Everyone - thank you all so much! I really appreciate the thoughtful replies to my question. I suppose a lot of this is just common sense and keeping a clear head, but (for example) I wouldn't have thought about looking for negotiating points like tyre condition. I'm off to look at a Golf GTI shortly... Wish me luck!
NMH Sorry how old are you? .... That may sound strange... but I assume you are relatively young.... so check out Insurance costs before you buy... especially something like a GTi
I knew some years ago that I was useless at negotiation. I have no natural talent for it and hadn’t had any lessons and knew no techniques. So I bought this book: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Everything...in+kennedy&dpPl=1&dpID=41Rlyc9oQtL&ref=plSrch I suspect it will help you get a good deal on your car and all sorts of other good deals and successful outcomes. You’d have to be a dunce not to make the cover price many times over. It is also a speedy and entertaining read.
Best place to get a good discount on the asking price is Wheeler Dealers - that fat tw*t reckons he is a car dealer, but he always drops to well below what he is asking.
I'm very, very old . It's just that I've never bought from a main dealier before... Thanks for caring
I’ve just bought a year old car, bottom line is basically the window price is the price, as already said the dealer makes money on your part ex and all the add-ons they get you to buy. I managed to get £250 off the car and an extra £250 for my car simply by taking out finance (PCP). Dont mention buying it straight out they’re not interested they want you to buy on finance. Take out the finance get a few extra quid off then pay it off the next day.
You will pretty much always get a better deal by buying on finance, exceptions being some of the big car supermarkets. The best tip I've seen is the following: Say you are buying a car with your car allowance of X per month, but the car value has to be below Y (typically a good amount below the sticker price). Work the figures out before you go but it will basically open you up to get charged a much higher APR to fit the monthly price, but they will lower the purchase price to suit, so you get a £12k car for £10k for example. You then pay it off within the 14 day cooling off period and save a decent amount of cash. Once you've got to somewhere you're happy with on the purchase price, go for the freebies. The GAP cover & wheel covers are great. Certainly never pay for them but if you get them for free and cancel them a few months down the line you normally get a pro-rata refund! I bought a used BMW and they through in GAP cover which was 'worth' £900. I cancelled it and got nearly £700 back! As others have said, be prepared to walk away. With Brexit coming up people are holding back and car sales will be a huge hit for most dealers, tell them the deal you want and say they've got 24 hours to sort it or you'll move on to the next car. end of the month & quarter are the best times because they will give them away to hit targets.
I used CarWow to source my last car, probably better for new or nearly new cars. The Car Supermarkets are a waste of space, unless you just want to go and look at lots of different cars. Narrow it down to what you want. Research that model carefully with Autotrader - milage, condition extras, trim specification, distance to travel. If you have a car to P/Ex then the thing to concentrate on is the 'Cost to change', that way you don't get distracted by all the figures flying around. As other said once you are near a deal ask about servicing packages, sometimes you can get a good discount. Avoid all the other extras like GAP, tyres, special polishes, unless they offer them 'free' as part of the deal. And always ask for a set of mats!
Use Carwow, particularly if buying new. Used it last Sept to buy a new Sportage - ended up with around £5k off, 3 years free servicing, full tank of fuel + mats. All delivered on time and with a smile. Very smooth process and most of it from your own armchair. You should get 3 quotes within 24 hours. No hassle with trailing around dealers and putting up with their drivel. Some dealers don't use it, others have invested big time in dedicated staff/teams to deal with CW quotes/admin etc. For many, the whole transaction is on line and they never meet the customer. You can guess the ones that are doing well.......
