Haggling with Dealers on an E46 M3
Discussion
I'm homing in which E46 M3's to buy - so please forgive the dribble of posts as more questions dawn on me!
the latest question is around Dealer haggling. How much of a discount can I expect? - one of the Cars I was looking at was £22,950 from a BMW dealer. Assuming I have a part-ex but
and am not doing the finance with them - how much could I reasonably expect them to come down to? I'd probably go in with an offer of £19k - but is that ridiculous?
Cheers.
-ace
i think a 19k they will tell you to take a walk personaly 
i found p/x made no difference to bargaining power, except the p/x price was shocking, i had absolutely no problem selling my p/x privately for £1500 more than synter offered me (in fact i sold it 2 cheap i could of sold it 10 times over)
i found p/x made no difference to bargaining power, except the p/x price was shocking, i had absolutely no problem selling my p/x privately for £1500 more than synter offered me (in fact i sold it 2 cheap i could of sold it 10 times over)
They can only say "No" but I think that, that is what they will say to that level of discount!
Sure you know, but if you have a P/X focus on the cost to change, simply asking them to cut the crap and give you that figure makes them wake up to the fact that they have a savvy buyer on their hands.
In my experience with BMW dealers you need to get over their mock shock at having a potential customer ask for a deal as a first step.
Let them know that there are other cars out there that you are interested in (be specific about dealers you are talking to, cars you are interested in etc) and be prepared to walk out (after you've made it very clear what you would deal at)
When I was looking for my X5, I was looking at three cars with three dealers. Two of them told me that they couldn't/wouldn't do the deal I wanted. Within five mins of leaving the dealership they both called me on my mobile asking me to come back!
They will play on the fact that you want that car and that you are one of a number of people who would want to buy the car - you need to play on the fact that you are ready to deal, that there are other cars out there you would be just as happy owning and as a used truck dealer once told me "they rarely appreciate in value whilst their sat waiting for a buyer!"
Good luck
Sure you know, but if you have a P/X focus on the cost to change, simply asking them to cut the crap and give you that figure makes them wake up to the fact that they have a savvy buyer on their hands.
In my experience with BMW dealers you need to get over their mock shock at having a potential customer ask for a deal as a first step.
Let them know that there are other cars out there that you are interested in (be specific about dealers you are talking to, cars you are interested in etc) and be prepared to walk out (after you've made it very clear what you would deal at)
When I was looking for my X5, I was looking at three cars with three dealers. Two of them told me that they couldn't/wouldn't do the deal I wanted. Within five mins of leaving the dealership they both called me on my mobile asking me to come back!
They will play on the fact that you want that car and that you are one of a number of people who would want to buy the car - you need to play on the fact that you are ready to deal, that there are other cars out there you would be just as happy owning and as a used truck dealer once told me "they rarely appreciate in value whilst their sat waiting for a buyer!"
Good luck
[quote=Nano2nd]i think a 19k they will tell you to take a walk personally
quote]
Ok - that's good info, I just wanted to get a feel for how much discount one could expect.
My best mate recently bought an S2000 from a honda main dealer - it was on the forecourt for £17,900 . He haggled his way down to about £14,900 in the end - which I was really stunned at.
Clearly, from the other posts, one can't expect that level of discount from a BMW dealer - but that's good to know. I obvioulsy want to be taken seriously, but I also don't want to be taken for a ride!
I have an old Mx5 to trade in - which they offered my a pittance on, as expected. I think that I'll sell it privately and walk in with 'Cash'
Cheers
-ace
quote]
Ok - that's good info, I just wanted to get a feel for how much discount one could expect.
My best mate recently bought an S2000 from a honda main dealer - it was on the forecourt for £17,900 . He haggled his way down to about £14,900 in the end - which I was really stunned at.
Clearly, from the other posts, one can't expect that level of discount from a BMW dealer - but that's good to know. I obvioulsy want to be taken seriously, but I also don't want to be taken for a ride!
I have an old Mx5 to trade in - which they offered my a pittance on, as expected. I think that I'll sell it privately and walk in with 'Cash'
Cheers
-ace
Nano2nd said:
Deutscher said:
If you get a grand off you'll be doing well.
agreed, i spend over 30k and only managed about £800 
Thanks for your help [ & your patience with putting up with the dumb questions]
-ace
phatmanace said:
Christ - even at £23k that's a bargain from a dealer! Good find, but I doubt they'll take much shy of asking for it.[quote=phatmanace][quote=Nano2nd]i think a 19k they will tell you to take a walk personally
quote]
Ok - that's good info, I just wanted to get a feel for how much discount one could expect.
My best mate recently bought an S2000 from a honda main dealer - it was on the forecourt for £17,900 . He haggled his way down to about £14,900 in the end - which I was really stunned at.
Big Discounts normally amount to,overpriced to start with!
quote]
Ok - that's good info, I just wanted to get a feel for how much discount one could expect.
My best mate recently bought an S2000 from a honda main dealer - it was on the forecourt for £17,900 . He haggled his way down to about £14,900 in the end - which I was really stunned at.
Big Discounts normally amount to,overpriced to start with!
I asked this question on another forum about an E90 330d.
Based on recent experience (the last 4/5 weeks) the general consensus was they'd deal at 8-9% off.
One of the guys had bought the same car (E90 330d sport), advertised at £22,990, for £21,000.
Bear in mind that this was a sought after model so for your M3 I'd say £20k was reasonable. £19k might be too low but worth opening at this.
There are tons of E46 M3s & I guess dealers know this.
Based on recent experience (the last 4/5 weeks) the general consensus was they'd deal at 8-9% off.
One of the guys had bought the same car (E90 330d sport), advertised at £22,990, for £21,000.
Bear in mind that this was a sought after model so for your M3 I'd say £20k was reasonable. £19k might be too low but worth opening at this.
There are tons of E46 M3s & I guess dealers know this.
f1stoxfan said:
phatmanace said:
Nano2nd said:
i think a 19k they will tell you to take a walk personally
quote]
Ok - that's good info, I just wanted to get a feel for how much discount one could expect.
My best mate recently bought an S2000 from a honda main dealer - it was on the forecourt for £17,900 . He haggled his way down to about £14,900 in the end - which I was really stunned at.
Big Discounts normally amount to,overpriced to start with!
Yep, you're right there. A pal of mine is collecting a Feb '08 dealer registered Range Rover Vogue SE TDV8 with about 12 miles on for £56k.....It lists at £71600. Almost £16k off, for a pre-registered car and a lot of shaking of the head....quote]
Ok - that's good info, I just wanted to get a feel for how much discount one could expect.
My best mate recently bought an S2000 from a honda main dealer - it was on the forecourt for £17,900 . He haggled his way down to about £14,900 in the end - which I was really stunned at.
Big Discounts normally amount to,overpriced to start with!
If you REALLY want to haggle... Visit the dealer and find out if the sales rep has targets (they do), if your bold enquire when the current sales period ends. At this point make your offer, if they don't bite, go back on the last day of the month etc. They'll be a lot more desperate to get your business at this point. Takes balls but thats how you can play the game effectively.
NickXX said:
phatmanace said:
Christ - even at £23k that's a bargain from a dealer! Good find, but I doubt they'll take much shy of asking for it.Definitely open at 19k... work your way up to around 20k and no more. Set yourself a limit. They will ALWAYS drop their price to make their sale. Depends on how good the buyer is at negotiating. BE prepared to walk away. There are other deals out there. I recently saw an 04 reg just over 40k miles at £18.5k. It was a private sale and 6 months older but it had a year's worth less mileage than the car you're interested in and pristine condition fsh etc. You should be able to grab the dealer car for 20k (or less if you do as member recommended above and find out when their end of sale period is - very good advice). This dealer car has slightly above average miles too (if average taken at 12k a year).
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