Tips on knocking down the price of a car

[MrFrost]

I'm car shopping at the minute. I've seen a few things that I like, but of the three cars I have tried to buy so far, the dealership have refused to knock me a penney off the car!

I've also got a problem with my part exchange. An X reg Ford Mondeo. The most i've been offered in part exchange is £100. Now I know it's not a Ferrari, but What Car reckons I should be getting at least £600 inb part ex.

I'm very busy, so don't have time to be trawling round looking at cars. I've narrowed it down to three, but need some tips on getting their price down and the price of my part ex up!

[Muttley]

Sell the Mondeo privately?

I can't see the dealer actually wanting an X reg Mondeo on the forecourt, so he's probably factoring into the price he's quoted for the new motor a  couple of hundred quid for scrapping it og pushing it through auction.

You might drop lucky and get something for it in AutoTrader.

[Rios]

I work in the motor industry and if they've point blank refused to reduce the price then it's one of two things.  Either it's such a good car that they know that they'll flog it at that price to someone else or there's no profit left in it if they reduce it further.

As for your p/x... it's only worth £100 to the dealer as they'll be sending it to block (auction).  It might be worth £600 to them if they were going to retail it (unlikely as it's a shed, no offence!) or if they made the money back somewhere else on the deal, ie profit on the car they're selling you or on finance that they sell you.  The deal obviously isn't stacking up for them seeing as they're refusing to budge.

As they've let you walk away once which is a huge no-no is car sales then you're not on a very strong footing and I doubt you're going to get much out of them, if anything short of a tank of fuel.  Personally I'd look elsewhere.

[Nudga]

If you can pay for your car in cash, then take the ammount that you want to pay and slam it on the table. Cash talks.
If you are going for finance, you can barter them on the terms of interest. I managed to get them down to 11% when they originally wanted 29%.
A lot of places now refuse to barter on your old car or the one they are selling, so like the above said, sell yours privately and try your best with the top two suggestions.

Under no circumstances should you buy from The Car Shop near the Yorkshire outlet, you will have THE worst car buying experience....EVER!

[VikingJames]

Put the Mondeo on Autotrader and sell it privately. You'll definitely get more than £100 for it. If it's in decent condition, you could get closer to £700 or £800 for it.

It's dead easy to do. Just take a few pictures, put in the reg and it brings up all the details of the car, and you can type in any extra comments about the car.

I helped my mum sell a W reg Vectra with 150,000+ miles on the clock by putting it on Autotrader. We set the asking price at £950. Ended up getting about £850 for it (maybe even £900, I can't remember), which isn't bad considering the mileage!

[Rios]

Nudga wrote:

If you can pay for your car in cash, then take the ammount that you want to pay and slam it on the table. Cash talks.

That's an urban myth and while it definitely is the case if you sell it private, trust me it doesn't work for dealers with forecourts and overheads.  Finance and other chucky products (Gap, Paint Protection, etc) are the money makers.  Also remember that all salesmen get paid commission on selling finance and don't make anything from a cash sale apart from the standard bonus for selling the car.

[Sheepskin Stu]

Keep the Mondeo and use the money to visit an exotic foreign destination that you normally wouldn't go to. The memories you'll have from that will bring you more joy than any tin box.

[MrFrost]

Thanks for the advice.

Unfortunately, I don't have time to be listing on auto trader and arrange viewings etc, due to the fact im out of the house for 14-15 hours a day, and my car is with me all the time.
I will be paying cash, and as soon as I mentioned this to the guy at Citreon he wouldn't sell me a car! Finance is a big no no due to my past credit history!

I reckon I might ebay the Mondeo. I got £250 last year for a Vectra with no engine, so who knows.

The only problem there is that I would be without a car for a few days.

[GM-MarkB]

Stick it on e-bay as for parts...breaking acar for the bits is usually worth more than taking the car as whole.

Also i'd suggest some of the 'smaller' dealers if you have cash. I'd imagine they are much more open to a deal than the big concerns

[MrFrost]

GM-MarkB wrote:

Stick it on e-bay as for parts...breaking acar for the bits is usually worth more than taking the car as whole.

Also i'd suggest some of the 'smaller' dealers if you have cash. I'd imagine they are much more open to a deal than the big concerns

I've been stung by the \"smaller\" dealers in the past. In fact, i'm still in the process of taking one through court for selling me a car that wasn't fit for purpose.

I'm really struggling to find anything suitable in my budget (4-5k) which meets my requirements. Full service history is a must. Thinking Astra, 307, Megane, C4(although ive gone of the Citreon now after reading about endless problems, and the sales guy refusal to sell me car paying cash!)

[mushRTID]

Try motorhog (donny motor spares) for a quote for your car.

I was pleasantly surprised with the price I got. You might not be but its worth a try.

[GM-MarkB]

The scrappage scheme is still running as far as i'm aware. Try finding a suitable dealer and get £2k for you heap of junk (with all due respect of course)

Scrappage Scheme

[MrFrost]

No good i'm afraid. It only applies if your buying a new car.

It's actually a very good car. You'd be hard pressed to find a better example of a Mondeo that age. Barring the dint on the bonnet where I had a little accident!

[Boomstick]

Sheepskin Stu wrote:

Keep the Mondeo and use the money to visit an exotic foreign destination that you normally wouldn't go to. The memories you'll have from that will bring you more joy than any tin box.

+1

Memories last a lifetime, cars are moneypits

[Ger CCFC]

MrFrost wrote:

GM-MarkB wrote:

Stick it on e-bay as for parts...breaking acar for the bits is usually worth more than taking the car as whole.

Also i'd suggest some of the 'smaller' dealers if you have cash. I'd imagine they are much more open to a deal than the big concerns

I've been stung by the \"smaller\" dealers in the past. In fact, i'm still in the process of taking one through court for selling me a car that wasn't fit for purpose.

I'm really struggling to find anything suitable in my budget (4-5k) which meets my requirements. Full service history is a must. Thinking Astra, 307, Megane, C4(although ive gone of the Citreon now after reading about endless problems, and the sales guy refusal to sell me car paying cash!)

Don't bother with Peugot/Citreon, same people - French parts are always pricey and always have problems.

I know you say you don't want finance due to bad credit history but if you have a look at Vauxhall for example, some dealers who go through their finance firm are offering deals on 3.99% plan for used cars.

[MrFrost]

Ger CCFC wrote:

MrFrost wrote:

GM-MarkB wrote:

Stick it on e-bay as for parts...breaking acar for the bits is usually worth more than taking the car as whole.

Also i'd suggest some of the 'smaller' dealers if you have cash. I'd imagine they are much more open to a deal than the big concerns

I've been stung by the \"smaller\" dealers in the past. In fact, i'm still in the process of taking one through court for selling me a car that wasn't fit for purpose.

I'm really struggling to find anything suitable in my budget (4-5k) which meets my requirements. Full service history is a must. Thinking Astra, 307, Megane, C4(although ive gone of the Citreon now after reading about endless problems, and the sales guy refusal to sell me car paying cash!)

Don't bother with Peugot/Citreon, same people - French parts are always pricey and always have problems.

I know you say you don't want finance due to bad credit history but if you have a look at Vauxhall for example, some dealers who go through their finance firm are offering deals on 3.99% plan for used cars.

My Dad has always owned French cars and has never had a problem with them.
I think it's looking like an Astra, but finding the one I want with the right mileage and full service history is proving difficult.
Finance is not worth considering, as I know I won't get past the credit checks!

[Red wizard]

I have just bought a new motor my self. I got a peugeot 306 tdi. The garage wanted £1495 for it,so a gave them a call a said is it worth coming over with £1100 he saind no so i went 1200 he said come over for a chat. I got the car for £1200 he also gave me 3 months or 3k miles major parts warranty, fitted a new cam belt as thats the reason i needed a new car as it went on my Alfa a full service and a vallet. The car is mint and i can't belive the deal i got. Just be cheeky and you never know what you can blag.

[BLIR]

Red wizard wrote:

I have just bought a new motor my self. I got a peugeot 306 tdi. The garage wanted £1495 for it,so a gave them a call a said is it worth coming over with £1100 he saind no so i went 1200 he said come over for a chat. I got the car for £1200 he also gave me 3 months or 3k miles major parts warranty, fitted a new cam belt as thats the reason i needed a new car as it went on my Alfa a full service and a vallet. The car is mint and i can't belive the deal i got. Just be cheeky and you never know what you can blag.

I had a 1997 Peugeot 306 1.9 TDi a while ago and it was bang on - right up until the turbo blew. The cost of repairing (or replacing) the turbo was more than the car was worth and without the turbo it had pitiful power and performance. Ended up trading it in, accidentally forgetting to mention the turbo problem.

Hope you haven't just bought it  

Incidentally, I bought a Mondeo from Ringpiece garage on York road a few years ago - I had one foot out of the door couple of times as part of my negotiation technique, but got what I was after eventually. I played hard ball and made it clear I was prepared to walk away if they didn't come up with a fair deal (I was trading in a Focus, paying cash and taking finance on the rest). Took a while but got there in the end

[grayx]

Webuyanycar.com really do. Some mates of mine couldn't be lieve how easy it was to sell their car to them. Don't give your car away on a silly part-exchange. Can't fault Astras but consider a Seat Leon. Best car I've ever had & very affordable.

[MrFrost]

grayx wrote:

Webuyanycar.com really do. Some mates of mine couldn't be lieve how easy it was to sell their car to them. Don't give your car away on a silly part-exchange. Can't fault Astras but consider a Seat Leon. Best car I've ever had & very affordable.

We buy any car offered me £50  

[Dagenham Rover]

MrFrost wrote:

grayx wrote:

Webuyanycar.com really do. Some mates of mine couldn't be lieve how easy it was to sell their car to them. Don't give your car away on a silly part-exchange. Can't fault Astras but consider a Seat Leon. Best car I've ever had & very affordable.

We buy any car offered me £50

Well it is a Mondeo  

[MrFrost]

And?

[Thinwhiteduke]

Ger CCFC wrote:

Don't bother with Peugot/Citreon, same people - French parts are always pricey and always have problems.

b*llocks, b*llocks and more b*llocks.

There's a very good reason shed loads of Taxi drivers drive a Peugeout 405 estate - the Turbo Diesel Engine is Bullet proof, the cars are relatively easy to maintain/ repair, and parts are very competitive...if you avoid the dealers.

We have driven an 04 Citroen Picasso 2.0 HDI for the last three years, its a gem, never let us down, have replaced nothing (other than tyres), has sailed through every MOT so far. Wouldnt be without it.

[Red wizard]

Plus you have got GSF in Doncaster and euro car parts in Sheff and are both very cheap.

[jonrover]

Thinwhiteduke wrote:

Ger CCFC wrote:

Don't bother with Peugot/Citreon, same people - French parts are always pricey and always have problems.

b*llocks, b*llocks and more b*llocks.

There's a very good reason shed loads of Taxi drivers drive a Peugeout 405 estate - the Turbo Diesel Engine is Bullet proof, the cars are relatively easy to maintain/ repair, and parts are very competitive...if you avoid the dealers.

We have driven an 04 Citroen Picasso 2.0 HDI for the last three years, its a gem, never let us down, have replaced nothing (other than tyres), has sailed through every MOT so far. Wouldnt be without it.

Each to their own I guess. Personally I wouldn't have a Citroen given. A kid I know down South who is a fireman told me the amount of Citroens he has been called out to that have set alight for no apparent reason is astonishing. Them and Ariston kitchen appliances.
I'll have nowt other than Ford. My 1998 2.5 V6 Mondeo which I got for £450 about 4 years ago off ebay is the best money I have ever spent on a car. Apart from the normal wear and tear it has cost me nothing. And the engine will take as much hammer as you want to give it as long as its warmed up properly.

[Thinwhiteduke]

Interesting Jonrover.

Ran that past my Dad this morning, who was a Fireman for 30+ years with Humberside Fire Service until he retired 4 months ago.....he cannot recall ever attending a Citroen car fire....maybe its a Southern thing??

As for setting alight 'for no apparent reason' some fire ivestigation team aint doing their jobs properly then - there is always a reason....and 99.9% of the time it is discovered.