Is haggling to be expected on a dealer's price (used cars)?
Discussion
andymc said:
Welshbeef said:
Has anyone ever tried haggling st a food super market? Same logic they ring all the food and bits through the till. Then give you the price and you then ask for the discounted price.
Clearly the cashier says no so you say can you get HR manager if they don't move at all you walk away but to them they have a trolley full of stuff which an employee now needs to put back on shelf and that isn't free.
I've never done it but seen some on the Money saving e pert site who have
can't think of anything more demeaningClearly the cashier says no so you say can you get HR manager if they don't move at all you walk away but to them they have a trolley full of stuff which an employee now needs to put back on shelf and that isn't free.
I've never done it but seen some on the Money saving e pert site who have
Is it demeaning begging for a tank of fuel or floor mats?
I was in the motor trade, ending as a Sales Manager for a multi-franchise dealership. The dealership was one of three family owned dealerships in a group.
If you go into Next to buy a suit, it has 100-200% mark up on it. If you go to buy a £30000 car, it might only have £1500 across it. Of that, the dealer needs to pay the costs of the service, valet and warranty (if out of manufacturers warranty), plus pay the costs of keeping the lights on and paying the staff. (We levelled a flat charge against each sale to cover this).
On top of this, he has to pay VAT on the profit he has made, and the one everyone forgets is the cost of financing the forecourt. A 25 car forecourt, with an average car price of £10,000 has cost £250,000 to buy. This incurs a finance cost, and that needs maintaining.
It's a really difficult business to make money in, and not one I would get into with my own money. That said, you are expected to haggle. I always do.
Top tip - when you have haggled and can't stretch any further and the deal is complete, and you are ready to shake on it, pause a moment, go outside to think about it, and then come back in and say that you will agree to the deal if they throw in a boot liner/dog guard/ mats and flaps. This often works because:
A) the dealer gets incentivised on accessories
B) They might just charge them to another car, and give them to you.
My demo car always had about three sets of mats and flaps booked against its value, because it would be written down and sold on. It's a bit short-termist, in that it moves the problem on to another day, but if it shifts that Varicouse Vein Blue monstrosity with no air or sunroof, then we'd do it. But they can always say no.
If you go into Next to buy a suit, it has 100-200% mark up on it. If you go to buy a £30000 car, it might only have £1500 across it. Of that, the dealer needs to pay the costs of the service, valet and warranty (if out of manufacturers warranty), plus pay the costs of keeping the lights on and paying the staff. (We levelled a flat charge against each sale to cover this).
On top of this, he has to pay VAT on the profit he has made, and the one everyone forgets is the cost of financing the forecourt. A 25 car forecourt, with an average car price of £10,000 has cost £250,000 to buy. This incurs a finance cost, and that needs maintaining.
It's a really difficult business to make money in, and not one I would get into with my own money. That said, you are expected to haggle. I always do.
Top tip - when you have haggled and can't stretch any further and the deal is complete, and you are ready to shake on it, pause a moment, go outside to think about it, and then come back in and say that you will agree to the deal if they throw in a boot liner/dog guard/ mats and flaps. This often works because:
A) the dealer gets incentivised on accessories
B) They might just charge them to another car, and give them to you.
My demo car always had about three sets of mats and flaps booked against its value, because it would be written down and sold on. It's a bit short-termist, in that it moves the problem on to another day, but if it shifts that Varicouse Vein Blue monstrosity with no air or sunroof, then we'd do it. But they can always say no.
Edited by Julietbravo on Sunday 9th October 09:46
The motor trade, (just like the housing market), is a buyers paradise. You, the consumer, have ALL the power. If you use that power properly, coupled with a GREAT deal of research, YOU can dictate what you want to pay for something.
Sadly, far too many people go into dealerships with a blindfold on and offering the salesman free use of their credit/debit card. These are precisely the people that the large dealerships rely on to make their obscene profits.
Sadly, far too many people go into dealerships with a blindfold on and offering the salesman free use of their credit/debit card. These are precisely the people that the large dealerships rely on to make their obscene profits.
I've noticed ford and fords of winsford (local car supermarket) on the radio stating 'the price you see is the price you pay' as well as 'there is no need to haggle'.
I have mostly find that a little wiggle room is built into the screen price and find it rude and it offends me to be told there is no haggling.
If I'm spending £25-30k on a car, £500 or so which is 2 to 1.6% discount is not going to break the bank on a car that clearly had about £2-5k profit built in.
And let's be honest, there is always more than one example of whatever spec car you want who will offer a deal if you are prepared to travel (which i think you should if you really want a specific car).
I have mostly find that a little wiggle room is built into the screen price and find it rude and it offends me to be told there is no haggling.
If I'm spending £25-30k on a car, £500 or so which is 2 to 1.6% discount is not going to break the bank on a car that clearly had about £2-5k profit built in.
And let's be honest, there is always more than one example of whatever spec car you want who will offer a deal if you are prepared to travel (which i think you should if you really want a specific car).
Welshbeef said:
Has anyone ever tried haggling st a food super market? Same logic they ring all the food and bits through the till. Then give you the price and you then ask for the discounted price.
Clearly the cashier says no so you say can you get HR manager if they don't move at all you walk away but to them they have a trolley full of stuff which an employee now needs to put back on shelf and that isn't free.
I've never done it but seen some on the Money saving e pert site who have
Any links to that on MSE? I'm a big user of the forum and havent seen that. I dont think its common practice and i wouldnt imagine its recommended by the site as a discount tactic.Clearly the cashier says no so you say can you get HR manager if they don't move at all you walk away but to them they have a trolley full of stuff which an employee now needs to put back on shelf and that isn't free.
I've never done it but seen some on the Money saving e pert site who have
Welshbeef said:
Or using discount sites drive the deal Broadspeed etc as you cannot negotiate yourself so your saying "I need help". Demeaning yes.
We're talking about used cars, not new.Our local Merc dealer was feigning a maximum discount of 4% on the A45, i said i could get 8-10% easily via the brokers and if he didnt price match we'd use them. He laughed and said there was no way his sales manager would agree to 8%. So we started to put our coats on...
.... 3 mins later we got our 8% discount.
Hardly demeaning, and even IF it was, its an extra £2,000 in our pocket for 3 mins work
Welshbeef said:
Or using discount sites drive the deal Broadspeed etc as you cannot negotiate yourself so your saying "I need help". Demeaning yes.
And likewise using a broker site shows the discounts ARE available, when the salesman initially closes the door and says no we cant discount any further.Particularly useful here in NI when one dealer group may control an entire manufacturer franchise across the provence.
datum77 said:
The motor trade, (just like the housing market), is a buyers paradise. You, the consumer, have ALL the power. If you use that power properly, coupled with a GREAT deal of research, YOU can dictate what you want to pay for something.
Sadly, far too many people go into dealerships with a blindfold on and offering the salesman free use of their credit/debit card. These are precisely the people that the large dealerships rely on to make their obscene profits.
I dont agree.Sadly, far too many people go into dealerships with a blindfold on and offering the salesman free use of their credit/debit card. These are precisely the people that the large dealerships rely on to make their obscene profits.
You're working on the assumption the dealer "has" to sell you the car at YOUR price.
Good stock is harder to get than good customers.
Go in all Johnny Big Balls with a silly offer and they're likely to politely usher you to the door
manracer said:
I've noticed ford and fords of winsford (local car supermarket) on the radio stating 'the price you see is the price you pay' as well as 'there is no need to haggle'.
I have mostly find that a little wiggle room is built into the screen price and find it rude and it offends me to be told there is no haggling.
If I'm spending £25-30k on a car, £500 or so which is 2 to 1.6% discount is not going to break the bank on a car that clearly had about £2-5k profit built in.
And let's be honest, there is always more than one example of whatever spec car you want who will offer a deal if you are prepared to travel (which i think you should if you really want a specific car).
Its worth remembering that NET profit on a £30K car could be well below £1,000 so knocking off £500 in some cases could slash their net margin in halfI have mostly find that a little wiggle room is built into the screen price and find it rude and it offends me to be told there is no haggling.
If I'm spending £25-30k on a car, £500 or so which is 2 to 1.6% discount is not going to break the bank on a car that clearly had about £2-5k profit built in.
And let's be honest, there is always more than one example of whatever spec car you want who will offer a deal if you are prepared to travel (which i think you should if you really want a specific car).
Welshbeef said:
Or using discount sites drive the deal Broadspeed etc as you cannot negotiate yourself so your saying "I need help". Demeaning yes.
It isn't demeaning in the slightest.In any negotiation you need an alternative and being able to literally take a phone out of your pocket and say "OK I'll buy it off here at this price" and both you and the salesperson knowing that you can do so is a far more powerful weapon than in days gone by where haggling was almost a game of chicken.
BenjiS said:
He just couldn't match it apparently, so I ordered from the Carwow one. Shame for him, as he'd spent several hours with me, and even given me one of his demo cars for a day. But much as I liked him, 11% off list beats 4% off any day.
Yes and I wouldn't blame you, my point was that you could do that rather than haggling for some unachievable discount, not getting it, doing the "I'll go elsewhere you'll be sorry you'll all be sorry" thing and then coming back a few days later because you couldn't get it elsewhere either 
BenjiS said:
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hstewie said:
hstewie said:Welshbeef said:
Or using discount sites drive the deal Broadspeed etc as you cannot negotiate yourself so your saying "I need help". Demeaning yes.
It isn't demeaning in the slightest.In any negotiation you need an alternative and being able to literally take a phone out of your pocket and say "OK I'll buy it off here at this price" and both you and the salesperson knowing that you can do so is a far more powerful weapon than in days gone by where haggling was almost a game of chicken.
We were with the A45 - i work in Manchester during the week and home at the weekends, so organising a car on the mainland wasnt going to be an issue for me.
What you say does reinforce the fact that its not a buyers market and the dealer doesnt have to sell at a particular price just to get the deal. Whilst the salesman was probably gutted, the sales manager / dealer principal knows they can sell their allocation of jags all day long at a particular price, so if they miss you, another buyer will replace you at a price that they want to do business at.
I'm currently haggling for a used BMW X6.
BMW main dealer approved used - on the website at £28k
Initially offer £8k for our range rover sport, then upped it to £8.5k, so just under £20k to change. I walked away.
I sold the Range Rover privately for £10,750 this week
I then went back to the dealer via email and showed him 4 cars in England that I was considering (I'm in N Ireland) and told him we are ready to buy, but I will be flying to England to get one of the 4 unless we could do some negotiation. I offer him £26k, so £2k less. He came back with £1.5k off. I then got him to throw in and extra years warranty for £300 (full BMW used approved warranty)
The cars in England only came with 3 months non dealership warranty so overall, the local deal is looking good. We're ready to buy now and I've put a thread on here to see which one of 2 X6's I should buy.
In summary, from walking into the showroom the 1st time, I've saved £2,250 by selling privately, then got £1.5k off the list price of a £28k car, and then bagged an extra years proper warranty for £300.
So yes, there is always room for haggling!
BMW main dealer approved used - on the website at £28k
Initially offer £8k for our range rover sport, then upped it to £8.5k, so just under £20k to change. I walked away.
I sold the Range Rover privately for £10,750 this week
I then went back to the dealer via email and showed him 4 cars in England that I was considering (I'm in N Ireland) and told him we are ready to buy, but I will be flying to England to get one of the 4 unless we could do some negotiation. I offer him £26k, so £2k less. He came back with £1.5k off. I then got him to throw in and extra years warranty for £300 (full BMW used approved warranty)
The cars in England only came with 3 months non dealership warranty so overall, the local deal is looking good. We're ready to buy now and I've put a thread on here to see which one of 2 X6's I should buy.
In summary, from walking into the showroom the 1st time, I've saved £2,250 by selling privately, then got £1.5k off the list price of a £28k car, and then bagged an extra years proper warranty for £300.
So yes, there is always room for haggling!
Equus said:
And then you woke up, with a damp patch on the bed...
Hell, yes, you haggle - I've never bought a second-hand car at screen price!
Im sure you're a troll but... I'd say we sell about the same amount discounted (out of around 75 cars sold in a month I'd say a maximum of 5 are discounted).
The worst types are people who push for a discount for no reason, If someone can give me a valid reason for negotiation im all ears but if its just because "You're supposed to" then just no.
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