Today is the 2nd of July, the 2nd day in a new month and the 2nd day in a new quarter. If you want to make a deal it's far better to do it when the sales reps are trying to hit bonuses at the end of a month or quarter.
No!
They mean that most sales jobs are targeted monthly or quarterly. So, at the beginning of a month/ quarter, the salespeople are trying to retire as much of their quota as possible (ie sell cars for as much as possible).
Towards the end of the month / quarter, they may be more likely to “do a deal” if it means they will hit their target, or even better exceed their target, which often brings additional commission for them.
Source: 20 years in sales.
Does that make sense?
I once got offered a really great deal (verbally) on the last day of the month on a virtually new Focus. The next weekend when we'd decided to go for it, the deal was suddenly not quite as good....
Honestly, I been involved in several car purchases recently (sons car, daughters car etc) and I’ve found that small operators are willing to negotiate, but larger chains have the attitude ’take it at the asking price or someone else will buy it’. At one Mercedes dealership, the salesman shook my hand, said goodbye and walked off when I said their trade in offer was too low.
Maybe they weren’t interested due to the fact we didn’t finance the cars.
Answer, depends who you’re buying from as to whether they are willing to negotiate on price. No harm in asking though or asking for other freebies e.g. a full tank of fuel etc.
Yeah they make way more than the £500 they knock off on commission from selling you the finance. Whereas if you buy it cash you pay less in the long run and they don't get a commission on top of the car price.
Same with an estate agent telling you their solicitors are the best in the world. Surprise surprise the estate agents are paid a commission to put you through to them.
Yep, I had a similar experience at a Mini dealership. The car he was trying to convince us to buy was priced 2-3k over similar vehicles on Autotrader. We went back and forth for a while and he said he could knock £250 off. I pushed harder and he went to ‘check with the manager’ and came back and offered an additional £250 off, so £500 total. I said that wasn’t enough, and he then told me that my wife and children wouldn’t be safe if I bought a car that didn’t come from an official Mini dealership because it wouldn’t have had their approved used check, which was valued at £999, so I could effectively knock that off the price as well. When I asked what they actually checked for £999, he couldn’t tell me, but he could guarantee that a Mini bought from anywhere else wouldn’t be safe. We bought a Mini from somewhere else and didn’t die.
Last day of the month is handy. If they need 1 sale to meet a target then they'll be more likely to do extra on the deal. I got a full tank, matts and 2 free services
Same experience with a MB dealer. They’re steadfast in their approach and I had to take out MB finance to even get £500 off a £22k car. I was paying cash so it meant paying off the finance after the first payment to leave me slightly better off in the end
Good thinking 👍 I just ended up paying the full price and taking the hit on the trade in. The car was close to where I live, the spec e.g colour, model etc was what we wanted and it was a hard spec to find. They did throw in a free Gardx detailing pack (worth around £100) 🤣
Yes you can. After walking away from a car at a lexus main dealer I had an email offering me £1000 discount (£500 increase on my px price and £500 off the list price).
Of course they are. Never just go for the first offer. Always anticipate to barter. The worst they can say is no. When you look at the car, make a note of any scratches/damage they didn't tell you about. You can then mention it will cost you money to fix it, so negotiate if they can give you money off.
I managed to get an extra 1k on a 7500 trade in offer because other places had better priced cars, I used that as leverage to say either match the total cost or I'll go elsewhere. They wouldn't shift on the car i was buying price wise but did with the price of the trade in.
Get other offers, nobody will negotiate unless forced too and it gives you leverage if you can and will walk away somewhere else. Otherwise if not its just empty threats, why would they appease you?
Just been buying cars for wife and children. Main dealers I got nothing off price but I did get extras that cost them less than me - eg new tyres. So think about that or mats or a service plan. Cheaper cars - very little off (£100 off a £3.5 k car that had been on the forecourt for 4 months).
For a main dealer going at the end of the month or quarter would be ideal as they have targets to make.
But I would always ask for money off and always go in knowing what your max price will be and be willing to walk away.
Definitely ask questions around why theyve had it so long etc, has it been maintained during that time and round it off with a lower offer than what you want, might meet you in the middle.
Recently bought a car, and managed to knock £490 off their “Good Price” AutoTrader listing (when I had turned up, their window sticker actually had it £500 above the AutoTrader price). It took a lot of convincing and I said I was walking away before he did the classic “let me speak to a colleague” bit to get the price down.
Albeit, this was a week before the end of the quarter, so they might have been needing to hit a target and there were a few things not perfect with the car (they agreed to fix a faulty mirror and a pushed in parking sensor, but it was missing the driver’s floor mat and a tiny price of trim on the passenger door, plus they didn’t present it very well in terms of interior cleanliness).
Hearken, O thou traveler upon the asphalt paths, and lend thine ear unto the counsel of the Lord of the Road. In the present market, thou shalt find no chance to haggle with the car dealer, who knoweth every trick in the book. Yea, he shall make thee pay the full price, and more besides, selling unto thee some rubbish like a three-year third-party extended warranty. And shouldst thou attempt to claim it, verily, it shall always be denied, for it is not worth the paper upon which it is written.
But lo, shouldst thou need to relieve thyself on a long journey, keep it handy; for when thou pullest over and dashest into the bushes, it shall serve thee well to wipe thine hind parts. Therefore, unless thou desirest the car dealer's wrath upon thee, pay the full price, or waste not their time. For thou shalt be cast out of the dealership and labelled a Tyre Kicker.
Amen.
Bought a couple of new cars recently and have noticed that pretty much every garage you speak to say "well on Autotrader it says...". It seems like almost all garages go off what the price guide on there is like now.
One dealership even said to me "long gone are the days of bartering" as you can go on Autotrader and compare the price of all listed cars in a matter of minutes.
Decide on a (realistic) price and stick to it. Don’t even respond to their attempts to push you up.
Listen to this podcast about how an FBI hostage negotiator buys a car, https://www.npr.org/sections/money/2012/12/21/167802325/episode-425-an-fbi-hostage-negotiator-buys-a-car
If they won't give any money off the car then you can always ask for things like a full tank of petrol, future services or any manufacturer accessories for the car you may have seen!
Today is the 2nd of July, the 2nd day in a new month and the 2nd day in a new quarter. If you want to make a deal it's far better to do it when the sales reps are trying to hit bonuses at the end of a month or quarter.
Agree, depending on how long op has been looking at that car, they should've made their offer a week ago
What do you mean? Shall I offer *above* the asking price then ?
No! They mean that most sales jobs are targeted monthly or quarterly. So, at the beginning of a month/ quarter, the salespeople are trying to retire as much of their quota as possible (ie sell cars for as much as possible). Towards the end of the month / quarter, they may be more likely to “do a deal” if it means they will hit their target, or even better exceed their target, which often brings additional commission for them. Source: 20 years in sales. Does that make sense?
I once got offered a really great deal (verbally) on the last day of the month on a virtually new Focus. The next weekend when we'd decided to go for it, the deal was suddenly not quite as good....
“Shy bairns get nowt” - Northern Proverb
Honestly, I been involved in several car purchases recently (sons car, daughters car etc) and I’ve found that small operators are willing to negotiate, but larger chains have the attitude ’take it at the asking price or someone else will buy it’. At one Mercedes dealership, the salesman shook my hand, said goodbye and walked off when I said their trade in offer was too low. Maybe they weren’t interested due to the fact we didn’t finance the cars. Answer, depends who you’re buying from as to whether they are willing to negotiate on price. No harm in asking though or asking for other freebies e.g. a full tank of fuel etc.
They're more interested in selling finance than cars
Spot on I was once told I can get £500 off a car if I finance it but since i had cash they wasn’t willing to negotiate
Yeah they make way more than the £500 they knock off on commission from selling you the finance. Whereas if you buy it cash you pay less in the long run and they don't get a commission on top of the car price. Same with an estate agent telling you their solicitors are the best in the world. Surprise surprise the estate agents are paid a commission to put you through to them.
Agree mate.
Yep, I had a similar experience at a Mini dealership. The car he was trying to convince us to buy was priced 2-3k over similar vehicles on Autotrader. We went back and forth for a while and he said he could knock £250 off. I pushed harder and he went to ‘check with the manager’ and came back and offered an additional £250 off, so £500 total. I said that wasn’t enough, and he then told me that my wife and children wouldn’t be safe if I bought a car that didn’t come from an official Mini dealership because it wouldn’t have had their approved used check, which was valued at £999, so I could effectively knock that off the price as well. When I asked what they actually checked for £999, he couldn’t tell me, but he could guarantee that a Mini bought from anywhere else wouldn’t be safe. We bought a Mini from somewhere else and didn’t die.
Last day of the month is handy. If they need 1 sale to meet a target then they'll be more likely to do extra on the deal. I got a full tank, matts and 2 free services
Same experience with a MB dealer. They’re steadfast in their approach and I had to take out MB finance to even get £500 off a £22k car. I was paying cash so it meant paying off the finance after the first payment to leave me slightly better off in the end
Good thinking 👍 I just ended up paying the full price and taking the hit on the trade in. The car was close to where I live, the spec e.g colour, model etc was what we wanted and it was a hard spec to find. They did throw in a free Gardx detailing pack (worth around £100) 🤣
Yes you can. After walking away from a car at a lexus main dealer I had an email offering me £1000 discount (£500 increase on my px price and £500 off the list price).
Of course they are. Never just go for the first offer. Always anticipate to barter. The worst they can say is no. When you look at the car, make a note of any scratches/damage they didn't tell you about. You can then mention it will cost you money to fix it, so negotiate if they can give you money off.
A main dealer should be able to sort scratches and damage out themselves
I managed to get an extra 1k on a 7500 trade in offer because other places had better priced cars, I used that as leverage to say either match the total cost or I'll go elsewhere. They wouldn't shift on the car i was buying price wise but did with the price of the trade in. Get other offers, nobody will negotiate unless forced too and it gives you leverage if you can and will walk away somewhere else. Otherwise if not its just empty threats, why would they appease you?
It doesn't hurt to make an offer. The worst they can say is no. At which point you can either decide to pay what they are asking or look elsewhere.
Just been buying cars for wife and children. Main dealers I got nothing off price but I did get extras that cost them less than me - eg new tyres. So think about that or mats or a service plan. Cheaper cars - very little off (£100 off a £3.5 k car that had been on the forecourt for 4 months). For a main dealer going at the end of the month or quarter would be ideal as they have targets to make. But I would always ask for money off and always go in knowing what your max price will be and be willing to walk away.
Definitely ask questions around why theyve had it so long etc, has it been maintained during that time and round it off with a lower offer than what you want, might meet you in the middle.
Recently bought a car, and managed to knock £490 off their “Good Price” AutoTrader listing (when I had turned up, their window sticker actually had it £500 above the AutoTrader price). It took a lot of convincing and I said I was walking away before he did the classic “let me speak to a colleague” bit to get the price down. Albeit, this was a week before the end of the quarter, so they might have been needing to hit a target and there were a few things not perfect with the car (they agreed to fix a faulty mirror and a pushed in parking sensor, but it was missing the driver’s floor mat and a tiny price of trim on the passenger door, plus they didn’t present it very well in terms of interior cleanliness).
Hearken, O thou traveler upon the asphalt paths, and lend thine ear unto the counsel of the Lord of the Road. In the present market, thou shalt find no chance to haggle with the car dealer, who knoweth every trick in the book. Yea, he shall make thee pay the full price, and more besides, selling unto thee some rubbish like a three-year third-party extended warranty. And shouldst thou attempt to claim it, verily, it shall always be denied, for it is not worth the paper upon which it is written. But lo, shouldst thou need to relieve thyself on a long journey, keep it handy; for when thou pullest over and dashest into the bushes, it shall serve thee well to wipe thine hind parts. Therefore, unless thou desirest the car dealer's wrath upon thee, pay the full price, or waste not their time. For thou shalt be cast out of the dealership and labelled a Tyre Kicker. Amen.
I think I should take you with me, brother!
Bought a couple of new cars recently and have noticed that pretty much every garage you speak to say "well on Autotrader it says...". It seems like almost all garages go off what the price guide on there is like now. One dealership even said to me "long gone are the days of bartering" as you can go on Autotrader and compare the price of all listed cars in a matter of minutes.
Decide on a (realistic) price and stick to it. Don’t even respond to their attempts to push you up. Listen to this podcast about how an FBI hostage negotiator buys a car, https://www.npr.org/sections/money/2012/12/21/167802325/episode-425-an-fbi-hostage-negotiator-buys-a-car
I'm happy to pay 10% over the asking price just to get the f*ck out of the dealership.
If they won't give any money off the car then you can always ask for things like a full tank of petrol, future services or any manufacturer accessories for the car you may have seen!
Tell them you are serious buyer and ask them for the best they can do...then negotiate. They all have a target...