How much can you knock car dealers down by ?
- Thread starter Rogero
- Start date
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Superphil
Dismember
All depends on the time of the month/quarter and whether they need to hit a target, and your deal will help them hit it. I'd try either on the last couple of days if a month, or wait till the end of a quarter.
This. I got a brilliant deal on mine by holding on, saying it was too much etc, then a week before the end of March they came up with a deal that was way better than where we started (almost 20% less). March was apparently their year end....
If the UK market works anything like the US market then the above opinions are very much valid.
In a recent episode of the excellent 'This American Life' podcast, they spent time with a Jeep dealership in the States, tracking their progress to hit their monthly target from Chrysler. If they hit their target of 129 cars, the dealership received a bonus in the region of $65,000 - $85,000. If they missed, even by just 1 car, they would not get a single cent.
In the last day or two they worked frenetically to sell every car they could, including selling them to themselves (to use as courtesy cars in the service side of the business), selling them to their relatives and, pertinent to you, making heavy losses on cars sold to regular punters. They were happy to take a big hit on a few cars - selling them for less than they'd bought them for from Chrysler - in order to hit the target.
(I won't give any more details away on the show in question, as it was an excellent listen and I don't want to give away any spoilers)
In a recent episode of the excellent 'This American Life' podcast, they spent time with a Jeep dealership in the States, tracking their progress to hit their monthly target from Chrysler. If they hit their target of 129 cars, the dealership received a bonus in the region of $65,000 - $85,000. If they missed, even by just 1 car, they would not get a single cent.
In the last day or two they worked frenetically to sell every car they could, including selling them to themselves (to use as courtesy cars in the service side of the business), selling them to their relatives and, pertinent to you, making heavy losses on cars sold to regular punters. They were happy to take a big hit on a few cars - selling them for less than they'd bought them for from Chrysler - in order to hit the target.
(I won't give any more details away on the show in question, as it was an excellent listen and I don't want to give away any spoilers)
wakeytom
New member
Thanks for that, always looking for new podcasts and the list of shows looks right up my alley, will start with the car dealer one which is episode 129 13/12/13
Just bought a VW Tiguan for 15% under asking price from carwow.com
It's a great brokeridge sight that reaches out to all participating dealers of the particular brand that you want. You input the model and spec that you want and they come back with their best price. Generally get 5 or 6 responses for you to take the best price.
A tip to save further cash once you have the first quote is, if you're not fussy about exact spec, go back to them and ask for a price on their nearest match from their stock fleet.
It's a great brokeridge sight that reaches out to all participating dealers of the particular brand that you want. You input the model and spec that you want and they come back with their best price. Generally get 5 or 6 responses for you to take the best price.
A tip to save further cash once you have the first quote is, if you're not fussy about exact spec, go back to them and ask for a price on their nearest match from their stock fleet.
Man of Harveys
Well-known member
Whereabouts was this? All the dealerships in the Houston area seem to have a vaguely sinister but rock-solid omerta pact when it comes to haggling: they literally don't budge by a cent. Even the dodgy ones. It was very disconcerting for someone like me who loves a good haggle.
Town and Country in Levittown, NY.
I hadn't seen this page until now - http://www.thisamericanlife.org/at-the-car-lot/ - it's interesting to see the people that I'd been listening to.
tedlit
Member
Here in sunny Oregon it's very dependent on the make. For example.. there's four Subaru dealers in the Portland area, and they a) all hate each other, and ) all have the same quarter end date. It's very rewarding to play the "well, dealer X gave me THIS quote.. " and work them off each other. On the other hand, if you want a Jag or a Land Rover, there's only one dealer... so you're very *very* lucky to pay a single cent under invoice.
I had a quote from carwow on a Mercedes E class coupe which was over £6000 below the list price of £36000.
GOM
living vicariously
Try drivethedeal as well. Sold by them but supplied and pdi etc etc by your local dealer.
Greg Bobkin
Silver Seagull
- May 22, 2012
- 16,079
Yeah, lots of dealers are desperate to shift stock, that they will bend over backwards to give you the deal you're looking for. I was talking to the boss of the US' largest dealership the other day, and he was saying that years ago, the bottom two salesmen for the month got fired! That's a hell of an incentive to get some sales completed!
Although the market seems to be going in the right direction again, the figures can be distorted by 'registrations' put down as sales, so it's a little misleading. Hence, retailers are still trying to get rid of the stock on the forecourt as quickly as possible - hence it is ALWAYS worth playing hardball. I did suggest this to my father-in-law years ago when he bought a brand new car, but he went straight in and went along with what they quoted him. Many people are like him though - either think it's not worth the hassle, or don't think there is wiggle room.
Although the market seems to be going in the right direction again, the figures can be distorted by 'registrations' put down as sales, so it's a little misleading. Hence, retailers are still trying to get rid of the stock on the forecourt as quickly as possible - hence it is ALWAYS worth playing hardball. I did suggest this to my father-in-law years ago when he bought a brand new car, but he went straight in and went along with what they quoted him. Many people are like him though - either think it's not worth the hassle, or don't think there is wiggle room.
Weststander
Well-known member
Similarly I bought a new VW through the very long established broker www.drivethedeal.com . It was not a pre registered car, instead I chose all the options etc I wanted and they gave a price immediately online that beat local Caffyns by several £000. Then they linked me up with a VW dealer elsewhere in England who delivered to me for no extra fee. The dealer pays the drivethedeal their fee/commission, not the customer.
Before I ordered I tried Caffyns, where their salesman didn't believe the drivethedeal price I mentioned, wrongly presuming I was trying it on, and so he looked up their online price in front of me ... only to find the low price was in fact true.
The impression I got was that our local VW, Audi and BMW dealers are doing very nicely due to their cars popularity, branding and the laziness of the average customer, therefore they don't give a jot if the odd savvy buyer goes elsewhere.
Jim Van Winkle
Well-known member
Depends how fast you are driving when you hit them. 
Daddies_Sauce
Falmer WSL, not a JCL
- Jun 27, 2008
- 886
Looking at purchasing a new car, at the same time as a friend of ours who is also after the same vehicle, so we have tried pooling our resources, to see if we can get a better deal by purchasing 2. Dealers seem uninterested, they never ring you back, when they say they will. We visited a dealer in Seaford for a Korean car (though manufactured in Slovenia) and the salesman could not have been more disinterested. Really frustrating.
maidstoneseagull
Active member
try carwow.co.uk
wakeytom
New member
Listened to that podcast last night and loved it, very good indeed
thedonkeycentrehalf
Moved back to wear the gloves (again)
- Jul 7, 2003
- 9,364
For used cars, it is worth looking at different parts of the country. When I bought my car a couple of years ago I searched around for an 18 month old car. I was able to get the same make, model, mileage, spec etc from Cannock for £2k less than anywhere local. For the sake of a three hour drive each way to pick up the car it was worthwhile. Obviously a bit of trust on both sides but as I was buying an approved used car from a Honda dealer, any issues would have been picked up through warranty and sorted at a local dealer so fairly minimal risk.
If you can identify a car that has been sat on the showroom floor for a long time then go for it.
Dealers put cars on the showroom floor on finance, it can vary in length of time but will typically be between 6 and 12 months, at this point the dealer buys the car. That could be ten grand, it could be forty grand, either way it is cash out of the bank balance. The dealer really does not want to be forty grand lighter, and another ten next week, and another twenty the week after. There you go, couldn't be easier.
Dealers put cars on the showroom floor on finance, it can vary in length of time but will typically be between 6 and 12 months, at this point the dealer buys the car. That could be ten grand, it could be forty grand, either way it is cash out of the bank balance. The dealer really does not want to be forty grand lighter, and another ten next week, and another twenty the week after. There you go, couldn't be easier.