New car negotiation

neuromancer

I'm contemplating the idea of buying a new car (erk!), and I'm getting all sorts of advice about not paying the full asking price. But I'm a bit new to the idea of negotiation - has anyone got any tips on what to say to the dealers to get the price down?

What Car has a target price guide on their website that tells me I should be getting a discount of about £1,200 off the list price of the car I want - and of course, that'll make a big difference to whether or not I make the purchase. What's the best way to get the dealer to agree to that? I assume just waving the printout at them and hoping they'll instantly agree is a bit ambitious!

daveyjp

If you don't have a part ex make it much easier and buy it from a broker such as drive the deal.

ahll

neuromancer wrote: »

I'm contemplating the idea of buying a new car (erk!), and I'm getting all sorts of advice about not paying the full asking price. But I'm a bit new to the idea of negotiation - has anyone got any tips on what to say to the dealers to get the price down?

What Car has a target price guide on their website that tells me I should be getting a discount of about £1,200 off the list price of the car I want - and of course, that'll make a big difference to whether or not I make the purchase. What's the best way to get the dealer to agree to that? I assume just waving the printout at them and hoping they'll instantly agree is a bit ambitious!

I am new to this as well but I have found that if you search for your car on brokers sites like Drive The Deal you can get a great idea of what you could pay for the new car usually (thousands off what the car salesmen tell you). You can either buy from them or take the price to your local dealer as ask them to match/better the price. Basically get a few places biding for your business. One of my sales guys said they couldn't match the price but another said they would match it and give me a sweetener....So it can be done.

I have also found that all the salesmen immediately slag off Drive The Deal etc telling me how the car could be a B grade and that I my pay my money but never get the car. However when I have told them that I know people that are more than satisfied with them they usually change their tunes to try and get you to buy from them at a much lower price than they were first offering. So go armed with the online deal prices.

Hope this helps

neuromancer

ahll wrote: »

I am new to this as well but I have found that if you search for your car on brokers sites like Drive The Deal you can get a great idea of what you could pay for the new car usually (thousands off what the car salesmen tell you). You can either buy from them or take the price to your local dealer as ask them to match/better the price. Basically get a few places biding for your business. One of my sales guys said they couldn't match the price but another said they would match it and give me a sweetener....So it can be done.

Thanks, I just came across DtD a minute ago. Trying not to judge it by the 'bad website = bad company' criterion as people seem to support it! Am I right in thinking that they essentially let dealers bid on my custom? If so, then surely for a new car, any bidder will be a legit dealer with ties to the manufacturer? If that's the case, then hopefully I'll have decent protection in the event that things are wrong, and a bit of ammunition to wave at local dealers...

Do you know whether that works for customers looking for finance deals? I.e. would the dealer be able to offer that as well, or are they more suited to cash buyers?

oldhand

many dealers prefer you to take finance,its more money for them.I would caution you against buying any brand new car for the usual reasons,they depreciate the second you leave the showroom.Buy one a year or even two year old with most of the depreciation over with,you will get a low mileage car if you look around and save thousands over a new one.

peter_the_piper

Good job some people buy new cars or there would not be any year or 2 year year old cars to buy.:rotfl: In my opinion it depends what you want to do with the car, if you want to sell again after 3 years then depreciation is an issue. If you intend to keep it until it dies of old age then depreciation does not matter.

scotsbob

The very first thing a dealer will do is try to establish what car you are driving now and if you intend to trade it in.

To the second question your response should be you haven't decided, or it depends on price of car you are buying.

Focus all your attention on the price of the car you are buying. Once you have established that with the salesman then you can argue over what price to get for your old car.

The dealer will continually try to include a trade in right from the off, you have to avoid that tactic.

neuromancer

scotsbob wrote: »

The dealer will continually try to include a trade in right from the off, you have to avoid that tactic.

Is that because it's an easy way for them to squeeze a few more quid out of me? To be honest, as much as I love my current car, it's worth practically nothing to anyone else, so I'm not counting on that to be part of the deal. I presume the DtD-style broker sites are only for new car deals? From the big dealers, the price difference between a brand new one and one that's a year or two old isn't all that!

ahll

Yes as said the dealers are keen for you to take out finance like pcp.