Anyone purchased a used car from a dealer lately? Any wiggle room?

Forums › Transport (cars, bikes and boats) › Anyone purchased a used car from a dealer lately? Any wiggle room?

Blurtie

468 posts

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#290821 7-Dec-2021 14:34

Hey All,

I'm looking at getting a second car. Budget in case it matters is around 25k tops. Have been looking at trade me listings and got my eye on a couple of options. I've read a few other earlier posts here on GZ, including this one, but this was in relation to new cars..

I've heard that stock has been severely restricted due to Covid, so dealers aren't willing to negotiate on the listed price at all, however I would like to hear from anyone who has recently purchased a used car if this has been your experience at all..

in the current environment, is it worthwhile looking at cars slightly above my budget in the hope that I can haggle the dealer down? Or would I just be wasting everyone's time?

TIA

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#2825843 7-Dec-2021 14:37

Bought a used car a few months back. It's a pretty rare car and there were at that time 3 listings on Trademe. The dealer I bought from wouldn't budge at all on price even with another dealer offering a cheaper price on a newer year. Ultimately I went for the more expensive dealer as the 2nd dealer was pretty dodgy next to a chop shop.

The dealer I bought from did throw in a bonnet repaint though - I think an off-hand comment when first looking and I took him up on it. I think he may have regretted it.

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Batman

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#2825849 7-Dec-2021 14:45

i got 30% off when Auckland was in lockdown for 100 days. (there were only 3 of that car on trademe, so I'd put that in a rare car category, one of them on trademe was asking 30% more than what I paid for)

Now that they are out of lockdown I'm not sure.

But I will make an offer of 30% less if I were you.

There is nothing to lose.

martyyn

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#2825850 7-Dec-2021 14:46

Some will, some wont, I don't think that's changed much due to Covid.

I've bought and sold dozens of cars over the years and have never paid, or sold, the asking price.

Just know your budget, have a reasonable idea of what you think the vehicle is worth. If the seller accepts, walk away happy. If they don't walk away and buy something else.

$25k is a great decent chunk of change so you shouldn't have any trouble finding something unless your expectations are way out.

Batman

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#2825851 7-Dec-2021 14:47

Strange times we live in. There are some cars (and other stuff) that money cannot buy.

There are also stuff that nobody is buying and you can get big discounts.

Handsomedan

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#2825857 7-Dec-2021 15:03

Having just bought an old crapper for my son privately, I'd say it largely depends on whether the car needs anything doing to it.

Admittedly our budget was a tenth of yours, but after the AA pre-inspection check, it was down to a guess of how much would the few small things cost to do, vs the asking price and meeting in the middle.

A dealer would likely look to remedy the faults and then charge you the window sticker price, but it's a weird time for everyone, so you can always ask and try negotiating. They can only say no.

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Blurtie

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#2825858 7-Dec-2021 15:03

Thanks all,

Don't think I'm quite in the rear car territory. Have been looking around at bog standard cars, mainly late model hatches - Mazda 3/Alexa, Focus etc. Seems to be a few of them around. So i'm not sure whether there's wiggle room for cars like these?

Handsomedan

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#2825860 7-Dec-2021 15:08

Blurtie:

Thanks all,

Don't think I'm quite in the rear car territory. Have been looking around at bog standard cars, mainly late model hatches - Mazda 3/Alexa, Focus etc. Seems to be a few of them around. So i'm not sure whether there's wiggle room for cars like these?

The Axela is the car of choice for teenagers with money and people looking for a Corolla alternative. I'd doubt there's much wiggle room on those - there's a lot of buyers for those unfortunately.

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Obraik

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#2825863 7-Dec-2021 15:11

You could always go for an EV in that price range and as long as it's new to NZ, the government will give you $3.5k off the sticker price 😉

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martyyn

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#2825867 7-Dec-2021 15:18

From a driving perspective I'd go for a Focus from that group, no question. With your budget there should be loads to choose from.

I've always gone into negotiations with the idea I want 10% discount as a minimum. I'll go lower if it's something I really want, or rare, but I'm aiming for 12% or above ideally.

Blurtie

468 posts

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#2825992 7-Dec-2021 15:58

Obraik:

You could always go for an EV in that price range and as long as it's new to NZ, the government will give you $3.5k off the sticker price 😉

Yes I did consider an EV, I'll be using the car to commute to work, which is around 60km-ish return - which I understand is probably ideal for an EV. I don't have access to a charger on the other end and am a bit forgetful so am conscious of that (although I've heard it does become a habit to plug it in once your home..). I am also a bit wary of imports and would much rather get something NZ new, particularly for the amount of $$ I'll be spending.

The ICE cars I have been looking at are fairly recent and some will have the balance of new car warranty/servicing transferred. Also, the safety specs and included tech of the Mazda 3 is pretty impressive.

That said, when the time comes to replace our main car, then we'd definitely look at an EV.

Blurtie

468 posts

Ultimate Geek

#2825993 7-Dec-2021 16:01

martyyn:

From a driving perspective I'd go for a Focus from that group, no question. With your budget there should be loads to choose from.

I've always gone into negotiations with the idea I want 10% discount as a minimum. I'll go lower if it's something I really want, or rare, but I'm aiming for 12% or above ideally.

Thanks. Yes, we've got a Mondeo as our main car, so very familiar with Ford. Although our Mondeo isn't very economical in terms of fuel consumption..

Thanks for the negotiation tips. Will try and keep that in mind.

I note that in the post I linked in the OP that end of the month/year seems like a good time to get a bargain, so here's hoping it's true...

RobDickinson

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#2826000 7-Dec-2021 16:17

How much do you spend on petrol a month?

A new MG ZS ev is $40k (after rebate) and has a 220-250km range and will cost next to nothing to run.

Otherwise a 30kwh leaf would do 150km so charge ever couple of days

Obraik

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#2826059 7-Dec-2021 16:33

Blurtie:

Yes I did consider an EV, I'll be using the car to commute to work, which is around 60km-ish return - which I understand is probably ideal for an EV. I don't have access to a charger on the other end and am a bit forgetful so am conscious of that (although I've heard it does become a habit to plug it in once your home..). I am also a bit wary of imports and would much rather get something NZ new, particularly for the amount of $$ I'll be spending.

The ICE cars I have been looking at are fairly recent and some will have the balance of new car warranty/servicing transferred. Also, the safety specs and included tech of the Mazda 3 is pretty impressive.

That said, when the time comes to replace our main car, then we'd definitely look at an EV.

EV imports are generally pretty reliable due to being an EV - there's few things to go wrong with them. The only issue is that if you were looking at a Leaf they'll most likely be in Japanese and would require money spent to convert them if you wanted to.

However, with your budget you'd be able to get a BMW i3 that wouldn't likely need to be converted and some will even have been sold NZ new. They also have active thermal battery management so are unlikely to lose noticeable amounts of range while you own it.

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Blurtie

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#2826062 7-Dec-2021 16:37

Have seen the MG EV - however 40k is a bit above what we want to spend at the moment..

So only EVs I've looked at have been the leafs that have been within our budget. However, as mentioned above, with my forgetfulness and lack of charging at work, I am wary of "range anxiety". I know that I'm probably worrying about nothing tho.

Obraik

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#2826066 7-Dec-2021 16:48

An EV in that price range is likely to have enough range that you could forget to plug it in overnight and still have enough range to get to and from work the next day.

From what I can see, a 2018 Mazda 3 has a fuel efficency 6.2L/100km and with your commute, that's around 15,000km a year which would cost around $2,250 with petrol at $2.41/L. In a 30kWh Leaf, that would be around $220 for the year if you were on the Meridian EV power plan.

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