Negotiation on used cars - is it little or nothing now?
Discussion
Not bought a car for ages but currently looking for a 3 year old circa £25K car. The message I'm getting from dealers is that there is basically virtually no negotiation on used cars anymore as the Internet has levelled the playing field (ie if they don't advertise the car for what is already their bottom line no one is interested as the asking price will be uncompetitive). I realise of course that this is something of an opening gambit to set expectations, but a couple of cars I've tried to buy they really haven't been budging.
The most recent was a 3 year old car with 26,000 miles on it for £27K (which the dealer has had for sale for at least 2 months). I was told absolutely no room for negotiation. Then when I pointed out that there was an almost identical car for sale for £200 less than theirs with only 7,000 miles (also at a main dealer) they came down £400 to £200 less than the other car.
For the sake of £200 I'd sooner buy a 7,000 mile car than a 26,000 mile car (the reason for looking at the higher mileage car was simply that it's closer. If I could have negotiated a price that reflected the mileage difference I'd have bought it, as it is I'll go look at the other one when I get the chance).
In the past getting maybe 4-5% off a used car was not unusual, are those days gone and do I need to reset my expectations and pay the asking price or very close to, or are there still deals to be had?
The most recent was a 3 year old car with 26,000 miles on it for £27K (which the dealer has had for sale for at least 2 months). I was told absolutely no room for negotiation. Then when I pointed out that there was an almost identical car for sale for £200 less than theirs with only 7,000 miles (also at a main dealer) they came down £400 to £200 less than the other car.
For the sake of £200 I'd sooner buy a 7,000 mile car than a 26,000 mile car (the reason for looking at the higher mileage car was simply that it's closer. If I could have negotiated a price that reflected the mileage difference I'd have bought it, as it is I'll go look at the other one when I get the chance).
In the past getting maybe 4-5% off a used car was not unusual, are those days gone and do I need to reset my expectations and pay the asking price or very close to, or are there still deals to be had?
Having bought a car last week and visiting several dealerships I can confirm that all of them said the same thing, they basically have a guy who's job is to sit at a computer all day and make sure their cars appear on the first page of autotrader results, pricing is so transparent now and easily accessible there is no negotiation, they only things that might be variables are finance and any optional extras. I got the old 'Gardx Paint Protection' thrown in for paying the full balance before year end but that was as much as they were willing to do.
I managed £140 off a £27k car this year, and it took me 48 hours of email and phone back and forth to get that, and they dropped from a full tank to half a tank of fuel included as well!
I was buying from a dealer 250 miles from home, and that probably weakens your position vs. a customer sat in front of them. It was a particularly high spec example and the dealer knew they'd have no trouble selling it - as did I having narrowly missed out on 2 similar spec cars at other dealers whilst looking.
When I said I wanted to pay cash and didn't want any of their add on's I got the impression they were really not particularly bothered about selling it to me at all. They were pleasant enough, but basically they said take it or leave it.
It makes sense really when the dealers are now competing with these massive car supermarkets that are chock full of the same cars but don't negotiate on price.
I was buying from a dealer 250 miles from home, and that probably weakens your position vs. a customer sat in front of them. It was a particularly high spec example and the dealer knew they'd have no trouble selling it - as did I having narrowly missed out on 2 similar spec cars at other dealers whilst looking.
When I said I wanted to pay cash and didn't want any of their add on's I got the impression they were really not particularly bothered about selling it to me at all. They were pleasant enough, but basically they said take it or leave it.
It makes sense really when the dealers are now competing with these massive car supermarkets that are chock full of the same cars but don't negotiate on price.
quinny100 said:
I managed £140 off a £27k car this year, and it took me 48 hours of email and phone back and forth to get that, and they dropped from a full tank to half a tank of fuel included as well!
I was buying from a dealer 250 miles from home, and that probably weakens your position vs. a customer sat in front of them. It was a particularly high spec example and the dealer knew they'd have no trouble selling it - as did I having narrowly missed out on 2 similar spec cars at other dealers whilst looking.
When I said I wanted to pay cash and didn't want any of their add on's I got the impression they were really not particularly bothered about selling it to me at all. They were pleasant enough, but basically they said take it or leave it.
It makes sense really when the dealers are now competing with these massive car supermarkets that are chock full of the same cars but don't negotiate on price.
Yup they'd rather hold on and sell the same car at the same price whos going to take finance (and thus the dealer gets a kickback) and also a kickback from any other "insurance" they can sell.I was buying from a dealer 250 miles from home, and that probably weakens your position vs. a customer sat in front of them. It was a particularly high spec example and the dealer knew they'd have no trouble selling it - as did I having narrowly missed out on 2 similar spec cars at other dealers whilst looking.
When I said I wanted to pay cash and didn't want any of their add on's I got the impression they were really not particularly bothered about selling it to me at all. They were pleasant enough, but basically they said take it or leave it.
It makes sense really when the dealers are now competing with these massive car supermarkets that are chock full of the same cars but don't negotiate on price.
seems to be the case TBH - I've bought what seems to be the worlds most expensive 2007 Cooper S and struggled to get much off even then. Their argument was "it's got (virtually) every extra possible, FSH low miles and 1 owner, if you don't take it it'll sell to someone else" (having seen a couple of not overly nice ones, at admittedly substantially less, I could believe it) 
Grunt Futtock said:
..they basically have a guy who's job is to sit at a computer all day and make sure their cars appear on the first page of autotrader results, pricing is so transparent now...
Unless they have an admin fee, then the prices advertised on the first page of an AutoTrader search are anything but transparent..Deerfoot said:
Grunt Futtock said:
..they basically have a guy who's job is to sit at a computer all day and make sure their cars appear on the first page of autotrader results, pricing is so transparent now...
Unless they have an admin fee, then the prices advertised on the first page of an AutoTrader search are anything but transparent..Saw a £179 one this week.
Yes, the internet has done a bit of the negotiation for you. The price visibility you have as a buyer these days is way beyond anything you had historically.
More than that, stock availability too - you can more easily tell if the car / spec you want to buy is common and readily available or not.
Information about how long a car has been in stock too
You can think about your approach from a much better position now than you could back in the day.
autotrader and similar primarily on used
carwow and similar primarily on new
Use that pricing visibility to show a seller that there deal isn't a good one if it isn't
The one thing you have left to trade for a sweetened deal is time. You will sign today if..... is always worth a try.
More than that, stock availability too - you can more easily tell if the car / spec you want to buy is common and readily available or not.
Information about how long a car has been in stock too
You can think about your approach from a much better position now than you could back in the day.
autotrader and similar primarily on used
carwow and similar primarily on new
Use that pricing visibility to show a seller that there deal isn't a good one if it isn't
The one thing you have left to trade for a sweetened deal is time. You will sign today if..... is always worth a try.
Trevor555 said:
And those admin fees are creeping up.
Saw a £179 one this week.
I came across this the other day while browsing AutoTrader, a sliding scale of admin fees that differ depending on the circumstances of the buyer..Saw a £179 one this week.
Advert on AutoTrader states said:
A compulsory variable administration fee is charged depending on your circumstances. Repeat retail customers purchasing within 24 months admin fee £Nil* Retail Customer £120. Retail Customer using a finance broker outside our official panel of lenders paying funds direct to The Family Car Centre £395. Trade Sale to the motoring trade the Fee is £550. Customer exporting a car the fee is £495. *Excludes customers exporting or using a finance broker.
Bizarre.Edited by Deerfoot on Tuesday 7th January 11:41
I was buying an A6, had a Z4 and a leggy A6 in the deal as trade ins to a main dealer.
I managed to get someone to buy my Z for a lot more than what they had offered as a trade. went into do the purchase and brought it up that the Z was no longer being traded in and I would provide the cash aswell as the leggy A6.... they were a bit off to say the least but they still went through with the deal.
Not a lot of money in second hand cars
I managed to get someone to buy my Z for a lot more than what they had offered as a trade. went into do the purchase and brought it up that the Z was no longer being traded in and I would provide the cash aswell as the leggy A6.... they were a bit off to say the least but they still went through with the deal.
Not a lot of money in second hand cars
Never mind money off, most of the ads I am seeing these days are advising they will add an ‘admin’ charge to the price!!!!!!
Queried this with a dealer only yesterday to be told it’s for ‘HPi checks, paperwork, prep etc’ so I questioned why not advertise the car for £12,195.00 rather than £12,000 + £195 admin fee? He said they like to be up front with customers and show what they are paying - absolute pish!
As for negotiating, you can sometimes choose your cars carefully and negotiate accordingly - AT for example within the HTML address for the page, includes the date which that vehicle was listed. If you look for cars which have been in stock for sometime then you are more likely to get money off.
For example a Golf I viewed was £16k but ‘slashed’ to £14k and I was told absolutely no room for negotiation, to be fair for age/mileage/spec it was the cheapest however with a little investigation using the above method I established it had been in their stock for 4 months - enter my offer of £13.5k and surprise surprise it was accepted (I didn’t buy the car in the end) but you see the principal.
Si
Queried this with a dealer only yesterday to be told it’s for ‘HPi checks, paperwork, prep etc’ so I questioned why not advertise the car for £12,195.00 rather than £12,000 + £195 admin fee? He said they like to be up front with customers and show what they are paying - absolute pish!
As for negotiating, you can sometimes choose your cars carefully and negotiate accordingly - AT for example within the HTML address for the page, includes the date which that vehicle was listed. If you look for cars which have been in stock for sometime then you are more likely to get money off.
For example a Golf I viewed was £16k but ‘slashed’ to £14k and I was told absolutely no room for negotiation, to be fair for age/mileage/spec it was the cheapest however with a little investigation using the above method I established it had been in their stock for 4 months - enter my offer of £13.5k and surprise surprise it was accepted (I didn’t buy the car in the end) but you see the principal.
Si
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