Would offering £5k for a £6.5k car upset a dealer?

[TroubledSoul]

As title. I've seen a couple of E46 330D's I fancy but they're out of budget. I'd take a saloon if I must, but just wondered if the above was worth a shot?

Probably shouldn't worry about it, but don't particularly want to cause offence or waste a dealer's time.

Anyone had any luck with similar?

[hornetrider]

Very much doubt you'd achieve that level of discount. Your best bet is to make an appointment, view the car and strike the best deal you can.

[R8Steve]

I wouldn't imagine he would take offence, he'd have no problem offering 4k for it if you were trading it in to him

You can only ask but I doubt he would have that kind of profit margin to work with

[tim2100]

TroubledSoul said:

As title. I've seen a couple of E46 330D's I fancy but they're out of budget. I'd take a saloon if I must, but just wondered if the above was worth a shot?

Probably shouldn't worry about it, but don't particularly want to cause offence or waste a dealer's time.

Anyone had any luck with similar?

Every car/dealer would be different. Give them a call and ask if 5k will get the car. If they say no, you haven't Wasted more than two minutes of yours and the dealers time.

[Nigel Worc's]

tim2100 said:

Every car/dealer would be different. Give them a call and ask if 5k will get the car. If they say no, you haven't Wasted more than two minutes of yours and the dealers time.

As above, I shouldn't think they'll be offended for a moment.

I would guess they would rather you'd ask first, than go through all the hassle of dealing with you, only to be given an offer that they couldn't accept.

[Chrisw666]

Don't just call and ask them to reduce it, ask about the car, make it clear you're a serious buyer but be honest about your budget. They may be flexible or may offer a bigger discount. It depends on a range of factors, they may need to shift it, it may already have no profit in it, they might have it there with £2000 or more profit in it.

[Terminator X]

TroubledSoul said:

As title. I've seen a couple of E46 330D's I fancy but they're out of budget. I'd take a saloon if I must, but just wondered if the above was worth a shot?

Probably shouldn't worry about it, but don't particularly want to cause offence or waste a dealer's time.

Anyone had any luck with similar?

If I was said dealer I'd be tempted to take you outside and have you shot.

TX.

[tbc]

most dealers will work on anything from £1k up to 3k, maybe 5k if it's something special or well specced profit

doubtful a dealer would knock £1.5k off a car

unless it's a PX they want to shift on quickly due to high mileage or big bills anticipated

more likely to get that privately

[Bob_Defly]

TroubledSoul said:

don't particularly want to cause offence

Are you a small girl?

If not then MTFU and haggle like ten men!

[mnkiboy]

Chrisw666 said:

Don't just call and ask them to reduce it, ask about the car, make it clear you're a serious buyer but be honest about your budget. They may be flexible or may offer a bigger discount. It depends on a range of factors, they may need to shift it, it may already have no profit in it, they might have it there with £2000 or more profit in it.

This. They probably get plenty of chancers ringing up and asking for a few grand off. Ever tried to sell a car privately? This is what you get all day long.

Go down and see the car. Prove you're a serious buyer and they may be willing to discount.

[ModernAndy]

As somebody alluded to earlier, look at cars for sale privately if you can't find a car in budget at a dealer. Best of luck hammering £1,500 off something they shouldn't have too much difficulty selling though. Also, just ask, they might say yes. What's the point in being afraid to ask a question?

[chr15b]

Terminator X said:

If I was said dealer I'd be tempted to take you outside and have you shot.

TX.

Yeah but you'd have to move the car from where you'd illegally parked it first

[TroubledSoul]

ModernAndy said:

As somebody alluded to earlier, look at cars for sale privately if you can't find a car in budget at a dealer. Best of luck hammering £1,500 off something they shouldn't have too much difficulty selling though. Also, just ask, they might say yes. What's the point in being afraid to ask a question?

Oh I will be asking and I'm certainly not worried, and I just wanted to get a handle on their likely reaction and to see whether I'd be likely to waste my/their time.

[POORCARDEALER]

I would say yes it's very unlikely. They probably haven't got that across it.

Quick phone call, tell them that all you have got will be a simple no , thanks for ringing.

Can you not find something older and within budget?

[Snowboy]

If it was me.....
If it's a distant dealer just call and ask.
'Hi, I'm after a bmw you have one in stock, but it's a bit out of my budget, I thought I'd call and ask before wasting you time, it's up for 6.5k, I have 5k.'

If it's a local dealer go and have a look at the car. Then make the same offer.

You don't need to be scared. But you can still be polite.

[thismonkeyhere]

Surely it depends on the dealer. Some are aholes, others are not.

Admittedly I've not met any that aren't, but I've been told they exist.

[Bill]

If it's in an odd colour or spec you stand a chance, but a decent diesel one I'd suggest not.

I did once walk into a dealer's with £3k in cash and offer £2.5k on something he had up for £3.7k. He eventually let it go for £2.7k but it was an obscure Jap coupe (Nissan Sunny ZX) and I don't think it had moved for 6 weeks.

ETA he was mildly upset when I pulled a wad of fifties out of my pocket, peeled off six and handed him the rest

[anonymous-user]

Considering they'd probably offer you 3k for a 6.5k car then no, probably not.

[Devil2575]

Would I ring in advance to ask a dealer if he'd take 1.5k less than the asking price? No

I would not expect to haggle over the phone with a buyer before they'd even viewed the car if i was selling privately. I wouldn't expect a dealer too either.

Would I go to view a car up for 6.5k if the maximum I could afford to spend was 5k? No

20+% discount is more than i'd expect unless the car had been sitting there for months.

Would it upset a dealer? No. They may claim to be offended but that's just silly.

[Truckosaurus]

I once offered £5k as an opening bid on a £6995 windscreen price at a dealer, expecting to end up at £6k, the dealer accepted with such great enthusiasm it made me wish I'd offered £4k.