Scirocco Central

sat1983 wrote:What is the best conversation to have with a dealer when I walk in, literally? Where do you start etc?

I heard asking for a "discount" is never the thing to do- best to ask for a fair deal for myself & salesperson.

IMO, the main things are go prepared, be realistic and be flexible.

But first - settle on your spec. I find it helps to know exactly what you want before the haggling starts.

Then, when you ring or visit a dealer, make sure you know your bottom line - what is the absolute maximum you want to spend? Do some research and get a genuine idea of what is the best possible price you could *realistically* get for the car that you want (usually from a broker*). Work out what the minimum is you want for any p/ex and how much deposit, if any you're willing to contribute.

Ultimately, you will benefit from being flexible - I'm on my third brand new car now and have found that it is well worth shopping around to get a good deal - in my experience discounts vary wildly from dealer to dealer.

I would recommend phoning as many dealers as you're prepared to visit first - tell them what exactly what you're looking for and give them a good idea of what you want to pay for it, based on the above.

The dealer will flatly refuse to get near the offer, say that they're willing to negotiate or simply offer to do the deal (although I've never had this over the phone). If they refuse, simply move on to the next dealer on your list until you get one (or more) offering one of the other responses.

Once you've got a short list, weigh them up in terms of how easy they are to get to and how genuine they are on offering to match your requirements (I travelled all the way from Coventry to Northampton once on a half-promise which failed to materialise) and then go and visit the one or two dealers who are showing the most promise - be sure to take everything you need with you to do the deal.

I've found it really helps if you know exactly what you want, what you want to pay for it and are ready to do the deal there and then.

When you're in the final stages of the haggle, hold your ground (within reason - don't lose a deal over a set of mats or a tank of fuel) and don't be put off by the silences. The dealer will stop talking to try and make you make the next move but hold your nerve and wait for them to speak next... Above all, have fun!


*if you plan to use a broker price as your best price, make sure you use a broker who uses main dealers so you can tell your local dealers that your best price is a pukka dealer price.

GOOD LUCK!

lancs_lad wrote: It also helps to present a nice friendly approach as its very difficult to negotiate if you are aggressive with your approach.

x2

Fantastic help on this forum!

Basically I have a Cooper S- 1st registered on the 30th April 2009 on a 09 plate. It's white with a black roof, manual transmission. Spec is Chili pack (xenons, 17" wheels, half leather etc) mfsw and privacy glass. 8800 miles on the clock and genuinely near mint. Not a swirl in sight!

I'm after a 2.0TSI DSG in Sumatra grey. I'm not 100% on the spec as I don't know how much I'll get off the rocco! A must is cruise- anything else would be a bonus.
My budget is what what car is worth+ £9k cash. Could go up but not much more.

SeventySix wrote:

lancs_lad wrote: It also helps to present a nice friendly approach as its very difficult to negotiate if you are aggressive with your approach.

x2

Yeah I agree, friendly gets you a hell a lot further than being agressive, but don't them them push you about though

It's all about finding the happy meduim

Any discounts on the R out of interest?

sat1983 wrote:Any discounts on the R out of interest?

At the dealers I went to, No. But each dealer is different

hi spec minis hold their price really well you should get decent money for that
do your homework and see what its really worth before haggling

if your intrested in an roc R theres a blue one nearly new at gilbert lawton manchester 32 k i think
cheaper to get good spec GT and get it remaped

According to this website:

http://www.virtual-showroom.co.uk/scrip ... essionid=0" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

My MINI is worth:

Part-exchange Price:

Excellent condition:
£15000
Average condition:
£13400
Below average condition:
£11950

Although it really is in excellent condition I bet you the middle price is what they'd give me- MINI themselves have recently valued it at £15k bang on but seeing as it'll go to VW I'm sure they'll never give me that??
Anyone in the know on here?

A GT 2.0TSI with no spec is list: £24,915 on VW's website

With my spec (sumatra grey and cruise):

£25575

Realistically I imagine I could get about £1200 off the Scirocco (according to what car) and aim to get £15k for my MINI.

Leaving me to pay £9375 for the Scirocco.

You forgot DSG in your spec.

You can get more than £1200 off. Seriously. Aim to pay little or no more than £23800.

So, £8800 cost to change for our Aberdonian friend

littleyellowspider wrote:So, £8800 cost to change for our Aberdonian friend

littleyellowspider wrote:You forgot DSG in your spec.

You can get more than £1200 off. Seriously. Aim to pay little or no more than £23800.

So, £8800 cost to change for our Aberdonian friend

Yep did forget DSG but the price included DSG- what does Aberdonian mean?

sat1983 wrote:

littleyellowspider wrote:You forgot DSG in your spec.

You can get more than £1200 off. Seriously. Aim to pay little or no more than £23800.

So, £8800 cost to change for our Aberdonian friend

Yep did forget DSG but the price included DSG- what does Aberdonian mean?

A person from Aberdeen I guess.

sat1983 wrote:Although it really is in excellent condition I bet you the middle price is what they'd give me- MINI themselves have recently valued it at £15k bang on but seeing as it'll go to VW I'm sure they'll never give me that??
Anyone in the know on here?

If VW won't give you a good price, will the BMW dealer take it off you for £15k? You'd then be free to deal with VW without having to worry about p/exing and often dealers discount higher when there's no p/ex involved.

I did this with my MX-5 - haggled with VW without trying to do a deal on a p/ex and sold the MX-5 to a Mazda dealership - I find that most franchised dealers are always looking for good examples of young used cars.

I tried to persaude my local dealer with a broadspeed quotation, they weren't interested in matching or even trying to get close to it. Cancelled my order with them, got my deposit back and ordered with Broadspeed. After paying fee to Broadspeed a VW dealer called me within an hour or so, from this point on i dealt with the dealer direct and collected the car from the dealer also. Achieved a very good discount but this was nearly two years ago now when the car first went on sale. Having checked recently Broadspeed don't seem to be offering anywhere near the savings they were back then.

SeventySix wrote:
If VW won't give you a good price, will the BMW dealer take it off you for £15k? You'd then be free to deal with VW without having to worry about p/exing and often dealers discount higher when there's no p/ex involved.

I did this with my MX-5 - haggled with VW without trying to do a deal on a p/ex and sold the MX-5 to a Mazda dealership - I find that most franchised dealers are always looking for good examples of young used cars.

Sounds like a bloody good idea, might just try that!

i would of thought if you have a good example of a sought after car you would get more for it privately than from a main dealer especially if you were not buying a car of them aswell , but you never know the dealer could have somebody lined up willing to pay top price for a car of that spec

Selling a car worth about £15k is a HUGE hassle though. Most people seem to prefer paying a bit more and get peace of mind from a dealer. Then you have to deal with scammers,tyrekickers, and selling a hot hatch can attract the wrong type of folk.
I'd rather lose a bit of cash and least know the cheque will clear!
I sold cars worth under £2k privately no probs, but I'd just rather not sell the S privately.