FASTdan
|
| posted on 6/12/15 at 09:41 PM |
|
|
Buying from a main dealer (Ford) - Discount?!
Until now I have only ever dealt in the lower realms of car buying, ie 3-4k max, either through private sales or independent car lot type places.
However with an imminently due 2nd baby on the way we thought we might splash out on something a bit more modern and 'nice' as a family
car. Initially we started with the Focus 1.0 Ecoboost estate - target price 9-10k (3 years old). However I quickly learned that the Ford main dealers
seem absolutely intent on offering ZERO discount. Despite being a cash buyer, spending what I consider to be a reasonably large sum and quite happy to
NOT part exchange if it gets me a better price. They simply will not move?! The last discount I was offered on one of these cars was a princely sum of
£30....really? Don't bother, its insulting.
So today, having upped the budget and spec somewhat to 15-16k and having identified an ideal sounding 1 year old 1.5L ecoboost zetec S locally
(another main dealer network) off I went again. Only to be told they would not move from the screen price - regardless of if I part ex or not (part ex
price was also the worst I've had yet). Are ford really selling so many cars that they simply do not need to 'deal' with people like
me? I resent spending that level of money and being offered absolutely no discount. Or is it simply that most joe public will happily walk in and pay
the screen price and bang it on finance? I am of course aware that (as ridiculous as it is) being a cash buyer is almost frowned upon as they'd
rather sell finance packages.
OK so I go in low (aren't you supposed to?) but shouldn't they come back with a counter offer? Instead I just get 'we price our cars
to be the cheapest in the country' and 'we dont deal on our cars'. Not only that but the showroom salesman seems to have absolutely
no control, simply a puppet of the sales manager who makes all decisions large or small.
So having spoken to 3 of the main local (?) ford networks (Trust, Benfield and Evans Halshaw) now I am really at a loss as to how to proceed other
than to simply identify a car and stump up the full screen price or start again with another manufacturer/model and see if they are any more
agreeable to my bartering (I strongly suspect not!).
Rant over! Being the 'locost' site I'm sure we have a few like minded people - any tips?!
NEW danST WEBSITE NOW LIVE! Bike carbs, throttle bodies and more......
http://www.danstengineering.co.uk/
|
NOTE:This user is registered as a LocostBuilders trader and may offer commercial services to other users
|
|
|
livelee
|
| posted on 6/12/15 at 09:54 PM |
|
|
How much discount do you offer on your advertised prices? 
|
|
|
MrFozzieBear
|
| posted on 6/12/15 at 09:58 PM |
|
|
Unfortunately being a cash buyer isn't a strong hand anymore with main dealers.
I found the same issue. They (main dealers) only really want to sell cars with finance as that is how they make most money.
[Edited on 6/12/15 by MrFozzieBear]
|
|
|
perksy
|
| posted on 6/12/15 at 10:02 PM |
|
|
As above
Also to be fair you were looking to buy possibly the best selling car in the country
They are only interested in the finance deal and trying to sell you GAP insurance, that's where they make their money...
|
|
|
Irony
|
| posted on 6/12/15 at 10:03 PM |
|
|
Just plain run from Evans Halsham. Bunch of utter cowboys.
|
|
|
sdh2903
|
| posted on 6/12/15 at 10:14 PM |
|
|
Sod buying one.
Lease one instead. Let them cover the depreciation. We got a focus 1.6 tdci zetec s with a couple of options for under 200 quid a month. It works out
for us over a 3 year period the cheapest way to use a new car with no worries.
|
|
|
FASTdan
|
| posted on 6/12/15 at 10:17 PM |
|
|
quote:
Originally posted by livelee
How much discount do you offer on your advertised prices?
I would not be so hypocritical as to post about this if as a business owner I did not appreciate that it has to go both ways. I respect a customer who
asks and will always do something where I can. Of course as in most lines of business the level of spend will influence the offer.
NEW danST WEBSITE NOW LIVE! Bike carbs, throttle bodies and more......
http://www.danstengineering.co.uk/
|
NOTE:This user is registered as a LocostBuilders trader and may offer commercial services to other users
|
FASTdan
|
| posted on 6/12/15 at 10:25 PM |
|
|
quote:
Originally posted by sdh2903
Sod buying one.
Lease one instead. Let them cover the depreciation. We got a focus 1.6 tdci zetec s with a couple of options for under 200 quid a month. It works out
for us over a 3 year period the cheapest way to use a new car with no worries.
Does it really? Thats a genuine question, not sarcasm. As I say I've never been in the market for a car of such value so its all new to me. But
a very brief look at leasing suggested to me that compared to a brand new car purchase it might be competitive (where the car looses x thousand the
moment its driven away) but as against a year old model thats already taken the big hit maybe not?
Irony - why do you say that about EH?
So basically it sounds like screen price only at the main stealers? might have to widen my search and try to find something outside dealer networks,
or just go back to older car roulette.
NEW danST WEBSITE NOW LIVE! Bike carbs, throttle bodies and more......
http://www.danstengineering.co.uk/
|
NOTE:This user is registered as a LocostBuilders trader and may offer commercial services to other users
|
christim
|
| posted on 6/12/15 at 10:26 PM |
|
|
Guess they want to get you on finance as theyll make £££ more in interest over the years. Though that means they may then be willing to offer a bigger
discount, as they know theyll make it back.
Soo...go in all smiling, say you'll take the finance if they give you a good discount. Then take your cash and pay off the finance once its all
signed and the cars yours.
(Be aware of exit charges. If there are any they'll probably be a % of the outstanding balance...so make that balance as small as possible with
the legally required free overpayments you're allowed to make on the loan )
|
|
|
rdodger
|
| posted on 6/12/15 at 10:33 PM |
|
|
Try VW. I bet you get a discount there!
Seriously I have never known a dealer not give discounts.
|
|
|
sdh2903
|
| posted on 6/12/15 at 10:34 PM |
|
|
Yes agreed over a 1 year old car leasing maybe does not make as much sense.
But when we sat down and worked the numbers over 3 years with lease, pcp and standard hp the lease came out on top. The car will never be out of
warranty and never have to mot it. Yes some people can't get passed the fact you just hand it back with nothing to show for it but if you look
at it objectively it made sense in our case.
|
|
|
FASTdan
|
| posted on 6/12/15 at 10:35 PM |
|
|
quote:
Originally posted by christim
Guess they want to get you on finance as theyll make £££ more in interest over the years. Though that means they may then be willing to offer a bigger
discount, as they know theyll make it back.
Soo...go in all smiling, say you'll take the finance if they give you a good discount. Then take your cash and pay off the finance once its all
signed and the cars yours.
(Be aware of exit charges. If there are any they'll probably be a % of the outstanding balance...so make that balance as small as possible with
the legally required free overpayments you're allowed to make on the loan )
Nope! no better deal offered for taking the finance or not. Started off on the Ford finance route, absolutely no movement on price.
NEW danST WEBSITE NOW LIVE! Bike carbs, throttle bodies and more......
http://www.danstengineering.co.uk/
|
NOTE:This user is registered as a LocostBuilders trader and may offer commercial services to other users
|
sdh2903
|
| posted on 6/12/15 at 10:36 PM |
|
|
quote:
Originally posted by rdodger
Try VW. I bet you get a discount there!
Seriously I have never known a dealer not give discounts.
If they are selling well they don't need to! When we were looking at focus' we were getting offered a max of 500 quid off.
|
|
|
FASTdan
|
| posted on 6/12/15 at 10:38 PM |
|
|
quote:
Originally posted by sdh2903
quote:
Originally posted by rdodger
Try VW. I bet you get a discount there!
Seriously I have never known a dealer not give discounts.
If they are selling well they don't need to! When we were looking at focus' we were getting offered a max of 500 quid off.
I haven't even got near £500! It's £80 here and £50 there!
NEW danST WEBSITE NOW LIVE! Bike carbs, throttle bodies and more......
http://www.danstengineering.co.uk/
|
NOTE:This user is registered as a LocostBuilders trader and may offer commercial services to other users
|
perksy
|
| posted on 6/12/15 at 10:57 PM |
|
|
a mate at work tried for a discount on a brand new Audi A3 at the local main agent and they basically laughed him out of the door...
He bought a 1 year old skoda octavia with a good discount in the end, He played one dealer off against another to get the deal
|
|
|
mark chandler
|
| posted on 6/12/15 at 11:06 PM |
|
|
http://www.lingscars.com/Ford/Fiesta/2133562-1.0_T_EcoBoost_12v_(125bhp)_Zetec_S_Start_Stop_Hatchback_3dr_998cc-personal.html#models
My father has always managed discounts, he buys from Plymouth dealers are catches the train from Sussex, they seem a bit keener down there !
|
|
|
sdh2903
|
| posted on 6/12/15 at 11:37 PM |
|
|
We got our last one from smartlease. They were the broker for ald automotive who provide all the leasing for ford themselves.
An example here with nav and option pack, granted based on a low mileage, you need to ask for your specific mileage requirements.
http://www.smartlease.co.uk/car-leasing-ford-focus-tdi-zetes-s-5door.html
|
|
|
jonabonospen
|
| posted on 7/12/15 at 01:20 AM |
|
|
Why should you "expect" a discount. If the cars are priced at competitive prices in the first place then you cant get much fairer than
that. Would you rather they just stuck an extra grand on the screen price and then had your pants down if you didn't work hard enough for the
discount, just like people like Carcraft did ?? Dont look at it as what discount am I getting, just look at the overall cost of the car. Is it
competitively priced compared to others on the market, and if not then just go buy one from somewhere else.
On another point, as someone else has said; if they are one of the best selling cars and you are looking for a brand new one, then why should they
offer any discount even if there is room to maneuver? They take the risk that you go to another main dealer yes, but if they are selling that well
then someone else will be along shortly to buy it at the screen price.
Cash is not king when it comes to things like this. If anything cash is more of a pain as they will physically have to go to the bank to put it in,
rather than a bank transfer / card payment / finance where it just goes straight in their account. You will also probably find from business banking
that paying cash in to your account carries a bigger charge than receiving an BACS or card payment (business banking works totally different from
private banking and you have to pay a fee for pretty much everything from putting money in, to online transactions, and taking money out).
MAC#1 ZX10R WORX BUILD BLOG: http://mac1-zx10r-worx-build-blog.tumblr.com/
MY PERSONAL BLOG: http://jonabonospen.tumblr.com/
|
NOTE:This user is registered as a LocostBuilders trader and may offer commercial services to other users
|
beaver34
|
| posted on 7/12/15 at 06:46 AM |
|
|
if the car is over priced compared to the rest of the market then yes.
if as they say they are on the button then they will stand there ground.
|
|
|
ian locostzx9rc2
|
| posted on 7/12/15 at 06:50 AM |
|
|
Try silverdale cars and commercials near Bicester always have lots available and normally are cheaper than main dealers .
|
|
|
beaver34
|
| posted on 7/12/15 at 06:53 AM |
|
|
buy this one instead
http://www.thecarpeople.co.uk/find-a-car/car-details/ford-focus-wakefield-277202
or this one
http://www.trustfordonline.co.uk/used-cars/74614/ford-focus/
unless your wanting the facelift version?
[Edited on 7/12/15 by beaver34]
|
|
|
rdodger
|
| posted on 7/12/15 at 09:00 AM |
|
|
Have you tried brokers like Drive the deal?
https://www.drivethedeal.com/
|
|
|
Ugg10
|
| posted on 7/12/15 at 09:12 AM |
|
|
Might as well just go to a car supermarket then, at least you know that there is no haggling at one of those.
---------------------------------------------------------------
1968 Ford Anglia 105e, 1.7 Zetec SE, Mk2 Escort Workd Cup front end, 5 link rear
Build Blog - http://Anglia1968.weebly.com
|
|
|
FASTdan
|
| posted on 7/12/15 at 10:27 AM |
|
|
quote:
Originally posted by jonabonospen
Why should you "expect" a discount. If the cars are priced at competitive prices in the first place then you cant get much fairer than
that. Would you rather they just stuck an extra grand on the screen price and then had your pants down if you didn't work hard enough for the
discount, just like people like Carcraft did ?? Dont look at it as what discount am I getting, just look at the overall cost of the car. Is it
competitively priced compared to others on the market, and if not then just go buy one from somewhere else.
On another point, as someone else has said; if they are one of the best selling cars and you are looking for a brand new one, then why should they
offer any discount even if there is room to maneuver? They take the risk that you go to another main dealer yes, but if they are selling that well
then someone else will be along shortly to buy it at the screen price.
Cash is not king when it comes to things like this. If anything cash is more of a pain as they will physically have to go to the bank to put it in,
rather than a bank transfer / card payment / finance where it just goes straight in their account. You will also probably find from business banking
that paying cash in to your account carries a bigger charge than receiving an BACS or card payment (business banking works totally different from
private banking and you have to pay a fee for pretty much everything from putting money in, to online transactions, and taking money out).
I 'expect' some movement because:
1) I am a cash buyer - no not physical cash, because as you have already mentioned that brings its own problems, but rather a straight forward
electronic transaction (and neither do I tend to have 10-15k in my back pocket ). Yes we can argue that they would rather sell finance for the
extra commission - however I would counter that by saying that even at today's poor rates I can get 3% on a current account, so I suspect they
can get at least that. This I suspect will near enough equal the commission or rate that they receive from the finance company (given their APR is
only around 5.5%, I doubt the dealer see's more than half of this from the credit company).
2) I am prepared to not part-ex if this helps with the price - but it seems it does not. I would have thought that again, a straight forward sale with
no potentially risky part-ex would be more appealing.
On the point of them claiming to be tightly priced - here's an example enough to infuriate anyone. The first car i was interested in was on at
£9681. I phoned and offered £8900, the saleswoman stated 'there's no way the (the sales manager) would do that'. So I offered
£9000....same response, then came back with a fantastic £80 reduction and the usual 'there just isn't the markup in these cars to offer
that discount'. Two days later the car is reduced on the website to £9300. Five days later the car is on at £8900. Need I say more? As it turned
out I later realized that this was the 99bhp version and not the one I wanted (125bhp) - this is a mute point as far as price and discount goes
though. So do we still believe them?
Some good links that people have put up thankyou - will do some more investigating.
NEW danST WEBSITE NOW LIVE! Bike carbs, throttle bodies and more......
http://www.danstengineering.co.uk/
|
NOTE:This user is registered as a LocostBuilders trader and may offer commercial services to other users
|
FASTdan
|
| posted on 7/12/15 at 10:30 AM |
|
|
quote:
Originally posted by beaver34
buy this one instead
http://www.thecarpeople.co.uk/find-a-car/car-details/ford-focus-wakefield-277202
or this one
http://www.trustfordonline.co.uk/used-cars/74614/ford-focus/
unless your wanting the facelift version?
[Edited on 7/12/15 by beaver34]
Thanks for those. I'm not fussed about the tit spec, seems like your paying another grand or so for even more toys (the zetec spec is plenty
high enough). That 2nd one is a hatch - another thing I'm finding, loads of hatches come up in search results as estates!
NEW danST WEBSITE NOW LIVE! Bike carbs, throttle bodies and more......
http://www.danstengineering.co.uk/
|
NOTE:This user is registered as a LocostBuilders trader and may offer commercial services to other users
|
