How to haggle when buying car?

The word to use is 'negotiating'. He's a happy boy if you but at that price, particularly if he can sign you up to a finance deal.

Treat it as his target price. But remember he has to pay for a warranty and has liabiliies under the sale of goods act and has overheads. Also a whole bunch of other variables that you'll never know about!

I think take a realistic, mature approach, ask him outright the sort of bottom-line figure he'd be happy with and take it from there. Ensure you have done some other research regarding what similar models may go for (private and trade prices).

In news: snipped-for-privacy@4ax.com, Ricky decided to enlighten our sheltered souls with a rant as follows

depends on the car; if it's something lots of people are looking for and there aren't many about then you'll have trouble knocking much more then £150-£200 off. If it's something a bit more unusual which there aren't as many people looking for then £250-£350, if it's something like a Mondeo or 3 series then there's hundreds of them about and I'd look at haggling anywhere between £350 and £750 off depending on how much you like it.

You don't tend to be able to haggle much on stuff like low mileage diesel hatchbacks, but Mondeos and 3 series' and the like are just ripe for it.

Also sprach Jeremy :-

Worth remembering that cash is not the great incentive it once was. Many firms hate it 'cos they don't make extra from it.

In fact and taken to the extreme, SWMBO suggested cash (notes, rather than bankers draft) on a £5k Ka3 - as incentive for a discount; trader replied that his bank charges him for cash deposits and that he'd prefer to take payment through card / draft. It's a crazy world we live in.

Could be anything from a few 100 to a couple of grand.

I'm invariably henest with them. Check the book price and compare their selling price with that and be meticulous about establishing the condition of the car.

Being up front and saying "I know the sticker price is the one that you hope for in your dreams, but if I buy it cash today, what will you sell it for?" works. And if they refuse to haggle, go somewhere else.

Makes sense I suppose. Someone has to be paid to count the cash and receive it at the bank. To check a banker's draft would be a lot quicker, I'd imagine.

Peter

-- "The humble bic biro draws 13 beards, 9 devil moustaches and 49 penises on newspapers in its lifetime."

He'd probably prefer to sort you out a finance deal; he'll make comission on top of what he sells the car for.

Personally i think it also depends on how long the car has been on his forcourt, if its been there a long time then he'll most likely let it go for cheaper, also it depends on how 'cheap' he got the car for and how much it 'owes' him. Last 2 cars i bought from a trader i offered( threatened) him with one of my old cars as px!!!, seemed to do the trick.

Always remember though its not the only car in the world and its not the only trader in the world, so if the price is too high for you or something causes the alarm bells to ring, then walk away.

It's not always about getting the best price - it can be about getting the best deal for the asking price. If he won't negotiate expect certain things to be corrected / done for the money. Short MoT? Demand a full one. A few dings? Expect to get them sorted. Scuffed alloys? You'll want those refurbed too...

He may do all these things on a Wants List to get the top sale - or he may baulk and offer a hefty discount to save hassle.

Above all, be realistic. Don't whinge on about slightly worn carpets, or a cigarette burn in an obscure place - this will just mark you out as a pernicketty time-waster. Pick on real issues with the car...once you start looking even the best car has some. Eg. a car may get through the Mot on that rusty back box, but you'd want it renewed etc.