Our lass has seen a 2nd hand car she wants which is on for £7995. I'm going to test drive it today.

Obviously I want to get them down as low as possible, what level should I start haggling?

She has the cash to pay them today if needed.

Doesnt seem like much these days as people can instantly compare prices online so it stops the screen prices being inflated so much. I get the feeling they like people taking finance too. Must be some commission involved. Cargurus might give you an idea of what's a good price. That could then be a bargaining tool. You need an industry insider's advice really. I'd be interested in that too!

My rule with car pricing is come in really low then if they're stubborn add a little on. Just watch Drew Pritchard on Salvage Hunters and you'll be fine.
Try and avoid dealings with anyone from Lancashire, as I find it's by far the County with the biggest number of timewasters/tyrekickers.
Apologies to any of our Lancs born Poolies, as I'm sure that everyone's not like that....hopefully.
This follows bad experiences with people from Skelmersdale and Oldham.

You can start as low as you like, John. Remember you can always up your offer but you can't drop it.
It's difficult to ascertain without seeing it etc. Do you know anybody with access to a Glass's guide?
Personally I usually offer 10% to 15% off and take it from there.
Good luck.

Autotrader do free car valuations.

my mate used to work in a car showroom he told me they are always marked up £1500 above what they would call their break even

Depends on what you’re getting or your money in terms of warranty.

There’s usually a grand to be haggled at that level of car and don’t forget to ask for extended warranty to be thrown in.

Finance is worth approximately 1.5% of the value to the dealer.

Any quote from Webuyanycar might be a good bargaining tool.

As a cash buyer, she should be able to knock them down £1,000. We are in the last week of the month & the salesman &/or the dealership may have a target to achieve by 31st, & the pressure might be on them. They earn commission on finance deals they arrange, so she might be lucky & get an interest-free deal instead of using her own cash.

The car will probably have been taken in part-exchange, & dealers only keep them a certain length of time before they send it to auction - it used to be 90 days in stock before auctioning it. That could work in your favour

A Stagecoach yearly ticket is £722 so if you've got £7995 to play with thats 11 years transport. No tax,servicing petrol or insurance either.
You could also use the ticket to go to the pub.

A couple of years ago I bought a car on behalf of my son at around the price mentioned. I carried out all preliminary checks and test drove it. I made an offer and the dealer came back with another. He was gobsmacked when I said "sorry you don't understand, I am offering to buy the car for £x, take it or leave it.". He sold me the car!

Just remember the option to walk away. Unless it’s exotic you will have an awful lot of choices.

Thing is she works in the NHS and has a big patch to cover which takes in a lot of rural areas. And our kids are at 2 different primary schools so drop offs/pick ups are a bastard without a car. Buses aren't practical sadly, and thankfully Stagecoach haven't infested themselves too badly into this part of the country.

Dont the NHS do lease cars anymore for such workers (Distict Nurses??)?
You get a new car at a reasonable price per month especially is you go for a smallish cheaper end car with no tax / insurance etc.
Alternatively the NHS give an essential car user allowance that would help in financing the car you are talking about buying.
Thats the problem in that public transport is often impracticable for many people and i understand the issue you have.

So how did it go?

Vroooommm...beep beep.

They've knocked it on the head, cos of austerity. All in it together etc. The car she has now is on one of those leases, but in runs out in March.

I've asked to email our lass all the terms. He said he would throw in free MOTs for life etc.

Once it comes in I'll go back with a lower figure.

Free Mot's for life òoooh errrrr missus

This>

Offer £5995 which they will reject, and settle for £6995, hopefully, you save a grand, they make 500, or the other way around, depending on how the negotiation/haggling pans out.

Play them at their own game. Offer 6000. It sounds a lot closer to 7995 than 5995 does.
Tell them if they find a better price elsewhere once you've bought it you'll refund them the difference.

I was told by a used car salesman their mark up is 30% and to buy at the end of the month (targets)

I fucking hate buying cars. Regardless of the deal I always think they've had my pants down

The NHS where my daughter works down south still do lease cars but you have to do a certain amount of miles to annually too qualify for one which doesn’t include the journey too the main place of work.

Some garages won’t give you much discount for cash, they want you too take finance, Gap Insurance etc. Evans Halshaw price match, if you can find a similar vehicle cheaper at another dealer they will match the price.

So what was the outcome Mr Nottingham?