Used Car Purchase @ Dealers

[Napnia]

Going into a local VW dealer this weekend to take out a 06 V10 Touareg for a spin. Got a feeling I will like it and thus am gearing myself up to part with my car and cash to net it.

History wise the only thing I know about the car is that its got 42k on the clock and has had 1 owner (I believe). Court price is 23.5k.... my absolute top whack cash budget is 20k, plus my car is probably a 3-4k trade in (going off webuyancar.com prices).

Ive done a bit of research and the main thing that concerns me is the high maintenance costs, its something I have to accept but also something id like to negate as much as possible. The garage do give a 12 month used car warranty as standard and also cover the paint/interior (not as important) for 10 years.

So with the little info to hand above, if you were a dealer/or a buyer in a similar situation, would the following 'demands' on my side be reasonable, negotiable or just plain silly and make me look like a plum sat in a showroom!

(I appreciate some dealers may do the below as standard, so bear with me)

3 year warranty (so thats 2 more years on top... id settle for 24 months)
1 years road tax
MOT (probably comes with this as standard...)
New brakes (I say this as V10s look like they need them every 10k miles or so, now this one should have had a few new pairs and it may already be stamped in a book or something, bit if not id want new ones fitted as I believe its around 700 quid to get done)
4 New Tyres (Again depending on usage get around 8k before a change, maybe more. Id want some that would at least give me a years use)
Full tank of Diesel (Well I need to drive away)
Valet (again probably a standard thing in a dealership)

Now after all that (assuming I dont think of anything else) id then offer 17k cash plus my car, so circa 21k in value... a 2.5k discount from court price. Again id go up in price, 19k cash tops with my car I think depending on what of the above I get.

Am I asking for too much from a used car purchase?

Any comments appreciated.

[tegwin]

Dont get the v10.... get the V6TDI (and a re-map if you need more power)!! The V10 creates so much heat and weighs considerably more than the V6)

V6 sounds pretty nice for an oil burner..


Servicing wise on my old mans V6 TDI I do everything myself, its reasonably easy to work on. The brembo brake disks and pads are expensive if you buy them from VW... but there are plenty of better altneratives for less on the net...

Any indipendant garage should be able to deal with it.. its nothing complicate! If you need to, buy the diagnostic stuff from ross-tech.. very handy!

Worth getting the suspension properly 4 wheel aligned... it tends to wonder over time and makes a big difference!


Oh... and if it has air suspension check for corrosion of the air pipes at the top of the struts going up into the wings... they tend to fail up there and cost a LOT!

[excel monkey]

So you want:

Discount - £2500
2 years additional warranty - £1500
Brakes - £700
New set of tyres - £500
Full tank of fuel - £100

In summary, over five grand off?? Good luck with that!

These prices are all guesses, but I would be surprised if the extended manufacturer warranty was less than £750 a year on a Touareg.

Personally, I'd just ask for a valet and a full tank of fuel, and then concentrate on negotiating the price down as low as possible.

[hornetrider]

^^ What he said, you are chancing your arm but I doubt you will get all that. There's no way they will replace tyres if they don't need it, similarly brakes.

As mentioned just go for the best discount you can. Research prices of other V10s on the market to understand if this one is priced competitively or not.

[Napnia]

Thank for the replies, looks like I could be going in a bit low then... but thats the sort of pointers im looking for.

With regards brakes/tyres, they could well be in decent nick and not need replacing so could be irrelevant however id rather drive away spending a bit more on court price, than having to come back 3-4 months later with knackered brakes etc

Same with warranty, id rather pay a bit more cash price and get 24-36 months warranty as at least im covered a bit more if the engine.

So as long as the brakes/tyres are ok (been changed recently) then going in at 19 grand with a 3 year warranty, tax and a full tank would probably near on meet the court price but at least give me peace of mind and the car ready to rumble.

Oh and regards the V10, its that I specifically want... this one comes with all sorts of gadgets and as silly as it sounds, if im spending that sort of money why not treat myself to something a bit stupid

[Devil2575]

Napnia said:

Am I asking for too much from a used car purchase?

I you get all that then you can negotiate my next car deal for me

I'd be supprised if you got all that out of them, but I guess it depends on how desperate they are to make a sale.

[0-100-0]

I have just bought a V6TDI Touareg. Having spoken to, what felt like, most of the dealers in the country I ended up buying privately as they would not budge half as much as I expected on price. V10s are probably harder to shift though so you may be luckier than I was - I expect it all depends on what they paid for it. They are also much more complex so a long warranty is a good idea.

As I understand it under the VW approved used scheme the dealer has to do certain things:
If it needs a service in the near future they will do it and put it onto the short life servicing pattern.
If the tyres are low they have to change them for new manufacturer recommended tyres.
It will come with 12 months warranty.
You will get the whatever tax / MOT it has on it.
You should expect the bodywork and wheels to be pretty much perfect.

Anything else will cost you extra and any work that needs doing by them will be charged at full workshop prices (£95 per hour on a V6).

Prepare yourself for huge fuel bills!

[Engineer1]

Price up a warranty seperately as I am willing to bet the one VW give you will be written to make sure known VW faults are excluded in some way, atleast with an independent warranty you can get the cover you want.

New tyres are unlikely, they may offer tyre cover which is insurance against damage and will pay out a percentage of the replacement cost assuming it needed replacing before it "wore out" so covers punctures, side wall etc but not wear.

The most I can see you being able to negotiate is a full service prior to collection and even then I'd double check it was a full service and not an oil and filter change followed by the white gunk being sprayed on hinges.

[Napnia]

Thanks again for the comment.

Looks like I might be disappointed then... I like doing a deal and hate not feeling like I have one, this could well mean I walk away from this Touareg if the dealer is as tight as a knats proverbial.

If thats the case, back to the drawing board to find a gas guzzling 4x4 that is hideously over specced for my needs!

[excel monkey]

Napnia said:

I like doing a deal and hate not feeling like I have one, this could well mean I walk away from this Touareg if the dealer is as tight as a knats proverbial.

If the car's well priced, then surely it's worth doing a deal anyway?

All I got when I bought my 3-series from a dealer was a tank of fuel and 12 months road tax. I was a cash buyer with no part ex, but the dealer refused to budge on price. I couldn't find the same age/model/spec any cheaper elsewhere, so I went ahead with the deal anyway.

[kentmotorcompany]

excel monkey said:

Napnia said:

I like doing a deal and hate not feeling like I have one, this could well mean I walk away from this Touareg if the dealer is as tight as a knats proverbial.

If the car's well priced, then surely it's worth doing a deal anyway?

All I got when I bought my 3-series from a dealer was a tank of fuel and 12 months road tax. I was a cash buyer with no part ex, but the dealer refused to budge on price. I couldn't find the same age/model/spec any cheaper elsewhere, so I went ahead with the deal anyway.

Well said.

I get a bit frustrated with all this "you/I should get X off the price or walk" on PH. What if the car is cheap already?

Negotiation is all about who has the most alternatives.
If the car is desirable and well priced the dealer will have other alternative buyers not far behind you.
If it is not, you will have lots of alternative cars to choose from if the dealer will not give you the deal you want.

In reality most deals are somewhere between these two scenarios, it is up to the buyer and the seller to correctly assess how many alternatives they really have.


P.S. the WeBuyAnyCar price you have had emailed to you is very rarely the price you will get if you physically went to sell it to them.

[0-100-0]

excel monkey said:

Napnia said:

I like doing a deal and hate not feeling like I have one, this could well mean I walk away from this Touareg if the dealer is as tight as a knats proverbial.

If the car's well priced, then surely it's worth doing a deal anyway?

All I got when I bought my 3-series from a dealer was a tank of fuel and 12 months road tax. I was a cash buyer with no part ex, but the dealer refused to budge on price. I couldn't find the same age/model/spec any cheaper elsewhere, so I went ahead with the deal anyway.

All the Touaregs I saw at sensible prices at VW dealers apparently had very little margin left in them so they were unprepared to give more than 2-3% off the asking price.

I found a private one of a higher spec in perfect codition at 15% less than the cheapest dealer car. It still had nearly a year to run of the original manufacturer warranty and I met the person who was responsible for how it had been treated. IMO this is almost as valuable as a warranty anyway as you can soon tell whether it is likely to have been ragged or skimped on maintenance.

If you are seriously in the market for one, I would go and drive it anyway. Always useful to have something to compare others with. If I had been brave enough I would have gone for the V10 - awesome engine! But the risk of something very expensive going pop scared me off.