buying from dealers

focusrally888 · 05-09-2008, 10:05 PM

all the dealers in wa seem to give me a different price to what every one gets quoted on this website???

do u bargin or are they cheaper over east? they should all be able to do the same price correct?

zetec · 05-09-2008, 10:11 PM

Which model are you looking at? New or used? Are you trading in a car? Every Dealer is different so it won't always be identical.

The trick is to work out how much you want to pay, how much the best price you can find is and then see what everyone else here paid.

andy@paralowie · 05-09-2008, 10:38 PM

I sent a single email to every Adelaide Ford dealership specifying exactly what model car I was looking for with what options. I asked each to respond to me with their best price and I would then visit the one that achieved the lowest price to me. I made it clear in the email that I would only buy from one of those that responded, and I kept to my word. Most of the initial responses didnt provide pricing rather they wanted a phone number to discuss the issue. I responded to those that there was no need to discuss over the phone and that if they were interested in my business then an appropriate response was necessary.

That seemed to work well with the end price on the diesel being significantly lower than quoted RRP.

It cost me nothing to do, other than abit of time and it became clear that the dealer in Adelaide who spent mega$$$ on advertising that they were the cheapest in fact was at the opposite end of the spectrum.

My experience was positive and I'd do it again. Trade in value on the clunker was pretty poor but was in line with the market in general.

Im also told that the time in month that you go looking is important, better responses towards the latter part of the month especially from those whose monthly targets are appearing to be a "bridge too far"

Andy

warren77 · 06-09-2008, 12:15 AM

I also think a lot depends on market conditions. If the market is slow, the dealers will be more willing to do a deal to move stock.

I did find when I was looking at buying either of the Mondeo XR5, Mazda MPS or Subaru Liberty GT (all being their top models), no one was will to negotiate too much because these cars are in demand. Or at least were. I had a trade in as well but even then they wouldn't move to much. All were within $500 of each other.

I personally like the emailing around with a one time chance to get best offer. It does work well when you don't have a trade in.

Mullett · 06-09-2008, 05:31 AM

Good trick, I like that one. Cars ARE often more expensive in WA, and the dealers blame it on the transport costs. As far as I know (from working with Jetskis) the dealers are probably charged the same price across the board for delivery, and Ford splits the difference. The best advice I can give is to look out for a special edition, runout, or driveaway model, there's big $$$ to be saved. I paid 17,700 driveaway for my (demo) CL, with rego, full tank of fuel, stamp duty, etc paid. I can recommend Ian Owen at range ford in Maddington, but be awake, and lean on him as hard as you can

Car sales are very slow at the moment, and dealers are pretty desperate (as with any dealer :P)

-RM.

andy@paralowie · 06-09-2008, 11:20 AM

Bit more info around the email approach. Be very clear in what you are asking for. For example the price you are seeking is the bottom line price, not another cent for anything price.

Furthermore, add all possible options at that time. Anything added after the initial email will likely see the dealer looking to improve the margin.

In my request in the list of options I included a full tank of fuel.

I also specified exactly when the latest acceptable delivery date was and asked the dealers to advise what coulors would beavailable to meet that timeline. As others have said previously, the way the allocation process works with ford means that until you sign the contract you arent guarenteed of anything, however the dealers can make an educated guess. Be realistic with the timeframe as tightening it too much will limit what the dealers can do. 4 -8weeks is reasonable, shorter will mean that only the baby sh&t brown that no-one likes will be available to you etc

Andy

P.S the stock holding locations for Ford are Melbourne and Brisbane so people in those locations could possibly tighten the timeframe as they wont be dependant on interstate car transporters.

warren77 · 06-09-2008, 12:19 PM

WA is slow atm.
I am trying to sell a used car privately and it is very tough. Already dropped the price twice.
So yes, lean as hard as you can on your dealer. If you are able to pay cash, without a trade in, you are going to have a bit more leverage. Car yards are overstocked with cars atm, so getting a car off their lot without replacing it will get a bit more interest.

I have used the email technique for many things - if the item is quite small, and shipping would represent a fraction of the price, then you can use companies from all over Australia or the world.

Mullett · 06-09-2008, 02:51 PM

Yeah, caryards are slow, my Evo is still sitting :( Cash isn't the drawcard it used to be, they love finance deals, there's often up to 1k in it for the dealer (so compare the finance deal very carefully with something similar from your bank, and remember that, like everything, finance is negotiable. Remember to add the fees into the equation). Not having a trade in is often a good draw, and go in with finance pre-approved if that's how you're going to do it...

-RM.

Buzz Box · 06-09-2008, 03:18 PM

Yeah i know when i went shopping for mine the difference between highest and lowest was $3,000 on a $20,000 car!!!!

So its worth wasting a day driving around or emailing or using a broker....

Rhubarb · 06-09-2008, 05:33 PM

Always have a look at discountnewcars.com.au to get an idea of what is pretty "standard" discount and the absolute minimum you should be able to achieve. then negotiate them down from there.

Dealers work on monthly cycles so they will often be more desperate at the end of the month. But this only works for cars in stock as they need to be able to have it registered before the end of the month to get their bonuses.