Went to investigate a local independent dealer http://www.roseisle.com

who had a lot of relatively new used cars particularly lots of Astra hatchbacks which I was wanting (2004-6) . He said he dealt especially in low-mileage cars obtained from the Motability scheme, Sure enough lots of his cars are low mileage for the age (10-20K for 4 years) It was a preliminary look as we wanted to see several different Astras before deciding which sort suited us. I asked him about his price policy (I reckon I'm quite a decent bargainer with experience of travel in distant countries) and he said, unexpectedly that the price u see is the price u pay. So I said, if I wanted to buy a car today, but I offered say, only £200 below the asking price, he wouldn't take it? He said no! He told me to check his price and I'd find them the lowest anywhere around. He did not like the whole haggling process and had had enough of it.

I was not expecting this. I did check his prices attempting to compare identical models of the same age (I've used Autotrader online). A 1.6 16V club Astra ( 2004/54) was selling at 5995 from him (11K only). From others I saw £6295, 6495, and 6995. Whatcar's advised price for this 6870. So what he says seems true. Has anyone come across this and is there anything I'm missing?

Hi --- Only that his confidence has been backed up by your own research and that he seems to be buying his stock at rock bottom prices, probably because he has some form of contract with Motability where he can buy at such low prices on condition that he takes most of the stock or a high volume of vehicles that are offered to him.

It is good to haggle a deal, but you have to admit defeat when you cannot find the identical spec car any cheaper from any other source, you could always try for the, "icing on the cake" and try get a few freebies thrown into his non-negotiable price such as extended warranty, full tank of fuel or free service to make the deal seem sweeter, if they are prepared to meet you partway.

At the end of the day he is standing by his prices and giving prospective customers the ultimatum.... take it or leave it ... or go and find it cheaper, which is his prerogative and a business approach that must work for him, otherwise he would not be standing so firm.? (unless he is a good Poker player).

To add,

Motability own the car upon it's return from it's 3 year lease and they have an awful lot of them - their 'fleet' is massive. The dealer has an opportunity to buy at the point of return but due to the volume most end up a the auction, thus they need to sell quickly.

The added beauty of these is that you generally know it's all been done (service, repairs, tyres) as these things are all covered by the lease and they're all one owner.

JJ

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You gotta tie yourself to the mast my friend, and the storm will end.

i went to one of those car giant places just opened recently in london, they said the same to my mate, think it was crap though as they have about 100 sales guys and you see them putting the prices down on the web so there is room, also 5995 is just under 6k so if there was no room why not make it a strange number, every one of his cars will have different margins, tell him this and ask him how much he will make on it, he might be honest enough to tell you

Fair comment about the £5995.

try and get your hands on the previous months glasses guide little green book, but remember at auctions and garages low milage doesn't mean the bloke has paid more for it, dealers never give someone more money for lower milage on a car, but they will ask for more money, glasses will tell you have much approx he would've paid for it

Again, thanks for useful advice. Tell me, in my relative ignorance, with March being the date of new 08 registrations, does that mean that the `recommended' selling price of all used cars drop down a level?

the new reg doesn't make used cars cheaper, just means there are more of them end of march and in april.

you'll get a new car cheaper in march, especially at the end of the month.

with glasses guide some of the selling prices go up alot of vw's go up some months and cabriolets occasional go up a bit in the summer but drop heavey in the winter.

you might be better off going to the auction where this guy buys his cars from, if it is trade only get some business cards made up and some letter heads for invoicing etc and see how you get on

Buying from an auction is very risky. There is no come-back if you buy a dog. Unless you are very mechanically minded (which from your posts, medindexer, I don't think you are) then you could quite easily spend your hard earned cash on a bad car. You can't take it back for repairs and have very few rights in terms of goods being fit for purpose. This is the reason why cars are cheaper in the auction.

Meanwhile, the dealer with the £5995 Astra... Who gives a Monkeys how much he paid for it? He may well have bought it from a family member for £3000, possibly from the auction for £5000, he may well have had it in stock for 6 months and he bought it back then for £6000 and is desparate to shift it. My point being, if it is a fair car at a fair price then where's the problem?

If it is cheaper than any others you have seen, where's the issue with a dealer making money? If dealers made no money, we wouldn't have anywhere to buy our cars but the auction - and the risk that goes with it.

JJ

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You gotta tie yourself to the mast my friend, and the storm will end.

i'm sure he'd rather pay less for it so if he can why should he pay the asking price even it if it very low

I agree about myself avoiding an auction. I'm, prepared to pay extra for more safety. I guess you're right about what he paid (not relevant) vs what I should pay. I'm distilling all your various pieces of advice into a strategy and I'm grateful for it all. Long may you disagree.....!

benkeenan2005:i'm sure he'd rather pay less for it so if he can why should he pay the asking price even it if it very low

Grant me the courage to change the things I don't like, Grant me the serenity to accept things I cannot change.

I understand your point benkeenan2005 but why shouldn't he pay the asking price if it is fair? So fair that the car cannot be found for the same price in any other dealers??

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You gotta tie yourself to the mast my friend, and the storm will end.

medindexer:I agree about myself avoiding an auction. I'm, prepared to pay extra for more safety. I guess you're right about what he paid (not relevant) vs what I should pay. I'm distilling all your various pieces of advice into a strategy and I'm grateful for it all. Long may you disagree.....!

I buy cars from auction every so often, valet them and sell them for a little profit. There has been the odd occasion where I've had my fingers burnt and lost a few hundred quid cos I bought a duffer. Unless you know your cars it is good advice to steer clear of the auctions....

Oh and as far as buying from a dealer goes, you can umm and ahh about this and that for ages. The opportunity will pass you by. If you do research on prices - like you clearly are, and get the car independantly inspected and it's all ok, then make a decision and buy it or it'll be summer and you'll be thinking about overpriced cabriolets!!! ;-p

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You gotta tie yourself to the mast my friend, and the storm will end.

benkeenan2005:i went to one of those car giant places just opened recently in london, they said the same to my mate, think it was crap though as they have about 100 sales guys and you see them putting the prices down on the web so there is room, also 5995 is just under 6k so if there was no room why not make it a strange number, every one of his cars will have different margins, tell him this and ask him how much he will make on it, he might be honest enough to tell you

I take it you wouldn't be offended if the car salesman asked you how much money you earn?

humperdink:

benkeenan2005:i went to one of those car giant places just opened recently in london, they said the same to my mate, think it was crap though as they have about 100 sales guys and you see them putting the prices down on the web so there is room, also 5995 is just under 6k so if there was no room why not make it a strange number, every one of his cars will have different margins, tell him this and ask him how much he will make on it, he might be honest enough to tell you

I take it you wouldn't be offended if the car salesman asked you how much money you earn?

he might have to if there's a finance agreement ;)

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WOOOOO > YARRRRR