Planning to buy a car in cash

AceCobra1

Hi guys, I was just wondering what the best "negotiation tactics" would be as a cash buyer if I were to goto a dealership ? I was looking to buy a used car and from what I understand, cash is actually less desirable than taking out a finance which I am not prepared to do. After speaking to a few friends, I understand that they make additional income perhaps not directly from the interest itself but from commissions for introducing a new client to the finance side of things.

My budget is £25k but wouldn't mind paying £26k if I can get it within the right milage and colours etc. Would it be realistic to try to achieve a 10% off the final value or even 15% ?

So far, from what I have gathered, it seems that the best way to get a bargain would be to:

1. Buy at the end of the month as most dealers have a quota to meet

2. Do not deal immediately but walk away and either let them phone you or I email them to renegotiate.

Any additional tips would be appreciated.:T

AceCobra1

I actually should change the title to "negotiations tips as a cash buyer" but I can't seem to find the option to edit the title - is this option locked ?

Alexd52

If taking finance gets you a better deal, you could take it out and then pay it off straight away as you have the cash available.

parking_question_chap

If you go into a dealership dont make an appointment to view a specific car as this shows your interest at an early stage. Walk in and mention you are in the initial stages and trying to work out what they have, given your budget they are not going to fob you off.

If they are any good at the job/listening they will point you in the direction of the car you like. If they dont you can walk past it and say it has caught your eye, but you perhaps cannot justify the price, you then have a better hand for negotiation than if you had walked straight up to it and asked for a test drive.

motorguy

AceCobra1 wrote: »

Hi guys, I was just wondering what the best "negotiation tactics" would be as a cash buyer if I were to goto a dealership ? I was looking to buy a used car and from what I understand, cash is actually less desirable than taking out a finance which I am not prepared to do. After speaking to a few friends, I understand that they make additional income perhaps not directly from the interest itself but from commissions for introducing a new client to the finance side of things.

My budget is £25k but wouldn't mind paying £26k if I can get it within the right milage and colours etc. Would it be realistic to try to achieve a 10% off the final value or even 15% ?

So far, from what I have gathered, it seems that the best way to get a bargain would be to:

1. Buy at the end of the month as most dealers have a quota to meet

2. Do not deal immediately but walk away and either let them phone you or I email them to renegotiate.

Any additional tips would be appreciated.:T

Find the right car at the right price in the first place, then negotiate what you can off from there.

Better to get £100 off a £10K car than get £1,000 off the same car elsewhere on a forecourt at £11K.

macman

Refuse to discuss the finance until you have negotiated the price you want for the car. Discounts vary massively according to the make and model. Some cars you will get zero, other near 30%-there is no meaningful average.

Iceweasel

I was very wary of taking any finance deal as I have always paid cash for my cars.

I take it you mean cash as in a cheque or bank transfer rather than a bagful of £10 & £20 notes.

I recently managed to get a total of 22.5% off by first obtaining a quote from a couple of the car brokers - such as Broadspeed - then going along to my local main dealer and asking politely if they could match it or even better it.

Local dealer wouldn't play ball so I eventually travelled several hundred miles (passing 3 other main dealers en route) to get the best price.

The selling dealer offered 18% off right away, but made it quite plain that if I took finance I would get just under 5% more of a 'contribution'.

I went for that and paid it off withing 4 days paying only 3 days interest.

Well worth it.

The negotiations are a game of words and double entendres - no-one will give a discount - they talk about dealer 'incentives' and manufacturers 'rebates'- then finance company 'deposit contributions'.

The salesman told me not to mention 'cancelling' the finance as that could be considered heating and perhaps I would not get to keep the 22.5% - whereas settling the finance early was legal right.

Everyone was happy enough to accept my paying it off early - very early - the dealer and the manufacturer must take this paying off early as just one of the swings and roundabouts in car sales.

motorguy

The O/P is looking to buy used, so what you may or may not get off a new car is pretty irrelevant, as used car prices dont tend to have such a massive gross margin built in.

motorguy

O/P - what sort of car are you looking for? What age?

AceCobra1

Hi guys, was looking for a BMW 6 series. In terms of age, probably 2012-2013. I would prefer to get a gran coupe which is the 4 door variation. The ones I have seen are anywhere between 27.5 - 29k depending on mileage. Would hopefully get one under 50k miles. Thats why I was just thinking if I would be able to knock a few quid off to get it down within my budget as I do not want to pay anymore than 25 - 26k

Iceweasel

motorguy wrote: »

The O/P is looking to buy used, so what you may or may not get off a new car is pretty irrelevant, as used car prices dont tend to have such a massive gross margin built in.

Oops - missed that one word 'used' in the 2nd lineof the 1st post.