Any advice on negotiating with a dealer, for a "nearly new"

Hi everyone,
I'm hunting around for a nearly new car with low milage and have settled on the new Jaguar XF, probably one up-to about 12 months . I've spotted two potential vehicles, one at a local main dealer and one 100 miles away with have all the options I want, both for £30k. The list price for a new version with the same spec would be £38,500, and would cost £34,500 new via Carwow.

I have the cash to purchase but I've read that it can get a discount by taking out finance, then immediately paying it off. Can anyone take me though how I should go about doing this?
Should I aim to discuss finance after trying to negotiate a bit on price or after?

When I spoke to a main dealer recently, he open the conversation by asking me how I intended to pay for the car. What would be the best way to avoid this question until the right time?

Are there any other negotiating tactics I should be thinking about?

Also, I'd like the usuals extras like mats, mud flaps and a tank of petrol. I guess it would be best to mention these at the start? Or maybe not...

Thanks for your help in advance.

FWIW I have been a "cash buyer" on numerous occasions with same dealer. It does not help.

They want to sell a finance package, not a car.

I would mention everything up front except the fuel. Make it easy for them.

• This is the car I am interested in.
• I'll be paying on finance. My deposit would be X. I'm happy to demonstrate affordability before we proceed.
• Aside from the usual prep I'd like genuine mats and mudflaps. And I'm assuming you put in enough fuel to get me to the nearest petrol station.
• If you can do that lot for £Y, and the car checks out on an inspection and test drive, I'll buy it today.

They will come back with a figure near Y (assuming Y is not unreasonable). If you want to, save the full tank of fuel as a way to seal the deal.

I find that you get the best deal if you are upfront about everything, you do your research, you have a clear idea of what you want and what you need to pay, and you are happy to walk away if the criteria can't be met. The easier you make it for them to sell you the car, the better the deal you will get. If that doesn't seem to be happening, then they are trying to rip you off, and it's time to walk.

convince the salesman that you have lots of better options elsewhere and have him bridge the gap, in descending order of value to you, similar cars in the main dealer network, similar class cars that could interest you from other brands, you aren't in a hurry and might wait a couple of months for prices to drop further.

It might be best to try to do a deal very close to the end of a month/quarter as they may be close to meeting their target and could offer you a better deal? I have heard several people get great deals 2 days before the end of the month.

There are loads of the 180 R-Sport models in the dealer network at the moment at 1 year old as they handed them out to management to run for a year and get feedback as it was a new model. Most have upgraded wheels and a few bits also. My local dealer (Jag Tamworth) had 4 or 5 on the forecourt when I popped in last weekend so I reckon £27.5 is definitely achievable personally.

I would tread carefully as you'll be looking at early production cars and there have been a few reported issues with fit and finish especially inside and around the boot.

I will also add that they can be leased for < £10K on a 2 year deal at the moment with options. Not sure how that compares to the costs of the possible finance deal and depreciation expectancy over the same period but might be worth thinking about?

Out of interest OP, what are the options you are after? I ask as I've just ordered one myself as a company car (180 R-Sport).

I wonder if this might not apply at the end of September? Seeing as the new registration has just come out, are they likely to have smashed their targets anyway? Either way, it's definitely worth considering...

Ideally i'm looking for a 180 R-Sport with a sunroof, black pack and in Ammonite Grey. That amounts to about £2325 worth of extras. Anything on top of this is a bonus, but I do plan on changing the standard wheels at some point.
I presume you ordered a new one? What kind of deal did you manage, if you don't mind me asking?

I just had a look at Jaguar Tamworth, and they seemed a little more expensive than some of the other dealers I've come across but its encouraging to know that there are a few XFs around. Hopefully it's a good time to pick one up.
I've read about some of the issue they've had, like the boot rubbing on the paintwork, so it's something to watch out for.
I don't think I'll go for the lease option, but thanks for the heads-up.

This sounds like a good way to do it... Tell them I'm a cash buyer, and try to negotiate the best discount possible off the vehicle. Once I have a price agreed, when we're sitting down to start the paperwork, ask them what they can do if I go down the finance route... The only complicated situation with this is I can only really do this with the local dealer... I think it might be a bit more difficult with the one 100miles away.

Mine's a company car so I just get a list provided and choose the car I want from there. No finance deals etc. to worry about, which is nice.

I had a budget to stick within for the options (similar to yours) and went a different route to yourself. I liked the black pack and ammonite but at £1600 combined they come to the same as the Incontrol Touch Pro + Meridian infotainment upgrade so went with that instead as founbd the standard system a little slow and wanted the larger screen and digital dash. Also added 20" star alloys as it's such a big car and felt they balanced it out. Having driven one on 20's I was amazed at how well it still rides, much better than equivalent Audi/BMW on 19's.

Hopefully it might turn up before Christmas...

Will be interesting seeing how I get on living with it coming from a procession of 5 Series and E classes. As current hire car is manual Insignia diesel I'm sure it'll be rather an improvement though.