No negotiation at dealer

[jonby]

Ian_UK1 said:

tonyhall38 said:

That would be a dealer group starting with a S then.......
You could negotiate other incentives....free service , mats , etc.....

When I was looking to buy about 6 months ago (from Stratstone's) I offered them £2000 under sticker price for a 2014 SP10 I liked. I was told that there was no possibility of a discount, 'per company policy'.

I walked.

A week later, I looked again at the classified ad for the car and was surprised to find the sticker price had dropped almost £2000!

On ringing the sales guy, it was apparent he was aware that the advertised price had changed, but I ultimately bought the car for the same money I'd originally offered 10 days earlier.

I just don't understand the little mind-games these people always try to play. The dealership could have simply have sold me the car, for the price I ultimately paid, without the 10-day charade!

How you get them to negotiate, I've no idea, but they clearly have plenty of scope to do so.

I'm not sure that's right. They aren't stupid

They appear to have a policy of trying to price the cars 'right' and then not negotiating. That's not a bad policy providing they are consistent and providing they do indeed, price the cars right. I think it's a good thing that people on here confirm the same experience, because it confirms that it's their standard practice and not that the OP is a poor negotiator getting a bad deal

It may simply be that occasionally they find they have been over ambitious in their asking price, or they overpay for a car, or they find the market changes - then it is sensible to drop the price in time

But I don't think it is mind games in my experience with them and I don't understand the attitude of some on here which appears to be no matter how keen the price, if no discount is offered, they will walk away.

I was selling some assets on behalf of a client last month and because time was so short, I made a big deal that to cut to the chase, I would give the lowest possible price for him to take or leave. The figure was £30k. After protracted squealing for several days, during which he thought I was being deliberately awkward, we did the deal at my asking price. Afterwards he conceded he would have paid more, but would have been happier if we had asked £40k and dropped to £35k because he would have had a 'discount', despite the fact he would have ended up paying more ......

[hornbaek]

The issue today is that the interest rates are virtually zero so it does not cost the dealer anything in opportunity costs to just sit tight until the point where he needs the cash flow. As soon as rates start going up this will change rapidly as the cars in the forecourt will start to hurt his pocket. Zero interest makes markets stagnant as both buyers and sellers stay put.

[JaseB]

I bought my DB9 from them, waited until the end of the month (January) when there was little or no cars being bought, saw the car at £56k and said (honestly) I only had £52k but could I have it anyway, they came back within minutes and said yes.

I mean they obviously had headroom in the price or they wouldn't have done it but maybe after Christmas might be better, if the car is still there...

[Chamboy]

hornbaek said:

The issue today is that the interest rates are virtually zero so it does not cost the dealer anything in opportunity costs to just sit tight until the point where he needs the cash flow. As soon as rates start going up this will change rapidly as the cars in the forecourt will start to hurt his pocket. Zero interest makes markets stagnant as both buyers and sellers stay put.

For new cars, certainly the issue is more around the (free) stocking period provided by the manufacturer/importer and when payment back is required (30/45/60/90 etc days) - there's usually a better chance for negotiations once the dealer has had to actually pay for the stock in question!

And I also think the issue of wanting/needing a discount is (partly) an age thing (?) - am in my mid-50's now and feel that life is simply too short to worry about the odd £1k-or-so in a deal, if the vehicle is what I really want. 20 years ago things were very different and I was pushing for the max for my money...times, and thinking, change.

[The Surveyor]

OP, If the dealer won't budge on the screen price, will they come up with the part-ex valuation? It's the 'price to change' that's important, not what you're paying for the new one.

They may have a 'no discount' rule on their stock but the valuation of any trade-in is much more subjective. Ultimately be prepared to walk away from any deal that doesn't make you happy.

[juggsy]

The Surveyor said:

OP, If the dealer won't budge on the screen price, will they come up with the part-ex valuation? It's the 'price to change' that's important, not what you're paying for the new one.

They may have a 'no discount' rule on their stock but the valuation of any trade-in is much more subjective. Ultimately be prepared to walk away from any deal that doesn't make you happy.

Agreed completely, I always work on the cost to change figure as that's the important number. Unfortunately their P/X was laughable so little scope there unfortunately.

jonby said:

I think it's a good thing that people on here confirm the same experience, because it confirms that it's their standard practice and not that the OP is a poor negotiator getting a bad deal

Haha, appreciate the clarification! To me the key to negotiation is be prepared to walk - sometimes you want something so bad it puts you on the back foot (don't get me wrong, I really want to join the Aston club!), however I'm prepared to bide my time which means I won't just through my cash on the sales guys desk.

Edited by juggsy on Wednesday 7th December 13:55

[HBradley]

With any AM, surely it's better to sell privately? The prestige & limited supply make the right car very attractive to a private buyer. The PX is convenient but not the best way to extract the best value from a current vehicle.

[woodsypedia]

HBradley said:

With any AM, surely it's better to sell privately? The prestige & limited supply make the right car very attractive to a private buyer. The PX is convenient but not the best way to extract the best value from a current vehicle.

I believe for some it works better than others. In my case - my V12V is a bit unique in terms of trim, is in great condition and has the Aston extended warranty that I've renewed every year. As a result, (as I've just renewed), if you were to buy the car today (for example) - you'd get the same protection as you would from the dealer for a year. The extended warranty includes breakdown cover too. I suppose for those that don't have the warranty in place upon sell time - it would be harder to get the private sell as people are worried of something going wrong. They're sadly not cheap to fix.

Chris.

[Jon39]

Buster73 said:

If you inform them of your ideal spec and they manage to match it as near as damn it, you've shown your hand and it leaves any dealer with a much stronger position.

Funny that Buster, because many politicians want the PM to publicly reveal everything, about the forthcoming EU negotiations.

If there is any logic is involved, presumably those same politicians always pay top price for their motor cars.

[Jon39]

JaseB said:

... but maybe after Christmas might be better, if the car is still there...

I don't know how much importance AML place upon their UK new car registrations (sales), but it looks as though the 2016 numbers are going to be worse than 2015.

If AML are concerned about this, they might be 'pushing' their dealers this month.
I wonder if buying between Christmas and New Year could perhaps get really good prices on new stock cars?

[hyphen]

Jon39 said:

Funny that Buster, because many politicians want the PM to publicly reveal everything, about the forthcoming EU negotiations.

If there is any logic is involved, presumably those same politicians always pay top price for their motor cars.

Godwin's law has nothing on Brexit

[avinalarf]

jonby said:

I'm not sure that's right. They aren't stupid

They appear to have a policy of trying to price the cars 'right' and then not negotiating. That's not a bad policy providing they are consistent and providing they do indeed, price the cars right. I think it's a good thing that people on here confirm the same experience, because it confirms that it's their standard practice and not that the OP is a poor negotiator getting a bad deal

It may simply be that occasionally they find they have been over ambitious in their asking price, or they overpay for a car, or they find the market changes - then it is sensible to drop the price in time

But I don't think it is mind games in my experience with them and I don't understand the attitude of some on here which appears to be no matter how keen the price, if no discount is offered, they will walk away.
..

I agree with Jonby.
If the asking price is in line with market expectations I have no problem.
Throwing in a few extras is very nice of course and can be quite valuable.
However I have been a bit irked when I've been offered a derisory price for my Aston by a dealer against another of his Astons. That's having your cake and eating it.

[Ian_UK1]

avinalarf said:

jonby said:

I'm not sure that's right. They aren't stupid

They appear to have a policy of trying to price the cars 'right' and then not negotiating. That's not a bad policy providing they are consistent and providing they do indeed, price the cars right. I think it's a good thing that people on here confirm the same experience, because it confirms that it's their standard practice and not that the OP is a poor negotiator getting a bad deal

It may simply be that occasionally they find they have been over ambitious in their asking price, or they overpay for a car, or they find the market changes - then it is sensible to drop the price in time

But I don't think it is mind games in my experience with them and I don't understand the attitude of some on here which appears to be no matter how keen the price, if no discount is offered, they will walk away.
..

I agree with Jonby.
If the asking price is in line with market expectations I have no problem.
Throwing in a few extras is very nice of course and can be quite valuable.
However I have been a bit irked when I've been offered a derisory price for my Aston by a dealer against another of his Astons. That's having your cake and eating it.

I wouldn't automatically walk away from a car, just because no discount was offered. In the case of the car I bought, I felt it was overpriced and made a sensible offer that was rejected. It seems that, within a week, the dealer agreed with my interpretation of the car's market value as they changed the asking price accordingly. No further discount was offered on the second occasion I showed an interest in the car and I certainly didn't walk away that time!

In this case the initial asking price for the car simply wasn't 'in line with market expectations'. It would probably be inappropriate to comment on whether this might have been an 'honest mistake' or otherwise.

[john ryan]

I bought my V8 from Str...... 4 years ago. No discount available, but the car was well priced and I negotiated four new tyres, a big service, and a few other things. The bonus was that they had omitted to note that the car was fully loaded, even down to a colour coded steering wheel, so had perhaps priced it wrongly. In any event I was happy, and still am.

[AMDBSTony]

Issue with our non negotiating dealer friends is that whilst they price their cars lower than others advertised, they dont take into consideration that the others are prepared to negotiate which effectively leaves our friends with expensive cars.

This happened to me twice and both times i bought from other AM Dealers!

[RobDown]

Jon39 said:

JaseB said:

... but maybe after Christmas might be better, if the car is still there...

I don't know how much importance AML place upon their UK new car registrations (sales), but it looks as though the 2016 numbers are going to be worse than 2015.

If AML are concerned about this, they might be 'pushing' their dealers this month.
I wonder if buying between Christmas and New Year could perhaps get really good prices on new stock cars?

Why would they worry, they've just sold USD400m worth of RB-001s

[Jon39]

RobDown said:

Why would they worry, they've just sold USD400m worth of RB-001s

Yes a fantastic piece of business, and will the (reputed) 350 losers now be offered AM-RB002 at an even higher price?

As a 'mere' Vantage owner, I will now be lucky even to receive a copy of the AM magazine.
With all these GT8, GT12, Zagato, AM-RB001 owners coming into the fold, I am so glad that I went to Burghley in 2016. Probably won't be eligible next time. Can I come with you Rob?

[Ken Figenus]

Their business; their call... But I personally got a younger car with lower mileage by going elsewhere PLUS saved £7k comprably (some of that via friendly negotiation) of which I then put £4k towards a 3 year top notch warranty. I would say the deal was timed right viz their standing stock/sales targets as I absolutely had to commit to do the deal within the week - I feigned discomfort and then had sleepless nights of anticipation

It is a little sad to see the hardball stories of people not buying cars though, only to see the cars being reduced as they sit but there then being too much bad blood to do the deal. Still, shoe on the other foot, I can see why you would put a chancy price on a car initially and see if you get a nibble! Done that selling privately on EBay after all - but one soon sees sense

[abh]

john ryan said:

I bought my V8 from Str...... 4 years ago. No discount available, but the car was well priced and I negotiated four new tyres, a big service, and a few other things. The bonus was that they had omitted to note that the car was fully loaded, even down to a colour coded steering wheel, so had perhaps priced it wrongly. In any event I was happy, and still am.

Like John I recently bought a used V8 from S... I'd spent a year looking at market prices and knew my ideal spec and acceptable buy price. It just so happened that S... were the dealership that listed the right spec car at the right price. I had already walked away from 2 other MD cars I thought were overpriced even after some discounting. I was surprised at the no negotiating on price but we reached a deal because of all the extras..... 4 new tyres, full service, warranty, cover, VIP factory tour and various cosmetic corrections like new mirror arms and a grille. They even loaned me their DB9 GT while the corrections took place. A nice touch. I'm comfortable the car was priced correctly and very happy with the extras. If you do buy a car from them, just don't let them wash it. EVER! Inspect the paintwork carefully, take copious photographs when you first view it and inspect again on collection. Hope that helps!

[blueg33]

foxsasha said:

You've been looking for a year and have finally found the right car for you but you'd lose it for the sake of a relatively insignificant amount of money because of the principle? What principle? Just buy it and enjoy!

I agree except that the price is a bit "toppy"