Many people are put off buying a new car thinking they won’t be able to negotiate anything on the price, or that maybe they can’t make their money stretch that far. Well, actually if you’re buying a new car you have just as much room to haggle as you would if you are buying a second hand one – in fact, you might have even more.
Something to remember is some cars keep their value better than others. So, check out a car depreciation calculator if that is something that you want to be sure of. For example, Vauxhall holds value really well, so you could buy a New Vauxhall Insignia and retain 45% of the cost even after almost 35k miles.
Car showrooms work on commission and targets. End of March, June, September, and December will see dealers more likely to drop a decent amount off the price. They might throw more into the finance packages. It is worth avoiding the end of the month around payday and new number plate release times too – Why? Because people who aren’t really ready to buy are window shopping and accidentally sap all of your bargaining power.
Think about what you are looking for in a new car. How many seats do you need, do you often make long journeys? City dweller? Big boot space? Although you might be tempted by something small on price, if it doesn’t suit your main needs you need to part with a little extra cash – longer term this is saving you money as you won’t need to upgrade again for a while.
If you aren’t big on having the newest looking body or the latest gadgets, then keep an eye on when new cars are due to be released. You can nab up to 30% off on a ‘run-out’ model. A ‘run – out’ model is a car that is about to be superseded by a newer model and lose their prime spot on the forecourt.
Go in with as much of a deposit as you can; this will give you a little bit more leverage – the more they can take for the car there and then the better for them.
If you aren’t great at haggling but you know someone that is, take them along with you. Talk through what car you want and what you want to pay, or the finance options you’d be most comfortable with. While it would be better for you to haggle for what you want, not all of us are comfortable with it.
Here are a few places you can start:
- Get them to throw in something free – SatNav, some interior touches, just something that would typically cost money
- After you have been talking for a while, mention that you have another car dealer to see – this might prompt some last-minute reductions from them. If not, say that you would’ve stayed had you not had this appointment – give them your number and let them chase you. If they call, you have the upper hand.
- Try to pick cars that already have a discount – no one is expecting that particular car to go for full price anymore – even more straightforward to haggle on.
Leave a Reply