Cant buy a car - am I lowballing? whats happening
Discussion
Hi all
In the market for a new car, approx 8k - 11k depending on the car and condition. I have sold my car private and have no px
I thought the absence of a dodgie px for the dealers to have to deal with plus the fact I am obviously under pressure to buy a car quickly would be a sign to the dealers to get the sale
they just keep pushing me away and/or not even trying to win my business.
for example, a car priced at 8.9k which is 2005 and pushing 80k miles, which the dealer has had advertised for weeks, obviously my big concern is trade out value when that car is 10y/o with over 100k on the clock. dealers are offering a discount of 200/300 quid for a quick/guaranteed sale. One even asked whether I needed a warranty (3month nothing warrenty is what he was talking about) when I said not really if the deal is right he knocked off 200quick from the 9.9k asking price!
Am I really lowballing these guys? If the car is up for 8.9k and I feel over-valued, I offer a flat 8k thinking they will try to meet me in the middle, they tell me 8.6k is the best they can do, if I dont want one with "all the trimmings" I should go buy elsewhere
another has his r32 overpriced - average dealer price is 10/10.k, he has his at 11.5k and wouldnt come down anymore than 200/300quid
then you have the dealers who dont even want to let you have a test drive unless you buy it. And private sales arent much better, I had a guy with an 8k car which is only really worht 7k turn me away as someone who was guaranteed to buy it off him that day there and then, as I offered 7.5k cash and he wanted to hold out for the extra 500quid
is it me? I thought without the px the price could be haggled a little esp when its obviously marked up. with the px you would haggle on your px value anyway
Just keep low balling them.
I sold my Lexus recently and all the dealers low balled me for it. Eventually sold it for a reasonable price privately.
So when it came time for me to buy a GT86 without a p/x I just kept low balling them till one sold me a car. The rest of the dealers are now on the phone begging me to buy their cars. Too late !
I sold my Lexus recently and all the dealers low balled me for it. Eventually sold it for a reasonable price privately.
So when it came time for me to buy a GT86 without a p/x I just kept low balling them till one sold me a car. The rest of the dealers are now on the phone begging me to buy their cars. Too late !
menousername said:
is it me?
Yes. They think they can sell their cars to other people for more money. They're probably right. Sooner or later you'll bump into the guy who needs the cash quick. Then you'll get a car. This may take a while...
..or just put an extra £200 down and cut out all the faff.
SpeckledJim said:
menousername said:
is it me?
Yes. They think they can sell their cars to other people for more money. They're probably right. Sooner or later you'll bump into the guy who needs the cash quick. Then you'll get a car. This may take a while...
..or just put an extra £200 down and cut out all the faff.
More and more traders are having to price as tightly as possible to get the phone ringing, so theres little discount left.
Make your offers , leave you number and walk away. One will crack , its just a question if you can wait long enoughK-Cee said:
Maybe your dealer does,nt like Americans ?...Quote Am I really lowballing these guys?
Yup, another stupid Americanism that's infecting these shores. Lowballing = cheapskate.Things have definitely changed though. The last time I bought a s/hand car from a dealer was in 1995. An F plate 16V MK2 GTI with 60K on it. Was up for £4500 but needed a couple of tyres a little scratch attending to. He said I could take it for £4K as it was. I don't think that would happen these days.
Rolled into a tyre place, spend £100, bought a touch up pen and I felt like I'd got a bargain. I imagine buying a car these days is more of an unsatisfying chore, like buying a white good. Or so some of the stories in GG would have you believe!
If your not desperate then hold out.
Most cars only lose value so eventually your money will buy you a better condition car plus being without a car saves money which i usually use to add to my budget.
It's easy to get caught up on the purchase price but adding in tyres (approx £100 each), servicing (say £300-£500), minor marks (£150-£200 per panel), tax (upto £475), brakes and so forth sometimes it really is just better to buy on condition as cars that appear cheap are usually cheap for a reason. Even if someone is desperate to sell this will mean they won't have spent any recent money on the car as there is little point if they are changing cars.
As an example i was looking at buying a Z4M Roadster for around £12.5-£13k in July last year and purchase warranty from BMW at £900 or so per year with no excess. Every example i looked at needed tax (£470ish) and a minimum of two tyres (£300) plus various other bits and pieces meaning i would have needed to spend about £1500 on the car. By the time i factored in £1500 + £1800 for 2 years warranty very good condition examples at £15k seemed more appealing and had the added benefit of higher spec and lower miles which would mean i am likely to sell it easier and for more if/when i sell it.
Most cars only lose value so eventually your money will buy you a better condition car plus being without a car saves money which i usually use to add to my budget.
It's easy to get caught up on the purchase price but adding in tyres (approx £100 each), servicing (say £300-£500), minor marks (£150-£200 per panel), tax (upto £475), brakes and so forth sometimes it really is just better to buy on condition as cars that appear cheap are usually cheap for a reason. Even if someone is desperate to sell this will mean they won't have spent any recent money on the car as there is little point if they are changing cars.
As an example i was looking at buying a Z4M Roadster for around £12.5-£13k in July last year and purchase warranty from BMW at £900 or so per year with no excess. Every example i looked at needed tax (£470ish) and a minimum of two tyres (£300) plus various other bits and pieces meaning i would have needed to spend about £1500 on the car. By the time i factored in £1500 + £1800 for 2 years warranty very good condition examples at £15k seemed more appealing and had the added benefit of higher spec and lower miles which would mean i am likely to sell it easier and for more if/when i sell it.
0000 said:
So buy it from a dealer? Has to be less hassle anyway.
that is a dealer... in fact most are dealersunderstand what you are all saying, good points thanks, the models I am looking at I feel are marked up anyway based on what I have seen
someone mentioned them having discounted but I actually feel prices have gone up in the last 2 years. 2 years ago the prices were more reasonable.... defo some sort of inflation
the bargains seem to be a long way away which is a problem getting to. The local ones overpriced.
haggling isnt fun but a bit tired of losing so much on the trade in... a 10k car today, in a year, with hardly any miles on, what would a dealer bid me as a px, 5k? probably
Whenever I'm selling a good low miles car I end up getting very low offers.. I.e 4k for a 6k car.. and end up taking one of them eventually as i get impatient and everyone wants a steal. (concours winner for cat d price)
However when I buy a car, its always top price or minimal discount I.e couple of hundred quid at most.
Everytime I say I'm going to be 'that hard bargainer' next time and never do.
However when I buy a car, its always top price or minimal discount I.e couple of hundred quid at most.
Everytime I say I'm going to be 'that hard bargainer' next time and never do.
menousername said:
haggling isnt fun but a bit tired of losing so much on the trade in... a 10k car today, in a year, with hardly any miles on, what would a dealer bid me as a px, 5k? probably
As we're using unpleasant Americanisms - 'Don't hate the player, hate the game.'You're buying depreciating assets from professionals who take profit from every deal. That's the game, but you don't have to play.
If losing the money every time you change a newish car for another newish car is too unpleasant, drive something old and cool, or don't change cars as often, or buy and sell privately and with a bit more 'savvy' into what will hold its money.
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