Buying a used car

[sleeping giant]

We are off out this weekend to buy the laddie a car (he's paying).
If we go to a dealer , can I still expect a discount on the screen price ?
Cash is no longer King I believe. Would it be beneficial to take finance in be hope of getting a bigger discount then paying it off within the 14 days ?

4K budget so I have been looking at cars priced at £4500 .

Is £500 too much to expect to get off a 4K car?

Cheers

[Northernhibee]

We are off out this weekend to buy the laddie a car (he's paying).
If we go to a dealer , can I still expect a discount on the screen price ?
Cash is no longer King I believe. Would it be beneficial to take finance in be hope of getting a bigger discount then paying it off within the 14 days ?

4K budget so I have been looking at cars priced at £4500 .

Is £500 too much to expect to get off a 4K car?

Cheers

I work in the motor trade - whether it's cash or finance is an irrelevance. The dealership will work with the same margin on a used car. Furthermore a dealership can't incentivise one method of payment over another, they could be flaunting FCA rules by doing so.

£500 would be a lot off a £4.5k car, that's pretty much 11% discount. Unlikely to happen IMO unless they're really wanting to get rid of it. Best thing to do is try to avoid speaking about price til nearer the end. Build some rapport with the person you're buying from. It's amazing how many people will immediately go in with "What's the best price I can get this for" and it's the worst way to get a good discount on a car.

Good luck with the car hunting :flag:

[Scouse Hibee]

I work in the motor trade - whether it's cash or finance is an irrelevance. The dealership will work with the same margin on a used car. Furthermore a dealership can't incentivise one method of payment over another, they could be flaunting FCA rules by doing so.

£500 would be a lot off a £4.5k car, that's pretty much 11% discount. Unlikely to happen IMO unless they're really wanting to get rid of it. Best thing to do is try to avoid speaking about price til nearer the end. Build some rapport with the person you're buying from. It's amazing how many people will immediately go in with "What's the best price I can get this for" and it's the worst way to get a good discount on a car.

Good luck with the car hunting :flag:

I just can't be ersed with all the back and forth stuff and pretence of doing you a favour. Whether it's a car or double glazing, there is a price they won't go below surely? I just want to know that price and get on with it.

[sleeping giant]

I work in the motor trade - whether it's cash or finance is an irrelevance. The dealership will work with the same margin on a used car. Furthermore a dealership can't incentivise one method of payment over another, they could be flaunting FCA rules by doing so.

£500 would be a lot off a £4.5k car, that's pretty much 11% discount. Unlikely to happen IMO unless they're really wanting to get rid of it. Best thing to do is try to avoid speaking about price til nearer the end. Build some rapport with the person you're buying from. It's amazing how many people will immediately go in with "What's the best price I can get this for" and it's the worst way to get a good discount on a car.

Good luck with the car hunting :flag:

Cheers for the info.

How much wriggle room is built into the screen price ?
Do most places now charge an admin fee too ?

[sleeping giant]

I just can't be ersed with all the back and forth stuff and pretence of doing you a favour. Whether it's a car or double glazing, there is a price they won't go below surely? I just want to know that price and get on with it.

That's where I am too.

Im not in the best position for haggling straight away as I'll have the laddie with me who will be champing at the bit to buy the first car he sits in :-)

[lord bunberry]

I know a lot of people won’t agree, but I’d always buy privately. Ask the seller if they don’t mind a mechanic looking over it and take it to a garage you trust. If the seller isn’t up for that then you know to walk away.

[McD]

Cheers for the info.

How much wriggle room is built into the screen price ?
Do most places now charge an admin fee too ?


Theres usually some small(ish) fees.

Road tax, fuel are guaranteed. There’s a good chance they’ll try to sell you add-ons like warranties, gap protection and so on. Car mats are also something that may come up.

Might also be worth making sure your boy knows it’s unlikely he’ll be driving the car away on the spot.

hope you and him enjoy it, it’s an exciting thing buying your first car, enjoy mate :aok:

[sleeping giant]

I know a lot of people won’t agree, but I’d always buy privately. Ask the seller if they don’t mind a mechanic looking over it and take it to a garage you trust. If the seller isn’t up for that then you know to walk away.

I'm looking at private too but gravitating toward a dealer as they offer some cover .
There are dealerships on Autotrader who advertise that they have signed up to the AA warranty scheme. 1 year part and labour, 1 year mot and AA breakdown cover included.

The trouble is , I know nothing about cars. I've just never been interested.
In fact , when swapping over my old car for my new one I was asked what engine size it was. I didn't have a clue even though I'd had it for 2 years :greengrin:

[Northernhibee]

Cheers for the info.

How much wriggle room is built into the screen price ?
Do most places now charge an admin fee too ?

Not with us re: the admin fee.

In terms of the screen price it varies on car to car. The dealerships buy in the car not knowing how much work it's going to take to get the car ready for sale. Hence one car might have a lot less margin than the other.

Re: building a bit of rapport - both our sales guys spend a lot of the day being spoken to pretty badly. Getting them on side can be the difference between them reaching for that last hundred quid (sometimes over what they were originally thinking) or not. Those who go straight in with "What's the best price you'd do this for" likely won't get them considering going beyond what they originally thought. It's just good business to get them on side and to get them to stretch further once you've done so.

[sleeping giant]

Not with us re: the admin fee.

In terms of the screen price it varies on car to car. The dealerships buy in the car not knowing how much work it's going to take to get the car ready for sale. Hence one car might have a lot less margin than the other.

Re: building a bit of rapport - both our sales guys spend a lot of the day being spoken to pretty badly. Getting them on side can be the difference between them reaching for that last hundred quid (sometimes over what they were originally thinking) or not. Those who go straight in with "What's the best price you'd do this for" likely won't get them considering going beyond what they originally thought. It's just good business to get them on side and to get them to stretch further once you've done so.

Cheers.

What would your advice be on list prices ?
Seen a nice Fiesta from a dealership but it's priced £600 more than the list price for the same mileage.

[Northernhibee]

Cheers.

What would your advice be on list prices ?
Seen a nice Fiesta from a dealership but it's priced £600 more than the list price for the same mileage.

A franchise dealership will usually cost a bit more - the manufacturer will dictate to what standard the car has to be prepared to, and will more often than not require their warranty to be used.

I don't pay too much attention to list prices in magazines. I'd rather pay a bit more for a car I know is well prepared and has been well looked after than pay the "list price" for something that hasn't. Check for little things like if bolts under the bonnet have been broken open (a sign that the bonnet or parts may have been changed), if there's dates on the windows/headlights etc. for dates of manufacture then make sure that they're not after the date of registration because that will mean they've been changed, possibly from an accident.

I do buy privately myself but that's because I know what to look for, can fix most things and if I can't then I'll likely know someone who can. If you're not confident of that then buying from the trade is a good idea, as long as you keep your wits about you and know to what standard a car has been prepared.

[sleeping giant]

A franchise dealership will usually cost a bit more - the manufacturer will dictate to what standard the car has to be prepared to, and will more often than not require their warranty to be used.

I don't pay too much attention to list prices in magazines. I'd rather pay a bit more for a car I know is well prepared and has been well looked after than pay the "list price" for something that hasn't. Check for little things like if bolts under the bonnet have been broken open (a sign that the bonnet or parts may have been changed), if there's dates on the windows/headlights etc. for dates of manufacture then make sure that they're not after the date of registration because that will mean they've been changed, possibly from an accident.

I do buy privately myself but that's because I know what to look for, can fix most things and if I can't then I'll likely know someone who can. If you're not confident of that then buying from the trade is a good idea, as long as you keep your wits about you and know to what standard a car has been prepared.


Cheers for your help.
I checked the bonnet bolts :greengrin

Bought a 1.25 fiesta. He's chuffed to bits.

Cheers

[heretoday]

The guy in my local garage doesn't mince words.
He said if you're in doubt, get a car made in the far east.
Of course he may have been trying to secure my continued custom!

[Northernhibee]

Cheers for your help.
I checked the bonnet bolts :greengrin

Bought a 1.25 fiesta. He's chuffed to bits.

Cheers

Great cars. Best handling small cars on the market IMO.

[frazeHFC]

Cheers for your help.
I checked the bonnet bolts :greengrin

Bought a 1.25 fiesta. He's chuffed to bits.

Cheers

Good choice. This is what I got last year for my first one and love it.