Do people still haggle at car dealers for used cars?

• 

  kinetic9 on 13/06/2023 - 11:01

  +2

  Following as I'm also looking for a new car this year.

  Last time we bought from a dealer around your price range, we didn't really get much trying to haggle. I think they gave us some free servicing from their attached workshop, but we never ended up going there anyway. Also I'm pretty sure dealers prefer financing as it makes them more money, so being a cash sale isn't an incentive for them to haggle.

• 

  wellydeal on 13/06/2023 - 11:01

  +2

  It never hurts to ask the question, worst case they'll just say no.

  The last car I bought from turners (a couple years ago) I requested a new wof and a full tank.

  I have also heard you shouldn't say you're a 'cash' buyer as if they think you're going to finance it, they'll be trying to make more money off the interest rate & finance company etc.

  • 

    spam on 13/06/2023 - 11:05

    +2

    That's what I heard people saying regarding "cash" price too.

    It's a bit on the ethical side where you say you're on finance first when approaching the sales guy (or don't say at all), then once you get the price says that you're paying cash. Haven't done it myself but I read people do this on reddit and successful on getting it at the price (albeit grumpy sales guy).

    Last time I got it from a dealer I haggled for new carpet kit and umbrella (lol). They gave me full tank without asking but might be a courtesy thing

• 

  kiwical on 13/06/2023 - 11:13

  +1

  Oh wow. Didn't realise that about the cash vs finance thing. That's interesting thanks.

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  Melse on 13/06/2023 - 11:46

  +1

  Have heard that you have more luck negotiating at the end of the month as they have sales targets to hit. Might depend on the dealership? The most I've got is ORC included which is only a $600ish discount but still worth asking if they don't budge otherwise

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  Alan6984 on 13/06/2023 - 12:12

  +1

  Absolutely - I can't imagine anyone paying the sticker price for a user car ever, but I'm sure there are plenty of extremely generous consumers out there who willingly give extra cash to dealers :->

  I would expect to get at least 10% off, and if you bait the dealer, and play them, you will often get 15% or more.

  Remember that every car they shift, even with a small profit, is another car they can put on the lot. Most lots are jammed full, which means each space is costing them money. It is all about turnover of the vehicles that drives their overall profit, so any dealer is going to be incentivised to do a deal.

  Might be a bit different if you find a dealer with a lack of stock, but last time I looked (end of 2022), most were fully stocked, and were holding other vehicles elsewhere.

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  Meridian on 13/06/2023 - 12:29

  +2

  Agree with the above. Go through the whole motion around financing and get the price agreed and then at the last minute say oh my (dad, mum, friend, etc) gave me cash instead. Even use it to get the price down. Ie oh I can only afford 100 a week or 80 or whatever number you have calculated on the repayments equates to what you want - they will often reduce the car price to hit these payment amounts as have little room to move on the interest components.

  I know a couple of dealers and they often make more out of the finance than they do out of the car, and Im not trying to screw people over but you know as they say , the game is the game. They dont have to sell to you if they dont want to.

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  LupinS on 13/06/2023 - 12:44

  Yes!

  And don't pay any over the top "on road costs" either. Registration cost only - offer to do it yourself if they say "but we need to…" Otherwise your the one paying for their grooming, new WOF (if it's already been complied), and other basic things they should be doing anyway (one reciently tried to charge me $200 for setting the dash to English. Total cost to them - $0 and literally 30 seconds ).

  Edit - just reading that lots of people have asked for things like a full tank, new WOF, etc. It's important to note that if you're paying on road costs you are almost certainly the one actually paying for these (and a WOF under X number of days is a legal requirement).

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  desikiwi on 13/06/2023 - 14:48

  If you want a bargain import car your self you will either get a great car ie condition or great price or both

  • 

    Alan6984 on 13/06/2023 - 15:53

    To be fair, that is a fairly significant time commitment and learning curve if you aren't doing it regularly (in which case, you are likely in trade anyway I guess).

    I'm sure it often works out well if you have the time though.

    • 

      desikiwi on 13/06/2023 - 16:46

      Yes it's time consuming if you don't have time it's not a good idea

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  nzmax on 13/06/2023 - 16:10

  Be wary with flood damaged cars at the moment. Some are possibly hard to spot as well if they have been well cleaned, but you don't know what damage to the electronics etc there could be over time. .

• 

  Madao on 13/06/2023 - 16:21

  When I bought a car 6 years ago I asked the dealer for a copy of their paperwork that showed the work thy had done to the car after import so I could start building a service history.

  They sent me a "vehicle costing report" which showed the landed cost then the work and cost of the work completed. They had tried to blank out the landed cost but you could still see the numbers.

  The asking price was 30k. Landed cost was $19.5 with another $2.7 in compliance and conditioning for sale. Suffice to say I have a healthy dose of scepticism when a dealer says they don't have much margin in the sticker price.

  Last month the Mrs bought a car from a dealer. I led on the negotiation, as she isn't confident enough to play polite hardball, but it was quite difficult when she was sat there fizzing about how much she liked it and really wanted it.

  After a bit of back and forth it still wasn't reduced as much as I wanted. The guy said if he could do it for X do we have a deal. I said at that price it was starting to look more reasonable. He then went to "get approval from the manager". Came back and said the manager wouldn't go that low, only a couple hundred more than that. He essentially created an artificial floor and short of walking away, which the Mrs wouldn't do, there was no more room to manovour. He even said a full tank of fuel isn't done these days.

  If you are looking at finance or a warranty or kerching for the dealer both I would haggle hard.

  • 

    Alan6984 on 13/06/2023 - 16:48

    If you are with someone who is intent of sabotaging a negotiation, then you are effectively screwed.

    I just don't understand the desire to, almost literally, gift cash to a car dealer, but there are plenty out there with the same attitude.

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  gooddeals on 13/06/2023 - 21:44

  +1

  worth noting that 2cheapcar offers $500 all vehicles every second week or so, and also extra discount for selected vehicles. so probably should not be buying a full sticker price from them. Also the clear car rebates and charges are also part of the equation on choosing your car.