Main dealer negotiation - 35k car

[Username888]

Volvo. Seen one that I quite fancy but gone well over my original budget. Do main/dealers pretty much price their cars to sell for asking these days? Or is there any wiggle room? What is reasonable negotiation at this price point? The car has just come in, however I have seen similar models available for weeks. The car is 2 hours away unfortunately I don't think I am going to have time to view it anytime soon. So far the dealer has been very good, sending me videos and comprehensively answering all queries.

[HTP99]

Yes generally cars are priced to sell, they have to be as it is competitive out there, how is it priced vs similar cars out there?

It is 2 hours away, so therefore the dealer will know you don't have a car local to you, that is more to their benefit than yours.

How long has it been advertised for, if a few days then likely no "wiggle room", if they have had it a few weeks then possibly?

So many variables that there is no definitive answer, however by and large there are no discounts on used cars, unless the car has been for sale for a while with no interest.

[speedking31]

Always room to negotiate.

Are you trading in? I was offered below WBAC price by the dealer. That's a fairly easy evidencable win.

Also ask for mats/petrol etc. as a sweetener, even if there's no more movement on the 'price'.

[raspy]

Last week of March would be the best time to negotiate, if they have targets to meet and bonuses to grab internally.

Some main dealers might refuse to give money off but if the tyres are at 3mm you could argue for a new set of tyres, a service pack, extending the used car warranty etc. and then just pay the asking price, so you are getting some extra value.

[Ussrcossack]

If as you say you are well over your budget then it's unlikely you will get a reduction you want.

Seems today it's a few hundred off, on a vehicle that being in stock, rather than thousands

You can only ask

[Username888]

It seems reasonably priced from what I can tell. Been advertised for about a week.

Good call about the trade in, - I need to get photos etc of my car over to them. Good call about tyres also.

I can put a refundable deposit on now for them to hold it.. but If I do... do I lose all room to negotiate? Probably makes me appear way to eager I guess.

[catso]

speedking31 said:

Always room to negotiate.

Don't ask, don't get - always worth trying, they can always say no.

When I bought my car, the dealer was adamant they couldn't discount the price of the car but, after a haggle they upped the trade-in offer on my old car and 'discounted' the 12 months VED figure.

[alscar]

Another in the “ costs nothing to ask “ camp.
You need to be realistic though.
If no direct money off ( and ignoring the price to change with any partex ) mats , tank of fuel , tyres ( or even contribution ) money off next service might all have some traction.

[gotoPzero]

I have found it virtually impossible to get cash discounts in the last few years. Much more likely to get a free service or two or possibly an extra year of warranty.

[Clad-Hach]

Haggle mate...people have lost the will and the abillity to haggle, its the best thing ever and tremendous fun, but do it in a light hearted way never nasty or arrogant.

And make sure you really want it, but don't what ever you do hammer out a deal and not buy it this will not go down well with your chances of going back if you change your mind.

Also haggling out a deal can take a good while...one car I bought took a whole afternoon with the sales manager, he had his price and I had mine, we had to find the common ground and when we were both happy I singed the paperwork.

A line I like to use to break the ice...ask the price, when they tell you look all astonished and say I can buy a good one for that.

Good luck and have fun..!!!

[119]

You’ll likely get further if you take out a finance package and then clear it if you buy it.

[Dapster]

1. Show the sales person evidence that you can get a better deal on another comparable car (age, spec, miles, dealer vs independent etc)
2. Set a max price above which you absolutely will not buy the car
3. Make an offer based on the information in 1. ("there is this one in Bristol for £1,500 less so what will you offer me to buy yours instead of me going to Bristol and to buy that one" for example)
4. Offer...counter offer...etc
5. If you can not get under 2. drive to Bristol
6. Otherwise shake hands and drive your new Volvo home


I had a bizarre experience selling my old Golf GTi on Autotrader back in the day - it was straight Monty Python "you've got to haggle". My car was cheap and perfect, so well priced. Guy made me an offer - I said why have you offered less than asking - it's already amazing value. "I know" he said "but you never buy a car at full asking". If I had priced it £500 higher and knocked off £500 he would have been happy.

[hyperblue]

Clad-Hach said:

A line I like to use to break the ice...ask the price, when they tell you look all astonished and say I can buy a good one for that.

Oh right. You should go buy that one instead then, sir!

[Username888]

Great advice and comments!

I will ask!

So no penalty for paying off the finance early? Sounds like a plan

[Jamescrs]

Good mate of mine works for VW in sales and we have chatted about this. His view is that if someone has travelled hours to see a car it’s because they can’t find the same locally so it’s either a specific spec or priced right or both but in any case there’s no reason to discount

[HTP99]

Jamescrs said:

Good mate of mine works for VW in sales and we have chatted about this. His view is that if someone has travelled hours to see a car it s because they can t find the same locally so it s either a specific spec or priced right or both but in any case there s no reason to discount

Very much this.

[TomTheTyke]

Also don’t be afraid to walk away if there are alternatives elsewhere. In your case I’m not sure there are..?

When I bought a Focus ST I test drove one in Donny, I was looking to trade in a Mini Cooper S.

I made an offer that I thought was reasonable, but that I’d come up from assuming he’d come down from his price as well. He was disparaging about my trade in car that was in great condition with FSH ‘oh it’s doom blue’ (whatever that is) and said I was looking at the wrong car if that was my price.

In the end I knew I liked the car so found another on Autotrader and negotiated a deal I was happy with over the phone, much more pleasant guy. Only catch was I had to drive from Yorkshire to Slough to pick it up, but that was actually quite fun to do.

[ollyh1988]

We got £1k off our Volvo from a main dealer. Most dealers said they constantly check pricing, so the advertised price is quite competitive and they don’t have much room to negotiate. As always, no idea how true that is, but the car did seem a decent price - it was just slightly more than we wanted to spend at the time, which is why we haggled.

[carinaman]

gotoPzero said:

I have found it virtually impossible to get cash discounts in the last few years. Much more likely to get a free service or two or possibly an extra year of warranty.

I did B2B sales in the last century. Easier to offer an extra than discount price.

[trashbat]

119 said:

You ll likely get further if you take out a finance package and then clear it if you buy it.

I expected to be able to leverage this, and then they told me that I'd have to hold the finance for a year before they got their commission, so that knocked that idea on the head. Of course that might not be true, but perhaps the various mis-selling scandals have changed the landscape.