Negotiating to buy a used car from a dealership

It won't cost you anything to try' even if its just a couple of free services and a tank of fuel' remember' when you have cash you are a valuable potential customer to them ' just keep telling em you'll have a shop around...

 

I'm buying a used car at the moment. There's a smaller number of cars than usual on the market at the moment, so most dealers are really playing hard ball. Cash isn't as good to a dealer as you taking on their finance. My advice would be, have a figure in your head that you're prepared to pay, ultimately be prepared to pay the asking price (if you really want the car) and don't feel pressured into buying the grands worth of extras they'll try and add to the deal.

 

But as @rycalshaw said, it costs nothing to try and bargain, however some dealers will be pissed off if you go insultingly low.

 

Give Philip Schofield a blow.

 

In short. You won’t win.

 

Double check all the charges, know what charges you have to pay and what dealers add on, like document preparation fees, are they there, will they remove them. Always be prepared to walk away if you`re not 100% happy.

 

‘We buy any car’ has a little booth outside our Homebase. A while ago I was selling an old car and I thought I’d see what they’d offer.

Told the bloke what the car was and he said, “We don’t buy those.” Kin ell. Clue’s in the title mate.

 

N B - not all dealerships want/will accept a cash payment.

My opening gambit would be 'Is there any movement on the price?' -- ---------------- 'Can you go a bit lower?'

You must have a price in your mind that you would be willing to pay.

I'm crap at haggling - a friend is brillisnt at it - I take him with me to bargain on my behalf if making a large purchase.

 

I’ve seen salesmen walk away and refuse to sell a car for cash, due to the kickbacks and bonuses given on finance.
No harm in trying and depends on size of garage, a smaller one is more likely to play, but a main dealer unlikely.

 

Cash is no longer king, when buying a car, especially at a dealership(it's different if buying privately, or from a little privately owned car lot) You are much, much more likely to get a decent reduction on the asking price if you are financing the car(using the dealerships finance company), because the payment they get from it is very lucrative. Same if you have something to trade-in, as they can offer slightly more for the car, knowing they earn more from the finance agreement.

 

Given that, could you take out the finance (to get a discount), then just pay it off in the first few weeks?

Not that I'm planning to buy ever again. I'll just lease for 4 years, then get a new one when the contract is up.

 

Do you get cars on a personal lease? If so, what company/companies do you tend to use? I am looking into getting a new car soon and was going to go down the personal lease route.

 

I once tried them with an Astra I had ,they offered 50 quid and wanted £49.50 administration fee

 

Yeah, I knew it would be a crap offer but I just wanted to know. I did think of holding the bloke hostage.

“We believe there’s a hostage situation going on at a store in Richmond. A man from Barnsley has been heard threatening another man with The Trade Description Act and demanding Phillip Schofield turn up at the location and offer at least a fiver for his car. Police have cordoned off the area.”

 

'Cash is king' went out of the window a while back when it comes to buying cars. Unless it's a really small independent garage, they'll likely make more money if you take out finance with them versus paying cash.

 

Market has definitely changed. Bought a used Volvo from official dealer back in May. Price was fair, and petrol engines in the model we wanted were rarer than hens' teeth, but they would not shift on the price at all. Not one penny. Tried the walking away thing, the tank of fuel thing, the extra warranty and free service thing.....simply not interested in the slightest. We knew it would sell if we didn't bite, so paid up.