Used car negotiation

[gbb]

A friend was trying to buy a car and they pretty much told him they weren't really interested (in selling it to him at all) unless he bought it on tick

One way of looking at that is they were (brutally perhaps) open and honest.
I can deal better with that than faffing around the subject.

 

[Gillstay]

I looked at several Toyota cars recently with dealers, and then bought one privately of a nice Romanian guy who had no one come and view the car. Its bloomin perfect and cost me 7.5k rather than the 9k or 11k the dealers were after.
Sold my old car and the same thing. lots of people want to message and talk about it but none gets off their arse and looks at the car any more.
Weird.

 

[vickster]

What do WNAC do with them, then??!

Throw them in auction (WBAC is a part of British Car auctions) to be bought by traders etc.
They don't pay seller commission obviously

 

[Profpointy]

One way of looking at that is they were (brutally perhaps) open and honest.
I can deal better with that than faffing around the subject.

There is that. A lot easier than dancing around.

Back in the day when as a naïve youngster I was trying to buy a brand new van. The guy wouldn't quote me a price and just kept asking what I could afford a month and he'd tell me which model I could have. I just gave
up and elsewhere.

The guy I did buy from said pretty much from the off "list is this, and we can do it for that", with only a token bit of theatre with a calculator. It sounded fair enough so I said yes

 

[ivegotabike]

There is an autotrader price tracker extension for chrome that is useful. Keeping an eye on the cars you are interested in, it will show you any price changes. Also how long it has been for sale for. Generally a dealer will be more inclined to negotiate on a car that has been on sale for longer, than one that has just come into stock. If you using finance, look at the total cost of the loan, rather than just the price of the car. A lower APR could save you more and can be easier to get than a similar saving on the price of the car.

 

[mickle]

I worked in bicycle shops for 25 years. I grew to despise hagglers. You spend an hour guiding them to the perfect bike to suit their needs and their budget, another half hour choosing helmet, lock, lights etc. - get to the till and they ask for my 'best price' with the veiled threat that not lowering the price enough will result in them walking away from the sale.

 

[winjim]

I worked in bicycle shops for 25 years. I grew to despise hagglers. You spend an hour guiding them to the perfect bike to suit their needs and their budget, another half hour choosing helmet, lock, lights etc. - get to the till and they ask for my 'best price' with the veiled threat that not lowering the price enough will result in them walking away from the sale.

I generally hate the concept of haggling, same with supposed loyalty bonuses and these days dynamic pricing. It feels more and more like you have to jump through hoops and play stupid games to avoid getting ripped off. I just want to see a fair, upfront price and then I can decide if I can afford it or not.

I asked the question in the first place only because I wasn't sure if playing these stupid games was a convention in the used car market. Anyway, purchase has been put off for now until I can scrape a bit more cash together.

 

[Aescott]

Not quite right.

With CRA the legally binding presuption is that any fault occurring within 6 months was either present or developing at the time of sale.

The only exceptions are if the vendor can reasonably prove that the vehicle was of satisfactory quality at the point of sale and the fault is caused by damage/poor maintenance/misuse on the part of the owner. That applies equally seller supplied warranties.

So while Cinch's customer service is supposed to be very good (my Sister bought a car from them and was quite happy) their stated 3 month warranty cover is, for all reasonable intents and purposes, identical to your statutory rights...but for only half the time.

You could earn some pocket money by accompanying members to the garage. Stand silently, looking menacing, and only chip in if the dealer tries to pull a fast one. 25% commission on any savings.