How can I negotiate a discount buying a new EV

dublinman1013

Hi everyone,

I'm planning to buy a new EV this year and would appreciate any general advice on negotiating a discount. I've never bought a new car before, and I'll be trading in a smaller car for a larger one with a bigger battery.

I've heard a few tips, but I'm not sure how valid they are:

• End of quarter: The idea is that dealerships might be more willing to offer discounts if they're close to missing a sales target.
• End of year: This suggests dealerships might want to clear out older stock, but then I'd be buying a car that's already a year old.

Are these tips accurate? Do you have any other strategies for negotiating a better price?

Thanks,

K

L1011

It very much depends on the specific car you're looking to buy. Most cars are in quite high demand and they'll sell it to someone else at list price instead, basically.

Gumbo

pick a car.
then go around all the dealers that sell that car and see what the best cost to change is.

You can get as good a deal on the 1st of the month as the 31st if you can haggle. Just walk away, say thanks and you’ll think about it.

Play one dealer off another. Tell them dealer b is giving you a better cost to change. If they met you walk out then you know that’s the best you’re gona get. Move on to the next one.

Buddy Bubs

Depends on the car too, if there's big demand for it you won't be getting much if any discount. Is it just a good deal you are looking for or does the feeling of negotiating a discount make you happy? There's ways of getting a good deal without haggling too.

Renault 5 will fly out of showrooms, so will hyundai inster going by levels of interest here so if you want a discount, you'll have to wait for interest to die down a bit. Same with ev3 and elroq, as they are guaranteed to be popular. They all seem pretty decent value to me anyway.

Something like a vw id3, ioniq 5, ev6 have been out a few years and sales have peaked so discounts are possible, both built in to RRP and maybe some wiggle room with dealers depending on interest.

Don't get hung up on the discount, pay more attention to the price and value you are getting and get a car you actually like and is priced well compared to its competitors.

joe1303l

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058397008/new-ev-discount

Best advice is don’t buy a new EV. Seek out a pre-registered, demo or fresh used car instead. If buying something high end, you’re likely to save €10K. Equally if you have a trade in, sell it privately and walk in as a cash buyer.

Red Silurian

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123183074#Comment_123183074

I was about to give this advice. 2 family members recently bought ex-demo model EVs. One a 231 Subaru Soltera (rebadged Toyota BZ4X), the other a 232 Kia eNiro. Both long range versions with premium leather seats etc etc. Cost was in the 30k-33k bracket with less than €5k on them.

No messing around with grants or dealer delivery charges or driving half way across the f'n country to pick them up either

joe1303l

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123183153#Comment_123183153

Good savings on a new car but 231 & 232 are hardly ex-demos if it was recent.

Red Silurian

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123183258#Comment_123183258

Depends on the dealer, 231 and 232 are only ~18 and ~24 months ago

Some dealers will only get new demo models in when a new design is forthcoming

Old diesel

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058397008/how-can-i-negotiate-a-discount-buying-a-new-ev

Shop around.

Be prepared to travel.......

Also until a deal is done - there's ALWAYS other cars by which I mean other makes (not sold by the same dealer) you are interested.

If a deal that works for you is on offer be prepared to move quick on your side without showing excess excitement to the dealer

Cost to change is important as is ensuring you compare like with like on different deals

On my current EV - the local garage I bought from came down in price on seeing what dealers in Clonmel were offering.

I trotted down to Clonmel in the first place because the initial discussions with local garage on price weren't encouraging.

For context at the time i was looking at a 4 month old Corsa EV for what would have been 21 k if I bought it in Clonmel as the Opel dealer was doing scrappage.

(Clonmel is 2 hours drive from me)

Gumbo

BYD Waterford just announced their grant matching discount on the Atto 3 if that tickles your fancy. Basically an additional €3500 off.

Smouse156

For a demo model, say 3/4 months old with less than 5kms, what do people think should be the correct discount percentage vs a new model ordered.

Gumbo

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123194871#Comment_123194871

Theres no set %.

Could be 10% with Cupra and 5% with BMW and 20% with a cheaper Renault or something.

Have you got a car picked yet?

joe1303l

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123194871#Comment_123194871

Very much dependent on the vehicle. List price, new model out vs runout model, waiting time for a new one, grant qualifying, number available for sale, even colour. As a general rule though I’d expect 10-15% off as a minimum.

Smouse156

thanks

blackbox

Maximise the value of your current car to minimize the cost to change.

Make sure it is really clean inside and out.

Consider selling privately if this will get more than the dealer is offering.

Smouse156

If you just come with cash and want to order a new one from factory, do dealers generally give any cash discounts (scrapage etc) off the order. Thinking Cupra Born VZ…if I ordered one, would SEAT give anything off or is it just what matches the online configuration.

Gumbo

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123202005#Comment_123202005

Not really anymore. They actually make more money when you take their finance options and when you trade in, they send it to the trade through tradebid.ie or similar and then take a small cut for their admin. So a cash buyer gives them less profit in general.

And when I say cash, I mean a straight sale as they won’t take much more than a deposit in cash nowadays due to financing and fraud and crime act or whatever.

Buying existing stock is a different matter and they have a bit more play with that depending on the time it’s been sitting there etc

Smouse156

Thanks, I’m didn’t mean literal cash lol. Just no trade in. Ok, good to know

Buddy Bubs

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123202005#Comment_123202005

Only option really is to try a good few dealers. I bought same brand just before Xmas and because the car was just being launched and they already had a 3500 extra off it there were no further discounts, I asked 3 dealers and all said no the price is the price.

With the Born VZ having had such a huge amount knocked off recently (20 grand 😀) I'd say they'll get what they are asking for now

Smouse156

Yeah fair point

forumdedum

Have the days of getting a discount on a brand new car gone? I know if trading in you get an offer on your car etc but if being able to buy new can they offer a discount. Any dealer I've gone to recently have said that's the price and no budging. Genuine question, thank you

forumdedum

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123257229#Comment_123257229

Thank you.

Stallingrad

Depends on brand and time of year. Dealers will often be incentivised to move cars at the end of each quarter as manufacturers chase sales so if you're buying new this is the best time to haggle. January/February is also not a great time to buy as the dealers are just not hungry enough.

I've never met a car sales person who wasn't ready to do some kind of deal.

Buddy Bubs

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123257980#Comment_123257980

To be honest its the same as it ever was - if they think they will have a buyer at X in the near future they will hold out for that, if they begin to doubt that they will either drop the price or be open to negotiation

Or throw in some extras or offer 0% finance

Getting a well priced car would be more important than getting a discount to me anyway

VanHalen

OH buying a new Hybrid. Narrowed down to Yaris, Clio and 208 - test drove each. All dealers offered around €1500 off list for cash sale.