How much 'wriggle room' in an approved used F430?

[Trikster]

Further to my previous post (and thanks guys for your replies) I'm mulling between two cars at different approved dealers, and am trying to gauge what a realistic, but aggressive, offer would be %age wise - I know they are out to make a profit so not looking to be stupid, just prefer to keep as much as possible in my pocket

Car 1 has only been in the dealers a couple of weeks so is no doubt at it's highest price, at this point in time it has not had its inspection done so I'm not sure how they estimate how much they'd need to spend on the car to get it to approved status (for example I think it's wanting two new rear tyres)

Car 2 has been with the dealer about 3 months, so I assume may have already ben knocked down a bit (wonder if there's any way to check) but this has had it's inspection report done and they've brought it up to approved standard (from my earlier post this is the car that has probably had a city life)

Given the time of year, edging towards folks starting to trade/sell their Spiders, would the dealers be up to offer a good deal against the risk of having the car in stock over the winter

OK, I know I could wait until Jan and probably go in when they are at their lowest, but I've been without something 'nice' for a while now and am getting very itchy and the optomist inme thinks they'll still be plenty of days yet to enjoy the car this year

[Thankyou4calling]

Depends on so many variables. I would be looking to build a decent relationship with the dealer, they might well buy it back in time. So factor in the jobs you want done, ongoing servicing etc and make an offer that is realistic, fair and justifiable. No need to be insulting, but make it clear you are ready to buy at the right price and dont lose your dream for £500. %wise, I think offer 7 to 8% below sticker and aim to finish at 5%. Bear in mind this is a lot of cash. Not like 5% on a 3k smoker.

[UH-Matt]

When I was looking at 430's and Gallardos in February I was amazed that most dealers had very little wiggle room, and would more often than not let me walk. I was not being silly with my offers, they were always between 5-10% off sticker price. I ended up buying an already well priced car with another ~ 3-4% off.

When you find the car you want, you will know, and a couple of % will not stop you buying it. If it fits, and its fairly priced and well prepared then get it bought and begin enjoying

[22ppk22]

A couple of things which worked imo. (i) Wait until an end of a period (i.e. month or quarter)...like everyone in sales they have targets and are motivated to get things done when they are a little behind the curve. (ii) If you can find something in the approved network that is on SOR. These cars will still be covered by the approved network and the dealer will still take his full commission....the loser will be the owner who has their car on SOR. Although it is probably a mass generalisation, the owner of the car on SOR will want shot as they want the money or they are a speculator, so all round a win-win. If you get both of these then 5-8% as mentioned seemed achievable.

[pistolp]

Also find reasons why you want the money off, like. Goes without saying but go in lower than you will actually pay and work back up. try another dealer in the dealership as well if you get one whose a bit of an arse.

you've had it a while
it's not the right colour or something in the spec is missing
clutch/brake wear especially on cars with f1 or ceramics
service history not complete

basically any reason other than you just want money off

[andy355]

from my limited experience of having bought/sold a 430 i would say that dealer margin is about 8 to 10k. from that they have to do the prep work, warranty cost if applicable, vat on their profit margin and earn a living. i was told by a somewhat surprising source that they were only netting about 2k on a used ferrari after costs. my view is that you wont get much off unless they are stuck for some reason, better way to save would be to buy privately.

if you buy now then keep until next summer to sell. used cars now have 2 year warranty that would cost you 5k + to buy. if you want to sell it again to trade stick to red or black and maybe grey (silverstone).

prices depend on mileage massively on these 5k miles seems to be a strong selling point anything above 10k seems to be high mileage mad as it seems!

Edited by andy355 on Wednesday 18th August 22:39