Looking for my first brand new car...overwhelmed!

[bairn7]

Hi all

I am looking at buying my first brand new car. It is something that I've dreamed of doing for a long time as finances have previously limited me largely to 10 year old runarounds, although my last car was a 12 plate which I've now had for 3 years.

Anyway, I'm totally out of my depth when it comes to dealing with dealerships/negotiations and so far I have lots of questions which I know are probably silly (so I'm fully prepared for a roasting on here!) but would be grateful if anyone with more knowledge would be able to advise upon.

Firstly, the cars I'm looking at (first choice infiniti Q60, GT86 and MX-5) all have leather seats and, certainly for the Q60, fabric seats are not an option - I've checked with their customer services. I absolutley don't want leather seats so face writing off the Q60 completely at present or look to find somewhere that can provide fabric seats as infiniti won't do this. Does anyone know if this is even possible and if it would be a major added expense? I don't understand why non-leather seats would never be an option as surely there are many people who don't like them!

Secondly, I'd love to test drive all three to help decide upon which one I prefer from a driving perspective. I don't want to waste the salesperson's time as I absolutely will not be signing up on the day but would you say this up front and would they still be likely to give you a test drive?

Finally, when it comes to signing up is there anything I should be clarifying/asking for/negotiating? My OH got a new Yaris last year and was given a 'special' coupon for £500 off during signup without even asking for it. Asking for free stuff is quite awkward for me especially if it is something that is unrealistic. Any tips on this would be appreciated.

Again, sorry for the noob questions but I'm finding the whole thing a lot more overwhelming than I expected. The outlay is going to be just over half of the value of my flat so my first huge purchase!

TIA

[SystemParanoia]

No-matter how good a deal you get.. someone will claim to have had a better one and you will feel like you've been taken for a mug.

HTH

[swisstoni]

Take your time.
Franchised dealers are there to help sell cars for the manufacturer. That includes test drives. It should be a given that people will want to go off and think about things afterwards. If a dealer won't allow that, find another one that will or remove that brand from your shortlist.

[Greg_D]

it sounds like a big deal to you! Why is the newness in of itself important to you?

just get a secondhand but still pretty new one, the values are much more settled then and you will lose less that way.

it's certainly not worth getting stressed out about! do a like for like comparison on auto trader of the models/spec/mileage etc and look at the one that represents best value to you.

ring the dealer up in advance to discuss the specifics of the actual car, condition etc and discuss prices over the phone conditional on it being as described. that way you won't feel one to one pressure on the day. it's always worked well for me.

[bairn7]

Thanks for the replies so far.

I know I would get better value in getting, say, a one year old car, however as I say it has been a dream for as long as I have been able to drive to own my own car from new. Thankfully I'm now in a position to afford to do this however it is still, besides my flat, my single biggest purchase in life!

The good thing is that I'm not in a rush so if I don't feel that the car or the deal is quite right for me, I can hold off or think things through further. I just don't want the awkwardness that would ensue from me taking a test drive and then having to go through 'the discussion' afterwards.

The point about the seats is my main query as, so far, my heart is set on the Q60 however I know I wouldn't be happy with leather seats as I find them uncomfortable. As the dealer won't offer non-leather seats, is it even possible for me to take the car somewhere else to get this done?

[e21Mark]

If it's a dream of yours, then go for it.

We bought a new Audi a couple of years back. I wouldn't do it again.

[TheBALDpuma]

bairn7 said:

Thanks for the replies so far.

I know I would get better value in getting, say, a one year old car, however as I say it has been a dream for as long as I have been able to drive to own my own car from new. Thankfully I'm now in a position to afford to do this however it is still, besides my flat, my single biggest purchase in life!

The good thing is that I'm not in a rush so if I don't feel that the car or the deal is quite right for me, I can hold off or think things through further. I just don't want the awkwardness that would ensue from me taking a test drive and then having to go through 'the discussion' afterwards.

The point about the seats is my main query as, so far, my heart is set on the Q60 however I know I wouldn't be happy with leather seats as I find them uncomfortable. As the dealer won't offer non-leather seats, is it even possible for me to take the car somewhere else to get this done?

I get the wanting a new car thing. It doesn't make sense because of depreciation but I get the desire to buy one brand new, and I would do the same if I could afford one I wanted!

You will definitely be able to re-upholster the seats in fabric, or alcantara or whatever you like but I would imagine it would be fairly pricey. You may well have to do door cards etc to match too?

BTW, what's so bad about leather?

[TTwiggy]

The only car I've ever 'bought' new was a Lotus Elise back in 2007. Once it gets the first stone chip it isn't really 'new' anymore. If I did it again I'd be looking for a good lightly-used example and pocketing the difference.

I lease my daily drivers now and while they are technically 'new' I don't feel any attachment to them so I don't really value the newness. And it's only a 'new' plate for 6 months.

[superlightr]

love getting a brand new car - often very similar costs to a used 9 mths old car not a lot in it tbh.

We have used car wow to get a base price and ask our local dealer to match which they have. Saves the hassle of negotiating.

Unusual about your non leather fetish Do you find you slide more? I don't know how many cars you have had but it may be down to the seat not being supportive rather than the actual leather? I wouldn't choose anything but leather now.

[nikaiyo2]

bairn7 said:

Thanks for the replies so far.

I know I would get better value in getting, say, a one year old car, however as I say it has been a dream for as long as I have been able to drive to own my own car from new. Thankfully I'm now in a position to afford to do this however it is still, besides my flat, my single biggest purchase in life!

The good thing is that I'm not in a rush so if I don't feel that the car or the deal is quite right for me, I can hold off or think things through further. I just don't want the awkwardness that would ensue from me taking a test drive and then having to go through 'the discussion' afterwards.

The point about the seats is my main query as, so far, my heart is set on the Q60 however I know I wouldn't be happy with leather seats as I find them uncomfortable. As the dealer won't offer non-leather seats, is it even possible for me to take the car somewhere else to get this done?

I really like the Q60, never seen it before, nice car I would not count it out till you have driven it, some cars have crap seats, leather or not, they might be lovely

I would not worry about wasting time in a franchise dealer, they are there to represent the brand. If you want to just have a drive to see what you think, i would phone up and book an appointment on a weekday afternoon, when they are quite, not a Saturday lunch time.

When I was getting my Merc I did just that, but also told them I could not buy a car off them as it was a company purchase, but wanted to weight up their car against BMW etc etc. This was no problem, I got the impression they were used to it.

[akirk]

don't even raise the issue about buying - the salesman will be quick enough to raise it! just tell them you want a test drive as you are looking at buying it... when you have had your test drive you can then say, really enjoyed it thank you - let me come back to you...

ref. depreciation - recently went through an exercise looking at new cars - some were cheaper (if financed & then the finance paid off) than buying 1 - 2 years old...

[bairn7]

Thanks all

The leather thing - I find after a while that it gets uncomfortable (hot). In all fairness my only leather car seat experiences have been abroad in hot weather but I also get the same discomfort after a while on leather sofas.

I'll contact the dealer to say that I'd like a test drive but would like to weigh up my options before discussing a purchase. Hopefully they will appreciate the up front warning!

Cheers

[culpz]

bairn7 said:

Hi all

I am looking at buying my first brand new car. It is something that I've dreamed of doing for a long time as finances have previously limited me largely to 10 year old runarounds, although my last car was a 12 plate which I've now had for 3 years.

Anyway, I'm totally out of my depth when it comes to dealing with dealerships/negotiations and so far I have lots of questions which I know are probably silly (so I'm fully prepared for a roasting on here!) but would be grateful if anyone with more knowledge would be able to advise upon.

Firstly, the cars I'm looking at (first choice infiniti Q60, GT86 and MX-5) all have leather seats and, certainly for the Q60, fabric seats are not an option - I've checked with their customer services. I absolutley don't want leather seats so face writing off the Q60 completely at present or look to find somewhere that can provide fabric seats as infiniti won't do this. Does anyone know if this is even possible and if it would be a major added expense? I don't understand why non-leather seats would never be an option as surely there are many people who don't like them!

Secondly, I'd love to test drive all three to help decide upon which one I prefer from a driving perspective. I don't want to waste the salesperson's time as I absolutely will not be signing up on the day but would you say this up front and would they still be likely to give you a test drive?

Finally, when it comes to signing up is there anything I should be clarifying/asking for/negotiating? My OH got a new Yaris last year and was given a 'special' coupon for £500 off during signup without even asking for it. Asking for free stuff is quite awkward for me especially if it is something that is unrealistic. Any tips on this would be appreciated.

Again, sorry for the noob questions but I'm finding the whole thing a lot more overwhelming than I expected. The outlay is going to be just over half of the value of my flat so my first huge purchase!

TIA

Okay, first thing, how are you planning to by the car? Are we talking PCP/lease/alternative form of finance/outright in cash etc? I'm not going to go into the pro's and con's of each, as that bit is completely up to you, but we really need to know this to be able to work out whether the deal is good or not.

Secondly, what kind of car are you after? I know you have put that you are interested in the Infiniti Q60, Toyota GT86 and the Mazda MX-5. However, one is a big luxury coupe and the other two are small, light sports cars. It all depends what you want from a car but it's definitely something to think about before you go any further.

The next stage would be test drives. Now, i know many on here give a dim view on booking in if you're not 100% on the car. If you ask me, as long as it's something that you are really interested in, then i don't personally see the problem. If you have absolutely no intention of buying the car whatsoever, i agree that is silly and a complete waste of yours their time. Ultimately, it's the only real way of making sure that the car drives the way you want it to. Remember, no matter which way you're doing it, it is a big commitment.

In terms of going into dealerships and getting the best deal and haggling bits and bobs to seal it and make it look attractive, just remember, there are others ways to do it. I've never personally done this and i'm not massively confident on this kind of thing either, other than maybe finding another deal elsewhere and seeing if said dealership could match it or do it cheaper. I would recommend looking on somewhere like Drive The Deal, who can give huge discount on new cars with multiple ways of actually doing so aswell.

Good luck.

[Challo]

bairn7 said:

Hi all

I am looking at buying my first brand new car. It is something that I've dreamed of doing for a long time as finances have previously limited me largely to 10 year old runarounds, although my last car was a 12 plate which I've now had for 3 years.

Anyway, I'm totally out of my depth when it comes to dealing with dealerships/negotiations and so far I have lots of questions which I know are probably silly (so I'm fully prepared for a roasting on here!) but would be grateful if anyone with more knowledge would be able to advise upon.

Firstly, the cars I'm looking at (first choice infiniti Q60, GT86 and MX-5) all have leather seats and, certainly for the Q60, fabric seats are not an option - I've checked with their customer services. I absolutley don't want leather seats so face writing off the Q60 completely at present or look to find somewhere that can provide fabric seats as infiniti won't do this. Does anyone know if this is even possible and if it would be a major added expense? I don't understand why non-leather seats would never be an option as surely there are many people who don't like them!

Secondly, I'd love to test drive all three to help decide upon which one I prefer from a driving perspective. I don't want to waste the salesperson's time as I absolutely will not be signing up on the day but would you say this up front and would they still be likely to give you a test drive?

Finally, when it comes to signing up is there anything I should be clarifying/asking for/negotiating? My OH got a new Yaris last year and was given a 'special' coupon for £500 off during signup without even asking for it. Asking for free stuff is quite awkward for me especially if it is something that is unrealistic. Any tips on this would be appreciated.

Again, sorry for the noob questions but I'm finding the whole thing a lot more overwhelming than I expected. The outlay is going to be just over half of the value of my flat so my first huge purchase!

TIA

If you dont want leather and the Infiniti only comes with leather then just scrub it from your list. The cost to retrim in fabric would be expensive and pointless. Just choose a car that offers a fabric option.

Just a point but Q60 / GT86 / MX-5 does seem a strange mix of cars? Do you know what type of car you want?

[SkodaIan]

Don't feel guilty about wasting the dealer's time, they will work on the basis that more people won't buy eventually than will.
Before you start on negotiating a price, get a price from a broker (Car Wow, AutoEbid, DriveTheDeal etc) and add a few hundred pounds on which will give you an idea what price to aim at from the dealer.
I wouldn't get hung up over not having leather seats until you've tried the specific car. I too dislike leather seats on lower end cars as they tend to be hard and shiny. However, the premium brands use much nicer and softer leather than you'd get on a Vauxhall Astra for instance.

[berlintaxi]

bairn7 said:

The leather thing - I find after a while that it gets uncomfortable (hot). In all fairness my only leather car seat experiences have been abroad in hot weather but I also get the same discomfort after a while on leather sofas.

Spec the ventilated ones.;)

[raceboy]

Challo said:

Just a point but Q60 / GT86 / MX-5 does seem a strange mix of cars? Do you know what type of car you want?

Pretty much this.....
Quite different price points too.
If Leathers a 'no' then the Q60 is off, yes you can have it retrimmed in whatever you like, budget about £3k for it and expect to have a hard time ever selling it, and having your pants pulled down if you do, as everyone else buying one will expect leather.
So then its a choice between soft top of coupe, again you pretty much either want one or the other.
Go into the local Toyota and Mazda dealers tell them you are in the market for Car A or Car B and would like a test drive, they should be able to source a demo car within a week or so.

[Greg_D]

it sounds like a big deal to you! Why is the newness in of itself important to you?

just get a secondhand but still pretty new one, the values are much more settled then and you will lose less that way.

it's certainly not worth getting stressed out about! do a like for like comparison on auto trader of the models/spec/mileage etc and look at the one that represents best value to you.

ring the dealer up in advance to discuss the specifics of the actual car, condition etc and discuss prices over the phone conditional on it being as described. that way you won't feel one to one pressure on the day. it's always worked well for me.

[bairn7]

culpz said:

Okay, first thing, how are you planning to by the car? Are we talking PCP/lease/alternative form of finance/outright in cash etc? I'm not going to go into the pro's and con's of each, as that bit is completely up to you, but we really need to know this to be able to work out whether the deal is good or not.

Secondly, what kind of car are you after? I know you have put that you are interested in the Infiniti Q60, Toyota GT86 and the Mazda MX-5. However, one is a big luxury coupe and the other two are small, light sports cars. It all depends what you want from a car but it's definitely something to think about before you go any further.

The next stage would be test drives. Now, i know many on here give a dim view on booking in if you're not 100% on the car. If you ask me, as long as it's something that you are really interested in, then i don't personally see the problem. If you have absolutely no intention of buying the car whatsoever, i agree that is silly and a complete waste of yours their time. Ultimately, it's the only real way of making sure that the car drives the way you want it to. Remember, no matter which way you're doing it, it is a big commitment.

In terms of going into dealerships and getting the best deal and haggling bits and bobs to seal it and make it look attractive, just remember, there are others ways to do it. I've never personally done this and i'm not massively confident on this kind of thing either, other than maybe finding another deal elsewhere and seeing if said dealership could match it or do it cheaper. I would recommend looking on somewhere like Drive The Deal, who can give huge discount on new cars with multiple ways of actually doing so aswell.

Good luck.

This is really helpful, thank you.

Appreciate that the cars are rather diverse however, having looked through every single UK manufacturer website, these are the ones which piqued my interest from both a looks, price and spec perspective.

Q60 is my first choice as I think it would be best suited to my circumstances (daily 50 mile commute) however the GT86 and MX-5 both being significantly cheaper than the Q60 make them potential options if there is nothing much in it otherwise. Things like fuel efficiency etc are less of a concern. The main thing is it is a nice drive as I'll be using it pretty much every day.

The latter two will probably be completely impractical, but I can't help myself and want to at least give them a chance.

If the Q60 had fabric seats (I know, I know...I need to get over it) my mind would likely already be 99% made up.

[Al U]

bairn7 said:

Firstly, the cars I'm looking at (first choice infiniti Q60, GT86 and MX-5)

The outlay is going to be just over half of the value of my flat so my first huge purchase!

How much was your flat?