Life experiences have taught me a lot over the years, but when it comes to driving the price down when purchasing private or with a dealer - can't do, hopeless infact, I just cave in way to easily!! In this instance ... dealers. There are 4 Dukes I have my on, bit over priced but there is work to be done. All 4 have flatly refused to budge on their cash prices. What makes it more awkward is that I'm a few hundred miles away from the nearest dealer so all communication are done by email. Any advice would be greatly appreciated
In my experience it really depends upon what you are buying. If its something which the seller knows is quite rare then they will be very reluctant to drop the price. The last 2 cars I bought I found dealers unwilling to even give me 6 months road tax and would rather I walk away than offer me a few quid off the forecourt price. One in particular refused my offer of £14k on a £15k car, then ended up being stuck with it for months, dropping the price down over time to £12k before finally off loading it in an auction. When I bought my 996 id been looking for about 6 months and the seller knew what he had. It took me about 40 minutes of very hard negotiations before I managed to knock just £150 off the price he wanted. As a seller, im always keen to get a quick sale and so usually drop my price quickly. I think in general these days "cash price" means nothing to dealers, they are more keen to sign you up on finance as they get commission on that, plus sell you gap insurance, tyre insurance, wheel insurance, super paint finish protection etc. etc. etc. I even think if you were to pay in cash they`d have to pay the bank a fee for putting the cash in, as well as send someone to the bank in the first place which is costing them money.
Sometimes it's just a waiting game, if a bike's been hanging around awhile, you'd be better off offering a deal more suitable to you at the end of the month. Targets and all that. You say all communication is done by e-mail? Why not phone? With an offer in principle ....... Best time to buy, End of December, January and February. Secondhand bike market's slow at the moment apparently - stick to your guns - everything is negotiable within reason - good luck.
Definitely pick up the phone - you cant tell via email how serious someone is - they know if you are you'll be back ,,,, If the bikes 10k say - ring up and say your looking for this make model but you're top budget is 9k and ask if they're open to offers? If they say flat no then still say well I'll give you my number and if things change please call me as I'm not in a hurry. Did this lately with three cars - all said no but all called me a week later to see if I was still interested as they were prepared to drop the price and or meet 1/2 way What have you to lose :wink:
I find that making a reasonable offer then if that's not accepted don't be afraid to walk away. I agree with Greyman, if at a dealer go in at the end of the month, they have sales targets to meet and revenue to generate.
That can work 2 ways though. If they have already hit their targets then they arnt interested in you. I bought my current car - a bmw on the last day of May, so end of H2 hoping they would be desperate for a sale. They wanted £26k for it. They werent interested in a cash deal, and actually spent a long time trying to sell me PCP schemes, finance, credit, etc. etc. In the end after not making much progress on them reducing the price, I left my details and walked. The "salesman" was on the phone from then on every hour on the dot to try and do a deal with me. They started off offering me £100 off. I kid you not. £100 off a £26k car. Then, £200 off. Then half a tank of diesel (£35), then free mats. It was really quite laughable really, as if the sales man seriously thought that £35 worth of diesel would help swing the deal. In the end near towards the end of the day I finally agreed on a deal with them and it worked out that I managed to get about 10% off the screen price. Talk about hard work though.
I'd always go. Establish a relationship with the sales person. Look over the bike and convince them you're serious, not a waste of time. Then make a low offer, tell them your wife won't let you spend more than that and walk away leaving your contact details. You can get in touch later and ask them if that bike sold and if they come at you with a good number, you buy. You win because they've reduced the price. They think they win because they've 'talked you up'. Everyone is happy.
Thanks all for the input The last 4 Dukes I've owned have been bought privately and yes you do save £££'s. Apart from my 748 which was a little steep for what she was but hey - I had rose tinted specs on! The first thing I've done is to spend £££'s on getting them up to standard I expect. This time I'm looking at doing the reverse. There are a few dealers out there that have very nice looking machines, in top nick, relatively low mileage and complete with full service inc. belts and on 1 in particular, 3 months warranty.
Yep, pick up the phone and talk to people. Start by finding out everything about the bike before even broaching the subject of price. I've sold a couple of bikes in the last 6 months and lost count of the one line e-mails from faceless people saying "how much for cash mate?". I don't even waste my time replying. When I sold them, it came from e-mails more than one sentance long, leading to a phone call. These people came to Newcastle from Manchester and Perth (Scotland, not Australia ) and I could tell from the off that they were legitimate buyers.
I have a cunning plan If you list all 4 bikes on here and let us know what you want to pay we can all take it in turns ringing up or emailing the dealers and all make offers at least £500-£1000 less than what you want to pay. that way when you make your offer it'll look like its a high market price based on current conditions. genius
Always be prepared to walk, be good humored, and know what you're talking about... I never buy any car or bike unless i feel like ive squeezed everything out of the deal...When i recently purchased my Tric i knocked almost a grand from the asking, and also managed to get a DP paddock stand, 6 months tax and a bike cover thrown in..all with a nice friendly atmosphere between myself and the seller (in fact, we've kept in touch since, as we really got on!). Negotiations only get unstuck when one wants to buy something that is very, very rare...you dont have the option of walking. On principal i wont buy anything if the seller isn't prepared to even enter negotiations..
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You need to show the sales person you are serious by making a commitment, ie, going in to see him in person.
Last day of the month will be too late for most main dealers, the car normally has to be invoiced & delivered to count towards target. I do have a little experience of this
