Negotiating new car price

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Mad Scientist
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#767644 22-Feb-2013 13:43

everything is negotiable

sometimes you are successful sometimes you are not due to who is more desperate: if you appear desperate to buy you will lose. if the salesperson is desperate to meet a sales target he will do anything humanly possible to get that sale.

so you must be patient and have thick skin but be polite and do not piss anyone off

ask nicely, i will buy it for 5k less or something like that - if they say no then say thank you i will look at mr M down the road because he can give me 8k less + tow bar + etc etc for example

sometimes they can't reduce the price much but you can ask for - free servicing, extended warranty, free wof, free tow bar, etc etc

i like the idea of calling other dealers around and see who needs a sales target met :D

Cambo

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#767660 22-Feb-2013 13:57

joker97:
sometimes they can't reduce the price much but you can ask for - free servicing, extended warranty, free wof, free tow bar, etc etc

If it's a medium to large dealership, you likely won't get free servicing (though some manufacturers include a service plan with the purchase of new vehicles). The cost of servicing can vary due how the vehicle is used, and the sales dept will likely want a fixed, transparent cost. They cut cost on checking/repairing trade-ins so they wouldn't want it turning up in 6 months with a list of needed service repairs. Free accessories and an after-market warranty (Autosure etc) are usually negotiable. Most major dealers have free WoF inspections for the life of the vehicle too.

Yogi02

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#768393 24-Feb-2013 08:28

BuzzLightyear:

As for buying new, honestly I would never look at it. I am a fan of buying a proven top of the line model that is 2-3 years old - fully serviced in the 40-60km range. Usually 55-65% of the new price. Just because it is new it does not mean your are not going to have issues - Holden and Ford are notorious for visits back to dealerships, sadly Toyota is not too far behind with recent models (2007 - 2011)

Honestly, nothing beats the feeling of driving a brand new car off the show room floor. If you can afford to take the depreciation hit and like me keep the car for 10 years or so - why not. Nothing wrong with a late model used car either but its not the same.

Agreed, but from a practical bang for your buck viewpoint, its a no brainer.
The depreciation hit is effectively what it is costing you to have the New Car Feeling.

Depending on what car your are buying, there is quite a variation in the 2-3 year depreciation between makes/models.
Subaru I think is one of the top brands for this, whereas Holden/Ford are rubbish

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#768395 24-Feb-2013 08:47

What does OP want in a car?

(look this thread is not to discuss merits of used car so please refrain thanks!)

xpd

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#768409 24-Feb-2013 09:53

joker97: everything is negotiable

i like the idea of calling other dealers around and see who needs a sales target met :D

This.

Wife bought a new Daihatsu back in 98, she went to three different dealers, one refused to go lower than the window price so she played the other two against one another.... ended up getting a few $$ knocked off the original price and and upgrade in stereo :)

So it can help to play off dealers, but if as everyone has said that Honda dont budge and youre set on a Honda, then youre kinda stuck.

Gavin / xpd / FastRaccoon / Geek of Coastguard New Zealand

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#768420 24-Feb-2013 10:13

As the OP also mentioned VW, the golf mk7 is coming to NZ this month so I'd imagine some good deals on the mk6 being had.

That and the fact that VWs hold their value well could be something to look at.

I've got a `01 Honda Civic, an '02 Accord and a '06 golf mk5 and there is no question which is the nicer car to drive. The Honda's don't feel very solid and have that awful adaptive power steering (maybe fixed in later models). They have been reliable though and haven't cost much to maintain.

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#768445 24-Feb-2013 11:32

My experience, having just bought a new car, is that dealerships have monthly sales targets. Those are often set by the Australian franchise owners and for the managers and their salespeople it is a numbers game. It is often a units sold KPI that matters more than the actual profit made.
We bought our car on the last day of the month from a dealership on the other side of Auckland. In fact I was standing in a rival dealer's yard when the salesperson called with a 'last minute offer' which was around the fleet price for the vehicle. I gave the salesperson in front of me the chance to match or better the other, he declined, giving me the impression he thought I was trying to pull a swifty. He did call me on the way to the other dealer with a matching deal. Too late I'm afraid.
Admittedly that was a Ford, not an i30 or Golf as you mentioned, where Ford's fleet price is often 15-20% less than sticker. The trouble with sought after cars is that there is less imperative to make the sale because the next customer will be willing to pay what you aren't.
The advice about looking at the trade-in price of the model in question is valid from the point of view that those prices are set by the fleet price of the vehicle when new, not the retail price.

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acsonline

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#768470 24-Feb-2013 12:49

That's a great point and advice. End of the month is on hand and I have just test driven a few cars. I'm set on a Honda civic hatch or a golf (mk6 although the mk7 looks more enticing). It's reliability vs a great driving experience (for me anyway).. Is there any way to get an idea of what the fleet price might be (not for honda I suppose).

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#768481 24-Feb-2013 13:12

Yogi02:
BuzzLightyear: Honestly, nothing beats the feeling of driving a brand new car off the show room floor. If you can afford to take the depreciation hit and like me keep the car for 10 years or so - why not. Nothing wrong with a late model used car either but its not the same.

Agreed, but from a practical bang for your buck viewpoint, its a no brainer.
The depreciation hit is effectively what it is costing you to have the New Car Feeling.

Don't forget that with a new car you get at least a three year warranty with five years becoming more common, free roadside assistance for the duration of the warranty, and in some cases free servicing for a period of time. You also need to consider that with a new car you're getting a new battery, new tyres, and new brake pads whereas on a second hand car on average these things would be 50% worn.

In short I don't think the long term cost difference between a new car versus a car that's a couple of years old is as significant as some people seem to think, unless you're only planning to keep the vehicle for three years or less.

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#768720 25-Feb-2013 09:02

acsonline: That's a great point and advice. End of the month is on hand and I have just test driven a few cars. I'm set on a Honda civic hatch or a golf (mk6 although the mk7 looks more enticing). It's reliability vs a great driving experience (for me anyway).. Is there any way to get an idea of what the fleet price might be (not for honda I suppose).

Not many Hondas or Golfs in fleets, so as you quite rightly point out there probably isn't a fleet price as such. That will be why those makes appear to have better resale/lower depreciation. Just be a little careful on the 'end of the month' hype though. It can be a sales tool to rush you on a purchase, as is scarcity.
As far as test drives go, make sure it is more than just a quick spin around the block. Any dealer worth their salt will let you go for a couple of hours. In fact, one dealer even delivered a car to my home to try in the garage, drive in the local area, etc. Mind you there is sales psychology involved in doing that as well.
Many, many tricks in the sales world, although they will call them techniques. In the end remember it is your money, so you have to be satisfied. Ultimately I always try to remember my late father's advice, that you shouldn't 'love' a car until you already own it. I guess it's the same for any major purchase.

“We’ve arranged a society based on science and technology, in which nobody understands anything about science technology. Carl Sagan 1996

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#768735 25-Feb-2013 09:44

alasta:
Yogi02:
BuzzLightyear: Honestly, nothing beats the feeling of driving a brand new car off the show room floor. If you can afford to take the depreciation hit and like me keep the car for 10 years or so - why not. Nothing wrong with a late model used car either but its not the same.

Agreed, but from a practical bang for your buck viewpoint, its a no brainer.
The depreciation hit is effectively what it is costing you to have the New Car Feeling.

Don't forget that with a new car you get at least a three year warranty with five years becoming more common, free roadside assistance for the duration of the warranty, and in some cases free servicing for a period of time. You also need to consider that with a new car you're getting a new battery, new tyres, and new brake pads whereas on a second hand car on average these things would be 50% worn.

In short I don't think the long term cost difference between a new car versus a car that's a couple of years old is as significant as some people seem to think, unless you're only planning to keep the vehicle for three years or less.

We regularly buy 2-3 year old cars at half the original price (e.g. $8K 2 years old versus $17K new; $25K 3 years old versus $50K new) and the cost of servicing is insignificant compared to the saving on the purchase price. We still get the balance of the new car warranty but they usually don't break down anyway, once initial teething problems are resolved.

What does make a significant difference in the new versus used decision has been the presence of safety features such as ESC (electronic stability control) curtain air bags and the like which are expensive to retrofit. This is particularly important when buying smaller cars because size does matter. Such safety features arrived much earlier in European cars which is a plus for them.

We get good buys because we're prepared to be patient and "walk away". The best prices come from old stock that dealers are trying to clear even at a loss to them. We focus on a narrow range of models so we have a clear picture of what is value for money, online searches are easier because there are the results list is shorter, and the dealers don't try to move us into another bracket. At the moment, for example, we've said we'll spend up to $25k which will get us a new car but would prefer to spend half that for a used car: small, up to 1.5 litre, manual (as teaching kids to drive), full air bags, full spare wheel, ESC, back seat headroom for people 6 feet tall, less than 3 years old and less than 100k on the clock.

surfisup1000

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#768736 25-Feb-2013 09:47

I got nearly 10g off my new Ford Territory (bought in 2006).

It was retailing for 65k, I got it for a tad over 55k -- new, not a demonstrator.

I think if you buy at certain times (end of reporting) they will negotiate more.

surfisup1000

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#768737 25-Feb-2013 09:49

joker97: everything is negotiable

Not BMW's apparently -- I went to buy a new one assuming they'd negotiate.

They wouldn't negotiate 1c on price, so , I didn't buy a BMW.

Yogi02

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#768784 25-Feb-2013 11:11

Once you are happy with your model and made the appropriate test drives etc. Just get on the phone and go right around the country. There is absolutely no loyalty between where you buy the car and what dealership you decide to get it serviced (that I know of).

As previous posters have said play off a couple of dealerships against one another.

mrphil

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#768929 25-Feb-2013 14:26

surfisup1000:
joker97: everything is negotiable

Not BMW's apparently -- I went to buy a new one assuming they'd negotiate.

They wouldn't negotiate 1c on price, so , I didn't buy a BMW.

which dealership?

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