Can you haggle for a brand new car?

Y

yram

Registered User
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Hi, I am hoping to buy a new car in Jan 10 (Fiat 500).

Basically I am wondering if I have cash (and a 97 to trade/sell. NCT due in Jan. Will try to NCT it), can I haggle? Say, the car is €12-€14000, would it be reasonable to try and haggle?

Also, I am looking for a particular colour of the car and may have to order it. Again, would it be reasonable to haggle? And if so, do I do this before or after ordering?

If there was a big difference between the two situations above, I wouldnt really give a fig about the colour.

One more question, do you think the governement will ever do any scrappage deals?
 
Hope someone can help you with your question,
but.. If I were you I'd steer clear of a Fiat.. I had one once (bought it new),and Never again.
A mechanic told me F.I.A.T stands for Fix It Again Tomorrow.. Sadly true in my case.
The re-sale value was awfull too.
 
Short answer is yes.

Either get a few bob off or hound them for free extra's

Have a look at www.carzone.ie and see what a 1 and 2 year old are going for though as mentioned depreciation may be horifying.

No cars are selling make the car salesmen work.
 
Sell your own car privately,because they wont allow anything for it on a trade in.
I would be looking for at least 10-15% discount for a straight deal cash price.
Dont just try your local Fiat dealer either,as another one may want your business more.As a cash buyer you hold all the cards,dont let them know you specifically want a fiat 500,but say your looking at a few different makes of small car.
Unless the colour you want is metallic paint,it shouldn't cost any extra.Do the deal first and then say you want your colour.
When you are closing the deal,try and get them to give you some extras thrown in.
Remember with cash you are the clients they are looking for.
 
According to whatcar, dealers in the UK have not been offering discounts on the new 500 as it's proving a popular seller, although that may not be the case here. Also they are predicting that it will hold its value better than other Fiats (and other small cars) but that remains to be seen. The car is marketed at perople who might otherwise buy a second hand mini or a figaro, who are image conscious rather than bargain hunters.

The 500 shares its platform with the new Ford Ka and both are built at the same factory in Poland so it should be pretty solid. It has been getting rave reviews and it looks great, but reviews seldom bring to light reliability issues.

In the end haggling depends on whether you can actually get a better price elsewhere, so it is important to shop around. Certainly try and sell your own car privately if you can as it will improve your chances of getting a discount for a straight cash sale.

From looking on carzone, there are several second hand ones going for about €13K so I'd say it would be hard to get a new one for less than that (one dealer has a new one prices at €12.5K which factors in a €1,500 trade-in).
 
Definitely haggle.. most of the garages have the cash added on to give back as a reduction to try make the sale.. So haggle and agree price and then ask for extras to be included within the price.
 
Yes to haggling - with more or less anything basically and particularly cars (whether new or not).

No to FIAT generally but the 500 has been well received.
 
yram said:
Hi, I am hoping to buy a new car in Jan 10 (Fiat 500).

Basically I am wondering if I have cash (and a 97 to trade/sell. NCT due in Jan. Will try to NCT it), can I haggle? Say, the car is €12-€14000, would it be reasonable to try and haggle?

Also, I am looking for a particular colour of the car and may have to order it. Again, would it be reasonable to haggle? And if so, do I do this before or after ordering?

If there was a big difference between the two situations above, I wouldnt really give a fig about the colour.

One more question, do you think the governement will ever do any scrappage deals?
Click to expand...

Sell your car privately if possible and use the cash to put against the new car.
It is much easier for a dealer to give in to some haggling on a second hand car as they have much bigger margins. I have a few friends in the trade and they tell me that they have very little room to move on brand new cars.

Why not look at a 6 month old\1 year old model with low mileage? You could save yourself a lot of money
 
Thanks for the replies.
I will have half the money saved. The other half I will get a loan for.
I am going to go try test drive one at the weekend.
I have never had anything new, and as one poster said, they seem to hold their value so a 1year old would only save me a grand or two.
 
Bell Butts said:
If you buy new you have to pay VRT - if you buy second hand there is no VRT.
Click to expand...

VRT is included in the purchase price of a new car, and hence is part of the value of second hand cars.

please check your info before giving somebody advice on a finanicial transaction.
 
I think you're needlessly stating the obvious and missing the point. In post no 10 above the OP states that the difference between a new and second hand 500 is a grand or two, which is obviously based on the advertised prices for both. When you factor in VRT on the new car, the gap is larger than that so the OP should keep that in mind when making the cost comparison.
 
Bell Butts said:
I think you're needlessly stating the obvious and missing the point...
Click to expand...
Unfortunately, it seems that the need is obvious to everyone else based on your comments and you are missing the point.
Bell Butts said:
... When you factor in VRT on the new car, the gap is larger than that so the OP should keep that in mind when making the cost comparison.
Click to expand...
A difference of a "grand or two" is a difference of a "grand or two". VRT is not added to the advertised retail price of a new car, nor is it subtracted / subtractable from the advertised price of a second-hand car.

From a purchaser's perspective, VRT (or VAT) only plays a part in the calculations if someone is considering importing a new or second-hand vehicle from outside the state; OP so far has not suggested this AFAIK. Other than that VRT & VAT are just there, always.

So the price new and the price second-hand can be compared directly without the need to engage in arcane mathematical machinations relating to VRT or other taxes.
 
I don't know why you're so hung up on this. As I see it, buying the car new will cost about €15K + VRT; buying second hand will cost about €13K, so the difference is more than a couple of grand.
 
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