Used Mondeo - negotiating price

[RB5]

Hi,

I'll be viewing a used Mk4 Mondeo (57 plate) either tomorrow or Wednesday. It's for sale at an independent dealer. I've never bought from a dealer before, so I'm not sure where to start when negotiating the price. The car itself looks to be in very good condition, and will obviously take a test-drive before discussing price. It's a high spec (Titanium X) with a few extra options, and has the rare 2.5T engine. Average miles for the age - about 30k.

Here are the figures according to Parkers:

Franchised Dealer £10,840
Independent Dealer £10,430
Private Good £9,610
Private Poor £7,870
Part Exchange £8,590

However, a guy on another forum said he was only offered £11k for his car of the same spec at 6 months old! The 2.5T engine is rare due to relatively poor fuel economy and high tax, so they don't sell anywhere near as well as the diesels. Maybe this could be an advantage?

The car is advertised at about £10,500. I have seen others advertised between £9,000 and £9,500, albeit with a few less options. From the figures above, what do you think would be a good number to start negotiating at?

[RB5]

Forgot to mention, no finance or PX.

[kmc1]

if it's a straight cash deal then i would start at £9k and move from there.

obviously any part-ex or finance will influence this as well

[kentmotorcompany]

Forget what Parkers say, they wont actually sell you a car for that price. The true price is the market, the market is based on supply, demand, and what people are prepared to pay.

You mention that this car didn't sell well, and it might be an advantage. It might also mean that they are hard to find, and you cant afford to be too hard on the price.
It probably means there are very few car, equally there are proportionally few buyers, and the market has already found its true price.


Any negotiation is always about who has the most alternatives.

What alternative cars (that the buyer actually wants to buy) are available to the buyer for similar money?

How many, or how long will the seller have to wait for an alternative customer? The seller will have a fair idea based on the amount of enquiries he has on the car, how long he has had it for sale etc etc.

Sometimes the car might be very desirable, and well priced already, then you might have to pay the asking. Other times it might be a car that is easy to find, and the buyer can keep looking until he gets the deal he wants, or the seller realises there are a lot of similar cars for sale, and makes his the most tempting. Most scenarios are somewhere in the middle, and its up to the buyer and seller to assess the situation correctly and reach an agreement.

[RB5]

It's been for sale for around 3 weeks. There's not many around - about 15 of this model currently for sale in the country on Autotrader. I've been checking the list of adverts every day, and they do seem to take a few weeks to sell.

I've also seen a couple that were priced a fair bit lower than the rest over the last few weeks, at about £8,500. However, these could obviously be in poor condition. They do sell a lot faster though...

[bigdods]

Listen to everything the salesman says. When I bought my Golf V5 years ago the very keen VW salesman was telling me how desirable and rare it was , how lucky I was to find one in this condition with low Mileage. And I would need to move quickly as he'd already sold it 3 times in the last 3 months. Each time the buyer had pulled out as they couldnt get insurance or finance. .

So basically he's had this car at least 3 months and hasnt managed to shift it. Got £1k off the sticker price, a years road tax, new MOT , full service and a tank full of fuel.

[volvoforlife]

If he knows his car is rare then he won't budge far. I've seen some dealers keep a car for over a year on sale because they think its worth the asking price. Strange but true.

[BeeRoad]

The 2.5T is 'rare' because nobody wants them. Beat him down, he'll be happy to shift it and replace with an easy-to-sell diesel.

[mrmr96]

RB5 said:

It's for sale at an independent dealer.
...
Independent Dealer £10,430
...
The car is advertised at about £10,500.

[RB5]

The guy said it's had "lots of interest", but I'm sure all dealers say that about any car!

BeeRoad said:

The 2.5T is 'rare' because nobody wants them. Beat him down, he'll be happy to shift it and replace with an easy-to-sell diesel.

This is what I was thinking - most Mondeo buyers won't be looking for an engine like this. If you have any experience with these, what sort of price do you think I should be aiming for? I don't want to pay too much, but I also don't want to start with an overly low offer!

[RB5]

mrmr96 said:

RB5 said:

It's for sale at an independent dealer.
...
Independent Dealer £10,430
...
The car is advertised at about £10,500.

I see your point, but I assumed Parkers shows the average list price at independent dealers rather than what people actually pay for them. I've seen similar cars advertised at +/- £2,000 or more.

[BeeRoad]

RB5 said:

The guy said it's had "lots of interest", but I'm sure all dealers say that about any car!

BeeRoad said:

The 2.5T is 'rare' because nobody wants them. Beat him down, he'll be happy to shift it and replace with an easy-to-sell diesel.

This is what I was thinking - most Mondeo buyers won't be looking for an engine like this. If you have any experience with these, what sort of price do you think I should be aiming for? I don't want to pay too much, but I also don't want to start with an overly low offer!

I drove one when I bought my Mazda 6 MPS (you could get a lovely 6 MPS for your budget! ) and they drive OK but are even thirstier than a Focus ST.

Judging by these ones AT:

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2010...

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2011...

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2010...

I'd be unwilling to pay more than £8500.

[mrmr96]

RB5 said:

mrmr96 said:

RB5 said:

It's for sale at an independent dealer.
...
Independent Dealer £10,430
...
The car is advertised at about £10,500.

I see your point, but I assumed Parkers shows the average list price at independent dealers rather than what people actually pay for them. I've seen similar cars advertised at +/- £2,000 or more.

That's not been my experience actually, generally speaking cars will be advertised above the Parkers price and then the buyer attempts to negotiate down to somewhere nearer the Parkers price (adjusted for mileage).

You'll find it's a common comment from dealers when confronted with a buyer, mag in hand, saying "Parkers values the car at £x" and the dealer to reply "Well buy it from Parkers then" or similar comment.

Basically, I think the parkers prices are on the low side of the asking price generally. However you're still right to come and get tips on negotiating the price down, as it's entirely possible to pay below the parkers guide price.

[Deerfoot]

mrmr96 said:

You'll find it's a common comment from dealers when confronted with a buyer, mag in hand, saying "Parkers values the car at £x" and the dealer to reply "Well buy it from Parkers then" or similar comment.

The dealers are spot on though. Parkers don`t actually buy or sell cars as far as I`m aware so their guides are just that, guides.

[RB5]

I'd be happy to pay £9k, but I can't see a dealer going that low as it's about £1,700 less than list price! I guess my first offer would also need to be about £8k if I wanted any chance of securing a deal for £9k. Do dealers really mark their prices up that much, or would I have no chance?

BeeRoad said:

RB5 said:

The guy said it's had "lots of interest", but I'm sure all dealers say that about any car!

BeeRoad said:

The 2.5T is 'rare' because nobody wants them. Beat him down, he'll be happy to shift it and replace with an easy-to-sell diesel.

This is what I was thinking - most Mondeo buyers won't be looking for an engine like this. If you have any experience with these, what sort of price do you think I should be aiming for? I don't want to pay too much, but I also don't want to start with an overly low offer!

I drove one when I bought my Mazda 6 MPS (you could get a lovely 6 MPS for your budget! ) and they drive OK but are even thirstier than a Focus ST.

Judging by these ones AT:

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2010...

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2011...

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2010...

I'd be unwilling to pay more than £8500.

I've seen those ads, the miles are a bit high though. The last one is similar to the one I'm looking at, but it's a private sale so I assume that's the main cause of the price difference.

I did view a few Mazda 6 MPS, but my insurance company wanted a stupid amount! Same with the ST220s I was previously looking at. This is what led me to the Mk4 2.5T - it's relatively cheap to insure.

[uncinquesei]

Glasses guide (not parkers ) assuming it's a hatch (not clear from OP) Trade (av miles 39k) £9100
Retail £10900.
But, as is obvious, that is not a book car. There is almost no market for thirsty petrol engines like that. He would be keen to get out of it and would more than likely have bought it because it was cheap in the first place...

[uncinquesei]

volvoforlife said:

If he knows his car is rare then he won't budge far. I've seen some dealers keep a car for over a year on sale because they think its worth the asking price. Strange but true.

i think you may have seen some dealers stuck with a car that owes them too much and no one wants.... not quite the same thing.

[RB5]

Thanks, it's an estate, came in as a part-ex apparently.

[uncinquesei]

[RB5]

Thanks, looks like £9,000 might be a bit optimistic then! Although I suppose the guide might not apply so much on the less mainstream models like this. I'll be travelling down in the morning so we'll see how it goes.