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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To ask for your tips on haggling on a car price?

33 replies

NotMeItsYou · 15/04/2021 13:28

I’m booked to test drive a (used) car from a dealership, let’s say it’s for sale at £9000 and ideally I don’t want to spend much more than £8000-8500 max if I can. I’ve already made the mistake of saying I’m a cash buyer because the salesman asked if I needed finance or a part exchange and I need neither and I couldn’t lie. I’ve now learnt it’s not good to offer this info up straight away 😂 I’m clearly a novice car purchaser Blush

If I see the car and all looks good, how do I go about negotiating on the price? Do I test drive then ask what’s the best price they can do for me?

Unfortunately I have no one to come with me who can give it a second pair of eyes and I’m not the most confident in this situation.

Any tips or advice most welcome!

OP posts:
DynamoKev · 15/04/2021 13:45

I don't see why being honest about being a cash buyer isn't a good idea - at least everyone knows where they stand.

I don't think there is any magic formula to this.

The dealer will have a figure for the minimum they want to get for the car.

If you like it you can say something like - I like the car and I'll pay cash today if you will take £8k. Be polite and reasonable. If they won't take 8k, you can invite them to tell you what they would take.

If anything about the car of the dealer worries you, just politely thank them and walk away.

Some dealers may try to bamboozle the process by "throwing in" a "free" warranty or something if you pay full price - mostly these will be things that don't cost them anything or cost them very little - so it's best to focus on what the actual overall cost to you will be.

Elai1978 · 15/04/2021 13:47

I think you’ll find that these days with the internet, cars are more keenly priced to begin with. Unless they’re absolutely desperate to get rid then they’re unlikely to budge much. They’re also less keen on cash buyers.

araiwa · 15/04/2021 13:48

It's only a car. There's thousands of other similar cars available. Treat it as a business transaction, not an emotional thing. Easy to walk away.

Also be realistic. You want a 9k car for 8. Do you think that's realistic?

araiwa · 15/04/2021 13:49

Also cash is no longer king. It might be cheaper on finance. Check the small print about paying off the loan without penalty

crazylikechocolate · 15/04/2021 13:52

I'm not a complete novice tbh but now we are in Covid times I think so much has changed in day to day dealings that we are all novices at many things now
I can only tell you about my purchase experience last summer , I needed to upgrade to a younger and lower mileage car but other than that it was same make and model, not something rare but seems not to be overly available either, I did lots of looking online at various similar cars and the price varied a little but not enormously , i rang and arranged a viewing and it literally was that , not a drive as distancing ruled that out , I had previously looked up what mine was worth worst case scenario , I tried to haggle but they were firm on price, but I got a perfectly good car for my money that I have driven since
I figured if I ran around viewing endlessly I would be costing myself in time etc what I might be saving
You may have more bargaining power with only cash but my cash on top of the value of my old car was around 10k

Coldilox · 15/04/2021 13:52

Last time I bought a car, I was part exchanging my old one. Rest of purchase made up with cash.

I did the test drive. He checked my car and offered me a trade in price, with £x difference to pay.

I said: “£X is more than I’m willing to pay. I was hoping to pay £Y, but I really like this car so can stretch my budget a little. If you could either lose the sale price or increase the trade in value to make the difference £Z, then we can do a deal now.” He went to “check with his manager” and came back after 5 minutes to agree.

Just state what you are willing to pay, and walk away if they say no. There are lots of cars out there.

AmandaHoldensLips · 15/04/2021 14:01

Put the details of the car into webuyanycar.com and see what price comes up. That will give you a good idea of the value of it.

If you drive it and want to buy it, ask the dealer outright - "what's the best deal you can do on this for me today?" Then take it from there.

JudgeJ · 15/04/2021 14:48

@DynamoKev

I don't see why being honest about being a cash buyer isn't a good idea - at least everyone knows where they stand.

I don't think there is any magic formula to this.

The dealer will have a figure for the minimum they want to get for the car.

If you like it you can say something like - I like the car and I'll pay cash today if you will take £8k. Be polite and reasonable. If they won't take 8k, you can invite them to tell you what they would take.

If anything about the car of the dealer worries you, just politely thank them and walk away.

Some dealers may try to bamboozle the process by "throwing in" a "free" warranty or something if you pay full price - mostly these will be things that don't cost them anything or cost them very little - so it's best to focus on what the actual overall cost to you will be.

If you're a cash buyer they will not make anything on the finance so may try to make it elsewhere, ie the car price.
TheTeenageYears · 15/04/2021 14:55

Being a cash buyer is not a good position in car terms, dealerships make money out of the finance. Having a part exchange just means some of the profit the garage is willing to give away is added to the part exchange value.

Dealership buys in car for x price, marks it for sale at y price. There is only so much money in the car to pay for any servicing/bodywork/warranty costs. There are many factors like how long it's been in stock, if the car is on sale or return etc etc that would impact what sort of reduction you will be able to get. There is no hard and fast rule of how much profit there is in a used car so all you can do is try to negotiate and be prepared to walk away.

JustAnotherOldMan · 15/04/2021 15:16

As others say, set your budget and be prepared to walk away,

Not always much profit in the actual vehicle, but they will try to up-sell other products like gap-cover, wheels & tyre cover, enhanced warranty, breakdowns, discounted paint & upholstery treatments etc, those make more profit for the dealers these days

reenon · 15/04/2021 15:34

Independent car dealer here!

Cash is not king. I have to carry pound notes to the bank and pay them in. Plus we get charged. Same with debit and credit card. Most chance of getting a discount is finance with no part ex.

However I'd say you've got next to no chance of getting a 9k car for 8k.

We rarely discount. Smile

Timeonmyhandsfornow · 15/04/2021 15:38

With the easing of covid restrictions we're finding it more difficult to find decent stock. As a result with some cars we've raised the advertised price, and with some of the rarer cars are now in a position to very much choose our deals. Having said that, we'll also pay a bit more than we were paying a couple of months ago for a decent part exchange. Stick to your price, if the dealer won't meet it in cash terms, try to negotiate a service item or similar. Or find another car.

hotchocdrinker · 15/04/2021 15:51

When I bought my last used car, I went for a test drive in my nearest town. I had already looked online and a similar car in another town (further away in the opposite direction) was on sale for £800 less. I went on the test drive , loved the car and said I'd be happy to pay £800 less than it was on for, as it would then be the same price as the other place. He said they'd only just reduced it by £400 but went off to talk to his manager, and sorted it out. I bought the car and still love it.

toffeebutterpopcorn · 15/04/2021 15:55

Last time we bought - I just said 'I'll give you... £xx.. let me know'. They came down.

If you get them at the end of the 1/4 or financial year end (or target period) they will give you a discount to hit their target. At the very least they will offer nicer hub caps, or spare wheel cover, mats ets.

BarbaraofSeville · 15/04/2021 15:56

@reenon

Independent car dealer here!

Cash is not king. I have to carry pound notes to the bank and pay them in. Plus we get charged. Same with debit and credit card. Most chance of getting a discount is finance with no part ex.

However I'd say you've got next to no chance of getting a 9k car for 8k.

We rarely discount. Smile

But unless you offer interest free finance, that £8/9k car could be costing the OP £10/11k.

Doesn't it also depend on whether it's keenly priced or not. If a dealer is pricing their cars with a haggling margin built in, you'd expect to get a discount. Plus obviously depends on what else is available elsewhere.

The charges on debit cards are virtually nothing so not an issue unless you're comparing against finance, where you get a handsome commission.

When DP last bought a car, a couple of dealers he talked to suddenly lost interest when he said he was not interested in finance because he had money available to buy. They we'rent available for test drives, or all the cars on the website had now sold.

InpatientGardener · 15/04/2021 16:07

When I recently bought a used car I decided how much I was willing to pay for it ideally then after looking at it said "I'll give you X" which was £100 below what I wanted to pay then he came back with the figure I actually wanted. I think confidence is king here but obviously it doesn't work in all situations.

Ladymouse · 15/04/2021 16:09

I'm a bit straight up and normally get roped into going to buy cars with friends and family. I don't pretend to know what I'm on about just do the whats your best price? Sellers says £9700 and I'd say how about £8000 normally met with a no so ill say meet me in the middle somewhere £8400. I don't know if its just brazen luck but its worked 99% of the time. Good luck.

Merryoldgoat · 15/04/2021 16:13

@reenon

Independent car dealer here!

Cash is not king. I have to carry pound notes to the bank and pay them in. Plus we get charged. Same with debit and credit card. Most chance of getting a discount is finance with no part ex.

However I'd say you've got next to no chance of getting a 9k car for 8k.

We rarely discount. Smile

Surely you take bank transfer? I bought a car last month - just transferred directly to the dealer - took 5 mins on the phone to my bank.
Merryoldgoat · 15/04/2021 16:16

When I bought mine recently dealers were totally uninterested in haggling.

bingoitsadingo · 15/04/2021 16:53

I bought from a dealer a few months ago and there was basically no room for haggling. They actually brought up autotrader and showed me comparable cars to show they were well priced in comparison (which I already knew, because I'd checked beforehand lol)

NewUser123456789 · 15/04/2021 17:02

I'd say you have zero chance of getting a grand off a £9k car from a dealer, you'd be wasting both of your time. As already stated the internet has made pricing totally transparent and hugely competitive, my experience is that dealers rarely haggle at all nowadays, it's asking price or walk away.

Private sales are a whole other matter though, much more scope for negotiation but also more risk if you don't know what you're doing.

mygenericusername · 15/04/2021 17:09

We work in the high end restoration and premium markets. We don’t offer finance and no customer of ours has ever even enquired about such a service. If you can’t afford cash or a small high street loan you shouldn’t be buying it in the first place.

PCP is a ticking time bomb. Car dealers like you that ‘rent’ cars to customers that can’t afford them are a disgrace. It’s sub prime mortgages all over again, ruining people’s lives for a piece of plastic and cheap metal. Hopefully heavy regulation is coming your way.

If the dealer starts trying to tell you you’ll be better off on finance OP leave. Find an honest dealer who is interested in their customers, not lining their pockets with commissions. You’ll get a better car got your money

Elai1978 · 15/04/2021 17:42

If you can’t afford cash or a small high street loan you shouldn’t be buying it in the first place.

Absolute bollocks. Why would I buy a car outright when I can get zero or extremely low rate PCP and keep my capital invested making a significantly higher rate of interest?

reenon · 15/04/2021 18:21

Yes... Love bank transfer! Our favourite type of payment!

19lottie82 · 15/04/2021 19:05

I agree with pp, you’ve no chance of getting £1k off a £9k car, sorry. As already pointed out, these cars are already priced to sell and that £1k is most likely their profit margin.

The only ways you’re likely to get a substantial discount are

1 - if the car has been there for a while and they’re desperate to shift it.

2 - they’re at the end of the month / quarter and have sales targets to hit.

3 - you can prove that the same car or better (age / mileage / specs) is for sale at another dealer for less.

Have you looked at private sales? They’re usually a fair whack cheaper. And you can pay the AA to come out and give the vehicle a full inspection before you buy.

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