10 little things
I work in a used car dealership this is a list of things that really wind us up.

1. We are not a theme park , so dads dont bring your kids down at 430 on a saturday afternoon when we are trying to close because your other half has told you to take the kids out for a bit.

2. Be realistic about trade in values. Your car is not worth the same that you paid for it 4 years ago.

3. Do not be offended when we tell you this

4. The car is 7 years old of course there are going to be a couple of stone chips.

5. When you take a car for a test drive , get back and say "Yeah it drives well but i dont like the colour or the milage" Heres a hint it was exactley the same before you left so why take it out waste our time and our petrol?

6. We are not a rental car service . If you want to drive a nice car for the weekend go to hertz not us.

7. The window card price is the price . Do you make offers on tins of beans in the supermarket?

8. If 2 years after you buy the car you loose the keys it is not our responsibility to get you a new set at our expense.

9. When you test drive a car it means you are looking to purchase now not in a years time.

10. Just because you have bought a used BMW it does not make you "somebody" and expect us to kiss your arse.

There are so many more things i could say here. Yes i have to deal with a lot of idiots and prima donnas at work . Sigh
(welgar, Sun 4 May 2008, 6:54, 13 replies)

Errr
"The window card price is the price"

Not in my universe it isn't. I've never met anyone who pays the asking price for a used car.

Cheers
( Legless Mister Stabby - shanks for the memory, Sun 4 May 2008, 8:51, closed)

^
Ditto. Its just a haggling point for me, a stupid point, of which I'm going to make an equally stupid much, much lower bid, before we meet somewhere in the middle. Please tell me where your stealership is, and I won't bother haggling. By not going there.
( Duke Of Belmsford has got 99 records, but Jay-Z ain't one, Sun 4 May 2008, 9:27, closed)

Atcually
Heres the thing legless if you only have 10k to spend dont bother looking at 15k cars thinking that you will get them for 10k ok???

Its like property nobody ever pays the asking price when they are the buyer and all sellers allways get an offer above the asking price when you enquire what it went for.
(welgar, Sun 4 May 2008, 9:47, closed)

Oh Agreed
Knocking 30% off the asking price is just silly. In fact, if I offered 10k for a 15k car and it was accepted, I'd walk away from the deal. There'd be something *seriously wrong with it.

But offering 13.5 for a 15k car is what I'd expect. I'd be delighted if I got it for 14k and probably settle for 14.5

Don't ask, don't get.

Cheers
( Legless Mister Stabby - shanks for the memory, Sun 4 May 2008, 10:11, closed)

Number 10
is soooooo true

I tend to find that Audi drivers are cunts as well
(magic the cat will someone please think of the kittens, Sun 4 May 2008, 11:03, closed)

erm...
aside from the fact you 'came out' as a car salesman (cunt)

you also seem to think we will blithely pay your over inflated price to line your sweaty Slaters Menswear pockets

fuck off - i've haggled (successfuly) for my wifes grade 1 diamond ring in the same fucking jeweler the bastard queen uses.

so no i will not pay your fucking 'window card ' price

and BTW .... most avarage income families now drive BMW's these days on account of ford mondeos being poorly built, staggeringly unreliable and sold by stage 2 chavs like you (kevo/stevo/etc)

and no i dont drive a BMW i drive a honda

s2000 before you start

you fat knotted cheap suit tie wearing cunt
( spimf ™ is whoever you want him to be, Mon 5 May 2008, 0:43, closed)

spimf..........
Spimf
You are a fucking spacker try reading the posting properly!

I said "i work in a used car dealership" NOT " I am a used car salesman"

I dont wear a cheap suit to work i wear overalls.

Good for saving a bit of money on some bling. I bet it will help ease the pain when the wife leaves you when she realises how much of a twunt you are. You can allways say to yourself "at least i didnt pay full price"
(welgar, Mon 5 May 2008, 8:18, closed)

I would disagree with #9
I don't go out, test drive a car and buy it straight away. I will take my time, go round various dealers, try different cars to see how they handle and drive, and only then narrow it down and think about buying something.
I did the same when I bought my camera, and bike, and anything I am spending a significant amount of money on.

I will also say that when I am in shops playing with expensive things I will be honest with the staff and tell them I won't be buying today, but if I find what I want I will hopefully be back in the near future to do the deal then.
(442, Mon 5 May 2008, 10:56, closed)

christ - so it turns out you're a grease monkey with 'car salesman envy'
thanks for the tip regarding my lovely wife - i'll ask her if she wants to leave me when were enjoying our free biz class flights to dubai next week

oh did i not mention - i've been offered a fantastic job out there that pays around 6 times what a bitter (ex?) greasymonkey earns

oh and tax free

just saying
( spimf ™ is whoever you want him to be, Mon 5 May 2008, 11:48, closed)

spimf
please take that job. please.

though if it's only offering 6x a UK mechanics salary you might want to look at other career choices :P

congratulations on the nice car, wife, diamond wedding ring, etc. you do come across as a bit of a muppet despite all of that.

and back to the original point - every vehicle I've test-driven I've either bought the same day or said no to immediately. By the time I'm spending time test-driving it's down to a few cars and I'm making sure it's not a complete lemon before I buy it.
Haggling is the norm for used vehicles. If you don't get that, you might be in the wrong trade...
( evilstevie misses the Orange Place of late, Mon 5 May 2008, 18:41, closed)

And again
Thank you evilstevie . You have hit the nail on the head. By haggling i am meaning the dreamers that want to pay half the asking price on a 15k car. Contrary to popular belief we do not have 25% profit in every car, often it is very narrow. In fact quite a few cars ultimatley end up getting sold for a loss. Out of the margin tax , power , phones etc has to be deducted. You would honestly be surprised how much it costs to run a reputable dealership.

As for spimf.

I wouldnt take your wife to dubai it may interfere with her residency application.
Did you get a discount from that Russian website when you got your new bride? Mabey you got the shipping for free??

Oh and about the diamond ring . I checked and cant see any sign of Cash Converters having a royal warrant.
(welgar, Tue 6 May 2008, 7:52, closed)

Good points, especially the Theme Park one
Just be honest, and say that you're having an aimless mooch, and everybody's happy. You can look all you want on the stuff outside, but please don't be offended when the showroom closes: the clue is the sign with those funny numbers on, next to days of the week? I don't try and kick the doors in at Sainsbury's at 4.01pm on a Sunday, please don't do the same to me.

Brits are notoriously bad at haggling, but making a silly offer will get you nowhere, and will, quite frankly, make you look a bit of a tit. And 'discounts for cash' are illegal, try 'discount for no part exchange' and you might get somewhere.

Realistically, a new car will have a margin of 0-8%. Pre-registered 0-5%. Used varies from a loss (depending on how long in stock) to about 15%.

There you go, a free guide to sensible negotiation.

If it's a new car you're buying, buy something that's physically in stock at the end of the month/quarter and you MAY get a better deal.

Incidentally, not ALL car salesmen are fat, cheaply suited cunts. Just like ALL BMW drivers aren't inconsiderate dickheads, and ALL Honda drivers superannuated incontinent travel-rug owners (less said about S2000 owners the better....). One reason for some sales bods not spending too much cash on the old suit is the fact that working around cars, you get oil,grease etc on you on a regular basis, even in the showroom.

Oh, and I haven't been a salesman for quite some time, but the whole Arfur Daley Fing is receding into the past.
(osok Rebel without a clue, Tue 6 May 2008, 10:39, closed)

It's an invitation to treat
The card price is what they'd like me to pay, and an invitation to open negotiations.

There's always haggle room, providing the number's already got at least 4 numbers in it.

The last car we bought, they offered us £900 less on trade-in than our current car was worth. No, sorry, that's a deal-breaker. They instantly upped the offer by £450. Then it got down to details - that tyre's close to the limit, can you replace it? Yes, but with a remould, not a brand new one. How about a year's road tax? No, but we'll do you 6 months.

They actually gave us a much better deal than they'd been expecting, because when all was finished and we were down to the final price, the sales-critter started pulling out credit forms, assuring us we'd have no trouble getting credit through them, and the APR was very reasonable. The look on his face when my wife took out her cheque-book and started writing was a joy to behold. Obviously these guys make some money on the cars, and a nice kick-back on the finance deals, and seem to weight their prices accordingly.
(Leo Sasquatch hates being the grown-up, Tue 6 May 2008, 10:48, closed)