How to haggle!

eth0_

I'm about to buy my first car, and am going to have a look at a few this week.
There's one in particular, a ford ka 1998 with alloys, metalic paint and CD player for 3200 from a garage, with warranty.

Do you reckon I could get away with offering 2500 euro cash for it?

Especially as it has 80k miles on it..

Help

x in the city

deffo , wave that amount and he will get the flutters....



good luck with the haggling.

eth0_

Really? I thought 2500 might have been a bit cheeky!

Maybe I could offer 2200 and hope he meets me at or under 2500?

L5

Tell him the 2500 is the max you can afford, have it in cash, do not offer any more even if he says too low.Walk away if he says that, chances are he'll call you back

eth0_

Would like to get it for 2200 though, as there are always a few Ka's in the buyandsell for 1800-2000 euro.

I'm pretty terrified tbh, being a girl who's only been driving for 4 months

Guy:Incognito

It's a sad state of affairs but they often are less like to take advantage of a man. Do you not have someone who could go with you and do the talking. That way the salesguy gets to feel supior by talking to a man about "a car for the little lady" and you'll probably get a decent deal. Plus you get to sit there and dont have to show fear. Im sure if your stuck, maybe evn someone here would volunteer, any kinds souls out there?

and make sure you get some freebies!

Mats,Flaps and a full tank of petrol at least.

mike65

Im sure if your stuck, maybe evn someone here would volunteer, any kinds souls out there

...and I'd only take a very small cut!

Mike.

bazz26

The rule of thumb here is to stick to your guns. Have a maximum price in your head that you are prepared to go to. Even if the car is in great condition and you are mad about it don't go above your price. If he doesn't budge on price then walk away as you said there are plenty out there within your price range. Don't buy the first one you see if it is too pricy no matter what it may be like.

If you are not very good at bargining then bring somebody who is and get them to do the haggling for you.

unkel

Hold on, it's not that easy. If the Ka has just been serviced, has new tyres and has more than a year's NCT and say a 6 month warranty and maybe even some tax, then €3200 is not bad from a dealer

How badly do you need to buy a car? If you can wait and expect the dealer not to sell the car (doubtful) then wait until a few days before the end of June. Go in on a weekday and wave the €2500 in cash at him. You'll probably succeed

But, he'll sell the car before then for more than €2500 in my expectation, so if my above presumptions are correct, go in tomorrow waving €3000 and you'll have a new car

Esel

If you are prepared to pay €2500, then offer a lesser figure. You *have* to let the salesperson think s/he has 'won' by bringing your offer up. Eventually, after a *lot* of haggling (leave to get privacy to make phony phone calls), agree to your final offer of €2500. Be prepared to walk away. There are lots of nice cars out there. Extras are not worth much secondhand. You should be very concerned by the high mileage (wink wink).

IrishRover

Yeah, I think the trick is to decide what you are willing to pay and offer a percentage below that and allow the seller to haggle you up to that point. If you're a seller, decide what you are willing to take and advertise for a percentage above that to allow some room for the buyer to haggle you down.

It's something that you get better at with experience too. I'm still practicing myself. It really helps if you don't have your heart set on a car. I was in England last week looking at a few cars. There was one that I really wasn't sure I wanted because it wasn't quite what I was looking for. There was another over the other side of the country that was supposed to be a minter, but the owner was looking for nearly twice the price. In the end I let the price decide. I stuck to a low figure almost hoping that the seller wouldn't agree so that I could then have the decision made for me to go get the other one. The fact that I really didn't want it that badly helped me get a good deal. I'm sure like a lot of people though, I'd pay as much money as I had for a car that I was really in love with.

By the way, and I'm only mentioning this just in case it might suit you, I have a '91 Ford Fiesta that I will be selling in the next couple of weeks. I've put new front brake discs and pads on it, replaced a suspension bush that had popped out, and done an oil/filter/spark plugs/air filter service on it and it runs great. I have to put it through the NCT first (which I expect it will pass) so that's why I'm not selling it just yet. If you're still looking for a car in a couple of weeks, let me know and I'll sell it to you for €700 - or you could try and haggle me down a bit if you like

Blut

On the subject of buying, are there seasonal buying periods? I'm going to be buying a 98-99 Golf for college next September, would I be better off looking around for deals in say July or August? In case theres some sort of new student / new workers rush?

And what kind of dealer discount am I likely to get on say a €7,500 car if Im buying in cash with no trade in? 500e? 1000e?

Sorry for the hijack but its fairly relevant to the thread

Balfa

Yay, congratulations on deciding to get your first car. It's absolutely mandatory that you bring someone with you. Someone to keep shaking their head and saying "tsk, tsk, look at this" and "tsk, tsk, look at that" and pointing out everything that might have a slight semblance of dodginess.

I just got my first car a couple of months ago. The car is worth almost $6500, but i haggled them down to $4730. My technique was to just sit there saying "i dunno if i can afford that" over and over until they decided it was worth dropping the price just to save themselves listening to my monotony

But yeah, if they don't agree at first, definitely go to leave. It's certain they'll offer you a better deal after you get up to go.

All that said, the asking price isn't bad, especially considering it comes with warranty.

Repli

My girlfriend was buying a car a few weeks ago, so we went to look at a mitsubishi carisma in a garage in Tallaght that was advertised for €3000. I offered him €2900 and he said no way, that he could easily get €3000, this car will be "gone tomorrow" etc, so I just walked away and left it at that. Ended up getting a great deal on an almera in the buy and sell.

Orion

If the shop isn't a Ford shop then they'll be anxious to get rid of it. I bought my Skoda from a Renault garage. They wanted it out of the yard so we got them down by €2000 and a new set of tyres thrown in as a result.

kevodaly

Say your buying a new car and trading in - whats the best approach with the salesman here ? Because its a new car, there can be no arguing over it's value. I guess it comes down to getting the best price for the trade in right ?

So, even though I'm trading in, is there a certain discount I can wrangle out of the dealer ? Could I expect to get some extra's thrown in, like a sunroof maybe.

Because the car would need to be ordered ( i.e. he doesn't have it sitting in the forecourt trying to shift it ) - does that put him in a much stronger position, or will he be just as interested in making the sale ?

prospect

Well if he/she has any sense, and your trade in is a reasonable car then he/she has two potential sales:
1. A new car to you
2. Your trade in to another customer

Your bargaining power includes:
Floor mats, mudflaps, a full tank of fuel, alloys, boot liner and things like that.
The market is quietening down around now, so a subtle hint that you are visiting the dealer up the road may be a small incentive for him/her to upgrade your CD player.

knifey_spoonie

Go in on a monday preferably end of the month (comission is done monthly).Offering cash will have little influence to a big operator.Stay quite make them work for the sale.Dont insult them, you will be told fcuk off

DubTony

kevodaly wrote:

So, even though I'm trading in, is there a certain discount I can wrangle out of the dealer ? Could I expect to get some extra's thrown in, like a sunroof maybe.

Because the car would need to be ordered ( i.e. he doesn't have it sitting in the forecourt trying to shift it ) - does that put him in a much stronger position, or will he be just as interested in making the sale ?

My experience in the last few years is that most dealers haven't been "dealing" in the way they used to. In 1984 my dad traded a Renault 18 for ... another Renault 18. He had a figure in mind he wanted for the trade in and went back to the guy he'd bought it from 4 years earlier.

He made my dad an offer on the trade that was £100 more than expected and the deal was done. A week later the car was out front for £300 less than had been given.

It seems to me that most dealers today want a profit on both the sale of the new car and on the traded car, whereas 20 years ago they were happy to make the money on the sale of the new one. I guess that just shows how the market has changed.

As an aside, it was a real nice touch when the salesman greeted my dad by name, having not seen him for 4 years. I have no doubt he saw us pulling up outside and checked his records, but nice all the same.

DubTony

eth0_ wrote:

Do you reckon I could get away with offering 2500 euro cash for it?

By going in and offering cash, you're in a strong position. End of the month is always good (just checked the date, you've probably already done it).

I've heard that main dealers work their commisions in a particular way. When a customer trades in a car, the salesman doesn't get the commision until the trade-in has been sold or moved on. If that car is sold against another, he still doesn't get paid. He will get his commision when a customer comes into the dealership and "pays cash" without trading in.
So if you're dealing with a main dealer you should find out the particular salesman who has that car on his books. He's the one most likely to give you a deal. It's worth a try.

I tested this theory (sort of) when buying my wifes Volvo. I called a dealership, asked for a used S40 automatic and he told me he had one left. When I got there, there were two more in the yard. When I asked about them, he said he thought they were sold, and went to check. Sure enough, when he got back he told me one was gone and the other was on hold. 2 and a half weeks later both cars were still for sale.

heggie

reminds me of when i went along with a mate who was buying a car, the garage had a sign in the office saying 'strictly no haggling' as a joke, my mate pointed to the sign with a real nervous face on him, I couldnt stop laughing, some people just arnt cut out for haggling