Thinking of of making an offer on a 06 Merc c class with low mileage.
Its priced at £17,000
Not sure how to start negotiations.
Anyone got any advice?
|
|
I'd spend a few minutes trawling through Autotrader (and Car Giant) to find out what similar cars are up for, mentally knocking off 5% to 10% (not off Car Giant) to leave you with the figure close to what the owner might be comfortable settling for. Examine the car and paperwork fully to identify any problems aka bargaining possibilities. Then make an offer marginally above "derisory" and shut up and see what happens. If they reject it out of hand (probably) ask them what they really want for the car. When they tell you, offer to meet them halfway between their reduced price and your derisory price. Provided your first offer was low enough and their reduced price is reasonable (do your research) then you'll be on the way to a good deal. If the seller is family or friend ignore all the above.
|
|
Its from a Merc Dealership and i have offered £14,500. They said they would get back to me tomorrow after speaking to the sales manager. Do you think this offer is a bit low?
|
|
They haven't said 'no' and at this time of year in the current climate they'll be keen to sell. Be prepared to walk away. I did this once and they rang back later the same day with another £500 off a previous 'final' offer.
|
Despite what has been said previously on this forum most dea;erships work to 4 quarter sales years regardless of wether Merc work Jan to Dec or April to March you've picked an exceptional time as they probably won't have sold a SH Car all month in fact I bet it's the servicing keeping them in businees.
Best of lick some good advice above.
|
They work Jan - Dec, and are bonused on approved used purchase from central hq. The car is already purchased so its not an issue.
they may be chasing reg's on new this time of year, but thats all. for second hand, its no big deal at any time of year (apart from the used sales bloke wanting his monthly commission).
|
|
|
|
|
I wish you luck and if you get it for your offer price thats a good result. They usually are pretty hard negotiators at Merc and I couldn't get a brass razzoo off the changeover price here in Basingstoke. Still that was a year ago and the old car is running fine. Let us know the outcome and if you come out on top the name of the dealers!
|
Moulder I sort of get where you comming from but having worked in the business for a while - my guess they've only got so much space certainly unlike some makers MB don't park mamagement cars/rentals etc but put them straight to trade. So they've go units to shift. Assuming that 95% of trade-ins get moved through the trade they take a different position assuming current condtions.
|
|
Thanks everyone! Will keep you posted.
|
The vast majority (a huge percentage) of profit at a Merc dealer comes from bonus. ie parts purchases, new unit purchases and used unit purchases meeting target thresholds set by the manufacturer. These are then restricted based upon the dealer meeting standards in building fabric and customer service levels monitored by mystery shop and customer questionnaires (called CSI).
Once the target purchases of used vehicles has been met, (the target is set to allow central merc hq to dispose of large fleets off of their financed schemes) the dealer merely has to dispose of the vehicles and their trade ins in a relatively efficient way. Yes they may make a loss or dispose at cost if they need floor space, but it is more likely when the market is flooded with trade ins at reg change time, rather than at end of year.
in my merc experience the used target is relatively easy to achieve, so it would have been met back in the summer/autumn.
|
|
|
|
