Car dealers in UK

largepants

Has anyone anyexperience of dealing with car dealer in the UK? What are they like to get a discount? I'm Seriously considering heading over and what areas would be the best to head to.

legatti

depends on what you want, if your looking at a ford then obviously they cant take off 3 grand but if your looking at a BMW then yeah they can!!
i would say go to london, but if you dont wanna head right into the uk try Cardiff or swansea or Bristol you will get a wide range of dealers there avoid affluent areas like the plague (chelsea park lane sunningdale ascot windsor etc) they load prices and will not shift as they know they dont have too
as for discounts all dealers discount, it depends on the car and your haggling skills, if your going for a car they have a waiting list on then you have no chance, if your going for a demo there looking to get rid of then your in luck... colour also has a lot to do with it!! think bronze,yellow green sky blue and flat non metallic colours ,often dealerships will be landed with a mark (from the manufacturer) in a colour that is hard to shift , where as silver will sell all day.
i worked for bmw for 12 years in the UK, you will have to haggle hard be prepared to do so, the worst they can say is no.. and if they say no dont except no for an answer!!!
you can do a lot of homework on the phone and the net before leaving ireland tell them up front your looking for a deal and see there response,
its a buyers market right now:)

largepants

Thanks for the info legatti. Probably should have specified which car I'd be looking at. I was considering a MPV (never though i'd succumb to the MPV but i have to) and had a budget of 18,500 to 19k. However the problem being that I was going to go '08 upwards to avail of the new tax rates. The one that particularly interested me was the Citroen C4 Picasso. They vary in price from 12.5k to 14.5k (my budget). Wondering how much I could expect off?

My haggling wouldn't be too bad. I'd have no problem walking away if I wasn't happy.

kluivert

Penrath Audi offered 11% Discount straight up.
Belfast Audi offered 8% Discount but had to haggle hard to get it.

Sales Manager decided it was just easier to get it from Belfast rather than Penrath which is right beside Holyhead.

conor_mc

Car supermarkets, like cargiant, won't haggle so what you see is what you pay.

I've just brought in an 09 mondeo and had to pay the online price, but it was £500 less than the nearest zetec, plus it had a few extras so I was happy enough with the deal. They had dropped the price to get to the top of the autotrader listings and wouldn't drop it any further.

I did make sure to get a full tank of diesel thrown in though (~£90), which helps if you've got a long drive to the ferry ahead of you.

Mc Love

Would recommend Oldham Motors OP - they were very helpful when I went over during the month and bought my car from them. They are also part of a large network of dealers so if you find a car you like they can have it shipped to their dealership to make it easier for you.
Steve would be the contact there!

legatti

largepants wrote: »

Thanks for the info legatti. Probably should have specified which car I'd be looking at. I was considering a MPV (never though i'd succumb to the MPV but i have to) and had a budget of 18,500 to 19k. However the problem being that I was going to go '08 upwards to avail of the new tax rates. The one that particularly interested me was the Citroen C4 Picasso. They vary in price from 12.5k to 14.5k (my budget). Wondering how much I could expect off?

My haggling wouldn't be too bad. I'd have no problem walking away if I wasn't happy.

ooooh i would pop a citroen dealer for 800/1000 sterling,
and a full tank and mats!! defo have a scoot round,
buyers market and all i think you could sort out a nice deal for yourself,
but check out N.I as well, and scotland and in your postion i would also check out france!!! being as your having a look at citroens.
good luck with it and haggle like your in a turkish bazzar lol:D

largepants

Great stuff people. I'll get my haggling boots and hat on. I'm looking at a few on citroen.co.uk which would interest.

Would a french car not be LHD?

Henry Ford III

largepants wrote: »

Would a french car not be LHD?

Yes they are all lhd, even the rhd ones

Gerardo01

I think choosing the right one is the important. The model, design, performance matters a lot. Buying a car can be an exciting time but it can also be a very anxious time for any car shoppers.