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What to ask when haggling over price
Comments
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Is there a worse question than 'how many times has it been test driven?' ? What's the point of the question? Not sure it really matters, let alone how you could achieve a discount on the back of it.
Attitude & body language play as much the part as any words - be willing to walk away from the sale. If you've already mentally bought the car then you better be a good actor.0 -
Well, if it's never been test driven then there's little interest in it, if its had 10 test drives then no one has liked it enough to buy it.Hope over Fear. #VoteYes0
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Is there a worse question than 'how many times has it been test driven?' ? What's the point of the question? Not sure it really matters, let alone how you could achieve a discount on the back of it.Well, if it's never been test driven then there's little interest in it, if its had 10 test drives then no one has liked it enough to buy it.
It is really a pointless question, when a customer visits a dealer they may be looking for a certain model, colour, spec. and the dealer may only have that spec. in the wrong colour, so the customer has a test drive in that one and if they are interested enough the dealer will bring one from another branch ( group stock ) for the customer to have a look at.
So as you say, a car may have had 10 initial test drives , but only to find out if the customer liked the model , even though the customer never had any intention of buying that actual car.
Therefore the original test drive car may have had many prospective test drives as a precursor to eventually test driving the actual required car they would go on to buy.0 -
Best starter question "is there room for negotiation on the price"?0
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Will you consider a part-ex on my current vehicle?
That should help lower the price on the vehicle you're looking at or enable you to afford a newer car that you couldn't otherwise have!SPC7 ~ Member#390 ~ £432.45 declared :j
Re-joined SW 9 Feb 2015 1 stone lost so far
Her Serene Highness the Princess Atolaas of the Alphabetty Thread as appointed by Queen Upsidedown Bear0 -
Do you have a part ex?
If so, go to a few other garages first and feign interest in any car on the forecourt, and just ask for a part ex price, then say "I'll think about it" and walk away. Do this for a few garages (including we buy any car, parkers etc) to get a good idea of what your car is worth.
Now go to the dealer and look at the car. Try and notice any scrapes etc. Also pay attention to all four tyres, and how much tread there is left. Also make sure that it has been serviced recently, and has MOT, Tax etc. If it doesn't have one of these, don't worry just yet.
As with your part ex, now look on AutoTrader etc to find out if the dealers price is fair.
Now, by now you should know what prices are fair. If you're still unsure, post up details of both cars on here and someone will be able to help you. Firstly, if the car has no MOT, hasn't been serviced etc ask the dealer if they will do this for you before you talk about money. Any dealer worth using will immediately say "oh, yeah, don't worry about that! We'll get that done for you!" Most will even throw in 6 months tax for free. Tyres they may be less willing to replace (and if they do, they might replace with rubbish tyres) so if they are nearly bald it might be worth just asking for a couple of hundred quid off to compensate.
Now ask how much you'd get for your car and if they'd be prepared to lower the price of their car. Remember, the actual prices don't matter, its the price to change that matters. So if the car itself is £1000 overpriced, that doesn't matter as long as they give you £1000 more for your part ex. Likewise, if they give you £300 under market value for your car, try and get £300 knocked off theirs.
I've found it's best to ask vague questions like "can you go any lower?" rather than asking for a specific price at first, as they might immediately knock off £500 since you asked - even if you only prepared for £300!
Finally, act confident and be prepared not to buy the car. Mentally assure yourself that it's too expensive and they'll refuse to move on price. As mentioned, if you have already mentally bought the car then you have no hope of haggling - they are experienced enough to recognise this. Don't be afraid to walk away - this is the most powerful tool. They won't let you leave the showroom, coming up with something like "oh, I'll just go and get my manager and see if I can get you a good deal." If you're still not sure, say you'll think about it and walk away. If they let you, then I doubt you'll get much more off. If you're secretly happy with the deal anyway, call up or go in the next morning and say that yesterday you got this deal, could they knock any more off? Even £50? Then do as you choose.
Good luck! Using these methods I got £700 off the car (£200 off the car itself, and £500 extra for the part ex) and knocked a whopping 6% off the APR using the same techniques.0 -
Best starter question "is there room for negotiation on the price"?
"Is there?" invites "no". "How much?" can be answered with "none", sure, but it starts from an assumption that there is some. The salesman has to be on the defensive if he's saying "none".0 -
Starting from the premise that 90% of what a car salesman will tell you is probably a lie ... most questions you ask them are pointless.0
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Is there a better question to ask a salesman than "How many times has it been test driven?"
Reality - "its been there four months and not a sinner as been near it"
What the salesman will tell you - "actually funny you should mention that, there was a guy test drove it yesterday, loved the car, letting me know tomorrow if hes going to take it, but hes made no commitment, so i can sell it if you're prepared to commit today today...."0 -
Well, if it's never been test driven then there's little interest in it, if its had 10 test drives then no one has liked it enough to buy it.
And hes likely to be honest is he?
Consider it like playing poker - how far are you going to get if you ask the other player what cards hes holding.0
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