haggling with a used car dealer

snowmen

Saw a used car at a dealer for £9995 and want tips at haggling.

I know there is a lot of leverage when buying a new car but not sure when it comes to a used car.

A valuation on the WhatCar website gives a dealer price for the car at £9615 with the same mileage.

Have a car for part exchange too and will not be taking finance when buying the car - this will be a cash sale.

Any help welcome!

ankspon

Do not take a woman,several years ago we did the same and my wife got embarrassed when the haggling started,even the salesman said haggling is part of the process but she hated it.I got some money off but i could have got more.

s_b

warranty backup is more important than a discount if vehicle priced reasonably
look around can they repair if you have a problem
who would pay

funkycoldribena

I always play them them off against another dealer.Say that you're going to look at another car at another dealer for 9400 after this one and play it from there,they dont like losing sales to other dealers.

richard734

most independents look for around £1500 markup on a car in that price range - accept that they have to make a living and offer £8500, come up to £9000 and walk away. Dont forget that has to include 6mths tax, and a cam belt change if it has not been done within the prescribed time or is due in teh next few thousand miles.

colino

Is it a worn out Bentley or a near new Mondeo?

getmore4less

Do a search on autotrader/ebay for like cars, there often is regional variations.

If new enough check the dealer network approved cars

See what range the asking prices are to see if this one is reasonable and how close parkers/whatcar/glasses etc.are.

Find a selection of good cheaper/better exampes to have to back up you negotiations.

Google the registation sometimes you get lucky and find a previous advert.

UncleZen

Forget the whatcar vauation on anything. Dealers use glasses prices and often another provider as well (not parkers). You'd be surprised at the difference in valuation amounts.
Watch out for an admin fee that is not mentioned until you sit down and haggle.
And also dont forget that the car you're buying will be untaxed on the forecourt and will require taxing so factor in 6m or 1yr cost of road tax.

vax2002

The dealer will factor in the absolute bottom book price at auction for your car and sell at screen price.
If you sell your old car on say e.bay, you can haggle the dealer down for cash or just buy elsewhere, not as if there is a shortage of cars for sale is it.

ukjoel

richard734 wrote: »

most independents look for around £1500 markup on a car in that price range - accept that they have to make a living and offer £8500, come up to £9000 and walk away. Dont forget that has to include 6mths tax, and a cam belt change if it has not been done within the prescribed time or is due in teh next few thousand miles.

On a car priced at 10k most dealers would have paid £8500 for it and often more so good luck with that one.......

sgun

Ankspon (post2) don't be ridiculous. I'm a woman and I have male and female friends asking me to go along to buy cars as I know enough about cars to be able to haggle and I am spit hot at haggling and never get embarrassed. You should have asked your wife to leave or does she wear the trousers? ha ha only joking before you get offended :-)

My biggest tip would be the silent one. Sound keen but also name some faults/concerns with the car, state your price and then shut up. Its a battle of wills and whoever cracks first will lose. Don't be scared to keep eye contact, it feels ridiculous but shows that you really mean business. And KNOW YOUR FACTS. Also don't worry about how long it takes, my record was 3 hours and we were still haggling about the last £12 and a tank of petrol (which I got, he really wanted rid of me by then)

Also you need to realise that whatever price you get, the dealer will still make a nice profit so don't worry. Good luck.