No negotiation at dealer
Discussion
Hi folks, hoping to get a bit of insight and experiences. I've been looking at getting a used (07-08) V8V roadster tor a little while and an AM dealer alerted me to one meeting the spec I was looking for. After a bit of back and forth it seemed to meet the bill, but was slightly more than I was willing to pay when taking into account a P/X.
So when we got talking about price, I was told in no uncertain terms that there was no negotiation on the sticker price at all, as all prices were set (and monitored) by head office, and updated daily to represent 'absolute value'.
This all sounded like sales spiel, and I'm a bit surprised a main dealer has no autonomy on the price of their cars, I was hoping for some wriggle room for a deal before Christmas.
Is this the experience of others, do AM main dealers not negotiate at all, the price you see is the price you pay? Any insight and experience welcome as I'd like to gauge whether they are just playing hardball or if it's futile to bother negotistkng. Maybe it's just down to the dealer group I'm dealing with (without naming/shaming this is the group owned by writing instrument-mythical creature
)
So when we got talking about price, I was told in no uncertain terms that there was no negotiation on the sticker price at all, as all prices were set (and monitored) by head office, and updated daily to represent 'absolute value'.
This all sounded like sales spiel, and I'm a bit surprised a main dealer has no autonomy on the price of their cars, I was hoping for some wriggle room for a deal before Christmas.
Is this the experience of others, do AM main dealers not negotiate at all, the price you see is the price you pay? Any insight and experience welcome as I'd like to gauge whether they are just playing hardball or if it's futile to bother negotistkng. Maybe it's just down to the dealer group I'm dealing with (without naming/shaming this is the group owned by writing instrument-mythical creature
)What was the dealer chain, as one in particular are well known for not moving on price. That said you could probably get a few bits thrown in, cover maybe, or next service etc ?
I'm sure dealers do set their own price so that bit is bulls
t.
When it comes down to it though how far apart are you on price ? If it's genuinely the right car and spec for you then do you want to loose it ?
I'm sure dealers do set their own price so that bit is bulls
t.When it comes down to it though how far apart are you on price ? If it's genuinely the right car and spec for you then do you want to loose it ?
Big Ry said:
If it's genuinely the right car and spec for you then do you want to loose it ?
Absolutely, that's the internal debate I'm having, that's why I wanted to see if I was being spun a yarn before either trying to find the extra funds or push them harder.tonyhall38 said:
That would be a dealer group starting with a S then.......
You could negotiate other incentives....free service , mats , etc.....
Correct You could negotiate other incentives....free service , mats , etc.....
juggsy said:
Correct
Yep, they're pretty notorious for not shifting on price but i'm sure you can get some other value adds. If you can get them to include the next annual service then that's worth a good few quid.All depends, if it's silver or black then there'll no doubt be another one along, if it's somewhat rarer then you might be waiting a while, and who's to say the next "right" car won't also come up at the same dealer network so you'll be in the same position. All comes down to where the individual sees value really.
Feel free to share details and i'm sure people on here will happy to give a knowledgeable opinion on the deal.
My experience with Stratstone MY07 Vantage coupe with 16k miles in 2015.
Sticker price GBP 46.9k. I would guess they paid not much more than 35k for the vehicle. Admittedly the vehicle was in decent superficial condition.
I offered 42k expecting a counteroffer.
The salesman did not counteroffer.
I then offered 44k which was not accepted and there was no counteroffer.
Two weeks later the salesman called me and I offered 44.5 (or it might have been 45k, I can't recall) if they fitted a V12 gearknob.
The salesman went away to think about it for a week. Then called me to express that he couldn't do the deal.
Another 4 or 5 weeks later the salesman called to say that a deal could be struck.
By that time I had lost interest.
Sticker price GBP 46.9k. I would guess they paid not much more than 35k for the vehicle. Admittedly the vehicle was in decent superficial condition.
I offered 42k expecting a counteroffer.
The salesman did not counteroffer.
I then offered 44k which was not accepted and there was no counteroffer.
Two weeks later the salesman called me and I offered 44.5 (or it might have been 45k, I can't recall) if they fitted a V12 gearknob.
The salesman went away to think about it for a week. Then called me to express that he couldn't do the deal.
Another 4 or 5 weeks later the salesman called to say that a deal could be struck.
By that time I had lost interest.
Edited by sasser on Wednesday 7th December 08:35
Some of their customers kick a football, and never even ask the price of anything. They certainly don't mention wanting a discount. If you were a salesman, you would soon regard this as being quite normal.
I fluked a discount (different dealer), by happening to buy near to the end of September. It appears there might be additional dealer incentives during that month.
juggsy said:
After a bit of back and forth it seemed to meet the bill, but was slightly more than I was willing to pay when taking into account a P/X.
So when we got talking about price, I was told in no uncertain terms that there was no negotiation on the sticker price at all, as all prices were set (and monitored) by head office, and updated daily to represent 'absolute value'.
Is this all by email/phone or in person? So when we got talking about price, I was told in no uncertain terms that there was no negotiation on the sticker price at all, as all prices were set (and monitored) by head office, and updated daily to represent 'absolute value'.
sasser said:
My experience with Stratstone MY07 Vantage coupe with 16k miles in 2015.
Sticker price GBP 46.9k. I would guess they paid not much more than 35k for the vehicle. Admittedly the vehicle was in decent superficial condition.
I offered 42k expecting a counteroffer.
The salesman did not counteroffer.
I then offered 44k which was not accepted and there was no counteroffer.
Two weeks later the salesman called me and I offered 44.5 (or it might have been 45k, I can't recall) if they fitted a V12 gearknob.
The salesman went away to think about it for a week. Then called me to express that he couldn't do the deal.
Another 4 or 5 weeks later the salesman called to say that a deal could be struck.
By that time I had lost interest.
Sticker price GBP 46.9k. I would guess they paid not much more than 35k for the vehicle. Admittedly the vehicle was in decent superficial condition.
I offered 42k expecting a counteroffer.
The salesman did not counteroffer.
I then offered 44k which was not accepted and there was no counteroffer.
Two weeks later the salesman called me and I offered 44.5 (or it might have been 45k, I can't recall) if they fitted a V12 gearknob.
The salesman went away to think about it for a week. Then called me to express that he couldn't do the deal.
Another 4 or 5 weeks later the salesman called to say that a deal could be struck.
By that time I had lost interest.
Edited by sasser on Wednesday 7th December 08:35
I've been reading this forum for years and seen many similar stories. There was one poster which particularly sticks in my mind with someone who wanted to buy a car costing £160k and he asked if they could show some movement on price as he could demonstrate similar cars at slightly better prices, but they would have none of it.
He was told that they couldn't reduce the car by even £100 because it was so special, so he left it and bought one of the similar cars from a different dealer (with a bit of discount) and then he watched the car (keeping us updated on the forum) as it was reduced in price by thousands ( may have been more than 10K) as it aged. Edited by Quarterly on Wednesday 7th December 09:08
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.
When I bought my Vantage I implied that another one they had in stock suited me better and when I was haggling with them I switched to another car which I preferred anyway and ended up getting a much better deal on that car.
Saying that I put my cards on the table then played hard ball over about a fortnight, these cars are hardly flying off the forecourt.
I'm also well aware that I'll take a hit when it comes to moving it on , my thinking on that is tempered by not paying anywhere near list price for it.
When I bought my Vantage I implied that another one they had in stock suited me better and when I was haggling with them I switched to another car which I preferred anyway and ended up getting a much better deal on that car.
Saying that I put my cards on the table then played hard ball over about a fortnight, these cars are hardly flying off the forecourt.
I'm also well aware that I'll take a hit when it comes to moving it on , my thinking on that is tempered by not paying anywhere near list price for it.
We recently bought the wife another car (Fiat 595 Abarth). We went to the main dealer who we originally bought the current car from a year before and we were buying the replacement from the same dealer. They offered us a certain amount in P/X which was way too low (Even Fiat 500C don't depreciate that much in a year) and wouldn't budge, even in with the possibility of them losing a sale on the 595.
We walked away and they called a few hours later, not with a better price on the 500C or a reduction on the 595 but to ask if we had tried 'We buy any Car.com'. I tried them and they offered nearly £2000 more for the 500C than the main dealer could take in P/X.
OK... I appreciate it is a different make and dealership network but it does go to show how tight some of their margins are.
We walked away and they called a few hours later, not with a better price on the 500C or a reduction on the 595 but to ask if we had tried 'We buy any Car.com'. I tried them and they offered nearly £2000 more for the 500C than the main dealer could take in P/X.
OK... I appreciate it is a different make and dealership network but it does go to show how tight some of their margins are.
I am having the same issue with a negotiation on a Lotus Evora. Me and dealer are £1k apart on a £48k car, I have come up, they haven't budged.
I am wrestling with principle vs desire as the car is the right spec and I have been looking for a year..
Throwing in servicing is a good plan.
Op, good luck
I am wrestling with principle vs desire as the car is the right spec and I have been looking for a year..
Throwing in servicing is a good plan.
Op, good luck
blueg33 said:
I am having the same issue with a negotiation on a Lotus Evora. Me and dealer are £1k apart on a £48k car, I have come up, they haven't budged.
I am wrestling with principle vs desire as the car is the right spec and I have been looking for a year..
Throwing in servicing is a good plan.
Op, good luck
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 am wrestling with principle vs desire as the car is the right spec and I have been looking for a year..
Throwing in servicing is a good plan.
Op, good luck
Thanks for all the thoughts, advice and feedback so far, good to have it ratified that I'm not the only one experiencing this! Some good advice to go for the extras for added value.
ks), get a loan to cover the difference, or wait a bit longer and save a few more pennies. It's got to work financially for me and I'm in no rush at all, I want to buy outright so I don't have any monthlies associated with it. So ultimately I'm going to be patient and wait for the right deal to come along, and save a bit more in the meantime.
The best bit was then he tried to sell me a brand new car with an 'amazing finance deal'. Yeah I'm debating £44k so sell me a car for £90k instead. Had to laugh at that one for trying it on!
Big Ry said:
All depends, if it's silver or black then there'll no doubt be another one along, if it's somewhat rarer then you might be waiting a while, and who's to say the next "right" car won't also come up at the same dealer network so you'll be in the same position. All comes down to where the individual sees value really.
Exactly - at the end of the day I've got an amount in the bank that I want to spend and it's a couple of £k out. Its meteorite silver so not exactly unique, but it is a manual which is what I'm gunning for and they seem a bit rarer. So my options are to raid the emergency fund (wife would have my bks), get a loan to cover the difference, or wait a bit longer and save a few more pennies. It's got to work financially for me and I'm in no rush at all, I want to buy outright so I don't have any monthlies associated with it. So ultimately I'm going to be patient and wait for the right deal to come along, and save a bit more in the meantime. The best bit was then he tried to sell me a brand new car with an 'amazing finance deal'. Yeah I'm debating £44k so sell me a car for £90k instead. Had to laugh at that one for trying it on!
hyphen said:
Is this all by email/phone or in person?
Combination, been to see them regarding another car which subsequently sold. They then emailed me with this one which has been a mix of email followed by phone calls.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.
Actually I was deliberately vague about the spec, they mailed me due to having a previous conversation on another car, they weren't really aware of my ideal spec but it just so happened this one ticked the boxes 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'.You could negotiate other incentives....free service , mats , etc.....
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 wasn't 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.
Edited by Ian_UK1 on Wednesday 7th December 16:39
I ve bought both a V8VR & a DB9V from the "S" boys
In both cases they initially refused to negotiate on price
On the V8VR it was winter so I sat tight - it didn't sell & they dropped the price by £3k 2 weeks later -risked losing it but there s always another car
On the DB9 I found a comparable car at a cheaper price - they will match - and also checked retail prices on the V8VR to assess their part ex offer - net result was a £4.5k price to change reduction in 24 hrs
Do a bit of homework & hold your nerve & it might pay off !
Good luck
In both cases they initially refused to negotiate on price
On the V8VR it was winter so I sat tight - it didn't sell & they dropped the price by £3k 2 weeks later -risked losing it but there s always another car
On the DB9 I found a comparable car at a cheaper price - they will match - and also checked retail prices on the V8VR to assess their part ex offer - net result was a £4.5k price to change reduction in 24 hrs
Do a bit of homework & hold your nerve & it might pay off !
Good luck
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