|
Why do people feel they are getting a better deal buying from a dealer. Your dealer contact may only be - (a) test drive, (b) if it goes wrong when you will deal with the service ,manager not the salesman (c) trouble free deal - trade in, inspect car before payment.
For the local convenience factor I may pay £2-400 extra on a £10-15k car.
Remember you have the cash. So do your research and walk if the offer isn't right.. Be courteous but blunt - the salesman wants your money, you want a good price.
Majjor complexity is trade-in. Much less hassle that a private sale and it is not free..
Final issue is finance. Paying cash if you have it is simple. Buying with finance is often whare the trader makes their money. Just be aware that the cheapest deal may not be the best - you must understad what you are signing up to. The monthly payment is easy to understand but what happens - if your needs change mid contract, car is damaged or written off, excess milage charges, handback condition assessment, servicing requirements etc etc.
|
|
And manufacturers sometimes give a discount for taking out finance. I was advised by the sales person, when a I said I wanted to pay cash, to take out PCP and pay it off ASAP, which I did, to get an extra £500 discount.
|
And manufacturers sometimes give a discount for taking out finance. I was advised by the sales person, when a I said I wanted to pay cash, to take out PCP and pay it off ASAP, which I did, to get an extra £500 discount.
Yup, always let the dealer quote you a big fat juicy finance deal at whatever daft rate they can think up. Then negotiate your discount and part ex price. They’ll always be more generous if they believe there’s several hundred in finance commission involved. Get it in writing then leave for a think. Call back accepting the deal but tell them you’ll be financing it yourself. They cannot legally charge you extra for paying the way that suits you so the deal must stand. Of course you don’t want to face any real battle but I’ve yet to hear of a dealer who refused to finalise any deal I’ve advised on in this way.
|
|
Almost all the new car dealers in Perth, Australia belong to 2 big groups - AHG and DVG. This means very little competition and no deals. That is the price - take it or leave it. No dickering on trade ins either. You go to the first dealer and he offers you an amount. Every other dealer looks it up on his computer and offers you the same. No use going to another city. The nearest big one is Adelaide and that is the other side of the continent. I bought my last new car from a small country dealer. He knocked a big chunk off when the city guys wouldn't budge.
|
|
|
And manufacturers sometimes give a discount for taking out finance. I was advised by the sales person, when a I said I wanted to pay cash, to take out PCP and pay it off ASAP, which I did, to get an extra £500 discount.
Yup, always let the dealer quote you a big fat juicy finance deal at whatever daft rate they can think up. Then negotiate your discount and part ex price. They’ll always be more generous if they believe there’s several hundred in finance commission involved. Get it in writing then leave for a think. Call back accepting the deal but tell them you’ll be financing it yourself. They cannot legally charge you extra for paying the way that suits you so the deal must stand. Of course you don’t want to face any real battle but I’ve yet to hear of a dealer who refused to finalise any deal I’ve advised on in this way.
Isn't it true thought that many PCP finance 'deals' cannot (as part of the Ts & Cs of said deal) be 'paid off quickly' without incurring a rather large penalty fee, rather like paying off a fixed rate mortgage before the 'fixed' term of (say) 3 years has ended? If so, the fine (which may vary depending on when the loan is paid off in the PCP period, similar to fixed rate mortgages) would obviously need to be added to the amount of payments aplus the final settlement payment.
As I recall, with some PCP arrangements, this still works out to be favourable (normally if the car manufacturer is subsidising it with a give-away of say £1500 [though this might be dependent upon not paying it off early] cash), but on others, it most certainly does not. This means having to thoroughly read all the small print on the PCP deal's Ts & Cs. Oh joy. It used to be so much easier when you could waive your cash in front of the salesman's face to get a better deal.
Still, I think that 'peak PCP' has come and gone (in 2016) and that (as described in an article in the Telegraph yesterday) the UK motor industry (and perhaps more widely, given the amount borred to buy cars in this way in conjunction with other personal borrwing and the slide in house prices coming [already started in London]) is due for a very bumpy ride as regards sales (never mind the diesel problems) in the next few years. No amount of sales patois or dodgy practices will offset that.
|
Isn't it true thought that many PCP finance 'deals' cannot (as part of the Ts & Cs of said deal) be 'paid off quickly' without incurring a rather large penalty fee, rather like paying off a fixed rate mortgage before the 'fixed' term of (say) 3 years has ended? If so, the fine (which may vary depending on when the loan is paid off in the PCP period, similar to fixed rate mortgages) would obviously need to be added to the amount of payments aplus the final settlement payment.
I'll readily stand corrected having never bought anything on PCP, but I keep reading that you're allowed/entitled to sign up on PCP and subsequently cancel within a particular period with no cancellation fee/fine/penalty/charge whatever it might be called - however I gather the length of time that you wait to cancel has a small bearing on whether you have to pay either nothing at all (i.e. if you cancel the folowing day) , or a very small interest payment if you wait a bit longer- but either way no cancellation fee. Probably wouldn't be popular with the sales person but I suspect most of them would take advantage of any tricks going to make money out of me given half a chance.
I confess to never having got my head around PCP despite reading about it and having had it explained to me once or twice. The variables of the percentage rate (or no rate of interest, as the case may be) plus the projected balloon payment plus whether it's best to hand the car back or start again after the term finishes ... are all over my simple head I'm afraid.
The bit that DOES interest me is to go into a dealer and take out a PCP and get a humungous discount ... then cancel the contract and keep the discount - but I fear it might not always work out that way ?
|
The bit that DOES interest me is to go into a dealer and take out a PCP and get a humungous discount ... then cancel the contract and keep the discount - but I fear it might not always work out that way ?
It does with VW. I admit I don’t understand PCP, but mine seemed quite easy. I paid £4,500 Up front, and then paid monthly sums to pay off the remainder consisting of £10,000 plus interest charged at 6% per annum. So it was no more than a £10,000 loan at a reasonable interest rate. Other manufacturers are probably different.
|
The bit that DOES interest me is to go into a dealer and take out a PCP and get a humungous discount ... then cancel the contract and keep the discount - but I fear it might not always work out that way ?
It does with VW. I admit I don’t understand PCP, but mine seemed quite easy. I paid £4,500 Up front, and then paid monthly sums to pay off the remainder consisting of £10,000 plus interest charged at 6% per annum. So it was no more than a £10,000 loan at a reasonable interest rate. Other manufacturers are probably different.
On relection I may not have made my observation clearly. I wanted to say that the bit that appealed to me was to take out the PCP and then immediately pay the whole lot off in one go ... cash ... but having taken advantage of the "manufacturer' scontribution" (if that's what it's called).
|
|
|
|
|
|
2 years ago youngest son bought a car, brand new but old model, £17K with £1500 off if you take PCP - which he did sign up for.
There is a Finance cooling off period (IIRC) 14 days - he phoned the Finance Co & paid off the car. Leave it till even a day over & he would have had a pile of cash added to the £15.5K owed.
|
2 years ago youngest son bought a car, brand new but old model, £17K with £1500 off if you take PCP - which he did sign up for.
There is a Finance cooling off period (IIRC) 14 days - he phoned the Finance Co & paid off the car. Leave it till even a day over & he would have had a pile of cash added to the £15.5K owed.
Wouldn't the £1500 'dealer/manufacturer contribution' be contingent upon the loan NOT being paid off before the cooling off period ended? If not, then (once widely publicised), everyone will be doing this. Manufacturers could potentially lose £Bns if everyone buying a car did this. I suppose there's still too many punters who don't read the small print and just go with the (expensive [compared to a direct bank loan]) financing agreement 'till the end.
|
|
|
|
|
|
I have noticed that a lot of dealers now leave a message on the phone lines that the call is being recorded for training purposes. This tactic will stop customers being abusive over the phone and are unlikely to send a defamatory email.
I work for an advice charity which has standard message about calls being recorded for training and quality assurance. It doesn't stop the odd punter who doesn't like the advice given from turning abusive but at least the evidence is preserved.
|
|
Car sales ads, trade in and price data from dealers and online brokers is now so easy to access I prefer to spend a few hours at home resarching and crunching the numbers before going anywhere near a dealer.
I know what a sensible figure would be to change and work on that figure.
Go in cold and the staff will have the upper hand. Go in knowledgeable and there is no reason a price needn't be agreed in less than 5 minutes, as it was with our Yaris.
The other salesman was however having a torrid time with a buyer and her daughter who both saw the salesman as a Dick Turpin. To them he was only there to rob them so they would never be happy with the price - it sounded like they once bought a car, didn't like it, took it back a few weeks later and were surprised they couldn't just have back what they paid, so in their eyes they had been stitched up by the garage.
When we picked our car up it came as no surprise that the other salesman hadn't secured a deal.
I also once heard a salesman at an MB garage quoting a figure of over £500 a month for a vehicle. The buyer was adamant they only wanted to pay about £400. Needless to say the salesman ended the call.
|
|
The way things are going and with reports today borrowing it at its lowest level for 11 years, car salesmen need to get real and look at cash deals customers are proposing with some relish. If people are genuinely cutting back on car buying, particularly using PCP plans because of future uncertainty and fluctuating future values, then the salesmen and women need to accept a cash deal is better than no deal - too many of the latter likely to result in a P45.
|
The way things are going and with reports today borrowing it at its lowest level for 11 years, car salesmen need to get real and look at cash deals customers are proposing with some relish. If people are genuinely cutting back on car buying, particularly using PCP plans because of future uncertainty and fluctuating future values, then the salesmen and women need to accept a cash deal is better than no deal - too many of the latter likely to result in a P45.
Are you not getting the announcement that the deficit is at an 11yr low mixed up with personal borrowing? Haven’t heard any news on personal debt dropping recently. The reducing deficit is certainly not bad news.
|
|
I do recall a couple of years ago when we were looking to replace/update my wife's then Yaris, we visited our local Mr. T as we (briefly) considered an Auris.
Sadly we suffered the old chestnut of... "I have someone seriously interested in that car and they are ringing back this afternoon"...!!
To which my reply was "are they really"..?(said with heavy sarcasm)..and went on to tell him that I'd spent 10 years in the trade (oddly enough at a dealership directly opposite)...so I wasn't going to be guided by such comments.
I know the young and seemingly inexperienced guy was only trying to secure a sale but I'd hoped that kind of "fake influence" had been left behind.
OK...it MIGHT have been true...but experience has led me to assume that it probably wasn't.
Needless to say, we didn't buy the car and found my wife's current Yaris elsewhere.
|
|
|
|
|
