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Does anyone have any experience with bartering with garages?
I'm basically wondering if theres any point in me looking at the higher priced cars with the intention of knocking down to within my budget.
The car in question is at Arnold Clark and is approx 200 miles away
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Car is also used. Not brand new
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First question : is there an Arnold Clark a LOT closer to you than 200 miles away ? Like 30 miles or less ?
If not, then do not bother buying the car, no matter how attractive the price. If you have warranty problems you will be dealing with a garage 200 miles away, with all the dropping off/public transport/hire car grief that it entails !
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First question : is there an Arnold Clark a LOT closer to you than 200 miles away ? Like 30 miles or less ?
If not, then do not bother buying the car, no matter how attractive the price. If you have warranty problems you will be dealing with a garage 200 miles away, with all the dropping off/public transport/hire car grief that it entails !
Yes Rob, theres 5 of them within a 30 mile radius of myself.
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If you really want to deal with someone 200 miles away (which in itself can create a whole set of problems) why not give them a call and ask if the price is negotiable and will they consider offers in the region of......£XX.
If they say yes you can consider the next move.
Big outfits like Arnies will sometimes move cars from branch to branch for potential customers to view with no obligation but it can have the effect of making people feel more obliged to buy in return for the effort they have made. If you do buy this way you can use the fact you actually bought it at your local branch to say I want any problems sorted or warranty work carried out at my local branch too allthough that is something they usually agree on without question.
But unless its something unique or exotic is it really worth going that far? If its something common and popular you will probably drive past a dozen others for sale at similar prices on the way.
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I was intrigued by the thread title, I thought you perhaps had some livestock, vegetables or maybe a wife to exchange; worth a try maybe.
Worth a try I suppose, if you have the time to mess about with them, or rather for them to mess you about. Tell them your budget, and make them an offer. And would you buy it unseen? Safer I suppose than buying the cheapest that way.
Assuming it is a used car with some original warranty, I would ask for specific details of service history before ordering i.e. when, where, and at what mileage (having once bought a one year old car that turned out to be 5,000 miles overdue).
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I was intrigued by the thread title, I thought you perhaps had some livestock, vegetables or maybe a wife to exchange; worth a try maybe.
Worth a try I suppose, if you have the time to mess about with them, or rather for them to mess you about. Tell them your budget, and make them an offer. And would you buy it unseen? Safer I suppose than buying the cheapest that way.
Assuming it is a used car with some original warranty, I would ask for specific details of service history before ordering i.e. when, where, and at what mileage (having once bought a one year old car that turned out to be 5,000 miles overdue).
Haha. The only women I'd have to exchange would result in a price increase.
Thanks for the input. I'll send over an e-mail too them this morning about all that stuff.
If you really want to deal with someone 200 miles away (which in itself can create a whole set of problems) why not give them a call and ask if the price is negotiable and will they consider offers in the region of......£XX.
If they say yes you can consider the next move.
Big outfits like Arnies will sometimes move cars from branch to branch for potential customers to view with no obligation but it can have the effect of making people feel more obliged to buy in return for the effort they have made. If you do buy this way you can use the fact you actually bought it at your local branch to say I want any problems sorted or warranty work carried out at my local branch too allthough that is something they usually agree on without question.
But unless its something unique or exotic is it really worth going that far? If its something common and popular you will probably drive past a dozen others for sale at similar prices on the way.
I think when my parents bought their car from Arnold Clark they moved the car from Scotland down to the Midlands for them.
I wouldn't say a Fiat 500 is very exotic :P
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Quite often the used cars or nearly new ones have been on their hire fleet. This may not bother you but, there again, it might.
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I would avoid any dealer with that name
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Me too.
As for 'bartering'. On my recent visits dealers are becoming much more hardline, but to be fair they don't have all the knowledge anymore.
Anyone can get a trade in price, anyone can easily research the market for the car they are looking at so prices are much more transparent than the days of autotrader and a quick trawl around local dealers.
At the weekend the best they would reduce a cost to change by was £250. This brought it closer to a figure I had in mind. A free service or two, some mats and a full tank would have brought it very close, but the car wasn't for me so we walked. They weren't for calling us back to seal the deal suggesting they are doing OK and Judging by how busy the dealership was plenty of punters are looking to buy.
They obviously also make shed loads out of finance. I don't need any and I suspect this also gave them less room for manouver.
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They obviously also make shed loads out of finance. I don't need any and I suspect this also gave them less room for manouver.
You are right daveyjp, I have always dealt in cash and the dealers don't particularly like it. My friend always used to agree a good price for finance, than before fully committing he would go away to think it over, then return and announce that he has been able to raise the cash and wants to pay thay way with same deal. It nearly always worked if you have the balls for it. Mind you he wouldn't get a pushbike if he had to trade his missus!!
Cheers Concrete
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I have always dealt in cash and the dealers don't particularly like it.
In 50 years buying always-used cars I have never found this problem, nor had 'terms' thrust at me. I always make some effort to haggle without being really 'middle-eastern'.
I did once apparently complete a deal as far as driving the car home, then to be told that the salesman had made a mistake and the price to change should have been more. Needless to say I backtracked on that one, and didn't go there again.
But my latest purchase was made just before Christmas 2008 when the market was really sluggish. The car on offer was priced keenly, and the part-ex value of my 9-year-old 306 was what I expected, so I guess the Pug dealer was glad just to have some cash flow.
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I have always dealt in cash and the dealers don't particularly like it.
These days only the criminal classes deal in cash. No-one should need more than a very few £20 or euro notes for day to day use. It is absurd, unless you are Greek, to have 100, 200 and 500 euro notes in circulation.
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<< These days only the criminal classes deal in cash. No-one should need more than a very few £20 or euro notes for day to day use. It is absurd, unless you are Greek, to have 100, 200 and 500 euro notes in circulation. >>
I think the term 'cash' meant a one-off payment, rather than 'finance'. I agree, few people exchange a car for a fistful of readies. I remember stories of a well-known scrap-metal dealer not far from here who bought a new model every couple of years by that method - that was back in the eighties, but I would readily believe it still happens occasionally.
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I have always dealt in cash and the dealers don't particularly like it.
These days only the criminal classes deal in cash. No-one should need more than a very few £20 or euro notes for day to day use. It is absurd, unless you are Greek, to have 100, 200 and 500 euro notes in circulation.
Hello John F, of course I meant I pay the dealer in one payment. Not in cash unless specifically requested, which would be unusual. I either save the money or arrange my own finance deal, invariably better than the dealer but not always if they need to move metal. Hope that clears that.
Cheers Concrete
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Quite often the used cars or nearly new ones have been on their hire fleet. This may not bother you but, there again, it might.
Most used cars under 12 months old, even "approved" cars have come from rental fleets or are so-called "management" cars which could simply be anything the manufacturer leased directly rather than selling through a dealer. Whilst I don't rate AC, they get their used cars from the same sources as other dealers.
Personally, I stick to manufacturers' approved cars - a little more expensive but better provenance
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AC has fleets of hire cars as well as self learner cars with dual controls which go back on the forecourts at 6-12 months.
caveat emptor
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I was intrigued by the thread title, I thought you perhaps had some livestock, vegetables or maybe a wife to exchange; worth a try maybe.
Haha. The only women I'd have to exchange would result in a price increase.
Sadly, not just a joke but true. Sexism is alive and well in the antediluvian motor trade - see report in today's Times.
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"I did once apparently complete a deal as far as driving the car home, then to be told that the salesman had made a mistake and the price to change should have been more. Needless to say I backtracked on that one, and didn't go there again."
If I'd got as far as driving the car home, no way would I pay the dealer any more. The contract is complete at that stage, and the dealer can't force the issue.
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If I'd got as far as driving the car home, no way would I pay the dealer any more. The contract is complete at that stage, and the dealer can't force the issue.
I'm just trying to remember when it was. I would guess about 38 years ago. Things have changed a bit, and I have wised up too. And I seem to remember I wasn't too bothered about taking the car back.
Edited by Andrew-T on 05/07/2015 at 00:10
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If you must buy a new car and happy to suffer the loss in value then go to multiple broker sites and determine the absolute rock bottom price nationwide for the vehicle.
Armed with this information then attempt to even better that with multiple dealerships within a few hours travel of where you live. One desperate dealer in a need to meet sales targets will likely take the bait. If a dealer will not beat the broker price simply move onto the next.
If you are happy to purchase an ex demonstration vehicle then you could even drive them down substantially more. It is all a game and the more you play the more you save. Just expect dealers and salesmen to generally have no morals and do not fall for verbal quotes unless it is written and documented.
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