Are you falling for the car psychology trap?

Pickle, I think many are like that! Amazing, considering dealers should be biting your arm off to get business.

I definitely agree with thinking with your head, but at the end of the day only your heart will tell you if its the right car for you. But, to ease the pain on your head, I would definitely recommend looking at guides such as the Which? maker reliability charts (i.e. don’t buy anything French!), think about what you need the car for and what features you want, dismiss anything unstylish (that’ll be anything Korean, Malaysian or Chinese then) and then, to find out which models contain the specs that suit my taste and budget read through the reviews on Which?, buy a copy of the magazine of a certain well-known car entertainment show on BBC2 on Sunday nights or visit the manufacturers own websites. If you want to save serious money be prepared to research!

Then, once you’ve narrowed it right down try and get quotes from a number of good internet sales sites, print the quotes out and pop into your local dealer and ask them to price match. If they don’t, walk away. What have you got to lose?

Finally, if you are thinking of part-ex-ing your old car check the prices of cars of similar mileage and condition that are for sale on well-known sales sites (such as Auto Trader). If you can, sell it privately but this takes time and is less convenient. Sounds a lot of effort but for many people a car is the second most expensive purchase they’ll ever make and no one wants to end up with an expensive mistake.

I managed to save £5k off the list price of a Best Buy Ford Kuga (almost £3k less than the target price recommended by some car mags and only about £2k more than ones a year old) using those steps above and sell my old car privately, £600 more than what the dealer offered part-ex. £600 is £600!

PS If you can afford to buy a new car, do. If you’re worried about forecourt depreciation – it’s an urban myth. Most are based on drops from the list price, and not even the target price. No publisher seems to factor in the huge discounts offered by a good dealer before working out any forecourt depreciation, the rate of which remains pretty constant throughout a car’s life.

I now only buy S/H cars – and only from friends whom I trust. My buying new experiences were not good enough (the cars did not wear well enough)

Since my buy only S/H – the cars have been cheap in price and excellent value. In one case selling my current car for more than the cost of the “new” S/H car!

It’s not as hard as you think. Before you set foot outside your front door repeat “I’ll think about it” several times. Let this be your mantra; whatever the question from the salesman, the answer is “I’ll think about it”. Also, tell him/her that you’re researching, and will make your final decision next week, or at the end of the month, etc.

In forty years of driving this has only failed me once (when the used car in question sold while I was thinking). But it’s worked to my advantage numerous times; one dealer, having tried desperately to close the deal on a Friday, rang me up early on Saturday morning (I was still asleep in bed!). Groggy, half asleep and in no mood to talk, I told him I liked the car but wanted a better price – he immediately offered a further 10% discount.

It can be difficult sometimes. Once, many years ago, I was expecting a trade-in offer of around £900 for my old car, thinking I might negotiate to £1,150. The dealer offered me £1,500. I staggered backwards then croaked “I’ll think about it”. I was back on his forecourt before the dealership opened the next morning!

And don’t fall for the “Special Offer that Ends Today” ploy either. Become irritated with the dealer and say “I told you quite clearly that I’m not buying until the end of the month. What will be your price at the end of the month? So that I can compare your price with other dealers?”

I’ll wager 10p the “Special Offer” will be extended “Especially For You”.

On the darker side, for new cars, manufacturers are wise to the ploys. Last time I considered buying a Volkswagen, the salesman asked me bluntly where I was going for my next quote. When I told him he said simply “That’s OK, they’re one of us.” It took less than a minute to establish that virtually all the VW dealers within 40 miles were one and the same company – despite trading under different names. An ex-Volvo dealer told me the same; they’d lost their franchise because Volvo wanted one single company to have all the dealerships in the North of England.

I got a very good deal buying a new car via the website. I compared the prices quoted by different car websites as well. I even went to our local car dealer and they couldn’t match the price and advised me to just buy the car from the website ! It was a saving of at least £3500 and their optional equipment are also offered cheaply. I was wary at first buying from them but realized that some are through proper main car dealers so overall, I am very pleased with the transaction.