Buying a used Porsche - how well did you haggle?
Discussion
gottans said:
Well if you don't ask you don't get. I got £1k off just for asking, he could said no and further discussion ensues or I could have walked.
Sounds like a win-win - you save £1k and he makes the sale. Out of interest, what was the approx purchase price and was this private, trade or OPC?It is hard to generalise. Some cars are overpriced and they know it, others are priced right and they know it. I've haggled hard and walked away when I've asked for 10%, got offered 5% and they sold the car to others same day with similar cars selling for more elsewhere.
The question isn't how well did you haggle but more how good is the deal to you. I've also paid OTT to be sure I've got the car I've wanted.
Price is not everything.
The question isn't how well did you haggle but more how good is the deal to you. I've also paid OTT to be sure I've got the car I've wanted.
Price is not everything.
Dave Thornton said:
I'm interested in finding out how much you shaved off the asking price (and the techniques), or what else made the deal. Free warranty? Or just a full tank of fuel and 6 months tax? Or paid full price because the car was too good to risk missing out on.
if they have had it in a day and it's a good seller, nothing, if they have had it in 3 months 12%Pistom said:
The question isn't how well did you haggle but more how good is the deal to you. I've also paid OTT to be sure I've got the car I've wanted.
Price is not everything.
Agree with this, with the caveat that although I do believe you're buying a car, not the dealer, it really does pay to ensure you are either as close to 100% happy with the car as possible (i.e. PPI), or, more than 90% happy with the car and as close to 100% happy with the dealer and their back up as possible.Price is not everything.
You can buy a good car from a dubious dealer, but with a (generally slighter dearer) dealer of better reputation, you are generally in safer hands.
I recently purchased a Turbo S from an OPC. After checking through the over rev data, history, everything I made a cheeky offer at £4k off. They rejected this but offered a £3.5k discount. The sales person was surprised the manager had accepted.
The car had been on their site for a little while plus it was IMHO over priced .. Sometimes its worth making a low offer ....
The car had been on their site for a little while plus it was IMHO over priced .. Sometimes its worth making a low offer ....
You have to look at each deal in it's own right. They get their pricing wrong too.
I've haggled hard and lost in the past on cars that were already well priced, playing the hard game, waiting for them to chase me to find the car had sold to others in the meantime, leaving me to carry on the search.
If you like the deal, buy it, if not, haggle and walk away if it is still not a good deal being offered.
It isn't about winning a haggle but getting the car you want that is important.
I've haggled hard and lost in the past on cars that were already well priced, playing the hard game, waiting for them to chase me to find the car had sold to others in the meantime, leaving me to carry on the search.
If you like the deal, buy it, if not, haggle and walk away if it is still not a good deal being offered.
It isn't about winning a haggle but getting the car you want that is important.
Dave Thornton said:
Changing the subject (slightly), what are your thoughts on cheaper parts of the country to buy e.g. further away from London might be cheaper? And time of year e.g. last weekend in November might offer a the best price whereas last weekend in April the highest price???
A fools game. There might be a few hundred pounds in it but no two cars are the same!Find the car you want and buy it.
mollytherocker said:
So, the question is, are you the ultimate haggler or was it 15% overpriced? Or maybe it was 25% overpriced?
Its tricky stuff this.
No not the ultimate haggler. We have all read about the guy that won't do a deal for the sake of a £1,000 on a £50K plus car. Life is too short for that. I think I got lucky Molly but only time will tell. Its tricky stuff this.
It's not fashionable to admit such, but I think I overpaid for my car and it had a lot needing doing to it. However, aesthetically it was very much the 'right' car for me and, having continued to watch cars coming to market, I retrospectively realise that in the time since I bought it, there were possibly only two others that I've seen that would have been equal or slightly better suited to my very particular (idiosyncratic) desires.
I was buying for medium to long term, so having to spend a bit to get the thing up to scratch was not a deal breaker (although with the benefit of hindsight I might have been reluctant had I seen all the estimates at the outset!) and I am always happier running a car where I know things are working right because they've been properly attended to. If this car was bought for a brief bit of fun and a (profitable) flip it would rank as an utter disaster.
I was buying for medium to long term, so having to spend a bit to get the thing up to scratch was not a deal breaker (although with the benefit of hindsight I might have been reluctant had I seen all the estimates at the outset!) and I am always happier running a car where I know things are working right because they've been properly attended to. If this car was bought for a brief bit of fun and a (profitable) flip it would rank as an utter disaster.
Surely the biggest saving is weighing up private versus OPC? The OPC is only worth it if it actually resulted in Porsche replacing stuff. It is normally worthwhile, as they will replace tyres and brakes at 50% wear, but if you are buying a nearly-new car with little wear or - for example - brand new tyres fitted, you may be paying an unnecessary premium at the OPC.
I paid the full asking price for my 997 GT3 because thats what the seller wanted and that's what I was willing to pay.
Price was set at the outset IF it didn't need anything doing to it and then the car was independently inspected and found to have NO over revs or required anything doing to it, so the asking price was paid.
Came with a 2 year OPC warranty too.
Car is a good one and 997 GT3's in the spec I wanted don't come around all that often....so I bought it
Since buying it almost 4 years ago, the value has increased almost 40% and that far outweighs any discount I could have negotiated.
The point to remember is if the car is special there will always be buyers and discounts will be limited.....if the car is a common one with lots for sale then the buyer is in a stronger position than the seller (but this does not stop people asking £BIG-BUCKS for battered tired cars that need a LOT of work)
Anyway, it all depends on the sellers situation and how desperate they are to shift the car.
One thing you could do is ring up the dealers you are thinking of buying from and offer the exact same car they have for sale and see what they offer you for it. You can then use this as a barometer for negotiation as it will give you a ballpark to aim for. This has worked for me in the past when I was looking for a 997 Carrera S.
Price was set at the outset IF it didn't need anything doing to it and then the car was independently inspected and found to have NO over revs or required anything doing to it, so the asking price was paid.
Came with a 2 year OPC warranty too.
Car is a good one and 997 GT3's in the spec I wanted don't come around all that often....so I bought it
Since buying it almost 4 years ago, the value has increased almost 40% and that far outweighs any discount I could have negotiated.
The point to remember is if the car is special there will always be buyers and discounts will be limited.....if the car is a common one with lots for sale then the buyer is in a stronger position than the seller (but this does not stop people asking £BIG-BUCKS for battered tired cars that need a LOT of work)
Anyway, it all depends on the sellers situation and how desperate they are to shift the car.
One thing you could do is ring up the dealers you are thinking of buying from and offer the exact same car they have for sale and see what they offer you for it. You can then use this as a barometer for negotiation as it will give you a ballpark to aim for. This has worked for me in the past when I was looking for a 997 Carrera S.
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