Hi all,

We're currently looking at buying an Octavia vRS in place of a Fabia vRS with full leather. I have a specific car in mind which I'm in negotiations with the dealer on at the minute.

Through the wonders of this forum I happen to know what the dealer paid for it. I have already disclosed this to the dealer and put in an offer between the price they paid and asking price, still giving them a very healthy margin for little effort. The dealer is now holding out for a higher offer.

Any suggestions or techniques for negotiating from here?

Cheers

Dan

Depends how much you want the car.

What about giving the dealer a time and date to respond with his/her best offer. In the absence of such an offer, be prepared to go elsewhere or swallow your pride.

Viel Gluck

Remember to factor in any warranty he is offering as this could be worth several hundred pounds as well as piece of mind

Always remember the dealer will knock off money from your swapper - you may not even be aware of this - they play it safe to ensure they have enough money held back to put it through their workshop.

I once looked at trading in a three year old Octavia in very good condition with many extras - they inadvertently revealed they had held back £700 to put it through their workshop and there's no way it would have cost them anywhere near that!

Thus if your swapper is a minter then there should be room for negotiation - top tip for the future DON'T show your cards when it comes to the figures you have in mind!

Regards

They offered me a really low part ex value on the Fabia, considerably lower than other dealers part ex values in fact. As such, I'm not part exing but will sell after buying the new car making it a sweeter deal for them.

Warranty is also not an issue as it's still under manufacturer's warranty for some time yet.

I might up the offer a little and set a deadline, although with the weekend nearly here (busy for the forecourts) I suspect they'll want to wait until and see what happens then. I am quite keen on the car, but it's a bit gutting to think how much they could make on the car - my offer is already giving them a very good margin for what they've had to do to it, I think I'm in the wrong job!

Don't up the offer, it shows your interest.

Just call the dealer up, tell them you're still interested and that they have your number if they wish to make you a good offer and that you're looking at other cars over the next few weeks.

Make sure they have your phone number, then give it a couple of weeks and if they don't come back to you walk away.

The best technique is lack of interest at their price, If someone else buys it then the market has determined that your offered price is wrong! If it sells another similar car can be found...

dont know details of the car but used values seem to have gone up.........its also harder to knock as much off used. like someone else said, dont show your hand and be prepared to swallow pride. more cars will come along and if u can get better px elsewhere, take your time

As a former car dealer (independent, not franchised) my motto was always, 'a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush' - i.e. if I had an offer that left me with a meaningful profit then I'd let the car go and be onto the next one, rather than holding out for what I might get next week. Remember, holding a vehicle costs money (its depreciating on the forecourt). Turnover is important. You've also another potential customer for service work - more customers the better!

Show the dealer you mean business. Tell them what your offer is and give them a date to call you back with a yes/no.

The dealer said he couldn't accept the offer when I made it. We left it that I would leave the offer with him open ended. If I take the risk and leave it over the weekend and it doesn't sell, I suspect they'd take the offer next week after having the car for over two weeks.

The margin we're talking about here is £2000 at the asking price, £1000 at my offer. This seems pretty good to me, but I guess doubling that is very tempting for them. The asking price isn't to unreasonable to be honest.

Thanks for the advice so far, I'm still not sure what to do! There aren't too many Octavia vRSes that come up with full leather which is another factor.

Dealers are normally keen to complete a deal towards the end of the month so they hit their targets,id either offer another £500(it does sound like its a good spec & you want it,do you really want to lose it for £500?) or sit it out to the end of next month & if its still for sale offer your original price again.

Dealers are normally keen to complete a deal towards the end of the month so they hit their targets

Dealers (depending on their franchise) have monthly and quarterly targets for NEW cars (which trigger various bonuses and backend payments). The salesman may have a personal monthly target for used sales - but that would depend on how the particular dealer operates.

£1k clear on a factory warranted car (c. £10k??) which has required virtually no prep is not too bad. Maybe you should up your offer by £200 and see if they bite at that. You could ask to speak to the used car sales manager (if you're not already) and make the offer to him, emphasising that there's no p/x. If they think you're not a 'messer' they might be more inclined to accept the offer.

Waiting is key - the ball is in their court. You will just have to put it down to fate if it sells before they ring you. Dont offer anything else as that is what you are wanting to get the car for. Good second hand VRS's are flooding the market and the right car will come up - maybe this one you are talking about, maybe not!

Dont rush into it, and regret not waiting later on.

The dealer said he couldn't accept the offer when I made it. We left it that I would leave the offer with him open ended. If I take the risk and leave it over the weekend and it doesn't sell, I suspect they'd take the offer next week ...

Next week will be "next month". You've probably got a better chance of a good price on Sat/Sun than you have on Monday tbh..

Best time to get a discount:

- towards the end of the month (quarter, period etc) when they're all focussed on targets

- when the car is over age (used car, in stock more then xx days - for my previous employer that was 60 days) Big kicking for the dealer if they had not moved it on or out by then..

- new car unreg'd in the showroom that is coming up to the end of the consignement period (ie dealer will have to pay the manufacturer for it..)

- when a new model is due

- when the manufacturer has just introduced additional bonuses for specific models - see point above!

Talk to the sales manager.

As for a price for the car WITH and WITHOUT yours as part ex - allows you to make a proper comparison.

Franchised dealer? They are looking for profit on the vehicle of 800-1000 per unit for a used car - anything less and its probably not worth their while after they've paid salesmans salary, commission, other costs etc. If your offer is giving them a profit less than that then they'll probably decline and hold out for someone else to buy it - especially if they know its well priced/ good saleable spec/ has already generated interest etcc.

HTH.

Right, I shall stick it out until Sunday afternoon after they've had their weekend traffic. Thanks for the encouragement!

It's actually a supermarket I'm dealing with, thought they would have jumped at my offer. If it does sell, then hopefully there will be another soon.

Cheers for all the replies and your thoughts. Will keep you updated

I would agree with the above folk, stick to your guns and then walk away if the dealer doesnt contact you.

I managed to get an extra £750 off a brand new VRS by leaving the dealership hanging on for 1 week, and then negotiated 2 yrs servicing thrown in as well.

Right, I shall stick it out until Sunday afternoon after they've had their weekend traffic. Thanks for the encouragement!

It's actually a supermarket I'm dealing with, thought they would have jumped at my offer. If it does sell, then hopefully there will be another soon.

Cheers for all the replies and your thoughts. Will keep you updated

supermarket's are tough cookies.