Used Car Haggling Help

kizzyfur22

Hi all,
I need some help re haggling for a used car.
I know what car I want (2 year old Mercedes A class) and have done my research on Autotrader, What's Car & Parkers. I already have a loan as it worked out cheaper than finance. I'm all ready to buy.
However, I don't seem to be having much luck haggling with the price. I've been to 2 separate dealers and taken my other half with me as he's usually very good at haggling but we've not had any luck.
Both dealers have said that they compare their prices against similar models on Autotrader and guarantee that they have priced the car accordingly and fairly. They don't want to budge a penny on the price.
Usually when we've bought a car previously they would knock between £500-£1000 off the list price or add extras. They don't seem to want to do that anymore.

Is anyone else experiencing this?
Can you give me any tips?
Also with the new reg coming out in a few weeks will that help with haggling?
Thank You

Warwick_Hunt

They probably do have some tight margins on the car, they make money from finance and extras so aren't particularly interested in doing a deal with a cash buyer.

thebullsback

Could you pretend to be a person who needs finance,they will then give you a discount for the car hoping to claw it back via the finance deal.
But once the deal is done you cancel the finance and pay cash.Booooom

gardner1

kizzyfur22 wrote: »

Hi all,
I need some help re haggling for a used car.
I know what car I want (2 year old Mercedes A class) and have done my research on Autotrader, What's Car & Parkers. I already have a loan as it worked out cheaper than finance. I'm all ready to buy.
However, I don't seem to be having much luck haggling with the price. I've been to 2 separate dealers and taken my other half with me as he's usually very good at haggling but we've not had any luck.
Both dealers have said that they compare their prices against similar models on Autotrader and guarantee that they have priced the car accordingly and fairly. They don't want to budge a penny on the price.
Usually when we've bought a car previously they would knock between £500-£1000 off the list price or add extras. They don't seem to want to do that anymore.

Is anyone else experiencing this?
Can you give me any tips?
Also with the new reg coming out in a few weeks will that help with haggling?
Thank You

so how do the 2 cars seen so far compare to autotrader/parkers etc

sevenhills

gardner1 wrote: »

so how do the 2 cars seen so far compare to autotrader/parkers etc

If its two separate dealers, tell them about the other, £500 off and they have a deal?

motorguy

thebullsback wrote: »

Could you pretend to be a person who needs finance,they will then give you a discount for the car hoping to claw it back via the finance deal.
But once the deal is done you cancel the finance and pay cash.Booooom

They wont give discount on the car in the hope you take the finance deal.

Whilst theres a kick back from the finance company, its not enough to knock £££s off the price of the car

motorguy

kizzyfur22 wrote: »

Hi all,
I need some help re haggling for a used car.
I know what car I want (2 year old Mercedes A class) and have done my research on Autotrader, What's Car & Parkers. I already have a loan as it worked out cheaper than finance. I'm all ready to buy.
However, I don't seem to be having much luck haggling with the price. I've been to 2 separate dealers and taken my other half with me as he's usually very good at haggling but we've not had any luck.
Both dealers have said that they compare their prices against similar models on Autotrader and guarantee that they have priced the car accordingly and fairly. They don't want to budge a penny on the price.
Usually when we've bought a car previously they would knock between £500-£1000 off the list price or add extras. They don't seem to want to do that anymore.

Is anyone else experiencing this?
Can you give me any tips?
Also with the new reg coming out in a few weeks will that help with haggling?
Thank You

Its a changed market over the last few years. People look for the car they want on autotrader - year, engine, miles, no of doors, etc and then sort by price. Unless the car is the cheapest or the next one or two up from it, the phone wont ring, therefore dealers price accordingly by cutting the price.

That translates into no or very little discounting when you get there though.

When my son was buying his Clio last November there were two for sale in a 50 mile radius - one was on at £8995 and the other £8950. I went in believing we'd get an easy £500-£750 off. The dealer at £8950 wouldnt budge on price at all and the other dealer only knocked £45 off as "a goodwill gesture" to match the other dealers price.

motorguy

sevenhills wrote: »

If its two separate dealers, tell them about the other, £500 off and they have a deal?

I've tried that in the recent past - two cars, one at £8950 one at 8995. The £8950 dealer wouldnt move a penny as his was the cheapest around already, the £8995 dealer would only move the £45.

Theres just not the markup any more in used cars to knock £££s off a car.

You "might" get lucky and be in the right place at the right time - aged stock or whatever and they're blowing it out - but generally speaking if they've got the right car at the right price, why would they knock £££s off? If you dont buy it, they'll wait for someone else who will.

While theres this common phrase "its a buyers market" its truly not - its good retail quality cars at a good price thats hard for a dealer to find, not customers to buy them. Why give away good stock when you might not be able to replace it?

Yes, by all means, attempt to negotiate and negotiate hard, but if the dealer wont budge much its not a reason to walk away.

I'd rather have £10 off a car priced at £9995 than £1,000 off the same car priced elsewhere at £10995.

Herzlos

Yeah, long gone are the days of cars forecourt cars being marked up by £1000 to knock £800 off them in haggling.

You might get a better deal if you actually take out the finance (and then pay it off), which may or may not work if you've already borrowed the money. Other than that, the best you're likely to get is servicing packages / mats / full tank of fuel.

Is the asking price a good price?


(Why an Mercedes A Class?)

motorguy

Herzlos wrote: »

Yeah, long gone are the days of cars forecourt cars being marked up by £1000 to knock £800 off them in haggling.

You might get a better deal if you actually take out the finance (and then pay it off), which may or may not work if you've already borrowed the money. Other than that, the best you're likely to get is servicing packages / mats / full tank of fuel.

Is the asking price a good price?


(Why an Mercedes A Class?)

Thats the trick isnt it? Find the right car at the right price and then negotiate what you can (if anything) off it.

kizzyfur22

Thank you for all your replies, especially regarding the fact that there isn't the same negotiating deals to be had anymore. The market has definitely changed since last time I bought a car!
The price on Autotrader is actually a fair one considering but I just assumed that if they wanted to sell the car they would offer some discount!! Obviously that's not true any more. I'm going to keep my eyes open over these next few weeks with the new registration coming out.

I'm not sure about taking out finance then paying it off with cash. Surely there's some clause in the agreement about doing that? Plus it'll affect my credit rating, especially as I've already got a loan!

Herzlos you asked why a Merc A Class. I wanted a car that's reliable, fuel efficient, comfy and is a bit of fun to drive still. I test drove a few and the Merc seemed to tick all these boxes. Plus I really like the look of it inside and out. I know I'll be paying extra for the brand name. Plus I'm buying a long term car that's got to last me about 8 years. I'm not for swapping and changing every few years!!