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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To haggle the price at a car dealership

37 replies

LetItGoHome · 27/12/2022 20:41

I plan on buying a second hand car at the weekend from a local car dealership. I have every intention on trying to haggle the price down a bit as i think thats what they expect and they price accordingly. My husband thinks I'm being a bit cringe as its a outdated practice and we should just pay the ticket price.
So whats the consensus on here. AIBU to try and haggle the price down? Has anyone been successful in doing so? Or were you chased off the forecourt :-)

OP posts:
breathcalmly · 27/12/2022 21:29

I’ve always relished the haggle when buying a second hand car, but when we bought one this Autumn there was no budging AT ALL. Hugely disappointing. Tried it on but literally no movement, the market is just too good in second hand cars at the moment apparently

TimeForMeToF1y · 27/12/2022 21:36

gethaggling · 27/12/2022 21:03

It's definitely worth doing your homework - assuming you're going to test drive a particular vehicle, look at what similar vehicles cost.

Ironically, our local dealer refused to haggle on our previous car; DH had spotted a very similar one for sale through a dealership 50 miles away for £2k less (about 15% of the asking price). The dealer wouldn't budge, so we walked away. Two months later we bought the car we'd test driven that day for yes, you guessed it, £2k less than they'd originally wanted. But we'd allowed ourselves 3 months to replace our old car (before it needed another MOT) so could afford to wait.

Why didnt you buy it from the other dealership there and then and haggle that price down?

RosesAndHellebores · 27/12/2022 21:48

I always haggle. Not necessarily on the price of the new car or the old car but if the new car is, for example, priced at £24k and the old car is, imo, worth £2k I will say something like, you can have the old car and £18,000. Usually meet in the middle but there wasnone occasion when the chap said "no sorry, I'll ask my boss but we won't be doing that". Cue a call about e days later to say "my boss said it's the end of the financial accounting period and if we can do this by Tuesday, yes.

What they won't do nowadays is reduce the price for cash as they get commission on the finance deal but last time I took the finance deal and got a service plan for three years for a very competitive price. You can then pay off the finance.

Now is a bad time. Wait for interest rates to bite and cars on PCP to be repossessed and there'll be bargains. Give it a year.

DramaAlpaca · 27/12/2022 21:58

I love a good haggle. I got my used car for the amount I wanted to pay for it, but that was a couple of years ago now. My elderly DF managed to get a decent amount off the used car he bought last week by playing hard ball. They wanted to charge him for extras but he eventually got them thrown in.

gethaggling · 27/12/2022 22:02

Because finding the time to drive 50 miles each way to the other dealer, and commit to having services at that location was inconvenient. We knew that the lower price was a very good deal (having scoured the internet).

gethaggling · 27/12/2022 22:03

Sorry, that was to TimeForMeToF1y - quoting didn't seem to work

AreOttersJustWetCats · 27/12/2022 22:05

I've always haggled, based on prior research of the market. But.... second hand cars are going for high prices right now so haggling may not be successful in the current climate.

ConsuelaHammock · 27/12/2022 22:10

Definitely haggle and go before the end of the month

Alaimo · 27/12/2022 22:16

I haggled when buying my previous used car, but only with limited success. Think I got about £200 off and 2 free services thrown in (on a £8000 car).

ermmm · 27/12/2022 22:19

Well for starters you can ignore that £100!
and I think they will happily let that off.
my husband and I went to see a car 150 miles away where we had to take my child with us and another person as I can’t drive alone with my child. So the dealership knew we came to buy really. They wouldn’t budge on the price much £17750 to 17500 but instead said they will pay for the second key that they couldn’t find for us.
we thought it will be around £150/200
they had to pay £500 for it 😬. So was glad we didn’t try to get the price reduced.
definitely do try again at the desk as that when “I’ll go to talk to my manager “ came about.

Mischance · 27/12/2022 22:21

Absolutely haggle.

I went to my local dealership for a new car with a print-out of an online car sales that was doing it for £1000 less. I showed them and said I would buy from them if they could match the price - they did.

Clevs · 27/12/2022 22:22

LetItGoHome · 27/12/2022 21:26

Its a very mixed response. Think I'm going to swallow my pride and try my luck. I will aways be thinking what if otherwise.

Let us know how you get on!

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