Do dealers always pitch their second-hand prices to account for offers?

nottsphil

Everyone knows dealers don't expect buyers to pay list price for a new vehicle, unless they are getting an inflated price on any trade-in. But what happens when they put that trade-in on sale? Is it the norm that a cash buyer ( i.e. no finance or trade-in) will get it at a reduced price, and would this be the same for traders who don't deal in new vehicles? I've no experience of buying a car from a trader, and I've never come across an ad  from one which states 'no offers'. 

tacpot12

Dealers, if they sell a trade-in rather than just sending it to auction, need to make profit on the vehicle - it's taking space on the forecourt, so it has to earn its keep. Buyer's won't get it at a reduced price until the dealer is starting to worry that it may not move quickly. At that point, you might get a good deal. Leave it a moment longer at it will be sent to auction, where you might get it cheaper but where you will have no consumer protection for any faults. 

All dealers hope to sell the car at the sticker price, but may be prepared to entertain a lower offer if they had had the car for a while, or if you identify faults they weren't aware of when you inspect the car - you don't get any consumer protection for faults that you spot before you buy the car.

So to answer your question in the title; some dealers will price their cars with the expectation that every customer will ask for some money off, and the dealer may add £200 to the price that he would be happy to give away to the buyer if it makes them feel like they have got a good deal. But most will price the car at the price they need to realise for the sale to be profitable. If you haggle, they will say no, because they can be pretty certain that  someone will be along in a day or two who is happy to pay the sticker price.

NottinghamKnight

The days when it's possible to haggle large amounts off are largely gone, primarily due to the internet. A search on autotrader will pull up options from across the country, and hundreds of not thousands of cars for the commoner makes and models. So as many will sort by price as well as other criteria then the trader generally has to be keenly priced to appear at the top of the searches. 

DrEskimo

Its important to remember that it may take a while to find a car at a good price. Looking on AT on any given week or month will only give you a snap-shot of what is for sale at that particular time. Generally speaking, those that are priced well sell quickly and so you tend to get a bias towards higher priced ones that hang around longer.

I spent 6-months before I bought my current used car. Brand new was £18,300 (best price using CarWow, etc.) and I was looking at 1/2yr old ones priced anywhere from £17k - £21k (even at auctions). When one finally came up at a main dealership with low miles for £15,800 I knew it was keenly priced. I haggled price down a bit (agreed £15,500 to put deposit down) but then used the dealers PCP contributions to take another £1,000 off and to get 2 free services. I simply settled the finance the following week and therefore only paid £14,500.

Point is there are massive variations in prices for the same car. All about getting an understanding of the price and trying to get it at the lower end of the distribution curve. Also well worth looking at finance deals to see if deposit contributions can help reduce the price further.

chrisw

Also the cash buyer might not necessarily get the best price. The dealer can make quite a bit of money on the finance, so could offer it cheaper providing you take their finance out.

knightstyle

As others say those days of having a good haggle seem over so now I tend to go for extras, free servicing, fuel, and of course the new car mats and anything else I fancy.

sheslookinhot

If any dealer doesn’t accept a genuine offer, walk away.

KimJongUn88

sheslookinhot said:

If any dealer doesn’t accept a genuine offer, walk away.

Well obviously.  If they don't accept the offer, all you can do is walk away.  

molerat

But if you are not in banger territory I expect you will be doing a lot of walking away !  I currently couldn't buy the car I got last December for the price I paid for it back then.

Grumpy_chap

There was a thread last week that asked a similar questions, but with the feedback from the OP on the final outcome also.
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6201084/how-much-discount#latest
Car listed at £16,480.
OP purchased at

• £5k trade in (what the OP expected)
• £11,070 cash (so £16,070 total)
• full tank of fuel

Korkyb

KimJongUn88 said:

sheslookinhot said:

If any dealer doesn’t accept a genuine offer, walk away.

Well obviously.  If they don't accept the offer, all you can do is walk away.  

Not necessarily.
I made a dealer an offer for a car in June (which he refused).
I didn't walk away & have now been camped on this forecourt for 4 months now.
That'll learn him....