Always use a reputable dealer.

Do your homework, if the dealer won't give you "figures" ie. the on the road price for a new car, go somewhere else. there are plenty of garages who will. If you can go to a dealership with one or 2 quotes that you have obtained from a garage or the internet, most dealers will bend over backwards to try to beat the price quoted.

The cash price is not always the best price, some manufacturers will offer incentives for you to take their finance, and as you can pay off the balance at any time, you may get a better deal if you take up their offer.

You are always going to loose money when buying a new car, (even before it leaves the showroom) as soon as the vehicle is taxed you pay 20% VAT, and have further depreciation as it is no longer classed as a new vehicle.

Why not look for an ex demonstrator,or pre registered vehicle,( many manufacturers have big incentives for dealers to register vehicles, especially as it gets closer to the end of each quarter, these are known as pre registered). mostly they only have delivery milage. also dealers have access to manufacturer vehicles ie Ford direct, Vauxhall management etc. ask the dealer for details.

If you buy a car privately, you have very few comebacks if there are any problems, the phrase buyer beware springs readily to mind.

If you buy used from a garage, always insist upon a 12 month warranty, extend it for as long as you can afford, warranties are there to protect you, you get what you pay for, ask friends/family who they bought their cars off, if they have had agood experience you might find that you do as well.

Alway ask for proof of a Hire Purchase check. All reputable dealers will do this as a matter of course when buying a vehicle.

As for trying to twist the arms off a dealer, its the one thing that gets the dealers back up. You buy a car once may be every 3 or 4 years, these guys are selling cars every day, if you are not careful, you get what you think is a good deal and the dealer is the one who has the last laugh. be reasonable, ask for a discount, if the dealer thinks that you are buying there and then you will get his best deal.if you are not happy walk away.....

Hi. People gave you good suggestions that are valid and you have to keep in mind while going for a used car buying. I suggest you to select some reliable dealer having dealership license so that you wouldn't face any problem in future. One more thing is this, while going for checking car you want to buy don't forget to have a mechanic with you if you don't have good experience of car

"As soon as you take a new car out of the showroom, it is no longer new and it will lose a lot of value at that instant."

Read that line a few times. It's called residual value. As soon as you drive that brand new car off the forecourt you start to haemorrhage money. Thousands of pounds in a lot of cases.

Buying a brand new car is a vanity purchase and, to my mind, makes no fiscal sense at all.

You need to have a look at a site like autotrader.co.uk to get an idea about what the price should be so that you know if you are being offered a good deal or if you are expected to negotiate. If you have the cash ready, sitting in your bank account (even if it's come as a personal loan), you should be able to use that as a powerful bargaining tool and you should get a better price than if you were planning on negotiating before the money was there.

For used cars, generally private seller will offer better prices than dealers. As soon as you take a new car out of the showroom, it is no longer new and it will lose a lot of value at that instant.

You should avoid any complicated deals as these are invariably drawn up to look nice but they will always favour whoever draws up the terms.

Hi,

I am looking into buying a new car, considering pre-owned also. I want a Ford Fiesta Zetec S 1.6 diesel, new shape. I'm not sure as how to go about getting as much money as possible off a new or used car?

How do I twist the arms of the dealerships to give me the best deal?

Thanks,
Alex.

*EDIT I have also read the buying guide on this website, just wanted more specifics really on how to drive prices down etc