Strange quote from dealer - can anyone explain?

[Big Phil]

I do find this offer a tiny bit irritating as they like to highlight the 20% bit and leave you to figure out via the small print that it is really something like 16% and doesn't apply to the full cost of the car (i.e. not the delivery charge).

[juan27]

A thing costs £100 before tax.

20% VAT is £20.

Total Price £120

20% of total price is £24.

Not the same as 20% of the pre-tax price I'm afraid.

The total price is 6/5 (120%) of the basic price. Therefore the VAT is 1/6 of the total price, not 1/5 (20%)

Any clearer?

[markmi]

I will admit this has totally done my head in

What I thought was a simply sum of:

Total price of car - 20% appears not to be the case!

Anyway,

I've had a quote from a dealership of £18,663 for the car specced as follows:

vRS Petrol Hatch

Metallic Paint

Rear Parking Sensors

Maxi-Dot

Auto Dimming Mirror

Xenon Headlights

Leather Upholstery

Space-Saver Spare Wheel

Not quite the price I worked out, but only £500 more.

Now of course I've got to try and get a good price for my car - and that is now proving to be the difficult bit.

vat free price for all above is £19,185.60

[markmi]

I do find this offer a tiny bit irritating as they like to highlight the 20% bit and leave you to figure out via the small print that it is really something like 16% and doesn't apply to the full cost of the car (i.e. not the delivery charge).

read the offer its a VAT free price, not a 20% discount there's a bit difference.

[Big Phil]

read the offer its a VAT free price, not a 20% discount there's a bit difference.

I do understand the offer...having recently ordered one!

However it is not a VAT free price since it doesn't apply to the delivery and number plates cost (which VAT is due on afaik). It's a discount of their own invention, equivalent to some of the VAT, I personally (and no doubt totally naively!) prefer things to be a bit more straightforward ;-). If I bought a discounted can of beans and was then told the discount didn't apply to the whole price I would find it a bit cheeky, right?

[mackie]

To add vat times by 1.2

To take vat off divide by 1.2

Simple.