what is ballpark figure for haggling in car dealership?

i’m on a stalemate with a car salesman at the moment I just want £500 off from 18.5k …or is 500 too cheeky?

How much is already down from, and what is it? Some things hold money better and are easier to sell so getting money off them is nigh on impossible.

18.5k is advertised priced BMW 320Msport ..I emailed him to give it to me at 18k and I will pay straight away.. he keeps pushing me to go finance to get the 700 dealer contribution/supaguard/gap insurance.. i dont really need/want what he is offering. 😐

I saw a similar spec for spec and 10k lower mileage for £17.5 but on a car supermarket and I prefer buying from dealership for their extra year warranty if that makes sense.

Tell him you’ll come down after work with £18k cash

Tell him you’ll come down after work

..sorry what this means? (english is not really my 1st language)

Have you told him about the other car which is cheaper and less mileage?

Find another Car, you’re not certain to get a great deal shopping around, but you’re much more likely to get a terrible one if you get your heart set on a particular car. If it’s not to be, it’s not to be.

I saw a similar spec for spec and 10k lower mileage for £17.5 but on a car supermarket and I prefer buying from dealership for their extra year warranty if that makes sense.

so not really similar.

how much is a years warranty on that car aftermarket ?

I am thinking of going to another Sytner BMW (Birmingham,Leicester,Solihull) maybe I can find a salesman there that can make the deal happen as the said car is still in the main garage getting ready around mid-end march…I assume all this Sytner group source their car out from that main garage, right?

haven’t told him about that car in the Car supermarket

The starting point is a bit less than you’re prepared to pay. he’s trying to sell you stuff you don’t want to boost his commission. tell him you’ll take it, seal the deal at £17.5K then change your mind – you’re allowed to do that. You might also want to actually sign up to the finance then use the 14 day get out clause which should be in there to cancel, but that might turn into a massive PIA.

EDIT – just seen your last post – if there’s another car, tell him what you’re prepared to pay and the t’s&c’s. If he’s not happy with that, walk away, there’s only so much breath that’s worth wasting.

so not really similar.

how much is a years warranty on that car aftermarket ?

well not really 100% similar but closest around that I could find(i guess I should have not used the like-for-like word) the car in supermarket while it is 10k lower mileage it doesnt have the optional Msuspension (i dont really know if i’m gonna need this in the real world)

I dont think there is a year warranty on car supermarket but they offering an extended warranty option and this is extra payment of course, like a 3rd party extended warranty thingy , I believe this is pretty standard practice from a car supermarket

Worked in vehicle sales for years…. Only Arthur Daley types want cash. Main dealers make their money from finance, gap insurance and all the other stuff that the salesman you are dealing with wants you to buy. He probably gets £30 a unit on a cash sale and way mare than that if he can flog you all the financial products.
The car you are looking at he can sell all day long and it is his hook to flog the other stuff. It may be 18 grand to you but to him, it’s 30 quid as a straight cash sale.

What Matt said. £500 off an £18k car is quite a lot and my dealership-owning mate keeps telling me that there’s not as much profit as you’d expect on [most] cars.
Buying from a dealer ‘should’ get you a decent warranty though – this may come in very handy.

@Matt24k thanks for the info.. I did not know this thing I thought car sales are commission based business. ..but i.e. £30 a unit 😯

Dealer mark-up on a car is about 2%. Unless there he needs to up his numbers to hit a manufacturer rebate target, £500 off will mean he sells at a loss.

I was in a dealer yesterday and managed to spy a look at a spreadsheet when getting a sale invoice for parts

for used cars £10k+ the margin was between 1k and 1.8k

plenty of room for haggling I believe.

I’m looking to trade in our Fiat 500 at the moment… forecourt sticker price is over £1k (>20%) more than the trade-in value. So LOADS of room for haggling, and don’t listen to anyone who says any different.

plenty of room for haggling I believe.

So LOADS of room for haggling, and don’t listen to anyone who says any different

My wife manages 17 dealerships for a Manufacturer…

GM on a new car is about 2%. GM on a 2nd hand car will vary, but then you have to factor in their costs – adding a warranty, servicing the car, chip repair etc, finance on the car (dealers finance their stock).

Dealers only survive on bonuses for meeting manuf sales targets, if they’re nowhere near one, or already made it in that quarter, any discount over 1% is just selling at a loss to you.

It’s a mugs game (running a car dealership), they’re lucky to make 2% return on investment in a good year.

I just traded in my 2 year golf and refuse to look at the dealers website to see how much they are looking to sell it on for, but I expect a 1.5 to 2k increase on my trade in value, so I would expect a lot more than 2%.

That said I secured £7.5k off the new Golf, so I paid about £5k less for a higher spec car than I did when I bought new 2 years ago. VW must be struggling!

I would be pretty miffed if I could not secure £500 off an £18k car.

Dealer finance on second hand cars is normally pretty expensive, but there is nothing to stop you paying it off in a months time. Dealer will probably not be happy.

I once agreed to a 6 months gentlemans agreement with the dealer, I assume so the finance co did not claw back their commission. This still meant a further net saving of about £700 against the original finance discount of £1000.

I saw a similar spec for spec and 10k lower mileage for £17.5 but on a car supermarket and I prefer buying from dealership for their extra year warranty if that makes sense.

Point that out, threaten to walk.

At the end of the day you don’t have to buy. The world is not short of BMW dealerships.

I know someone who used to sell BMW’s and MINI’s for Sytner and there’s typically £2-3k he reckoned on a used car for them over what they gave for trade in, which roughly ties in with my experience of trade ins with them.

A 320d isn’t really a rare car, walk until you find one at the right price.

tell him to do one and walk away

its just a shitty car and he’s trying to pull one thinking you are an easy target

Cheers dudes .. i would definitely walk away if he wont give me what i want..luckily for me my location is surrounded with bmw dealers in midlands. ..and audis.. i am viewing the one in motorpoint later today hopefully that car checks out 2keyfobs and full bmw service history and 1 previous owner that they could show.. then i think its a winner

We were in exactly the same position when my girlfriend was looking at a 1 series. She loved the car, loved driving it and was all set to sign for it there and then but BMW refused to settle the finance on her current car (they were coming in about £200 short). There was no room for negotiation with them and in the end she ended up buying a new Beetle from the VW garage who were brilliant to deal with (and settled the outstanding finance on the current car).

Have you driven a 320d with non msport suspension and then one with ? With it, it is very very firm…filling rattling (altho I am getting old) I would make sure it is the right spec for you firstly. Then see what the lowest price using their finance is. Do your maths as to whether doing that and paying it off after a month is beneficial. (it has been for us twice due to manufacturer cash incentives..saved us over £1k on each one)
Gap is a dealer moneymaking con. Try http://www.ala.co.uk. (£121 for 3 yrs cover for an £18k car..I bet BMW quoted £300 +)

Perhaps a coincidence, but I found my local Mini/BMW dealership to be the least flexible of all brands when it came to price negotiation.
My recent new car purchase adventure was a real eye opener when I came to realise how little margin the dealerships are making.
With 2nd hand car sales, I always think it’s worth waiting for the exact right car to come along, no compromises. If it’s the perfect spec/condition I’m usually happy to pay slightly over the odds too.

Take the finance ask for 1k off, cancel finance under cooling off period pay for car….

I dont think there is a year warranty on car supermarket but they offering an extended warranty option and this is extra payment of course, like a 3rd party extended warranty thingy

All car warranties are some form of “3rd party” insurance policy.

Don’t buy one from a car supermarket. That’s where they make the money. I was looking at 3 yr old BMW and the supermarket wanted £2000 for a warranty I could buy for £500.

Take the finance ask for 1k off, cancel finance under cooling off period pay for car….

Can you do this? I need to buy a car and I’m going looking today. Want to spend £5-6k which I have in an ISA, but from what you’re saying I’ll get a better price if I take out finance and then pay it off immediately? That doesn’t seem to make sense to me? Would it have any implications for credit rating etc?

Our citroen came new from a dealership 190 odd miles away so we never actually set foot on the premises.

Every car we looked at was significantly cheaper 4-4.5k less in other areas of the country, it’s got 3 years citroen warranty from new so taking it back wasn’t an issue.

They have you by the balls if you sign up in a dealership though your actual rights go flying by with regards to getting back a deposit the pigs and all the other benefits they try to offer you.

About bmw finance.. they actually giving £700 contribution if I would do it in finance….. so, can I get finance availing that £700contribution then pay it all off within cooling period?

I thought when you get finance the overall payment for the car including interest is has been calculated already and you have to pay overall price regardless how soon you want to settle the balance?

Yes I drove test the non-Msuspension..it feel a bit wallowy for me… Focus ST is actually my first choice but that bejesus exhaust kills it and I really need that tow bar to carry my bike..I am still waiting for email reply from towbar company if they can retrofit or work out how to fit a towbar on new ST ..so not really in a rush getting that 320d

Would it have any implications for credit rating etc

No, it’s all part of the legally required cooling off period. Plus, if anything, paying off a credit agreement early would be seen as a positive move to your rating. The dealer/credit agency may not be too impressed but not to the point they can do anything about it.

Buying the car on the finance to bag the manufacturers offer of deposit contribution or free servicing has been used by loads of people. You used to be able to get some great deals on new Audi and VW’s that way.
Have a look over on Pistonheads as there’s plenty of folk over there who’ve done it.

This is only opinion but 700 is a magical figure?

I never can tell when they move figures about the 700 I coming from somewhere in the long run, as many have said walk away and find a deal that suits you, we were told, well my missus was told to basically go elsewhere, we did go elsewhere but it didn’t stop them ringing up for three days on the trot asking if we were still interested in a deal and changing their offer 500 quid at a time

Ultimately we got a better deal but with most things car related,

Our finance showed as settled about a month after.

@phil the 700£ contribution deposit + 1yr warranty + 1 yearfree breakdown service is advertised on BMW website for approved used car.. so i think they will have to give this regardless.. i assume the salesman is not allowed to tell me that I can do it this way and settle the account within cooling period.. If this is actually doable i might go for this./?

Well I went to look at various cars today. I’m after a Volvo V50 or v60. Saw 6, four of which smelt very strongly of dog, and a fifth had puddles in the front footwells.

The only decent one, I offered £5700 on a car priced at £6295 and that was basically the end of the discussion. He seemingly wasn’t in the mood to haggle. Maybe he’ll call me, but he sounded offended. Never mind.

I also looked at a pretty little alfa 159 which looked perfect (and was very reasonably priced) but on looking at the service book it hadn’t seen as much as an oil change in the last 40,000 miles / 3 years. Needless to say, I walked.

So It looks like I need to spend another weekend visiting used car places. Doh.

“The only decent one, I offered £5700 on a car priced at £6295”

What was your justification for that ?

I find walking out works quite well. They rang me back 2 days later offering to agree to my price. Ifor I’m doing a px then I’m only interested in the price to change, not the cost of the new car and the value of my car

The only decent one, I offered £5700 on a car priced at £6295 and that was basically the end of the discussion. He seemingly wasn’t in the mood to haggle. Maybe he’ll call me, but he sounded offended.

i recently offered 10% below screen price (i.e. £5000) on a s/h car. The dealer made a good show of appearing offended, and we settled on about 5% off. but there was another one up the road with a lower mileage that i was able to point to. i should have gone to look at it really but i am lazy and it was raining.

“The only decent one, I offered £5700 on a car priced at £6295”

What was your justification for that ?

There are plenty of other cars around, at least some of which won’t be soggy or doggy. I also know that particular car’s been with them for a while.

Someone told me something like “If you don’t offend the vendor with your first offer then you’ve gone too high.” There’s always a bit of price flexibility. Perhaps not as much as £600 but I expected my low offer to be met with a counter-offer. I’ll wait and see if the phone rings.