How to get best price on a new car?

[Haakon]

Am seriously looking at buying a new car, something I never thought I'd say... But the new VW Caddy ticks all my boxes and I have no interest anymore in stuffing around on old cars.

So. What are those third party broker things? Are they useful? Do dealers prefer cash? How does wanting a "no cost option" (ie the tailgate instead of barn doors) affect my bargaining if it has to come from the factory?

It's a new world for me...

 

[silentbutdeadly]

Never used a broker. Can't see the point unless you are a lazy buyer.

Dealers don't want cash...they want you to sign up for dealer finance. But they also want the sale so will take cash.

Avoid factory orders. You'll get a better deal on what is landed in Oz with the best deal on what your dealer has in stock. Pick your preferred spec and then ask to check the inventory for that spec. Anything other than basic paint may well result in a factory order and a long wait...six months is not uncommon in VW world.

With the Caddy...get the barn doors.

 

[Minlak]

End of the month / end of the quarter / end of financial year in that order is the best bargaining time as they want to hit targets.

Cash or your own finance are the same and not that big a bargaining chip. Getting Finance through the car yard means they make more money do can be somewhat useful however they will trot out the car sales rhetoric of its undr finance I couldn't possibly go that cheap.

Do your research cars in different areas will be different prices go in with the facts of where you can go to get a better deal.

You will get bombarded with 1000 people all telling you thier way meant they got a good deal. The deal you make is a good deal to you or you wouldn't say yes to it. I have always found when buying anything being informed and prepare to walk away are the best bargaining tools. I also put a finality on my offer "I want blah blah blah and I will come and sign now" also consider accessories or services bargaining tools along with full tanks of gas. Our fiesta we got the first 5 tanks of fuel free from the car yard instead of getting a price reduction as they didn't want to drop the price lol

 

[Haakon]

Also found this which appeared sensible

http://www.drive.com.au/motor-feature/car-brokers-have-they-got-a-deal-for-you-20120328-1vz92.html

 

[Haakon]

Thanks guys. I'm also in no hurry at all, so might even wait for the demonstrators to filter through.

Want the tailgate as it's going to be a travelling car - tailgate equals instant rain shelter. Plus I just prefer it, barn doors are great if you're need to fork a pallet into it, but I prefer one door instead of two.

 

[MARKL]

* Shop around to get a feel for how much room they have to play with.
* Remember if you don't have the sales guy in tears crying to his manager you are not trying hard enough.
* Years ago I bought a car that was $48k on the road, you could get the dealers pretty quick to $45k. The dealer I bought it off I walked in and said I want x, y, z. He said 'Test drive?' Me 'No, I'm here to buy...$42k drive away'...tears...new car.

 

[gregp]

Not an expert, only did it once, a few years back. So this is more of an anecdote than advice. Found a guy at work who wanted the same car. We both went to the Toyota dealer on the last day of their annual sale, 30mins before closing time and started sending the sales guy to his manager to "check" how low they could go. After two rounds the manager came out and said "cmon guys it's late, how much do you want them for." Car was normally $35.5k drive away, on the day of sale it was $33.5k, we said $28k each, and ended up getting them for $29k including tinted windows and a few other extras. It was Sunday night, they probably just wanted to go home, and either needed these to sell to meet their quota, or they'd already met their quotas and didn't care if they made money on the last two sales of the day. We both did take out a 3yr finance through them, just for the last 3rd of the price so the interest was minuscule. I went back 2yrs later to try to upgrade to a new model, same dealer. Did it on impulse, middle of the day in the middle of the week, no sale. Hoping for the same experience. The salesman wouldn't move an inch on the price so I got out of there pretty quickly.

 

[wesdadude]

nb. I've never bought a car so this advice is only from what I've seen on the internet.

Once you've worked out exactly what you want to buy (including the exact configuration you want) and how much you're willing to pay for it, find the dealers that you're willing to travel to. Send them each an email with this information and wait for replies. The idea is to play dealers off of each other until you get the lowest price, let them know what other dealers will sell it to you for. Make an agreement with one and organise to come in and purchase.

Walk in, check the car over and sign the paperwork. Be willing to walk if anything isn't as agreed, you don't have the time to be messing around with dealers.

 

[pistonbroke]

Dealers are paying interest on cars sitting in their yard. Generally speaking, the longer it's been sitting there, the cheaper it will be and they will be motivated to move it.
If you want to order one from the factory you'll probably be paying retail.

 

[Haakon]

Dealers are paying interest on cars sitting in their yard. Generally speaking, the longer it's been sitting there, the cheaper it will be and they will be motivated to move it.
If you want to order one from the factory you'll probably be paying retail.

This is what I suspected as well. My first round of calls will be to find out if there are any of the spec I want already in the country (or on the boat) with the tailgate option. Its a rare option, so I guess I'm going to be a bit screwed there...

All i want is the base model and I don't care what colour it is (although it will no doubt be white), just the one option....

 

[Ivan]

Shop around. Get a few quotes for the car. Find the biggest dealership in the state and get a quote from them

 

[Haakon]

Am also intending to get it in Melbourne... I have zero interest in paying ACT rego prices and my olds in country Victoria have always had my cars registered there!

 

[poita]

Tried to buy a new car not too long ago (didn't end up going through with it because I got sick of dealing with idiot car salespeople). What everyone says here is true, just use the bits you feel comfortable with.

My 10 cents:

Pick a price you would be happy to pay after doing your research. Now pretend your price is 10% lower than this at least.

Pick your non-negotiable options (tailgate etc). Walk away when a salesperson tries to sell you a car without these. They are non-negotiable...

Get the salesperson to give you an official quote. They will likely call you back. Play hard to get, but answer their calls. Keep screwing them down on price. Mention cheaper prices from elsewhere. At the end of the month, if they're keen, they will start calling you every second day with lower prices. Don't buy until the 31st of the month.

And most of all, don't be in a hurry.

 

[peanut]

Am also intending to get it in Melbourne... I have zero interest in paying ACT rego prices and my olds in country Victoria have always had my cars registered there!

Might be worth finding out which port the cars originally land at & ring around those dealers first, may lead to a better price?.
A plumber I know updates his hilux every 2 years( he's in Canberra), the last 2 Utes he got new in Newcastle.

 

[Haakon]

Might be worth finding out which port the cars originally land at & ring around those dealers first, may lead to a better price?.
A plumber I know updates his hilux every 2 years( he's in Canberra), the last 2 Utes he got new in Newcastle.

Good thinking, but not buying in Vic to then transfer rego to here. Rego here annually is a rip off.

Plus I am going to give my extremely hippy parents some fun and flip the local Victorian dealer out by getting my Dad to pick it up for me. I'd love to be there when they see a long haired bearded hippy turn up in a beat up old Magna to collect a brand new car

 

[schred]

Just enjoying this experience now on some new wheels. Have bargained reasonably hard, managed to get 3 dealers and a broker involved in a battle, although the broker was useless. One dealer unwittingly found themself as the target price to beat. I added a few accessories and took another K off and asked the other dealers to beat it. Nearly there, but now I have to tell the other dealer we don't have a deal.

Someone at work was saying the monthly sales thing is important but for some dealers they have a weekly target that's more imp, and the insider view was the best time to have a crack is mid-late Sat arvo where you might be the volume trigger for someone's weekly target. Dunno, I'm having a go on a Weds.

 

[Haakon]

Have ended up going for a Renault Clio - the VW Caddy was too much cash to justify and for a bunch of reasons the need for a van has dropped off the radar. So ended up going back to what I know and love which is Renaults.

The Clio is a hilariously fun little tacker with 900cc 3 cylinder turbo - its not even remotely fast but is piss funny trying to be. Its a welcome return to old school French chassis engineering with soft springs, great damping and wonderful chuckability. Its also dirt cheap and will do well for its primary purpose of taking the Anthem to Stromlo/Kowen and for cruise control work to Victoria.

So I tested it here in Canberra and fell in love, but assumed the Canberra dealers couldn't touch Melbourne prices. Played off a bunch of Victorian dealers and got a cracking deal in the colour I wanted and thought that was that. I'd get my olds to pick it up for me and fly down in a couple of weeks to collect it.

Then respectively and with thanks told the canberra dealer i was passing on their car.

So. It seems the canberra peeps have gotten sick of Melbourne and Sydney dealers pinching their business, and smashed the best Melbourne price! I am shocked, and the price even takes into account the higher annual renewal fees for a couple of years here.


But bloody hell its been a process! I quickly discovered the best way to cope was to not answer calls - make them all do it in text and email. I cant think on my feet like that and need time to compose a proper response. It worked for me and would recommend it - they're trained to talk you into it and if they cant talk to you it puts the ball back in your court a bit.

 

[wavike]

I imagine the Caddy would be in high demand due to being unavailable until new model came out and the diesel fuckup, so not much movement in the already high price..
After looking for new car and selling old one etc, I just got another phone and only check it at night, then answer the calls texts that I want. Got seriously pissed off at random calls and texts from the 1/2 doz dealers and carsales/gumtree goons.
Our Kangoo is ideal for our needs, but best to avoid hills. 11-12L / 100ks of 98ron hurts a bit too for a 1.6 L, although it's moving a lot of weight and drag.

 

[scblack]

I imagine the Caddy would be in high demand due to being unavailable until new model came out and the diesel fuckup, so not much movement in the already high price..
After looking for new car and selling old one etc, I just got another phone and only check it at night, then answer the calls texts that I want. Got seriously pissed off at random calls and texts from the 1/2 doz dealers and carsales/gumtree goons.
Our Kangoo is ideal for our needs, but best to avoid hills. 11-12L / 100ks of 98ron hurts a bit too for a 1.6 L, although it's moving a lot of weight and drag.

Reading into it, the diesel-gate saga has not really dented VW sales at all, at least not in Australia.

I'd buy one, if my Forester was written off, I'd be driving an Amarok in a shot.

 

[Haakon]

I imagine the Caddy would be in high demand due to being unavailable until new model came out and the diesel fuckup, so not much movement in the already high price..
After looking for new car and selling old one etc, I just got another phone and only check it at night, then answer the calls texts that I want. Got seriously pissed off at random calls and texts from the 1/2 doz dealers and carsales/gumtree goons.
Our Kangoo is ideal for our needs, but best to avoid hills. 11-12L / 100ks of 98ron hurts a bit too for a 1.6 L, although it's moving a lot of weight and drag.

I am a huge Renault nut from way back, but the Oz spec Kangoo really annoys me. The 1.6 is a great engine tough as nails and very willing - buts it really really old. And the 4speed auto also literally dates from the early 90s....

In France, the current Kangoo is available with the 1.2 direct injection turbo we have in the megane/clio here now, and with the 6 speed DSG style auto. Australia gets the cheap leftover spec...

By the time I want a van again, this might finally have made it to Oz, or the current petrol DSG Caddy will have depreciated hard after they finally get the diesel caddy here and no one wants the petrol anymore.