Main Dealer Haggling

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Fri 11 Apr 2003 20:20
Main Dealer Haggling - Doc
How do I haggle with a main dealer?

I have made a preliminary look at a secondhand Micra Sport Plus 1.4 (quite rare) which is ex demo. The dealer is asking £5995, which is about £800 above Parkers guide.
They are willing to do a part exchange on my old 1993 Rover Metro but no price has been discussed.
We have gone through the 'mats and mud flaps' routine which the dealer says is worth £100.
He seems keen to do a deal on an overall package, but not to lower the asking price too much.
I have pointed out various marks on the bodywork and an odd tyre, but he says these will be fixed and a new tyre will be supplied to match the other three.

Any ideas on what approach I should take when I go tomorrow for a test run?
I will be paying cash.
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Fri 11 Apr 2003 21:10
Main Dealer Haggling - Andrew-T
Doc - I assume you are talking about a Nissan dealer? If you are set on this particular car, and also set on trading in the Metro, I doubt there is much you can do after playing with mats and 12 months VED. If you are willing to flog the Metro yourself you will have some bargaining power - after all, it won't be worth much, so the dealer is only giving you a bit of his margin for it. Otherwise, look for the same model at an independent dealer and expect to save several hundred.
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Fri 11 Apr 2003 21:43
Main Dealer Haggling - SteveH42
Wait to see what he offers you in part-ex. When I was looking to change my Tipo, I found most used-car places offered between £250 and £500 for it. However, the Toyota dealer I finally bought from offered £1700. Granted the Yaris I bought would have been marked up over what it would have cost from a used-car place, but not by that much.
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Fri 11 Apr 2003 23:21
Main Dealer Haggling - DavidHM
There's no shortage of cheap Micras, and if you want the better performance and driving dynamics of the Sport+ then you should probably be buying something else anyway.

Assuming your Metro is in reasonable nick and has a long (9 month+) MoT, it might fetch £300 in the trade, possibly a little less.

As Steve says, the only figure that matters if you're paying cash is the cost to change. I would be very reluctant to go over £5500 - there are loads of 52 plates under £5k with a lesser spec - so you should be looking at a cost to change of about £5200.

I'd imagine Nissan dealers are desperate to get rid of old shape Micras, so if this dealer won't do it, find one who will. There are plenty in local papers, AutoTrader ( www.autotrader.co.uk ) and on other dealers' websites.
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Sat 12 Apr 2003 09:48
Main Dealer Haggling - Obsolete
Offer him £5500 wihtout the part exchange and walk away if he says no. Try and make sure he has your contact details. If he is overcharging then he knows it and will get back to you with a more realistic offer after a week. This will work if he really wants a sale.
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