. Why?
2. Why????

Is there a new model coming out? Have they mucked about with the range? If new model, then dealers EVERYWHERE will want rid - especially demo's If Volvo have knocked £2K off the price, thats 2K cheaper to the dealer AS WELL so dont let it affect your haggling, only your starting price!

swebb

Try these...

http://www.autofinders.ltd.uk/
http://www.uk-car-discount.co.uk/?s=20
http://www.whatcar.co.uk/
http://www.tins.co.uk/ui2004/frameset.asp?page=2
http://www.drivethedeal.com/quoteme.asp