Question - Negotiating with a dealer on second hand?

[Campingrookie]

Afternoon all.

Sorry if this has already been covered here before. Im a rookie still looking to begin my California adventure and searching for a second hand Beach with the spec I’d like.

I’ve found one being sold through a dealership which ticks most boxes but the price is a bit full (in my humble opinion).

My question is - has anyone here who has bought second hand from dealers had success in negotiating the price down? I appreciate this might be a ‘how long is a piece of string question’ as it depends on a number of factors but I thought it was worth seeing if anyone had any useful experience/anecdotes.

Thanks in advance!

 

[Redrick Esq.]

Everything in life is negotiable

A good deal is defined by a price that the seller is happy to accept and the buyer is happy to pay.

My experience says that it is priced to incorporate a profit margin and it depends on how much or little profit the dealer is prepared to make.

Its that time of year when it may not sell quickly and will or could become overage stock ( costing dealer money on his cash loan factoring) so make him a sensible offer

 

[ArunAlec]

I bought mine from a non VW dealer but a VW Camper specialist and they knew exactly what the Cali was worth so not much room for haggling! Although I think I might have got a few hundred off, oh and a gas cylinder!

 

[Soton Campers]

Don't be shy. Tell us the specs, year and mileage. Then the collective can debate!

 

[2into1]

There is a lot less room than there used to be. As everyone compares prices on the Internet, they have to put good prices out there else no one would come and view.
When I bought mine from VW Liverpool at 6 months old, I walked away because they wouldn't drop even £250 off just shy of £50k. By the morning I told myself I was being daft, looked back on line to check the phone number, only to see that the asking price had been dropped £500 overnight.
I suspect most ask the price they expect to get and the salesperson, even the local sales Mgr has little room. The MD or head office then drop the asking prices based on different policies on month end targets, and when vehicles have been in stock more than X days or weeks.

If they let you walk away and stay away for a couple of days, then I suspect you've found their bottom line.

 

[Meoncoast]

Sometimes they may not move on price but throw in "free" extras On our unregistered stock van they would not move much on price but got extra 3-year warranty sidebars and monster mats tank of derv. Really pushed them and also got the leisure battery charged for 48hours and a tank of drinking water.

 

[Neilos]

We bought ours ex demo, they’d recently dropped it by about £1500. I then negotiated as hard as I could and managed only £250 discount plus mats and some fuel. I think I’d found their bottom, I let that run over a few days and in the end I just lost the will and bought it. Glad I did because as you probably know finding the right one isn’t that easy with the number of options etc...it’s a relief once you make the decision and get on with life to be honest!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Jay20cali]

There’s always movement don’t let them think this is the only one you have your eye on..
tell them you have seen another one same spec but not in your preferred colour,you will be surprised how much you can get off if you try. But some dealers will come in with there best price right away so you have to know the difference

 

[kp64zl]

I had no luck getting any discount on a £ 48k second hand beach at one of the dealers this time last year .

Seemed massively overpriced considering the spec but would have gone for it if a couple of grand less.

The same van remained on their website for a good 7 months eventually was about £42k!

By that time I had gone for a new one once worked out that new meant 5yr warranty and exactly what wanted and got about 8 Percent off list price

 

[Campingrookie]

Don't be shy. Tell us the specs, year and mileage. Then the collective can debate!

In answer to your question:-
Year - 2018
Mileage - 8k
Beach with 7 seats
150ps DSG
Discover media sat nav with app connect
Privacy glass
Cruise control
Front and rear parking sensors

Price - £41k... what do you think?

 

[Jay20cali]

In answer to your question:-
Year - 2018
Mileage - 8k
Beach with 7 seats
150ps DSG
Discover media sat nav with app connect
Privacy glass
Cruise control
Front and rear parking sensors

Price - £41k... what do you think?

I don’t think that’s way expensive but it should really be slightly south of 40k I think the problem there is it’s got the nav option and I think that’s about £1600 so they probably see it as a valuable option
I considered a beach and pre reg started at around 42k some also had LEDs but I thin it’s all about finding the right dealers look on das welt some dealers ask stupid money others don’t but your van is probably only a couple of grand over maybe??

 

[clarinetbcn]

In answer to your question:-
Year - 2018
Mileage - 8k
Beach with 7 seats
150ps DSG
Discover media sat nav with app connect
Privacy glass
Cruise control
Front and rear parking sensors

Price - £41k... what do you think?

Does it have parking heater? Many Beaches come with programable coolant heater, which is nice to preheat the van but not apt for night use as it uses too much battery.

 

[Campingrookie]

Does it have parking heater? Many Beaches come with programable coolant heater, which is nice to preheat the van but not apt for night use as it uses too much battery.

I don’t believe it does but my plan is to retro fit one when I get a Slidepod for it...

 

[hirsty]

That's about the same spec & price as my 2016 / 65-plate Beach bought about 3.5 years ago, pre-registered with delivery mileage. Rang them with a cheeky offer on Monday AM and said I'll come and get it on Friday afternoon (last day of Q1) for X & he called back agreeing within 10-minutes.

Only way to get to the best price is to be prepared to walk away and mean it. Having said that I'm not in favour of haggling for every last scrap, both parties then walk away feeling a bit done over, takes all of the joy out of what should be an exciting time for you.

I wouldn't worry about 7,000 miles, but I would want a heater. A potential angle could be either asking them to keep the extra seats (or selling on privately here) if you don't want them yourself.

 

[Campingrookie]

Thank you everyone for your help, really appreciated.

So I gave them a call and had a discussion on price. Very nice lady, she said their wasn’t any movement on price and gave a number of reasons why, which all sounded plausible (call me gullible but she sounded sincere).

Long story short I made a sensible offer and said I’d follow up with it in writing. She knows I’m here if the van sticks around but equally I’m happy to walk as it’s not 100% perfect.

Will keep you posted...

 

[Meoncoast]

had any useful experience/anecdotes.

I would also look nationally and be prepared to travel for the right van - there are a lot available on VW website remember to check VAT included in price

 

[2haw]

I would work out the new list price of that exact van and take off 12/13% which is roughly the current discount. I would then see how that then compares against the used one at 41k.

Consider how much extra you would pay for a new van with the full 3yr warranty.

I appreciate that the T6 has apparently now closed to ordering but there will be brand new Vans in the system for a short while.

 

[Jay20cali]

As above go on das welt then ring all the different dealers they all have a pot and access to VWs main carrying stock ...I found dealers going out of there way to find us a van...
You got nothing to loose only to gain

 

[Cloud Dodger]

We looked at 3-4 different 6-12 month old ex -demo Cali Beach's and the max discount we could get was £250, some dealers gave zero discount, so we ended up going for a new one with better spec and ended up paying only about £1500 more for a brand new one with lots of options that we chose BUT we have to wait for the build.

One dealer said they don't discount used \ ex-demo Cali's, they claimed people who want one and don't want to wait for a new build are willing to pay the price, zero discount.

Normally the dealers will write down their ex-demo stock each month, so they do drop a little month by month.

 

[Redrick Esq.]

Ok

We have not picked it up yet but when i found the Ocean 30 that was pre reg in may it was ( i wont give the price) £3k more than i though it ws worth and prepared to pay.

I made the dealer an offer based upon what i wanted ( a loose expression in this case) to pay after an hour or so he came back to me with what he described as his best price
It was a grand over my offer but still a good bit off his original price

I weighed it up and said yes and paid most of the cash there and then so he couldn't back out easily.

I didn't haggle that hard as the spec on it which is more than i would have specced up on new but nice to have would have priced a new one at way more than i was paying and although i still feel i may have given the dealer more profit than i would realistically have liked I am happy

He came down in price i had to go up I got the Cali i had decided i wanted

Its negotiation get talking numbers and decide to either buy or walk away

Picking it up on Friday

 

[clarinetbcn]

If it has an outlet on the lower B pillar, is has a parking heater.