Price negotiation advice??

[maui2512]

Hi all
I'm doing all the prep work at the moment, with the plan to buy a new Beach sometime in the next month or so. Just wondering if anyone had any good tips on price negotiations with dealers?

Are they more likely to come down on the base price, or is it better to try and get options included at a reduced price etc?

Looking on a few sites, the target price only seems to be a few hundred pounds less than the list price so it looks like it's a bit of seller's market on these -guess as there aren't really many clear alternatives (not like if you're just buying a small family car for example). They pretty much know if you're in looking at them, then you're keen to buy I guess...!

I've seen people mention getting 8-10% discount on Cali's in other posts on the forum but wondered if this was true of the Beach as well?

any advice/tips/hints gratefully received!
Thanks
Jane

 

[beardie]

Get a price from drive the deal website, look for a vehicle that has been in stock for a while, don't appear 'desperate' & in a hurry. Play one dealer off against another, show them print outs of details from other vehicles and drive the deal price.

Also know when you have been given a good quote and be ready to do the deal. When I bought mine I was offered a very good price, but they refused to negotiate. All I got was a 1/3 a tank of fuel, they refused 1/2 tank! I think it showed I wasn't going to get any more!

 

[teeboy]

Drive the deal is a good target price - although some dealers were not interested in looking at the quote I had in my back pocket - one dealer even said that if you bought via a broker you would not get as good aftersales care as if you bought it direct!!! Even though all Drive-the-Deal do is introduce you to a VW dealer.

When I was looking about 3 months ago - the lead time for a new vehicle was 12-14 weeks, which forces me down the dealer stock / ex-demo route.

I struggled to get much off in terms of discount, or increased Part Exchange value, or flex in fiance terms. But I did get Diesel, Tax and 2 free services.

My local dealer wanted me to pay window price, offered low part exchange and rubbish finance terms - so I went elsewhere!!!!

T

 

[maui2512]

Great advice - thanks both! I'll let you know how I get on...!

 

[NZCol]

A few general points that can help (from knowledge of dealers, margins and strategies)
Timing can be helpful in terms of targets for monthly/annual sales - ends of quarters, months and FY's esp. if you are looking at forecourt stock.
Financing options are also useful even if you don't need it. The dealer may get a good margin on financing, have a look and see what penalties there are for mass payoffs after 3 months. You may get a better deal if you finance it in the short term.
Once you have established the base of a cash discount (FYI i just got 10% off list on a new Cali although in NZ) move onto anciallaries - seat covers, audio upgrades and stuff you might end up buying anyway. A lot easier to negotiate that than raw cash.
Then close it quickly. Make it clear you will sign and pay for the right deal.

 

[HistoryBob]

If the are any VW dealers exhibiting at camping shows they usually give discounts authorised by VW UK. I was offered £2000 off when I first started looking around but didn't realise how good a bargain it was. This was a show offer.

 

[teeboy]

Hi Bob

If it is £2000 off the list price then that is an average deal - £4000 would be a good target.

If it was £2000 off the screen price of a forecourt then it might be a good deal.

Tony

 

[Andy]

This is not a good time to drive a hard bargin, hight of camping season. You will get a better deal later inthe year, winter, if you can wait.

Sent from my GT-N8010 using Tapatalk 2

 

[choplee]

all depends on time of year , dealers targets , if the dealer likes you , if the cali is their stock cali , how much work they have to put into the sale and spec , which part of the country you live in , when u want delivery for , if you have a part/x or use their finance , if the cali is a used or new cali ..... Discounts are not great like others ,but it keeps the cali from depreciating and thats what we want otherwise we wouldn't pay the big money for them ......

 

[Andy]

Well done Lee you've about sumed it up in one short sentance !!

Sent from my GT-N8010 using Tapatalk 2

 

[maui2512]

Great inputs everyone - thanks so much for all your guidance, hints & tips. I'll let you know how I get on...will probably not be until later in the summer/ September now as I don't seem to have a single free day to head into the dealers at the moment! Mind you, sounds like that might be a better time of year anyway ...

 

[mooro]

Just trying to buy a cali now and it is bloody difficult. My local dealer arent worth bothering with.
I have sold my lovely year old A6, so plenty of cash waiting, spec is nothing hugely out of the norm and there are actually quite a few about.

i spent about two hours on both thursday and friday afternoons ringing around dealers to see what forecort stock they have. I reckon 15% of them have got back to me.
One of them argued that my calculation from drive the deal was incorrect (it wasnt), another kept coming back without key options i insisted upon. I appreciate they are sold through the commercial side, but any mercedes / audi / bmw dealer are much more attentive if they know you have cash waiting.

have a couple of good vans lined up now though from some good dealers i have found though so hopefully take the plunge shortly...

 

[Yelekreb]

If you have a chance, jot down your experiences in the dealer review section of the forum.

 

[Kitesurfer]

Hi All

I am finalising a deal to purchase a new beach, with Edinburgh VW Garage.

I have managed a 7% discount over the phone with them, but still trying to improve on this.

What is the best discount that I can expect, or is this 7% the norm.

Kitesurfer :?

 

[mooro]

Not sure about a beach but i would say 10-12% is the best to achieve. The problem is timing, this is the worst time to buy, I am considering waiting until october / november for mine at the moment.

See if you can get some extras thrown in, they tend to cost the dealers 50% of list so they are often happier to trade on these...

Like i think others have suggested print off the 'drive the deal' discount and take that with you to the dealer. might be worth giving them a ring anyway as they might be able to get your something quickly. I have used them twice, not for a cali, but they are dead quick and really safe to deal with.

 

[Kitesurfer]

Thanks Mooro

Will try what you say

Regards

kitesurfer

 

[Stu]

You could always just let DTD do the leg work for you. I think there is no cost to you as the dealer pays commission.

 

[dalzios]

Hi

I bought my beach from SMG Tonbridge in March.

I was planning to buy through drive the deal and got my quote through them first, (not very) local dealer offered 8%, that's on the van and the extras. DtD was 12%

I would have happily bought through DtD.

SMG were advertising on ebay a new van in stock on finance. I emailed them and offered them the drive the deal quote (had very similar spec to what I needed) and they accepted.

I bought through finance....I think this was key. The important point was - and I checked and double checked - there are no penalties for early payback. There is a £70 final settlement admin fee. You could buy on finance e.g. with 1/3 deposit and settle the rest the following week if you wished with no extra to pay. Finance I think must increase the dealers margin so more prepared to do a deal and is separate to the dealership. Still I wouldn't mention if you planning to payback early.
Also I imagine year end sales deadline was looming in late March.

When I collected it - the next one, identical, was there waiting to be sold.

Good luck.