How to get a Dealer to drop their price?

Diagro

Diagro

Diagro

Soldato
Joined
3 Jun 2012
Posts
11,250
Hey

So I am looking to buy a car from LEX Autolease Car Select in Coventry.

I have put a £100 holding deposit on it so that no one else can snipe it before its available for a test drive. When I did this I asked if there was any room for the price to be negotiable they said no. then they spouted some carp about a £300 warranty being applied to the car and it having dents removed and paint redone and all alloys refurbed blah blah.. All things that i would expect them to fix anyway.
We ended that conversation on me saying "ok well I will discuss that more on Sunday if the car is ready and I have had a test drive". The salesman didn't seem to hear or just ignored it though.

The Car is listed for £8500 and I only really want to spend £8000 and I feel £8000 is the right price for the car.

Is there any tips or tricks that anyone can give me? Do you think they would budge on the price by £500? (to be fair i would be ok with them dropping it by £300).

Thanks!
 
You shouldnt put a deposit on a car that has a price you arnt happy with, you haggle before hand, then leave a deposit

Its basics really.
 
I'd have thought you've lost a big chunk of clout on the basis you've put some money down. Only you can really 'lose' by pulling out of the deal now.

Could be wrong, but the money on the table means...to me at least...you've come to an agreement and the money is a tangible proof of that.
 
By the time you've given them a deposit, I imagine they'll be fairly confident that they'll get the asking. And if you're worried about someone sniping it, then that suggests it's not overpriced and somewhat in demand.

All you can really do is threaten to walk away. But presumably in that case they'd have your £100 and put the car back on the market @ 8500. Unless they're really desperate to get it off the forecourt, I think you might struggle.
 
There are no general guidelines and it is impossible to know if they are willing to move on the asking price. It all comes down to their margins and also whether they think you will buy the car anyway.

Given you have already put down a £100 deposit on the car I reckon the garage will work on the basis you're not going to walk away and lose your deposit for the sake of £400.

Forget "tips and tricks". The only way you can really find out if they will budge on price is firmly offer £8000 as your maximum budget, stick to your guns and be prepared to walk away if they don't agree. You can always use something you don't like as a justification, e.g.. the tyres don't match and you want to spend £300 changing them.

When I bought my last car I paid the asking price and wasn't able to negotiate the price down, but given it was the cheapest priced comparable car in the whole of the UK and I had traveled for 3 hours to see it I knew I stood no chance. Instead I just negotiated extending the warranty from 1 to 2 years and got a few freebies thrown in.
 
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Worth checking what the book price for the car is first but if you are happy with 8k for it tell them that is what you are prepared to pay and leave it at that asking them to contact you if they want to do the deal. Any time I have done this the dealer has called back with in a week or two accepting the offer.
 
Diagro said:
Hey

. then they spouted some carp about a £300 warranty being applied to the car and it having dents removed and paint redone and all alloys refurbed blah blah.. All things that i would expect them to fix anyway.

!
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Most of Lex's cars are from company car stock, the cars are already sorted before they even get to Lex's compounds. Our company gets penalised and charged for work by Lex if they find any dents/chips/scuffs/damage that isnt in accordance with BVRLA guidelines, when the car is returned. So companies generally get the cars sorted before they go back.
 
It's a holding deposit.
if I don't want the car they refund me. There was no talk about price apart from me asking about discount.

the 100 quid deposit was simply to guarantee I got first test drive on Sunday and if I'm not keen they simply hand the money back. This is backed up by paperwork.


so in my eyes, there are still negotiations still on the table...
 
In their eyes, you want the car. Therefore any credible chance you had of getting cash off has disappeared.

Why would anyone pay a holding deposit if they didn't want the dealer to hold the car for them to buy....

Unless it's for something incredibly rare ( it isn't ) there is never a reason to put money down before you've seen the car
 
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Diagro said:
It's a holding deposit.
if I don't want the car they refund me. There was no talk about price apart from me asking about discount.

the 100 quid deposit was simply to guarantee I got first test drive on Sunday and if I'm not keen they simply hand the money back. This is backed up by paperwork.


so in my eyes, there are still negotiations still on the table...
Click to expand...

If you leave a holding deposit it straight away means you're happy with the asking price...
 
rodenal said:
In their eyes, you want the car. Therefore any credible chance you had of getting cash off has disappeared.

Why would anyone pay a holding deposit if they didn't want the dealer to hold the car for them to buy....

Unless it's for something incredibly rare ( it isn't ) there is never a reason to put money down before you've seen the car
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I have seen the car.

I just haven't driven it yet as it has yet to go through their prep state and have its alloys done and a new tyre due to puncture.

I said the the man I wouldn't be intrested at all if the issues were not all sorted and I still wasn't sure. The deposit was purely so I could get it prepped faster and a test drive.

I never agreed a price. Can't understand why you lots think I have.
 
You viewed the car, said you weren't happy with the price then handed them some money so they wouldn't sell it anyway.

Flip positions and put yourself in the salesman's shoes....what would you think?
 
Diagro said:
Apart from when I made it clear I wasn't.... lol. Well done reading the OP
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Actions speak louder than words.

You left a deposit. This pretty much means in there view that you want their car badly....they're not gonna budge as they now they think they've priced perfectly...

How can you not actually get this? Now I think this is just a troll thread it's that retarded.
 
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