If one was to buy a used car @ £18-19k in one clean transaction i.e. no finance or P/X, is it fair game/almost expected to get them to knock something off the windscreen price?
If so, how much?

I would think that most car salesmen would be offended if you didn’t try and haggle if you had hard cash.
Your starting point should depend on what you want to spend. If you a prepared to pay £16k then start at £14.

what do you think the car is worth and pay that. dont be afraid to walk away

You may be better off taking their finance deals (they earn money on selling you finance), and then cancelling the finance in the cooling off period, and paying it off with your cash. That is likely to get you the lowest screen price.

Just don’t tell them that you are going to do it!

Haggle? – absolutely

Don’t haggle on push bikes though, they don’t like that round these parts, you’ll be stoned and your moral compass questioned 🙂

Finance is a big (maybe the biggest) earner for garages so paying cash probably hinders the available discount on the screen price

Hmmm…I’d like something knocked off but I want to keep it simple.
It’s a one-off payment – I’ll see what I can get on that basis only….cheers all

Go in with your tally whacker hanging out from your trousers. This will unsettle them and they will most likely call the policedrop the price.

I usually wait till the end of the month before making really cheeky offers on nearly new cars. With any luck you’ll find a garage/salesman with a specific target. I made an offer well below screen price on my last car which the salesman said “no chance fella”. 3 days later I was called by the sales Manager on a Friday evening saying if I was to put a deposit on it tonight it was mine! I had to drive 200 miles to pick it up though.

Without agreeing to it, haggle as if you intend to finance the car through them – ie ask about the finance packages they offer – only after a price is agreed mention you will pay outright. Dealers don’t like dealing in cash these days. As mentioned they can sell a car below their book value and make up the difference from the finance kickback whereas cashing up/bank charges cost them money.

I just paid £3800 less than the Autotrader advertised price on my truck from a main dealer without much trying at all.

So yes, haggle!

It depends how much the sticker price is currently inflated – different dealers have differing tactics, some price competitively from the start and won’t move much, others try to take the piss. All you can do is try to work out what the car is actually worth, which is not that hard with a bit of Googling and the various online price guides. Once you have valued the car yourself, pay no more than that amount and be prepared to walk if they want considerably more.

After browsing tinterweb last night I booked a test drive for 11am today.
Have to say I loved the car – big grin when you put your toe down – Golf Mk7 2.0TDI GT – looks the nuts.
The website had a ‘reduced by £1300’ flash so wasn’t really expecting the guy to knock it down anymore…which he didn’t. Tried to sell all the usual GAP insurance, extended warranty, bodywork protection etc etc…which I will think about…put a refundable £100 deposit down. Going with FIL tomorrow to get his opinion as he knows his cars. I liked the car enough to have at that price even though the price is roughly in-line with other prices I’ve seen.
I’ve seen a newer one for £300 more but with 9k less miles but it’s over a 100 miles away – but only 3 pics online and it’s hardly just round the corner for a quick look/test drive. It’s dark blue – the one I’m buying is white…I’ve wanted a white Golf for ages. I’m rambling. Bloody hell.

Without agreeing to it, haggle as if you intend to finance the car through them – ie ask about the finance packages they offer – only after a price is agreed mention you will pay outright.

And then the price will change, because the deal has changed, and you’ve lost any favour you might get from the salesman because you’ve wasted his time trying to play games.

You would need to catch a salesman on his first day in the job for that little plan to work.

And then the price will change, because the deal has changed, and you’ve lost any favour you might get from the salesman because you’ve wasted his time trying to play games

What games would these be then and how have I wasted his time exactly?

I think that was Spences post.

I would of still hoped to knock a few quid of the car but good to hear you’re happy with your purchase.

If I was spending that kind of money , I wouldn’t be worried about travelling 100, miles to check out a possibly better car. At the end of the days it’s £30 in fuel and a few hours out of your life it it turns out to be crap

Car sales is a sport isn’t it, just remember not to talk once the offer goes in. The first to say something is the weakest

As someone has said above, it’s always worth haggling but the amount you can get depends on how the vehicle is priced in the first place. A friend won’t buy a car if he can’t get 10% of the screen price or more – he’s cost himself quite a bit over the years by passing up better deals that wouldn’t budge on price.

In the internet age it’s becoming more and more common to put the best possible price on line to get peoples attention – there may be no movement on price at all but if the first price is better than others this shouldn’t put people off.

What games would these be then and how have I wasted his time exactly?

I quoted the post I was referring to, above my comment on it.

Soz nealglover – just re-read it – got a bit over-defensive there didn’t it…can you ever forgive me? 😉

Nearly £20k for a s/h Golf, seriously?

I’m obviously out of the ‘loop’ on prices…

Bodywork warranty? VWs are all 12 years anyway aren’t they?

Just been to a small local dealer today. All cars were very well priced, hence absolutely no movement on the screen price. As he said take it or leave it. Also reckoned he made nothing from finance like the big boys do and trading a car in made no difference to price.
It seems like this small guy just needs turnover to make a living where as others make it with all the add ons.

He’s talking bollocks. I used to work for one of the finance companies, he definitely gets paid (assuming the deal is above the threshold required by the finance houses, generally 4-5% iirc)