How much cheaper should demo models be?

I'm looking at upgrading my current MPV. I've seen an '06 Corolla Verso demo model with just over 4K kilometers on the clock. The asking price is €27900. I've checked the Toyota site and the cost of a NEW model is €28635.

Does anybody have any idea as to how much cheaper a "demo" model should be compared to a brand new model? A €700 difference seems very small to me.

For a start Demo's will have one previous owner if they have ever been road-taxed. Which it probably has with almost 4,000KM on the clock, but maybe not so it's worth checking out. Also the warranty has started ticking down from the date of first registration. If you decide to go new, why not wait and buy a '07 in 4 months? Besides having new and used cars a lot of garages also sell: Pre-Registered cars, Ex-Demos and Ex-Hire-Drives. In my experience understanding the pricing policies of the garage is how you understand the real bonus of going for one of these types of car-deals. Forget the price in the window and get the sales person to quote you for a new car, demo car and a 1 year old car. Then look at your cost to change. E700 is a pretty lousy discount but I expect you would find it very easy to increase that margin. I'd want at very least a E2,000 saving on cost to change to get into a new car. Otherwise just shop around and haggle, then tell the guy in the first garage that the guy in the second is beating him by E300 or so. Then go see a guy in a third garage.

A lot depends on the mileage and general cleanliness of the car. I bought a demo Primera 3 years ago in July and got a reduction of €2,500.

Thanks Liam.

ClareG, when you bought the Primera 3 years ago did you do a trade in?

I always go for a demo, I think I got 1200 off a 24K car the last time. I rang every dealer and got them to quote a price and then rang them again with the cheapest price and eventually knew I couldn't do any better.
One thing I did find out though is if the dealer is owned by the manufacturer you'll get a better deal than if the dealer is a franchise, so try find out if there are any of those here.
The biggest rip off when buying from a dealer is if you trade in - I think I saved 3K by selling my car privately and getting the cash discount from the dealer.

biggerry said:

I'm looking at upgrading my current MPV. I've seen an '06 Corolla Verso demo model with just over 4K kilometers on the clock. The asking price is €27900. I've checked the Toyota site and the cost of a NEW model is €28635.

Does anybody have any idea as to how much cheaper a "demo" model should be compared to a brand new model? A €700 difference seems very small to me.

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€700 is a bit small alright. I assume you are talking about the 1.6 petrol Luna model for that price?

Are you trading in your current car?

If you were to go in with cash and buy a new one, I would expect you could get up to €1500 off the new car price.

I reckon on a straight cash deal anyone can get 5-7% off list price for a brand new car, dependent to some degree on brand and model.

Used and with one owner on the logbook (plus 50 carefree/careless test drivers) I'd be looking for double that off the list.

Any less and you'd be better off buying new.

Helen said:

I always go for a demo, I think I got 1200 off a 24K car the last time. I rang every dealer and got them to quote a price and then rang them again with the cheapest price and eventually knew I couldn't do any better.

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Very few dealers give you their best price over the phone. Sales-people only want to get you into the showroom and if you want to get the best possible deal you need to show your face.

biggery, does the demo have any extras? In other words are you pricing like for like with a new one? If so €700 is a very bad discount.
On the "Rip off" that is the price with a trade in do remember that the dealer has to service, clean and store the trade in. They will also be significantly out of pocket 'till they can dispose of it as they might have made a few hundred or even a few thousand Euro selling the new car but he will have spent thousands buying your second hand. Remember that the dealer buys the cars from the manufacturer at the start of the year (on finance) and doesn't realise his profit until he sells on the second hand. Therefore he cannot pay off the credit for the new car or the overdraft for the second hand until the chain is complete. That’s why you should buy your second hand cars in March or April; the dealer will be trying to get rid of trade-ins in order to clear his overdraft.