buying from a dealer

[JohnDeere8530]

I've always bought new motors which normally means going to the local dealer seeing what I want, getting them to price it up, then going on the net to find the best deal and going back to the local dealer and getting them to match it

It has always worked, I end up with the best deal with the convenience of it being at my local dealer.

However I need to buy my wife a car, I'm thinking a S5 cabrio, it looks like a nice refined car and pretty quick at that. I guess the extra speed will come in handy when a new range of shoes come out in Dune/Jimmy Choo or whatever shop, she will always be at the front of the queue

This time I'm thinking of buying used since my budget is early £40k. This puts me out the market for a decent spec one, so its time to buy something 9 - 12 months old.

I understand that one car dealer can normally source a car from anywhere within the Audi dealer network. Say I find one up north and ask my local dealer if I can buy it via him, I'm sure he will oblige, but where does that leave me in terms of asking for a discount.

Am I still in a strong position to negotiate a discount on a used car sitting in someone else's dealership many miles away? I guess a dealer buying from a dealer will be on better terms than I would get if I just rang that dealer up?

I would of thought there would be less 'fat' in the deal for my local dealer than if it was already his property, hence he would not be so willing to offer much off ? Ie he may well be disinterested in the deal when I start talking discounts. Am I right in thinking this?

I would ring the northern dealer direct, but I dont want to spend £40k over the phone on a secondhand car (new would be ok), whereas if my dealer got it down for me, I then inspected it, anything untoward could then be put right before I purchased it. I would of thought I would have to hand a deposit over before he shipped it for me ??

Sorry this is about Audis, but I guess the same equation would be true with Mercs, and I cant find a decent uk audi forum

 

[davidjpowell]

With other lower rent Marques I have known some dealers want a deposit before even getting the car in. Negotiation simply was not happening.

Needless to say my interest dropped. Far better to negotiate with selling dealer direct, or if you know a trader that you trust ask them to source... They tend to be better at the negotiation than the salesman in dealers in my experience.

 

[PXW]

Had a similar situation when we bought Mrs PXW's Lexus (though less money). We worked out the spec we wanted and approx price and then left the local dealer with that, asking him to give us a call if/when he found something 'in the network'. You could repeat this process with any other dealers local to you, but they will end up competing on the same stock so that can prove counterproductive.

After a few weeks I got a call saying he'd located a vehicle that met spec - though not at his premises. We discussed history of vehicle, price, negotiated as normal, agreed the deal and he got the car delivered. It was only 10 months old, so we were comfortable that any issues would be dealt with under warranty (and of course, being a Lexus, there weren't any!).

The overall process was fine, though I'm not sure I'd do the same thing if the car I was buying was outside of the full manufacturer's warranty.

 

[The Boss]

hi.

i know its out of budget, and not necessarily local, but there is a fab s5 cabrio down at west london audi - brand new, not seconds or ex demo..

s5 designo version (exclusive red paint)
white alabaster leather

I think the price is around £55k, we were close to buying it last week, but decided to keep our current car on this occassion.. but if u can stretch to it, u will be very very happy

guaranteed!

i have some pics if interested.. pm me your email addy

cheers

 

[grober]

S5 Cabrios are a pretty rare animal. Most dealers will be happy to hold on to stock to sell for themselves- I would surmise discounts will be elusive for that reason alone

 

[st4]

I'd deal with the selling dealer, and take a day off work or two to see/buy the car in question and sign any finance docs.

They can deliver the car to you.