What is considered a 'sensible' offer on a supercar?
Discussion
Wanted to get peoples thoughts on this topic.
When spending circa. £80-100k on a supercar what do people consider to be a reasonable negotiation position on these types of cars without being laughed out of the showroom.
Having bought a few cars in my years of driving, I have previously put in offers of around 10% less than the asking price on a say a £20k or £30k car (i.e. £18k or £27k) and this feels like a sensible place to have a negotiation and in many cases agreed on the price at these points.
However I for one hesitate with fear of offending the dealer or being not taken seriously when buying more expensive cars if you apply the same rule i.e. 10% off, because in reality you are asking for £10k off a £100k car.
Is this the experience others have when dealing with supercar main dealers or specialists around this price bracket?
When spending circa. £80-100k on a supercar what do people consider to be a reasonable negotiation position on these types of cars without being laughed out of the showroom.
Having bought a few cars in my years of driving, I have previously put in offers of around 10% less than the asking price on a say a £20k or £30k car (i.e. £18k or £27k) and this feels like a sensible place to have a negotiation and in many cases agreed on the price at these points.
However I for one hesitate with fear of offending the dealer or being not taken seriously when buying more expensive cars if you apply the same rule i.e. 10% off, because in reality you are asking for £10k off a £100k car.
Is this the experience others have when dealing with supercar main dealers or specialists around this price bracket?
In my experience of some* high end (£80 - £110k car purchases), it’s not unreasonable to seek a discount, but you have to be prepared to accept it might be zero ...
You’ll never hurt any traders feelings by pitching low, but if you are interested in buying the car and want to engender a credible relationship with the dealer, it depends how you put it.
For example, sticker price, £100 k and an offer of “I’ll give you £90 for it” is a somewhat gauche approach and won’t endear you to the salesman who may consider you not a serious buyer.
But to say “ Hmm, £100k is a bit more than I was expecting to pay, and was really hoping to pick something up nearer to £90k” is a some what more credible approach. They still may say “no”, but at least you can then start to ask “ok, how near can you realistically get to that”. If it’s still “sticker price” then I go down the “freebies” route which of course have a lower cost price to the dealer than you’d have to pay.
The worse case scenario is there’s no discount, or freebies, and you then have the choice of walking away or paying the sticker price if it’s a car you want, which is hard to source, and can afford.
If your budget is genuinely £90k then you can leave your details with the dealer and ask them to call you if they get a similar car in at your budget.
Of course many rufty tufty PH Alpha Males will shriek at this approach but in my negotiating experience in both business and private life, getting a good relationship is the key to successful outcomes where “win-win” rules the day...
You’ll never hurt any traders feelings by pitching low, but if you are interested in buying the car and want to engender a credible relationship with the dealer, it depends how you put it.
For example, sticker price, £100 k and an offer of “I’ll give you £90 for it” is a somewhat gauche approach and won’t endear you to the salesman who may consider you not a serious buyer.
But to say “ Hmm, £100k is a bit more than I was expecting to pay, and was really hoping to pick something up nearer to £90k” is a some what more credible approach. They still may say “no”, but at least you can then start to ask “ok, how near can you realistically get to that”. If it’s still “sticker price” then I go down the “freebies” route which of course have a lower cost price to the dealer than you’d have to pay.
The worse case scenario is there’s no discount, or freebies, and you then have the choice of walking away or paying the sticker price if it’s a car you want, which is hard to source, and can afford.
If your budget is genuinely £90k then you can leave your details with the dealer and ask them to call you if they get a similar car in at your budget.
Of course many rufty tufty PH Alpha Males will shriek at this approach but in my negotiating experience in both business and private life, getting a good relationship is the key to successful outcomes where “win-win” rules the day...
- 911 C4S, Range Rover AB , Range Rover AB, Aston V8 Vantage, Range Rover Velar First Edition, and at least 4 cars nearer to the £50k mark, all new. But none “supercars” in the true sense of the word, just high end...
BlackR8 said:
Wanted to get peoples thoughts on this topic.
When spending circa. £80-100k on a supercar what do people consider to be a reasonable negotiation position on these types of cars without being laughed out of the showroom.
Having bought a few cars in my years of driving, I have previously put in offers of around 10% less than the asking price on a say a £20k or £30k car (i.e. £18k or £27k) and this feels like a sensible place to have a negotiation and in many cases agreed on the price at these points.
However I for one hesitate with fear of offending the dealer or being not taken seriously when buying more expensive cars if you apply the same rule i.e. 10% off, because in reality you are asking for £10k off a £100k car.
Is this the experience others have when dealing with supercar main dealers or specialists around this price bracket?
Your approach of 10% is what I have always done, whatever the car. The supercar / high-end sports car market has a much-reduced base of prospective buyers when compared with other vehicles further down the tree. Concentrating on % rather than £ is the sensible way to go. There are loads for sale - it's a buyers’ market. Unless it is a niche vehicle and/or you live out in the wilderness with limited availability to after-sales service, I wouldn't be too concerned about the relationship. If you are buying from a dealer based far away from you, you will no doubt look for local servicing anyway.When spending circa. £80-100k on a supercar what do people consider to be a reasonable negotiation position on these types of cars without being laughed out of the showroom.
Having bought a few cars in my years of driving, I have previously put in offers of around 10% less than the asking price on a say a £20k or £30k car (i.e. £18k or £27k) and this feels like a sensible place to have a negotiation and in many cases agreed on the price at these points.
However I for one hesitate with fear of offending the dealer or being not taken seriously when buying more expensive cars if you apply the same rule i.e. 10% off, because in reality you are asking for £10k off a £100k car.
Is this the experience others have when dealing with supercar main dealers or specialists around this price bracket?
If you are to become a serial supercar buyer, it may be sensible to form a good relationship with a broker / independent, but otherwise, I wouldn’t fret over it.
Just remember, it is only a car and you will lose money on it. If you come to offer it back to the original dealer, they will offer you substantially less than you bought it for, and in some cases, they won’t even bid – they won’t care if they offend you. Business-is-business.
Another way is to find a vehicle on the web in the price bracket you are prepared to pay. Explain to the dealer you intend to buy the car, but you prefer the one they have and will give them the opportunity to sell at the same price. It's non-offensive and demonstrates you have options.
I've never paid sticker price.
Edited by mickpsu on Sunday 14th July 18:39
Depends on how well priced the car is vs others in the mkt...if car is priced to sell and looks good value then 10% under prob ain't gonna work. Last car I dealt on ( V12 Vantage) was quite aggressively priced given spec and mileage so dealer didn't have any wiggle room, I liked the car alot so we agreed on a service and warranty as part of deal that was worth about 3k which I felt was fair.
RSbandit said:
Depends on how well priced the car is vs others in the mkt...if car is priced to sell and looks good value then 10% under prob ain't gonna work. Last car I dealt on ( V12 Vantage) was quite aggressively priced given spec and mileage so dealer didn't have any wiggle room, I liked the car alot so we agreed on a service and warranty as part of deal that was worth about 3k which I felt was fair.
Exactly this. Do your research so you know the market and the prices similar cars are available for, then simply have a discussion with the dealer rep. If you know the market and you're clear you want to buy at the right deal, you'll most likely be offered something reasonable. It's definitely a buyers market at the moment, I just got a decent amount off from Porsche on another car, 12 months ago there's no way I would have got the same deal.
Fat Wolfie said:
In my experience of some* high end (£80 - £110k car purchases), it’s not unreasonable to seek a discount, but you have to be prepared to accept it might be zero ...
You’ll never hurt any traders feelings by pitching low, but if you are interested in buying the car and want to engender a credible relationship with the dealer, it depends how you put it.
For example, sticker price, £100 k and an offer of “I’ll give you £90 for it” is a somewhat gauche approach and won’t endear you to the salesman who may consider you not a serious buyer.
But to say “ Hmm, £100k is a bit more than I was expecting to pay, and was really hoping to pick something up nearer to £90k” is a some what more credible approach. They still may say “no”, but at least you can then start to ask “ok, how near can you realistically get to that”. If it’s still “sticker price” then I go down the “freebies” route which of course have a lower cost price to the dealer than you’d have to pay.
The worse case scenario is there’s no discount, or freebies, and you then have the choice of walking away or paying the sticker price if it’s a car you want, which is hard to source, and can afford.
If your budget is genuinely £90k then you can leave your details with the dealer and ask them to call you if they get a similar car in at your budget.
Of course many rufty tufty PH Alpha Males will shriek at this approach but in my negotiating experience in both business and private life, getting a good relationship is the key to successful outcomes where “win-win” rules the day...
What is this madness? 100% agree - win-win generally gets you to a good place. I'm also a bit of a believer in karma, that if you treat people well, then you'll end up in a good position too. I don't try to pull anyone's pants down on a negotiation and have even gone as far to say "are you ok and happy with that deal too?", because that way I'm convinced they'll go through with it properly, do all that's required and not cut corners. Of course experience (age) often helps to get you into a position of learning and understanding these things!You’ll never hurt any traders feelings by pitching low, but if you are interested in buying the car and want to engender a credible relationship with the dealer, it depends how you put it.
For example, sticker price, £100 k and an offer of “I’ll give you £90 for it” is a somewhat gauche approach and won’t endear you to the salesman who may consider you not a serious buyer.
But to say “ Hmm, £100k is a bit more than I was expecting to pay, and was really hoping to pick something up nearer to £90k” is a some what more credible approach. They still may say “no”, but at least you can then start to ask “ok, how near can you realistically get to that”. If it’s still “sticker price” then I go down the “freebies” route which of course have a lower cost price to the dealer than you’d have to pay.
The worse case scenario is there’s no discount, or freebies, and you then have the choice of walking away or paying the sticker price if it’s a car you want, which is hard to source, and can afford.
If your budget is genuinely £90k then you can leave your details with the dealer and ask them to call you if they get a similar car in at your budget.
Of course many rufty tufty PH Alpha Males will shriek at this approach but in my negotiating experience in both business and private life, getting a good relationship is the key to successful outcomes where “win-win” rules the day...
- 911 C4S, Range Rover AB , Range Rover AB, Aston V8 Vantage, Range Rover Velar First Edition, and at least 4 cars nearer to the £50k mark, all new. But none “supercars” in the true sense of the word, just high end...
I would always try and turn things around and say something like 'what would be the best price you would be willing to accept' and see what happens. Obviously by being polite as well at the same time, but you will then know the sellers position and if they knock 10% off straight away, for example, its a starting point for negotiations or to accept.
Not many people expect to get the exact advertised price
Not many people expect to get the exact advertised price
Interesting views, I for some reason have a bit of a block on the higher end cars thinking in % terms some offers mean literally £10k+ off the asking price which feels almost embarrassing to ask for. I failed miserably in my last high-end car purchase and didn't get a penny of the advertised price, but I think this was due to me perhaps not being familiar with the high-end market and expecting that people that afford these sorts of cars perhaps don't 'haggle' as much.
I'd expect something off just for personal gratitude lol.
Last car I bought - a Gallardo - was listed at bang on 100k, I phoned the day it went online (was searching that colour for months as most are boring White or Black) and went to view it (4hrs drive 5 days later) to show I was serious instead of lowballing on the phone/email.
Ended up with only 2k off, full PPF re-done & 6 months standard warranty extended to 12. Works out about 4k in total on a Gallardo so give or take 5%. Not bad for a car listed less than a week.
Last car I bought - a Gallardo - was listed at bang on 100k, I phoned the day it went online (was searching that colour for months as most are boring White or Black) and went to view it (4hrs drive 5 days later) to show I was serious instead of lowballing on the phone/email.
Ended up with only 2k off, full PPF re-done & 6 months standard warranty extended to 12. Works out about 4k in total on a Gallardo so give or take 5%. Not bad for a car listed less than a week.
SydneyBridge said:
I would always try and turn things around and say something like 'what would be the best price you would be willing to accept' and see what happens. Obviously by being polite as well at the same time, but you will then know the sellers position and if they knock 10% off straight away, for example, its a starting point for negotiations or to accept.
Not many people expect to get the exact advertised price
Why should it be a starting point if it is their best price?Not many people expect to get the exact advertised price
Last time I was asked this when I was a seller, I pointed out that I had advertised a price and it was their turn to counter with their own valuation, that I wouldn't be offended with however low they went as long as they wouldn't be offended when I said "No."
It was close to what I wanted and though I initially declined, we ended up closer to his valuation than mine.
A bit like a game of cards, you don't know what the car cost the seller, and they don't know how badly you want the car. Surely, as long as you are polite and fair with an offer, no offence will be taken.
I wanted a car desperately, but couldn't afford the showroom asking price of £56k. I just went to see it in person, as I'd only ever seen them in pictures. Later, I sent a friendly email thanking them for showing me round the car, and jokingly offered £16k below if they ever got desperate.
I got a phone call the next day to say how low they were prepared to go, and we agreed a price (closer to my offer than their asking price), and I have owned the car for over 4 years now. If I did have £56k I would have been prepared to pay it, as it was exactly what I wanted and it could have been years before I got another chance to get one in my preferred spec/colour. Luckily the dealer wanted a sale before they had to MOT the car, and it needed a few jobs doing which I took a bit of a gamble on.
If there are several to choose from at different dealers, you are in a better position to get yourself a good deal, especially if they've had it in stock for a while
I wanted a car desperately, but couldn't afford the showroom asking price of £56k. I just went to see it in person, as I'd only ever seen them in pictures. Later, I sent a friendly email thanking them for showing me round the car, and jokingly offered £16k below if they ever got desperate.
I got a phone call the next day to say how low they were prepared to go, and we agreed a price (closer to my offer than their asking price), and I have owned the car for over 4 years now. If I did have £56k I would have been prepared to pay it, as it was exactly what I wanted and it could have been years before I got another chance to get one in my preferred spec/colour. Luckily the dealer wanted a sale before they had to MOT the car, and it needed a few jobs doing which I took a bit of a gamble on.
If there are several to choose from at different dealers, you are in a better position to get yourself a good deal, especially if they've had it in stock for a while
Gassing Station | Supercar General | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff