Would you expect a discount on a used Mercedes?

[Ian_Mac]

Today the folks went to the dealer to test drive an E220. Basically they loved the car, a price was agreed for their Px (£200 less than Vauxhall offered against an Insignia) and the chat came round to the business of a cost to change figure.

To cut a long story short the salesman went back and forth to the Managers office and offered such extras as free Scotch Guard & Gap Insurance but wouldn't budge on the advertised price what so ever.

As it stand they are around £500 apart, it was originally £1000 but the folks have already upped what they are prepared to pay.

Personally I don't think it's unreasonable to negotiate a £500 discount on a £15000 car or am I mistaken?

The salesman is expecting a call back from them tomorrow.

Any comments appreciated.

[LTD]

Originally Posted by Ian_Mac

The salesman is expecting a call back from them tomorrow.

They should phone the salesman, tell them how much they are willing to front including their car and wait for HIS return call.

Stop pandering to the desk *****. They deal or your folks simply walk away.

[SPX]

Only £500!!!! I would be offering about £1500 less as a starting bid.
The dealer now knows that they're interested so it just depends how much hardball you'd like to play...
Look at it this way, there will be plenty of very similar cars out there but for them there may only be one customer, if that makes sense?

[MOCAŠ]

In my (limited) experience, MB dealers tend to stick to their advertised prices, and build any discount into what they offer for the part exchange. So if they've already made their bid for the car being traded in, they're probably unlilkely to budge on the price of the car. But then, I've never been one to play hard-ball in that respect, so fortune may favour the brave.

[Gucci]

Trouble with car buying sometimes is that you can get a bit too wrapped up in the excitement. I've not managed it yet, but if I find the perfect car in the perfect colour/spec at the right price, I daren't play hardball. "Oh yes, she will be mine".

Maybe in my more mature thinking years, I'll be more willing to play the game. As for discounts - there's always a discount with second hand cars as long as it's not of appreciating value.

[Dryce]

Originally Posted by Ian_Mac

Personally I don't think it's unreasonable to negotiate a £500 discount on a £15000 car or am I mistaken?

It depends on the deal and the sticker price.

My car had a token amount knocked off. My wife's had quite a lot. My car was stickered at a much more competitive price to start with - and there was a much harder upsell attempt on paint treatment, upholstery treatment, finance, and GAP.

Add a part-ex into the equation and it becomes even more difficult to quantify.

[artyman]

It always depends on how desperate they are to sell, I've walked away from dealers who wouldn't match what I wanted, they lost the sale and someone else got my business. Sometimes hard if it's a car you really want, if a common model, another invariably turns up.

[Ian_Mac]

I fully agree the salesman knows how they feel about the car.

It's a case of trying to get them to play hard ball.

Having had a look online tonight another dealer 100 or so miles from them does have a slightly better spec car listed for an extra £150.

I predict an interesting day tomorrow!

[BoyracerAU]

Best way to try the salesman is to string him out. Make him follow up with your folks and tell them not to call him for a couple of days.

When he calls, tell your folks to tell him that there's another car that's caught their eye and they're off to look at it the next day.

I bet he puts his head on the block. ;-)

[BTB 500]

New month starts today, so I guess they are less likely to want to close the sale quickly than if your folks had been having this conversation with them in the middle of last week.

I did get some money knocked off (£1000, IIRC) when I bought my SL ... plus the free Supaguard etc. And that was a simple transaction with no PX.

[Maynard]

Hi, where is the dealership? If it is owned by the pendragon group then this is how they do business. They price check their cars and advertise them at the cheapest price within a set radius.

[lewyboy]

I wouldn't be so worried about a discount, the cost to change is the decider.

How they present this on the invoice is no concern of mine.

[grober]

I think the telling thing is the part exchange. If it represents a considerable part of the new cars price it pays to remember the deal is not on £15,000--- it's on the difference in price. If the trade in is valued at £10,000 say then its a " £5,000 deal" not a "£15,000 deal" so any discount has to be calculated accordingly. This is further complicated by the profit margin they have on the £15,000 car versus what they paid for it-- their margin if you like--- and the possible profit/loss they will have on the trade in- they may have already received its sale value to the trade in the form of bids which may well be less than the trade in price they are offering. Without all these figures its sometimes difficult to predict exactly what margins the sales people are working with. Your folks should remember too that there are other potential customers out there for the car just as there are other cars for them to choose from.

[SPX]

Originally Posted by lewyboy

I wouldn't be so worried about a discount, the cost to change is the decider.

How they present this on the invoice is no concern of mine.

I have these exact same sentiments...

It can sometimes baffle salesmen though.
My conversation usually goes like this; 'I don't need to know what price you will give me for my car, just tell me the price difference between mine and yours and we can go from there'

I see it as a more straightforward negotiation that way

[tylerdurden]

I totally agree on looking simply at only one figure - the cost to change.

Salespeople are adept at concentrating on pt ex value + freebies so it becomes difficult for you to really understand the cost to change. Where there is confusion the savvy will always rule.

If willing to haggle/enter a protracted negotiation over £500, then I would suggest that £500 is a sizeable sum to you. If so have you thought of privately selling? I have sold a series of 15-25k cars over the years, each time getting 2-3k more than dealer was willing to offer. TBH I would say it's less hassle that having to deal with salespeople. Just IHO.