Do dealers prefer a trade in or a cash sale?
Discussion
I have agreed to buy a car from a dealer. It is not an expensive car, only £5k and agreed to trade in my existing car for £4k. I have paid a small deposit to secure the car. By the way this has all been done over email and phone as we are 200 miles apart.
Anyway since agreeing this I have been offered £4.5k to sell my car privately. This is obviously better for me as I gain £500 but will the dealer be annoyed if I turn up with cash rather than my car as a trade in? The guy isn't coming to buy my car till the day I travel to pick up the new car so I don't even have time to give the dealer a heads up. If this all goes to plan I won't be haggling on the price of the new car, I will happily pay the sticker price as it seems fair to me.
For some reason I don't feel good about all this but I don't really know why.
Anyway since agreeing this I have been offered £4.5k to sell my car privately. This is obviously better for me as I gain £500 but will the dealer be annoyed if I turn up with cash rather than my car as a trade in? The guy isn't coming to buy my car till the day I travel to pick up the new car so I don't even have time to give the dealer a heads up. If this all goes to plan I won't be haggling on the price of the new car, I will happily pay the sticker price as it seems fair to me.
For some reason I don't feel good about all this but I don't really know why.
I guess I am feeling a bit guilty that he will be expecting to make some cash on my trade in which he will now no longer get. Sounds stupid eh? I'm possibly thinking too much about this.
The dealer gets a cash sale from a guy that lives 200 miles away, private buyers gets a car for £1000 less than a dealer would charge and I get £500 in my pocket. Everyone's happy. Right?
The dealer gets a cash sale from a guy that lives 200 miles away, private buyers gets a car for £1000 less than a dealer would charge and I get £500 in my pocket. Everyone's happy. Right?
sandman77 said:
I have agreed to buy a car from a dealer. It is not an expensive car, only £5k and agreed to trade in my existing car for £4k. I have paid a small deposit to secure the car. I won't be haggling on the price of the new car, I will happily pay the sticker price as it seems fair to me.
What room for haggling do you think there is? You have agreed a deal and paid a deposit. The only wriggle room is if the car is not as described. You will certainly piss the dealer off if you turn up and try to haggle on the agreed price.Anyway to your original question, depends what your car is really worth. If the dealer has over allowed on your PX, ie it trades at £3.5k but to deal you he's used some of his profit to make you feel good and buy, he will be delighted with just cash.
On the other hand if your's trades at £4.5k and he's offered £4k hoping to have a quick trade sale on your PX he probably wont be pleased.
Just ring the dealer and tell him you may have sold your's is he bothered?
Edited by oldnbold on Tuesday 22 January 20:16
ring and ask sounds like a good plan
from the dealers point of view there's 3 answers possibly a fourth
1.(thought bubble ) thank f*** (/thought bubble) yeah sell your car privately i'll take the cash
2. (thought bubble ) bugger (/thought bubble)yeah sell your car privately i'll take the cash * reaches for auction listing to find another car for the lot*
3.(thought bubble ) bugger I thought I could make something on that (/thought bubble) what's the other buyer offered you ?
4. (thought bubble ) bugger, I thought that would a nice runaround for the missues / my mum etc ... (/thought bubble)
from the dealers point of view there's 3 answers possibly a fourth
1.(thought bubble ) thank f*** (/thought bubble) yeah sell your car privately i'll take the cash
2. (thought bubble ) bugger (/thought bubble)yeah sell your car privately i'll take the cash * reaches for auction listing to find another car for the lot*
3.(thought bubble ) bugger I thought I could make something on that (/thought bubble) what's the other buyer offered you ?
4. (thought bubble ) bugger, I thought that would a nice runaround for the missues / my mum etc ... (/thought bubble)
oldnbold said:
What room for haggling do you think there is? You have agreed a deal and paid a deposit. The only wriggle room is if the car is not as described. You will certainly piss the dealer off if you turn up and try to haggle on the agreed price.
Anyway to your original question, depends what your car is really worth. If the dealer has over allowed on your PX, ie it trades at £3.5k but to deal you he's used some of his profit to make you feel good and buy, he will be delighted with just cash.
On the other hand if your's trades at £4.5k and he's offered £4k hoping to have a quick trade sale on your PX he probably wont be pleased.
Just ring the dealer and tell him you may have sold your's is he bothered?
You seem to have mis-quoted me. I didn't say I was going to haggle on the price. In fact I specifically said I wasn't going to. Anyway to your original question, depends what your car is really worth. If the dealer has over allowed on your PX, ie it trades at £3.5k but to deal you he's used some of his profit to make you feel good and buy, he will be delighted with just cash.
On the other hand if your's trades at £4.5k and he's offered £4k hoping to have a quick trade sale on your PX he probably wont be pleased.
Just ring the dealer and tell him you may have sold your's is he bothered?
Edited by oldnbold on Tuesday 22 January 20:16
Just ring and ask, as mentioned. Don't assume the dealer will be happy if you just turn up with cash instead of a p/x. Realistically, the deal is in principle agreed both for you and the dealer. Not only are you buying a car from him but he has also agreed to buy a car from you.
You sound decent enough and the dealer would appreciate a call and a discussion. He may not be bothered that you're selling it privately but he deserves to be informed at least. As a dealer myself, I would appreciate the call, especially if he has pencilled it in as good stock.
Ultimately, you'll probably find that he'd still be glad of the deal without the trade in anyway. He may be disgruntled at worst but he'll get over it.
It's easier to speak to somebody man to man than it is to worry about something that doesn't warrant too much thought!
ETA - just read your post above! Good move. Keep us posted.
You sound decent enough and the dealer would appreciate a call and a discussion. He may not be bothered that you're selling it privately but he deserves to be informed at least. As a dealer myself, I would appreciate the call, especially if he has pencilled it in as good stock.
Ultimately, you'll probably find that he'd still be glad of the deal without the trade in anyway. He may be disgruntled at worst but he'll get over it.
It's easier to speak to somebody man to man than it is to worry about something that doesn't warrant too much thought!
ETA - just read your post above! Good move. Keep us posted.
Not sure thats right. The dealer has not agreed to buy a car from the OP. He has agreed to give credit against the cost of the new car by way of a trade in, being a car that the dealer does not seem to have inspected for condition. To suggest that the dealer has bought the OP's car in an independent transaction is simply wrong.
I don't see any reason at all why the dealer would have a leg to stand on to complain about a cash sale. Indeed, a proper cash sale rather than paying the balance on credit card may do the dealer a favour.
Don't feel guilty in the slightest. Its well known that a p/x valuation is going to be less than a private sale.
I don't see any reason at all why the dealer would have a leg to stand on to complain about a cash sale. Indeed, a proper cash sale rather than paying the balance on credit card may do the dealer a favour.
Don't feel guilty in the slightest. Its well known that a p/x valuation is going to be less than a private sale.
Neither party has seen the other car.
If you don't think a P/X is a sale, fair enough. But I can assure you that it's accounted for as a purchase by the dealer, therefore making it a sale from the person it's being purchased from.
However, up to now it's a distance sale anyway therefore both parties have similar rights so far with regards to seeing the deal through to completion.
If you don't think a P/X is a sale, fair enough. But I can assure you that it's accounted for as a purchase by the dealer, therefore making it a sale from the person it's being purchased from.
However, up to now it's a distance sale anyway therefore both parties have similar rights so far with regards to seeing the deal through to completion.
Sure, but the way the dealer accounts for the p/x as a separate sale has more to do with good business practice than anything else. Once the sale with the OP has completed then the dealer has a fresh sale to make on the p/x vehicle. That is your separate transaction.
That said, I don't disagree that its good manners to check that the dealer is happy with a cash deal rather than a p/x. The last car I bought I had this exact conversation with the dealer and having given me a fair p/x valuation, he said he did not mind how I actually paid in the end. It was up to me to use the p/x offer or not (i didn't but should have).
Of course, I was trying to see whether the dealer was willing to haggle on the headline price if it was a cash or p/x deal. Any dealer will be alive to that and having advertised a sticker price, a dealer really cannot complain if the OP turns up with that amount of cash in his pocket.
That said, I don't disagree that its good manners to check that the dealer is happy with a cash deal rather than a p/x. The last car I bought I had this exact conversation with the dealer and having given me a fair p/x valuation, he said he did not mind how I actually paid in the end. It was up to me to use the p/x offer or not (i didn't but should have).
Of course, I was trying to see whether the dealer was willing to haggle on the headline price if it was a cash or p/x deal. Any dealer will be alive to that and having advertised a sticker price, a dealer really cannot complain if the OP turns up with that amount of cash in his pocket.
Offspeccer said:
Sure, but the way the dealer accounts for the p/x as a separate sale has more to do with good business practice than anything else. Once the sale with the OP has completed then the dealer has a fresh sale to make on the p/x vehicle. That is your separate transaction.
That said, I don't disagree that its good manners to check that the dealer is happy with a cash deal rather than a p/x. The last car I bought I had this exact conversation with the dealer and having given me a fair p/x valuation, he said he did not mind how I actually paid in the end. It was up to me to use the p/x offer or not (i didn't but should have).
Of course, I was trying to see whether the dealer was willing to haggle on the headline price if it was a cash or p/x deal. Any dealer will be alive to that and having advertised a sticker price, a dealer really cannot complain if the OP turns up with that amount of cash in his pocket.
That said, I don't disagree that its good manners to check that the dealer is happy with a cash deal rather than a p/x. The last car I bought I had this exact conversation with the dealer and having given me a fair p/x valuation, he said he did not mind how I actually paid in the end. It was up to me to use the p/x offer or not (i didn't but should have).
Of course, I was trying to see whether the dealer was willing to haggle on the headline price if it was a cash or p/x deal. Any dealer will be alive to that and having advertised a sticker price, a dealer really cannot complain if the OP turns up with that amount of cash in his pocket.
Well, we're splitting hairs about the p/x being a sale or not. My opinion is that it is, even if it is accounted for in a slightly different manner. It's still a sale, it's just dressed up under the guise and name of a 'px'. But that's down to an individuals own interpretation, I suppose.
However, a dealer can complain if an individual turns up with cash instead of a p/x as the original agreed deal is not the same anymore. Just as it wouldn't be the same if the individual turned up with a totally different car than the one he originally got a trade in price for. The deal would have become totally different to the originally agreed deal. So the dealer is under absolutely no obligation to sell the car to the customer. Having said that and in line with this thread, it may not actually be a problem to the dealer anyway and I think the best advice on this thread is simply to ask the dealer. But to suggest the dealer doesn't have a leg to stand on if the customer has altered the deal format in any way, shape or form is bad advice.
If you'd haggled down the price on the new car with the promise of a trade-in that the dealer thinks can recoup some of that culled profit margin then i can understand them being a little narked at you then offering cash only. It seems in this case though you're paying full sticker price for the car so where's the problem, he priced the car to make him a profit at the £5k sticker price, and you're paying that price giving him the profit he wanted. You're not in it to do him a favour by giving him a means to earn even more with the trade-in.
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