Used car from garage

tw0nk

Hi All, just got my loan for car and am looking to buy a 2000/2001 1.6 focus preferably from a garage as its my first time buying a car.

I was talking to 2 people who recently bought used cars from garages and they said that when they bought they were asked if they were trading in anything, when they said no, they were told to take 1000 euros off the price... is this correct? do dealers knock 1000 euros off if you dont trade anything in when buying a used car?

Thanks, oh if anyone has any advide on where to buy focus or tips please post, thanks.

alias no.9

tw0nk wrote:

Hi All, just got my loan for car and am looking to buy a 2000/2001 1.6 focus preferably from a garage as its my first time buying a car.

I was talking to 2 people who recently bought used cars from garages and they said that when they bought they were asked if they were trading in anything, when they said no, they were told to take 1000 euros off the price... is this correct? do dealers knock 1000 euros off if you dont trade anything in when buying a used car?

Thanks, oh if anyone has any advide on where to buy focus or tips please post, thanks.

There's no set rule. Find a car you like, drive it and talk money. Be sure to have researched prices elsewhere too. When you've been given a price, say straight deal, cash, tomorrow, what's the best you can do? You'll probably get them salivating at this but a good salesman will hide it. You'll probably get a better price. Now is the time to haggle. Make an offer of €500 to €1000 less that his best price and come to meet somewhere in the middle. You can be cheeky and ask for stuff like mats or road tax for 3 or 6 months.

Just make sure they know your serious and they'll work to make a deal. Be prepared to leave a small deposit there and come back with the cash the next day.

bazz26

tw0nk wrote:

Hi All, just got my loan for car and am looking to buy a 2000/2001 1.6 focus preferably from a garage as its my first time buying a car.

I was talking to 2 people who recently bought used cars from garages and they said that when they bought they were asked if they were trading in anything, when they said no, they were told to take 1000 euros off the price... is this correct? do dealers knock 1000 euros off if you dont trade anything in when buying a used car?

Thanks, oh if anyone has any advide on where to buy focus or tips please post, thanks.

Yes a straight cash sale is alot better for a garage as they don't have to try and sell your old car that you traded in.

You should be able to negociate at least €1,000 off the sticker price of the car. If they don't budge on the price then walk away, there are plenty of other 2000/2001 Ford Focus' out there to look at. Also make sure you get some sort of warranty with the car from the dealer. If they are not giving you a warranty then you might as well buy from a private seller. The risk would be the same but a private seller's price will be lower. Really the only reason to buy from a dealer is the added piece of mind from the warranty.

Check out http://www.carzone.ie and http://www.cbg.ie, there are alot of cars on there for sale, both dealers and private sellers.

This is all true.
I got quoted €10,900 for a 1.4 focus last year. Cash price was €9,900. I Ended up getting it for €9,450 + €30 of petrol thrown in. After a lot of back and forth between dealers.
Focis are all over the place, if you don't like the price walk. There will be another one on sale somewhere else for cheaper.
If you can get a similar one cheaper at another garage but you prefer the higher priced one, try knocking them down in price by telling them of the cheaper one else where (thats what I did).

Good luck!

ballooba

I got 3,000 off list by paying cash. Down to 13,500.

tw0nk

Ok cool, thanks for info so far... Its all new to me. Im thinking then from what I have read... If I go for a focus thats advertised for 10,000 in a garage I should offer 9,000 or below in cash? I have the cash ready so I could offer it on the day, might tempt the salesperson?

Also whats the standard that a garage gives with a second hand car... i.e. a year waranty? free first service?

Thanks.

bazz26

tw0nk wrote:

Ok cool, thanks for info so far... Its all new to me. Im thinking then from what I have read... If I go for a focus thats advertised for 10,000 in a garage I should offer 9,000 or below in cash? I have the cash ready so I could offer it on the day, might tempt the salesperson?

I would start off by offering €8,500 and slowly work up to €9,000 and not pay a penny more. A good idea I think is to have a bank draft/cheque made out for €8,500 in one pocket and another €500 cash in the other. Show them the draft to let them know you are serious. Only use the other €500 if you absolutely have to.

Have a top price in your head that you are prepared to spend and stick to it no matter how nice the car is and be prepared to walk out the door and look at the next car. If the salesperson doesn't call you back then they are probably not really pushed in selling the car to you. Haggling is like a game of poker. There are lots of second hand cars out there on forecourts so there are bargins to be had, it just takes a bit of work thats all.

tw0nk wrote:

Also whats the standard that a garage gives with a second hand car... i.e. a year waranty? free first service?

Thanks.

With a 2000/2001 average mileage car you should be getting at least a 6 month warranty.

Best of luck.

alias no.9

Don't make any offer based on the advertised price. Ask for a straight cash price before making an offer. If this is significantly lower than the advertised price, come in about €500 below this price and work from there. If they're taking the piss with the cash price, come in €1000 below and work from there.

Don't get a draft made out in advance. A draft has to be made payable to a specific person or company. It you don't reach a deal, you're left with a draft made out to a company/person you don't intend buying anything from. You're over a barrel. If you've agreed a price and are returining with payment, maybe then it's worth chancing your arm with a lower value draft and trying to get another few quid off.

Don't bring a large amount of cash. Bring €200 or so as a deposit and have the rest ready to bring later that day or the following day.

alias no.9

Should be at least 6 months warranty and fully serviced. I'm not sure of the timing belt interval but if it's due in the next 20k miles or 2 years, push to get it done as part of the deal.

lomb

all this talk is crazy about whether u get one grand or two off, its only worth the open market selling price+cost of preperation to concourse+warranty+profit margin.
for a good idea go to ros.ie and key in all the details. get the omsp and add to it 10-20% for the above. then ul get the amount u should be paying. note, some limited market cars have their values skewed, but its a good start for mainstream cars.