Tips for buying a used car cash?

[Run247]

I'm very excited to finally bring in the position where my husband has agreed we need a car (one toddler and a baby on the way). I've been in London ten years and prior to this I loved overseas where car ownership is more or less essential and I just loved the freedom to go anywhere whenever I wanted. This may not be the case in London traffic but it will be so much less of a hassle to arrange hire cars/zip for day trips when we have two kids and two axkid minikid car seats.

When I was living overseas I always had my dad to help haggle on car purchases but since my husband is a non car driver I'm not going have his skills etc to help out in the way that (unfortunately) men seem to get better deals on anything car related.

We have a £10K limit (paying cash) and are looking at a Hyundai ioniq or Toyota Prius (the Prius makes me cringe a bit but I figure they are both good cars for London traffic), and I like the space they both provide over the hire cars we usually get.
These cars tend to be a little over budget and up to £12k for the mileage / age.

Does anyone have any idea of how much bargaining power we'd have to get a price reduction? Amount of time that it's been listed? Comparison to other dealerships prices? Minor scuffs etc? We are eliminating anything with any insurance category associated with it.

Help! Thank you.

We recently bought a 2nd hand car from a garage and found very little wriggle room. Apparently 2nd hand cars are in high demand at the moment.
Although we weren't able to get a price reduction we did have more leverage in getting things like new tyres, paint touch up (minor chips that only DH could see!) etc.

Unfortunately, due to shortages of materials such as chips and metals, car prices (including second hand) are very high at the moment.
As previous poster says, there's really not much chance of getting a bargain.

Is the budget flexible, in that it's a figure you've picked out of the air, or would you struggle to pay any more?

I agree that used cars are supposed to be expensive right now, only thing I can suggest that you might not have considered is whether you can buy at auction - if you cut out the middle man (most car dealers buy their cars at auction) there should be scope to save and also possibly be a good place to get a 3 year old version of the cars you are looking at. As long as it's been serviced and has an MOT, it should be a good buy.

Dealers, whether new or used, do not actually like cash. They prefer finance as it brings in extra income for them so unfortunately there really isn't any bargaining power by having cash.

Please do look at cars within your budget to save both yours and the dealers time. Trying to get £2k off is insane, when there is only likely a £500 profit margin in the car.

Following with interest as I am in a similar position (although smaller budget).

Related to the above point about finance, is it worth getting one on finance and then paying it off straightaway? I understand that you're more likely to get more car for your money on finance, so what's the best way to play it?

Buy privately and pay for an AA/RAC inspection first? That's what we did as the mileage was very low. It's been fabulous.

You can then look at cars from private sellers where the price seems rather more reasonable or you can negotiate more easily.

@SeeYaBeYa

Following with interest as I am in a similar position (although smaller budget).

Related to the above point about finance, is it worth getting one on finance and then paying it off straightaway? I understand that you're more likely to get more car for your money on finance, so what's the best way to play it?

When buying a car on finance, you can pay it off straight away yes. It really depends whether you're buying new or used.

Generally, the dealer will help you if you're honest and say you want the best deal but don't want to take the piss out of them. Ask them if it's financially better on finance and if you'd get a better deal.

Ah ok that makes sense, thanks.

I don't like the idea of lying tbh but I do like the idea of getting as much as I can for money.

Thank you for the replies all very helpful. I had heard that the second hand market is hot right now. And yeah I guess dealers make their money on finance.

Private sellers make me feel anxious. I sold my last car privately but it does feel a little unknown!

Auction may be a good idea, as long as I run all the vehicle checks!

I may see if I can take my FILwith me, he is no great car enthusiast but he has owned a car in the UK his entire life so having a male backup. Or maybe one of my male colleagues or friends, but they're all pretty chilled out so don't know how good they are at negotiating!

@Run247

Thank you for the replies all very helpful. I had heard that the second hand market is hot right now. And yeah I guess dealers make their money on finance.

Private sellers make me feel anxious. I sold my last car privately but it does feel a little unknown!

Auction may be a good idea, as long as I run all the vehicle checks!

I may see if I can take my FILwith me, he is no great car enthusiast but he has owned a car in the UK his entire life so having a male backup. Or maybe one of my male colleagues or friends, but they're all pretty chilled out so don't know how good they are at negotiating!

Bringing a male doesn't make a difference. It's not the 80's, the majority of sales people are lovely.

Go to a big name dealer instead like Richard Sanders or Bristol Street Motors. They have female sales people.

i wouldn't recommend buying at auction for people who have no knowledge of cars.
also have you costed in all the necessary expenses of running a car, esp in London, eg parking, fuel, insurance, servicing etc, as well as the initial purchase price.

I saw a YouTube video on buying a car (new or used) from a dealer, and the advice was NOT to reveal you are a cash buyer upfront. As a previous poster mentioned, dealers make money from the financing arrangements. On a cash deal they lose this income so will negotiate harder on the price. The advice was to negotiate the price, and only after this is agreed discuss the payment method.

Thanks to the later responders. I have done a good spreadsheet on all the costs of running and parking a car in London especially in my particular borough, which is ridiculous but not too bad if I get a hybrid.

Good point about not saying I am a cash buyer upfront .. I'll lure them in and then flash the cash 😆

Everyone I know who’s brought a car in the last 12 months has paid pretty much the listed price. I went in as a cash buyer with 13k and apart from part ex for my old banger they wouldn’t budge on the price. Sales lady said she could sell it again tomorrow without issue. Second hand cars are in demand.

Good luck. And take a look at the Kia Niro as an alternative to Ioniq/Prius. We went to a dealer to look at Ioniq/Prius but much preferred the Niro. Feels much bigger inside, especially in rear seats. Good internal height and the sitting position is higher and more upright.

Cash really isn't a great incentive for most dealers as they make money on finance deals.

Where I've typically saved money is by choosing higher mileage (but well looked after) cars.