What’s the acceptable level to go in with an offer on a used car at a car dealership?
We know what we want (pending a test drive) and have all of the bargaining tools to hand; time, finances etc.
So what’s my opening offer? Say the car is £10k. Do I go in at £5k and wait for the laughter/bruising to subside? Would that be offensive? OK, £7.5k then?
Comments please….

Somewhere around laugh/cry? Make sure you have a list of things that are wrong with it and an idea of how much to fix them.

So what’s my opening offer? Say the car is £10k. Do I go in at £5k and wait for the laughter/bruising to subside? Would that be offensive? OK, £7.5k then?

It depends entirely on the car, how popular it is, how it’s priced, what the dealer has in it, how his cash flow is, what bills he needs to pay and when, how many cars he sold this week, how many cars he bought this week, etc, etc……

There isn’t a magic formula.

Destroy the salesman slowly, in stages. 😀

First, go in with a stupid offer.
He’ll refuse.
Walk off.
Repeat with a slightly higher offer, daily if required.
Become acquainted.
Make up an imaginary family and tell him about them.
Play the long game. Eventually, he’ll start to crack and will give you a deal well below book.

Then repeat for paintwork repairs, warranty, new radio etc.
One step at a time, for as long as it takes.
Stay firm, stay quiet and stare hard. Learn to enjoy the awkward silences. Take a flask.

I enjoy haggling for cars. 🙂

My best one (ended up walking away)
Offered 60% of advertised price to a autotrader dealer.

He looked like he was going to hit me, said he wouldn’t budge so told him I’d be back in a week when it would still be advertised….

It was still there in 3 weeks, make sure it’s not the only thing you are looking at seriously it’s much easier to walk away when it’s one of 10 your looking at.

and don’t let on you actually want the car, it will do, it’s a non emotive discussion. Once they know you really want it your done for!

If you aren’t embarrassed about the amount of your first offer you went in to high

I was a bit disappointed in my recent experience. I think with everything on autotrader, internet, etc, everyone seems to know what everyone else is charging and it’s becomes bit of a price fix without there being any actual collusion. In general was barely able to get a few quid knocked off at main dealers for the brand in question, cash vs credit had no bearing. I think in the end it was coming down to the old issue of whether they needed a sale or not – end of the month / moving old stock on.

In the end i got a deal of sorts, they were a main dealer, but not for the brand I wanted, as it was a PX they’d had in. I’d noticed the tax disc was well out of date and asked to see the service schedule and realised they had it for almost 3 months, so were getting a bit desperate to move on, even then I still only got about 8% off their asking but did get parking sensors, rear discs and a full tank of fuel so total value of throw ins and discount was more like 12%.

Had a far better experience buying my wife’s new car a f500. We had one on a PCP already that had a year to go and I heard they were looking for 2yo stock, as so many had gone on pcps that there was a dearth of cars of that age – lots of 3yo as PCP owners recycled and other new / ex demo sorts up to a year old. As we didn’t need a change we were really in a walk away situation, so we nailed them on everything. I was quite amazed not just by the discount vs window price, but the discounts that he could pull in for being a member of this or that, etc. In the end cost us £200 for ‘credit fees’ and ending the other PCP early (but that was really a deposit on the new) and an extra £5 a month on the PCP. So basically the same PCP cost/mo, no additional deposit to speak of, and a brand new car instead of a 2yo. Given we were going to change it at the end of the PCP anyway, a pretty good deal.

So bottom line – I wouldn’t expect them to have built in much margin any more to then be able to haggle back, pricing is more realistic certainly at dealers. You need to find one with the car you want, but who has a need to be selling.

Cash isn’t really king anymore when it comes to buying a car, they all want to sell on finance. If your part exing, they might give you a bit more for your car than book price but my recent experience they hardly give anything away discount wise. This was a main dealer though.

It all depends how much you want the car & if your prepared to walk away but I’d doubt you’ll get anywhere near 50-25% off the price

Offer whatever you like, but going in at 50% you’ll look like a joker or a timewaster.

If they are not offended by your first offer, it was too high. Start at 20% and work from there

The ‘American’ ‘cash’ buyer negotiation tips from Forbes.

More UK-oriented advice from What Car?

And lifehacker on negotiating with anyone.

I find the whole process of buying cars much less fun than buying a bike. In the UK, at dealerships, sales people seem reluctant to really negotiate on price & exchange as they might in parts of the USA. Although that might just be with me.

As folks have suggested, where they really can negotiate is in the finance ‘package’.

Go in knowing your budget, your preferences for ownership model and finance, and how long you plan to keep the car. Know what your ‘must have’ things are. This gives you flexibility if the salesperson suggests a different vehicle, or other options.
Understand the total cost of ownership so you can give and take on the various deals they’ll come up with to try & get your regular finance payment.

It’s sometimes surprising how clear negotiation and an understanding of where you can be flexible can make a big difference in what you end up paying and driving. Thank goodness I have an expert to negotiate on my behalf in these situations.

One thing I hadn’t considered until recently was that cars might be something of an incidental inconvenience for dealerships. The main point of a car manufacturer and dealerships is to produce growing revenue: they want your money, selling you a car is a by product

The only place where you are going to get any room for negation is with private buyers and as has been mentioned everyone is much more clued up on price these days. I’ve bought a couple cars in the last two years. Both from garages/dealerships and despite handing over £30k cash I think I got about £500 of the ticket. And one of those was an Alfa where you would think you’d get much more leeway.
If you offer 50% less you would get laughed at and they would be right to do so.

The problem with negotiating with a car salesman is that it is his job.
Haggling is what he does, day in, day out. He is likely to be much better at it than you, unless you work in sales yourself.
Do your research, work out how much you want to pay and be prepared to walk away- cars are not rare, there’ll be another one.

Negotiation is simple and easy if you stick to your guns. Car salesmen are not very good in the main and are also working to guidelines. You can usually get 5-15 % out of them one way and another on a new car but that’s it. On a second hand car you should be able to get closer to 15%. In terms of technique make an offer around 10 less than you actually want to pay and go from there.

All good advice and I’m looking forward to tomorrow.
The 50% comment was made with tongue firmly in cheek. I think the only time that’s worked for me was whilst spending time in India in my 20’s (quite some time ago)
Although I said I’ve got time on my side, the reality is a fiance, a newborn, a dog and a bike all demand some of it. I’m loathe to waste more than I need to on a motor.
Fingers crossed I come away with 10% minimum 🙂