Just walked away

bloodiedathame · 2 Dec 2016 at 14:41

Went to have a look at an 08 Golf Estate, 50k miles, FSH, 12 month MOT, ticked all the boxes apart from price.

Booked an appointment with the dealer, looked the car over, fired it up, checked everything I could. Went inside to talk some more, told him that it would suit me well, but that all the valuations that I'd done were about £1k less than they were asking (£6k), and if he could justify the high price. The only thing he could say that it was low mileage (not really an issue for VW diesels) and cam belt was done 6 months ago. He then said that the price wasn't negotiable. I was somewhat alarmed at this response, I said I wasn't prepared to pay that and that there were others I was looking at today, so I walked.

I'm sure I did the right thing but why the hell is it valued so high, and why not negotiate? Bizarre.

Janesy B · 2 Dec 2016 at 14:44

You went to a dealer and offered 5k for a 6k car and you're surprised you got turned down? He's obviously confident he can get asking price for it. Where did you get your valuation?

Joe T · 2 Dec 2016 at 14:48

Can you provide the spec details and I'll check the value.

Gaygle · 2 Dec 2016 at 14:49

There could be a multitude of reasons why he wouldn't have taken £5k for it, such as paying too much for it themselves, it having only been on the forecourt for a couple of days, him having had a few other people enquiring about it and that that it is the beginning of the month so no impending targets to hit.

It might well be that in two or three weeks when they have no one buying cars and the salesman needs a couple more sales to hit his December target - you get a phone call from him asking if you're still interested and that he talked to his boss and they'd be prepared to negotiate a small amount.

Until then, I think you should keep going as you were on your hunt for a new car and forget about the one you went to see.

bloodiedathame · 2 Dec 2016 at 14:51

Janesy B said:
You went to a dealer and offered 5k for a 6k car and you're surprised you got turned down? He's obviously confident he can get asking price for it. Where did you get your valuation?

I didn't make an offer. I asked him to negotiate on the price, as the valuations I'd had from Honest John and Autotrader both put the car around the £5k mark.

jamoor · 2 Dec 2016 at 14:51

bloodiedathame said:
Went to have a look at an 08 Golf Estate, 50k miles, FSH, 12 month MOT, ticked all the boxes apart from price.

Booked an appointment with the dealer, looked the car over, fired it up, checked everything I could. Went inside to talk some more, told him that it would suit me well, but that all the valuations that I'd done were about £1k less than they were asking (£6k), and if he could justify the high price. The only thing he could say that it was low mileage (not really an issue for VW diesels) and cam belt was done 6 months ago. He then said that the price wasn't negotiable. I was somewhat alarmed at this response, I said I wasn't prepared to pay that and that there were others I was looking at today, so I walked.

I'm sure I did the right thing but why the hell is it valued so high, and why not negotiate? Bizarre.

They may have priced it fairly and believe they can get full asking off the mark.

Would you have been happier if they started at £7k and dropped down to 6?

Gaygle · 2 Dec 2016 at 14:56

bloodiedathame said:
I didn't make an offer. I asked him to negotiate on the price, as the valuations I'd had from Honest John and Autotrader both put the car around the £5k mark.

The best valuations come from scouring Autotrader to see what everyone else has got theirs up at. I know the FS price isn't necessarily the price they sell for, but it gives you an accurate ballpark figure.

LiE · 2 Dec 2016 at 14:58

Also you have to be realistic when comparing prices regionally i.e. comparing a price of a car in London vs Scotland.

Joe T · 2 Dec 2016 at 15:04

To be fair CAP have a retail price of £4,625 so you shouldnt even pay £5k for it....

adolf hamster · 2 Dec 2016 at 15:11

Some dealers can be like that, theres one near me is very much non negotiable prices, to the level you'd be lucky to haggle £50 off a £20k car. But then thats just the way he operates.

But then on the flipside you might be worried if he instantly drops by a significant margin.

Adam · 2 Dec 2016 at 15:14

Good on you for researching the value properly and sticking to your guns, many would not have done.

Jamesyboyjim · 2 Dec 2016 at 15:43

They probably paid more than they would have liked themselves. Also, they know its a low mileage Golf, always popular. I expect they will get their 6k.

Skillmister · 2 Dec 2016 at 15:46

The clio 172 I test drove on 10 July is still up for sale at the same price as when I tested it. It had been up for months at that point too.

I'm sure they still think they can get asking for it... by 2020

Adam · 2 Dec 2016 at 15:57

Jamesyboyjim said:
They probably paid more than they would have liked themselves. Also, they know its a low mileage Golf, always popular. I expect they will get their 6k.

That's exactly it. They know someone will come along who hasn't done their research and will make an impulse decision. It's a premium brand small family car so I'm sure they won't have any trouble selling it if they are prepared to wait.

bloodiedathame · 2 Dec 2016 at 16:07

Jamesyboyjim said:
They probably paid more than they would have liked themselves. Also, they know its a low mileage Golf, always popular. I expect they will get their 6k.

These were my thoughts too. They've only had it for 10 days or so, I don't know what a typical turnaround for a dealer is.

wedrum · 2 Dec 2016 at 16:19

i expect they will get the 6k, better cars out there for the money though.

bloodiedathame · 2 Dec 2016 at 16:21

wedrum said:
i expect they will get the 6k, better cars out there for the money though.

I didn't want to do a 'spec me' thread. But might have to.

DanTheMan · 2 Dec 2016 at 16:23

I had similar when looking for the fiesta we bought recently. A few garages said outright that they don't negotiate negotiate on price for people paying in full because there are so many people happy to buy on finance nowadays that they are losing out when selling without finance.

shifty_uk · 2 Dec 2016 at 16:23

LiE said:
Also you have to be realistic when comparing prices regionally i.e. comparing a price of a car in London vs Scotland.

Strangely, I've always found cars cheaper down south. Probably because there's just a bigger market.

Janesy B · 2 Dec 2016 at 16:24

Bigger supply.