Buying a new Saab

in article ccp9v8$484$ snipped-for-privacy@newsg4.svr.pol.co.uk, Dave at snipped-for-privacy@Home.con wrote on

10/07/2004 18:45:

Good car.

Sounds cheap - no extras?

Everything is open to negotiation if you negotiate correctly.

9 months, or thereabouts?

I'll put the Lux pack on it (£1480). That's the only extra I want. "Everything is open to negotiation if you negotiate correctly." - Any tips for negotiating price? Despite the savings, I don't want to import. ....and the delivery time??? (no baby jokes again please!)

in article snipped-for-privacy@sizefitterlikneasfuongtuintgsjadfasejk.com, Johannes H Andersen at snipped-for-privacy@sizefitterlikneasfuongtuintgsjadfasejk.com wrote on 10/07/2004 19:58:

ANA Trollhättan - the purest ... Straight from the dealer closest to the source :)

Paul

in article ccpblo$c31$ snipped-for-privacy@newsg2.svr.pol.co.uk, Dave at snipped-for-privacy@Home.con wrote on

10/07/2004 19:14:

Make sure you have a "fantasy" price from another dealer - close enough to make them drop the price a little more ... Failing that, threaten an import direct from Sweden?

Negotiation might well get you that extras pack thrown in for the standard price. I think you'd be lucky for more than that without importing ... Have a think though .. You can pick it up from Trollhättan (cost about and extra

300 UKP flight/inland travel and whatever petrol you need to get home) and visit the museum while you're there.

Are you after the sedan or the wagon? I'm a sedan fancier, myself :) The 9-5 sedan reminds me very much of the old(er) 9000 CD model.

Paul

on

I nearly bought an ex-demo from a dealer - it was up for £26,000, only 3 months old. They offered me £8,000 for mine, I said the book price was £9,300, he said "it's only worth what someone wants to pay for it" I said, drop £1,000 on the 9-5 and I'll think about it...he said no chance. That's why I think if I go into a dealer and I say "I'm looking to pay £26,000 for a new one" they'll just laugh at me!! I'm after the saloon/sedan model.

Auto Express lists the car as £27,400 but suggest 'Aim-to-pay' £24,602. Options can make a lot of difference, the sky is the limit if you go down that route.

Have you thought about personal import? Don't leave money with middlemen, deal directly with main dealer in your chosen country.

There was a TV program a while ago, quite revealing about a car dealer. They followed this car dealer around in his daily work, and he slipped some interesting secrets. On one occasion a couple wanted to buy a car. Dealers love couples because they can play them up against each other. After some time the dealer left the couple by themselves to come to their own conclusions. The dealer, however, 'forgot' his little calculator on the coffee table. As you perhaps have guessed, the calculator contained a small FM transmitter such that the dealer could listen in on the bottom line that couple was prepared to accept!

in article snipped-for-privacy@sizefitterlikneasfuongtuintgsjadfasejk.com, Johannes H Andersen at snipped-for-privacy@sizefitterlikneasfuongtuintgsjadfasejk.com wrote on 10/07/2004 20:39:

That's an interesting story - in the information war, information is power. Why not go as a couple and play the salesman. When a cold call comes through on your phone trying to sell you double glazing, why not say "hell, yeah! can you do all 35 windows?" ... I've played the credit card system and now have somewhere in excess of a seriously silly figure at my disposal if I want it. Given a terminal disease, I'll take it ... In my name alone!

Information is power - don't fob off people trying to sell you something ... They're the ones profiling you (mostly for other companies) ... Tell them what you want them to hear! Tell them something you want one of your favourite companies to hear ...

in article snipped-for-privacy@sizefitterlikneasfuongtuintgsjadfasejk.com, Johannes H Andersen at snipped-for-privacy@sizefitterlikneasfuongtuintgsjadfasejk.com wrote on 11/07/2004 00:01:

The last car I bought (a Fiat Punto Sporting, of all things .. Tut!) was good fun. Having established that I was not going to get a discount for cash from the salesman ("we don't make any money that way..."), I jumped at the chance for 500 quid off the price to take their "90 day to back out if you don't like it" HP scheme ... Which I paid off immediately :) I also got 700 quid more than the market value (probably about 300 quid) for the 1993 Hyundai Scoupe I traded in!

Punto Sportings of that vintage are *still* shifting for the price I paid almost two years ago. Bargain! ... It's a fun car too, but I'm not sure I like being told it's a "sweet ride" by Burberry cap wearing types in Halford's car park ("Does it look like my f'ckn car? It's my wife's, godammit") :))))

Paul

1989 900 Turbo S

Thanks guys. :-)

in article ccpqc7$7a7$ snipped-for-privacy@news6.svr.pol.co.uk, Dave at snipped-for-privacy@Home.con wrote on

10/07/2004 23:25:

Happy haggling - remember that you're the one with the money (and therefore the power).

Good luck,

Paul

[...]

Quite. A typical salesman confronted with a trade-in car will try to be chummy with you and at the right moment typically ask: "Tell me the lowest possible trade-in price that you have in mind for your car and we'll see if we can up it a bit..." Need say no more in this distinguished group...

The TV program I mentioned also featured an American salesman on loan to their UK department. Some of you might have seen the program. The idea was to see if the American could sell more cars using his much more forward and loud approach, while the British salesman is more aloof and makes his customers work harder to get his attention. It was quite fun to watch. At first it seems obvious that the American's more energetic approach would teach the British a lesson, but lo and behold, the American lost out in the end to the British salesman, understand it those who can?

Good luck with your new car.

I think you are trying to achieve two things at the same time. Get a discount on the new car AND top price for your part exchange. I think you may be unrealistic to expect both, so work on the basis of the price to change.

Ithink the norm is you get one or the other ... but all the best if you can get both.

Regards Charles

The reason was simple, it wasn't a traditional car dealership where the sales droids are on commission but instead a car supermarket where the sales negotiator simply gave you the keys and juggled several people at once instead of devoting an hour to one customer.

Numbers game, that's all.

David.

Also, find out when their end of year is and also drop by at accounting month end. :)

Yep sure can. Make friends with someone on a US military base rapidly. Real cars, real cheap, delivery is a scant two weeks.

Park the shitbox and come inside!

Steph