haggling buying new car

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noggy1810

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Ordering a new car over next few weeks and wonder if recent slowdown in car sales strengthens my position when buying. Going for new merc c class and paying for it straight i.e no trade in. Is there much scope for further reductions( gave me 2000euro off list price without asking)? Don't like getting too aggressive but naturally want best deal possible.
 
Check the likes of Carzone and CBG, pick the lowest price for an equivalent car and start from there - if of course it's lower than the current asking price. Don't be shy - always haggle!
 
This year is the second best year for car sales on record.

We would give you a good deal on a straight deal but don't run away with the idea were stuck for numbers.
 
"We'll sell it anyway"

Expect that, or a similar response.
 
Nearly 8% drop in cars registered in september 07 versus 06 and am sure it is only going to go one way for the next while.
 
leghorn: Most of our cars are ordered in for customers, so we wouldn't really say "We'll sell it anyway". Most of our cars have 8-16 week lead times, some even more.

noggy1810: car sales for sept'07 v's sept'08 are down by 6.1% but up for the year by 5.1%. If people keep talking this country down it will go down.
Of course car sales are going to go down in the next 1/4 but when the first 1/4 of '08 hits car sales will be up again.

We are taking quite a lot of orders for '08 as are most garages around, even with the VRT changing and us not being able to guarantee prices for the first 1/4.

At the end of the day it is a business we are in and the object of a business is to make money, we make very little in a straight deal anyway so NO we are not going to give it away either. Most SIMI approved garages with main dealerships are only breaking even or making a .5% profit. If your making a 1.0% profit your doing very well.

Ep Mooney for '06 on a 108.7 million turnover have a 1.7 millon pre-tax loss. This is the sort of money Garages are loosing.

People who buy and deal with these side of the road garages are putting us out of business and lining these lads pockets. And when the public buy from these they mean we have to drop the price of your trade in to try and compete with these guys, so again the customer looses.

The motor trade in most cases does not make business sence for a main dealership.
 

Why bother then? Why are you still in business?
Am I missing something here?
 
Mr2 said:
Ep Mooney for '06 on a 108.7 million turnover have a 1.7 millon pre-tax loss. This is the sort of money Garages are loosing.
Click to expand...

I'd imagine there's a lot of creative accounting. Look at holding companies, subsidiaries of EP Mooney, etc.

Mr2 said:
The motor trade in most cases does not make business sence for a main dealership.
Click to expand...

Why then are so many main dealers in business?
 
We have huge contracts with the importers, there is no buy out clause so it's continue and ride the storm or be sued.

The more advanced cars become the more people will be forced back to main dealers as small "fred in the shed" and the likes will be only offered such a limited service that they will dis-appear.

There are not that many dealers in the country, most are small to large groups that support each other while a particular brand does bad in sales. Mostly Ford and Toyota dealers are the only single franchise that can stand on there own feet.

We do it for the love of the trade.
 
We do it for the love of the trade. Yea Right!!!!!! Next thing you'll be saying that Main Dealer mechanics don't do a bit of Fred in the shed work in the evenings/Saturdays
 
Most people do it because they do love the trade. It's certainly not for the money or glory. Motor mechanic after a butcher is the worst paid trade.

Yes Main dealer mechanics do a bit of fred in the shed for there family and some friends but there are only so many working hours in a day and I can tell you from the mechanics I know most are not bothered because they are wrecked and have families etc like everyone else.

The thing about most of these mechanics they will use genuine parts and service a car right but they know the risk they run when they do it.
 
I got 9% off of my last car, which I reckon was reasonable. I'd ring a number of dealers telling them that I'd be ringing a number of dealers and that I intended to buy a specific car today from whomever gave me the best cash price; then I'd simply ask 'what is the best you can do for car x, for cash'.
 
That's good going michael. That's roughly for a €26,000 new around €2,000 off. That's about all the margine we would have on most cars.

Just remember if your able to get larger margins that 10% with a straight deal, I'd be asking the question why? It's usually French and what it means is, if you can get that sort of dis-count now, when you trade it in, it's going to be worth a lot less.

Look at the cars in the market that hold there money, there don't give large dis-counts but in turn it means you get more for your trade in as your car can comand a larger re-sale price.
 
Thanks for all the replies. Beginning to think or dealer friend is a bit like irish auctioneers i.e full of you know what! As for talking down the economy if they were not making profits when the times were good then might aswell jack it in when things are getting tough.
 
Mr2 said:
The more advanced cars become the more people will be forced back to main dealers as small "fred in the shed" and the likes will be only offered such a limited service that they will dis-appear.
Click to expand...
Unless of course Fred has worked out that he can download the manuals and the software from the manufacturer's US website, given the pro-competitive laws there which force the manufacturers to make these available.
 
To get back to the OP's question, I don't think there's any need to be agressive, but I certainly wouldn't just sit back and take what's offered.

Buying new with no trade in gives you a pretty strong starting point for negotiating, as price is really all the dealer can negotiate on.

I'd recommend going to see the car and speak with someone, making clear you will be placing an order within the next week (say). Decide on the exact spec you want and ask their best price on it. Then tell them you'll be in touch, go home and hit the phone. Ring as many dealers as you can, give them the exact spec and ask what's their best price. After a couple of replies, you can let them know the price they have to beat.

Once you have your lowest "over the phone price", go back to the dealer you met face to face, and start negotiating away. If it looks like the lowest price you already have won't be bettered, let them know you have it as an option, but you'd much rather do the deal there and then, and that you'll give them a deposit there and then if they'll match it.

The key thing is to keep the negotiation on price (know your spec before any if this), and be as well informed as possible about the real market price (by getting competitive quotes).

Negotiating with car sales people is touch enough, as they have most of the cards (they do it all the time, they have all of the knowledge etc. etc.). Just remember though that you're the one with the cash.

Best of luck!
 
Spot on. It was a Renault Grand Scenic but it suited my needs and finances, and I intend to keep it for 10+ years so not concerned about trade-in values. Although Renaults seem to have a bad reputation, I have this one three years and it hasn't been any trouble.
 
Some great advice on this thread, thanks all.

My two cents (some already covered here, sorry for repetition):

When buying a new car, do your research.
This is very important. Going into any negotiating situation not knowing what you want is a sure sign of failure. The car dealer negotiates day in day out and can sniff a weak negotiator out straight away.

Once you know EXACTLY the make, model colour that you want, only then start to look for prices.
Go onto www.carzone.ie and see what the same spec of car is going for one year later. Get an idea of depriciation then. You can also use this to your advantage when negotiating.

How?

When discussing price on a new car mention the resell value of the car as being rather low - hence your low offer...

Anyway getting back on track.

So you have all your information to hand.
Now go visit your car dealer.
State the make and model of car you want, and take it for a test drive.

Do not under any circumstances let them know why you want the car... If you say your old one broke down and you want a new one, the sales person will know you are a strong candidate as someone looking to buy a car - desperately. You are less likely to get a good deal when being emotionally involved in a negotiation. Car sales people can see this in you.

So when driving it the sales person may ask
"So is this for you?"
Doing this has done a couple of things.
The sales person has now got you to state your position. Saying its for you means to the sales person that they dont need to convince anyone else other than you.
You therefore can make the buying decisions.

So it's best to say it's for someone else, who is out of the country.
Saying it's for your dad and the salesperson may say, "well when can we get him down here to look at it? Is he local? We can drive over to him."

Be careful what you tell them.

So Using a Higher Reference (i.e your brother who is out of the country) you have indicated that you are buying the car for your brother and that you have been given a price to work with.

The sales person may say
"what is the price you can buy the car for?"
Careful here too... don't get pinned down.

Say something like
"Well I have rang around several garages and feel that 36,650 is a fair price to pay for the car"

The car might be worth 45,000 but you have indicated flexibility in your words.

The sales person will say
"I cant possibly let that go for that sort of money... I will get fired."

So in turn you say "Well what is your very best price you can let this go for?"

See what he says. he might say 42,000

Ok, so we are getting somewhere.

You are still 5,000 apart you say. (You would be happy to buy the car for 40,000 but 36,650 was your wish price).

"We are 5 thousand apart here, sales person. What can we do now and secure the purchase?"

What you are doing here is trying to get him to split the difference... He may very well say
"OK let's make it 40,000 and I can't go any lower than that"

Just a few words I hope will help shed some light in negotiating situations.

I hope it helps!

Kevin
 
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