Buying new...Tips?

eas

hello

sorry for repeating a commen thread if I am - the search seems to be down. (can someone link me to a simular thread??)

I'll be making my first "new" car purchase inthe coming weeks - a 2006 civic 1.4.

I'm wondering if people can give me advice on how to haggle the best deal?

How much haggle room is there on a €23,000 car? If they don't move much on price, should I look for other extras (paint maybe? beefed up audio?).

I also have a 2001 passat 1.6 to trade..or sell privately. I know dealers don't gernerally give good value for trade ins, but can this be worked in to the "haggle" effectively?

thanks, appreciate your help.

JHMEG

A Honda dealer won't give you near as much for your Passat as a VW dealer will. But ask anyway. I reckon you'll end up selling privately unless you want rid of it quickly.

I see the list price is €22,825, but expect the dealer to be looking for around €1,000 more for "delivery and related charges". If paying cash you should be able to get the price down a bit.

And don't be afraid to visit/phone different dealers. The Honda dealers in Ballina and Roscrea have especially good names.

Nice car BTW. Go easy with the right foot and you should do around 60mpg on long journeys. Not bad.

want2play

eas wrote:

hello

sorry for repeating a commen thread if I am - the search seems to be down. (can someone link me to a simular thread??)

I'll be making my first "new" car purchase inthe coming weeks - a 2006 civic 1.4.

I'm wondering if people can give me advice on how to haggle the best deal?

How much haggle room is there on a €23,000 car? If they don't move much on price, should I look for other extras (paint maybe? beefed up audio?).

I also have a 2001 passat 1.6 to trade..or sell privately. I know dealers don't gernerally give good value for trade ins, but can this be worked in to the "haggle" effectively?

thanks, appreciate your help.

Start by getting the highest trade in for your Passat possible before you even talk to them about discounts on the Civic, that will bring the balance down.

Then if they dont move on the Civic at least look for as many little extras as possible

Cyrus

eas wrote:

hello

sorry for repeating a commen thread if I am - the search seems to be down. (can someone link me to a simular thread??)

I'll be making my first "new" car purchase inthe coming weeks - a 2006 civic 1.4.

I'm wondering if people can give me advice on how to haggle the best deal?

How much haggle room is there on a €23,000 car? If they don't move much on price, should I look for other extras (paint maybe? beefed up audio?).

I also have a 2001 passat 1.6 to trade..or sell privately. I know dealers don't gernerally give good value for trade ins, but can this be worked in to the "haggle" effectively?

thanks, appreciate your help.

my advice re buying new is dont

Why do you want a new car? with 23k you could get all sorts of lovely metal, is there any reason you want a 1.4 civic?

gyppo

I'm with cyrus on this one. Unless a brand new car is very important to you, why not consider a civic 1.4 thats a few months old.

Eg: http://www.carzone.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carid=520370

You might find there is more room for negotiation on a car which the dealer already has in stock, and wants to get rid off. You are also saving yourself about €3k straight away.

bazz26

eas wrote:

hello

sorry for repeating a commen thread if I am - the search seems to be down. (can someone link me to a simular thread??)

I'll be making my first "new" car purchase inthe coming weeks - a 2006 civic 1.4.

I'm wondering if people can give me advice on how to haggle the best deal?

How much haggle room is there on a €23,000 car? If they don't move much on price, should I look for other extras (paint maybe? beefed up audio?).

I also have a 2001 passat 1.6 to trade..or sell privately. I know dealers don't gernerally give good value for trade ins, but can this be worked in to the "haggle" effectively?

thanks, appreciate your help.

Personally myself I would not buy a brand new car in October or November. In two months time it is classed as a year old. I know you get hit for depreciation the second you drive it out of the showroom but I usually buy new in February or March. At least that way if I'm getting screwed for the first year's depreciation I get to use the car for most of the year.

bazz26

If nobody bought new cars then there would be no second hand bargins out there. Also some people like to buy new rather than buying someone elses cast off. The way Irish people in general abuse their cars and don't maintain them properly I cannot blame some people for buying new only.

I agree in this case that it makes more sence to buy used 06 Civic at this time of year than a brand new one. The used 06 Civic will have already depreciated by a coupe of thousand euro. It is probably only about 3 to 6 months old so it will still have the balance of the Honda warranty with it. Also the dealer may have more than one sitting on his forecourt so at this time of the year he may be more eager to do a deal before they drop in value again on Dec 31.

eas

thanks for the advice.

And don't be afraid to visit/phone different dealers. The Honda dealers in Ballina and Roscrea have especially good names.

That was another question - do some dealers offer better prices then others? Judging from what you say above they do.Woud the price difference be significant? I live in Wicklow town, so buying in Mayo probably wouldnt be the most convienient thing for me. I would also be taking into account that if I ever need the car serviced/warentee work.....well it just wouldnt work. I guess I could put thelower prices to good use when making the deal.

Start by getting the highest trade in for your Passat possible before you even talk to them about discounts on the Civic, that will bring the balance down.

good advice -thanks

my advice re buying new is dont

Why do you want a new car? with 23k you could get all sorts of lovely metal, is there any reason you want a 1.4 civic?

yes.....well it's something like this. We (myself and my wife) have two kids. She doesn't like the passat because it's too big and quite thirsty.

our choices so far have been :

2005 Renault Scenic diesel :
around €20,000
Wife loves, a bit old for me

2006 Nissan Note
Around €18,000
Wife liked, A bit boring for me.

2006 Honda Civic
around €23,000
I really like, wife fails to see practicality.

I think the new civic represents the best value for these reasons.

1) low depreciation
2) fuel econ. similar or better than the Scenic diesel option
3) Honda reliability record better than Renault + Nissan
4) it looks great

I have to admit, the idea of buying new doesn't fit me 100%, but finding a new style civic on the used market within 50miles of Wicklow town is probably going to be a difficult one.

is my logic flawed? My wide is still not convinced that the Civic suits us best (we have two young kids) but as a compromise between what she wants, and what I want it seems to do the trick.....

bazz26

gyppo wrote:

I'm with cyrus on this one. Unless a brand new car is very important to you, why not consider a civic 1.4 thats a few months old.

Eg: http://www.carzone.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carid=520370

You might find there is more room for negotiation on a car which the dealer already has in stock, and wants to get rid off. You are also saving yourself about €3k straight away.

That is the old model Civic and should be available alot cheaper than that imo. I think the OP is interested in the new Civic but you still should be able to find a used 06 new type.

eas

ya, i want the new style - not that theres anything wrong wiht the old style....but the new style really does it for me.

http://www.honda.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=car&carID=502961

gyppo

bazz26 wrote:

That is the old model Civic and should be available alot cheaper than that imo. I think the OP is interested in the new Civic but you still should be able to find a used 06 new type.

As ever Bazz, you're spot on. Completely left my head that there was a model change this year - one more of my many senile moments!

kluivert

I like the new Civic as well.

Am going to wait a year or two before I pick one up.

The first year of production is the one where you will get cars that have small teething problems. Second year of production will see an increase in reliability or a lack of little things going wrong with the car.

I will be looking out for 1.8 IVTEC, super economy for a petrol at an average of 45mpg. 44mpg for the 1.4 I-DSE.

The 1.4 has 8 spark plugs, 2 per cylinder. The extra 4 plugs kick in at higher revs to give the car an extra boost, this in a great proven engine in the Jazz.

I agree with the lads, wait to pick up an 2007, if you want an 2006 ask for a big discount take no excuses, its a buyers market.

I dont like dealers they have there head stuck up their backside. I could tell you stories. GF went to a Renualt garage to look at a 2004 Astra expecting the new model, the salesman told her that the new Astra came out in 2005, she told him no your wrong it was May 2004 it was launched, she said he was taken back with the fact that she knows her cars his attitude changed towards her and he was more than helpful in getting the right car for her.

Dealers are full of crap, they know nothing about cars and I have yet to him one who does. Apart from colm.

1. Sell pivately
2. Cash sale = discount, put the cash in his hand and tell him ill take the car tomorrow. Ie give him 21k cash in his hand. He ll find it hard to say no.
3. Ask for AA Road Assistance n all that included as well as first service free.

Good luck with the car very nice car indeed. cant wait to get mind.

bazz26

eas wrote:

thanks for the advice.



That was another question - do some dealers offer better prices then others? Judging from what you say above they do.Woud the price difference be significant? I live in Wicklow town, so buying in Mayo probably wouldnt be the most convienient thing for me. I would also be taking into account that if I ever need the car serviced/warentee work.....well it just wouldnt work. I guess I could put thelower prices to good use when making the deal.


good advice -thanks





yes.....well it's something like this. We (myself and my wife) have two kids. She doesn't like the passat because it's too big and quite thirsty.

our choices so far have been :

2005 Renault Scenic diesel :
around €20,000
Wife loves, a bit old for me

2006 Nissan Note
Around €18,000
Wife liked, A bit boring for me.

2006 Honda Civic
around €23,000
I really like, wife fails to see practicality.

I think the new civic represents the best value for these reasons.

1) low depreciation
2) fuel econ. similar or better than the Scenic diesel option
3) Honda reliability record better than Renault + Nissan
4) it looks great

I have to admit, the idea of buying new doesn't fit me 100%, but finding a new style civic on the used market within 50miles of Wicklow town is probably going to be a difficult one.

is my logic flawed? My wide is still not convinced that the Civic suits us best (we have two young kids) but as a compromise between what she wants, and what I want it seems to do the trick.....

Definately shop around, prices can vary quite a bit from dealer to dealer. I would not worry about having servicing or warranty work. You can get that done at your nearest Honda dealer, it doesn't have to be the place you bought the car from. The Honda dealer will just bill Honda for any warranty work carried out.

If your not sure about the practicality of the Civic then my advice is definately take one for a test drive and see how it fits. The Civic hatch is very deceptive in size. It is alot larger on the inside that it looks.

JHMEG

kluivert wrote:

The 1.4 has 8 spark plugs, 2 per cylinder. The extra 4 plugs kick in at higher revs to give the car an extra boost, this in a great proven engine in the Jazz.

DSI fires both plugs all the time. The duration between the 1st and 2nd plug firing is altered depending on conditions, allowing a more complete burn. There is no "extra boost" at high revs, unfortunately.

JHMEG

eas wrote:

That was another question - do some dealers offer better prices then others?

Yes.

Would saving say 800 euro be inconvenient if it meant you had to go down the country a bit?

eas

JHMEG wrote:

Would saving say 800 euro be inconvenient if it meant you had to go down the country a bit?

800 euro would be worth it - especially knowing this :

Definately shop around, prices can vary quite a bit from dealer to dealer. I would not worry about having servicing or warranty work. You can get that done at your nearest Honda dealer, it doesn't have to be the place you bought the car from. The Honda dealer will just bill Honda for any warranty work carried out.

I will be looking out for 1.8 IVTEC, super economy for a petrol at an average of 45mpg.

the 1.8 gets better milage than the 1.4? how can that be. amazing. Unfortunately I think the 1.8 would be out of our budget, and I'd have a hard time convincing my wife that that extra mile would be worh the extra $$ on road tax.

thanks again for all the comments/advice.

Cyrus

eas wrote:

800 euro would be worth it - especially knowing this :





the 1.8 gets better milage than the 1.4? how can that be. amazing. Unfortunately I think the 1.8 would be out of our budget, and I'd have a hard time convincing my wife that that extra mile would be worh the extra $$ on road tax.

thanks again for all the comments/advice.

be a man tell her you want a bigger engine or dont tell her at all

eas

Cyrus wrote:

be a man tell her you want a bigger engine or dont tell her at all

and risk another trip to the hospital......no way!

Cyrus

lmao fair enough!

my car is the one thing i leave the decision making to myself! but if ur gonna be sharing its only fair

bazz26

kluivert wrote:

3. Ask for AA Road Assistance n all that included as well as first service free.

Honda offer Hondacare Roadside Assistance via the RAC for 3 years with all their new cars as standard.

Skyuser

Buy the car the last week of the month because the salesman is more likely to give you a better deal to try to meet his sales target.

kluivert

JHMEG wrote:

DSI fires both plugs all the time. The duration between the 1st and 2nd plug firing is altered depending on conditions, allowing a more complete burn. There is no "extra boost" at high revs, unfortunately.

Sorry man your right, its the timing of the burn that changes depending on the acceleration, I should really read over my posts.

Another mistake in my previous post:

1.8 IVTEC averages 44.1mpg
1.4 IDSI averages 45.2mpg

IVTEC = vti + vtec I think, controls the timing on the values, which improves fuel economy I think.

Honda have loads of info on their engines. Have a read, actually quiet interesting.

JHMEG

kluivert wrote:

IVTEC = vti + vtec I think, controls the timing on the values, which improves fuel economy I think.

iVTEC = VTEC + VTC.

VTC = the ability to change cam phasing. ie the position of one camshaft in relation to the other. Was developed to refine the engine further and smooth out the torque and power curves, which can otherwise "blip" on dohc vtec engines. By definition VTC can only exist on dohc engines, of which the 1.8 is one.

eas

Skyuser wrote:

Buy the car the last week of the month because the salesman is more likely to give you a better deal to try to meet his sales target.

nice one! think I'll use it.

anyone want to buy a 1.6L passat?