Part Exchange or Cash, Do Dealers Have a Preference?

[Mr_Yogi]

I'm looking at used cars from independents at around £4-6000, I have a car I wish to PX which is booking about £3500. However I have a family member who is happy to take the car for book price. I haven’t the time to private sell and can’t be bothered with the hassle anyway, so that’s not really an option.

What I would like to know is, in general do dealers offer a better final price for the car (i.e. the cost to change) one way or the other or are they indifferent to the whole idea?

Cheers

[stigmundfreud]

cash talks, exchanges take time to shift. No risks with cash, I'd take book from family (as dealer will try to knock you down) and walk in with cash. Hard cash under the nose talks a lot, if it isnt talking the right language to the dealer you go elsewhere.

[liner33]

Certainly in a stronger position with cash you will get a better deal for sure

[8400rpm]

Dealers generally try and bum you dry over part exchange. I've phoned numerous dealers lately asking about cars, details missing from adverts and stuff. As soon as I mention part exchange their whole tone changes. One even admitted to me that they'll only offer me 40% of the private sale value for mine, and that they'd sell it for more than private sale value, whilst expecting me to pay full sticker price for theirs.

Said I'd think about it.

Cash-only deals they love, as it's far less work.

[Mr_Yogi]

Thanks Guys, seems pretty obvious when you put it like that

Although I was begining to think cash had had it's day as a couple of the dealers I spoken to have lost interest the minute I said I wasn't interested in finance

[liner33]

They make more money on finance

[Mr_Yogi]

liner33 said:

They make more money on finance

Yeah I realised that, it just seemed their attitude was 'if they weren't going to sell on finance they weren't interested in selling', which I thought more than a little bizarre. Or that's how they came accross to me anyway.

[rehab71]

I've been selling cars for a long time now and as I've said in previous posts it makes no odds as to whether you PX or not. You're car's worth what it's worth if the car you're buying is £10K and you've got a PX worth £3K it's £7K to change, if you haven't then it's £10K.

Remember a part exchange is another profit opportunity for a dealer, whether they sell it through the trade or retail. However you say your cars 'books at £3500' the 'book prices' optained from parkers/online companies are always inflated and parkers are owned by a newspaper company and specialise in selling there guides/papers and NOT buying and selling cars! No one in the trade buys cars at book anyway, they're always a few hundred pound behind book (ie Glass's or CAP and there are some exceptions to the rule).

My advise would be to negotiate a deal on the basis of no part exchange and then ask about part exchange price, then he won't have anywhere to go in terms of discount on his car and you'll get a TRUE trade value, if it's under £3500 sell it to your friend.

As a final note, when people say 'my car books at £X in parkers' it's irrelevant, your car is worth what some one is prepared to pay for it and I'm sure if you rang Parkers they'd offer you the grand some of fk-all for it.

HTH

[Mr_Yogi]

rehab71 said:

I've been selling cars for a long time now and as I've said in previous posts it makes no odds as to whether you PX or not. You're car's worth what it's worth if the car you're buying is £10K and you've got a PX worth £3K it's £7K to change, if you haven't then it's £10K.

Remember a part exchange is another profit opportunity for a dealer, whether they sell it through the trade or retail. However you say your cars 'books at £3500' the 'book prices' optained from parkers/online companies are always inflated and parkers are owned by a newspaper company and specialise in selling there guides/papers and NOT buying and selling cars! No one in the trade buys cars at book anyway, they're always a few hundred pound behind book (ie Glass's or CAP and there are some exceptions to the rule).

My advise would be to negotiate a deal on the basis of no part exchange and then ask about part exchange price, then he won't have anywhere to go in terms of discount on his car and you'll get a TRUE trade value, if it's under £3500 sell it to your friend.

As a final note, when people say 'my car books at £X in parkers' it's irrelevant, your car is worth what some one is prepared to pay for it and I'm sure if you rang Parkers they'd offer you the grand some of fk-all for it.

HTH

Thanks for that, that all makes sense. Just to note, the parkers price is about £4K and the Glass guide/ dealers internet thing is about £3500, and what I was quoting as book.