How to negotiate the price of a car. |
If you
have found a car you are prepared to view then you will
have an idea of how much money it's going to cost. Some
sellers may express in their ad they will take an offer
but that doesn't mean half the asking price!
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If after viewing a car you make an offer hundreds or
even thousands of pounds less than
the asking price, you will likely be met with disapproval to say the least. Unless the
car is grossly over priced you will get nothing but a perturbed seller and in some
cases offended to the point of refusing to sell you the car.
Take into consideration the points below and the outcome
will be both a happy buyer and a happy seller. |
- Be fair. If the car is in good shape with all documents and service history
in tact with no foreseeable extra expense be prepared to pay the asking price.
- If there is a major service imminent you will need to know how much that will
cost before you can consider asking for a reduction and remember if the vehicle
is priced lower than others of the same spec the seller may have already taken
this into consideration when setting the price.
- General maintenance items such as tyres and exhausts should also be
considered. Check before your viewing what the costs will be in case you find
they will soon be in need of replacement. Again getting a reduction to help pay
for replacements will all depend on the asking price for the car
compared to others of the same age,
mileage, make and model.
- You have to consider that the seller advertised the car for a price which you
have seen. If you take their time to view the car you are initially accepting the
price as a ball park figure. You will just be judged as a time waster by making a
ridiculously low offer or trying to point out faults that aren't there to haggle
down the price.
- Above all if
the price or the car is more than cars
of similar age, milage etc. and needs
tyres for example or has a short MOT and
tax you can take all this into
consideration when making your offer. Be
sure though to have all the figures for
costs that you will incur should you buy
the car as you will be more likely to
convince the owner that you are
genuinely interested and fair.
- Finally put yourself in the seller's shoes. You wouldn't want to spend a
couple of hours with a viewing to find out afterwards they are not prepared to
pay anywhere near the asking price and
have your time wasted.
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