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After much pondering the wife and i have decided to take the plunge with a motorhome. We like the layout of the Swift Sundance 630l, i have found a brand spanky new(old stock) one for £35k at a dealer. Now would i be better trying to haggle this down (when i say i, i mean the wife Mrs Haggle) or would there be more price leeway at a show? We have no part-ex but we do have a fistful of cash to wave at them.
You are a concern for sure! You are very anxious with a time scale on getting what you want - bad for negotiating!
I have been in sales for years and have taught many sales people and currently as others know run my own company.
The problem you have is that sales people can and will read you like a book.
Your job is be the canny customer who is looking for a bargain. A tough thing when you want to get it ordered in a week or so.
What a pity you will not be at the Shepton show at the weekend. Whilst I am not in my RV I will be visiting on Saturday.
So what tips can I give you and not in person and in a hurry?
1. You are NOT going to buy from the first person you deal with.
2. When you ask a question, be quiet and let the saleman answer and then LISTEN to what he has to say. Golden rule in selling and buying when a question is asked, the FIRST person to speak has LOST. Trust me I know.
3. Do not mention any extras you want until AFTER you have negotiated the best price.
4. The best price is based on YOUR requirements NOT the salesman's.
5. Do NOT believe the salesman, whatever he says and however NICE he seems. He is there to make MONEY from you and feed his family.
6. Make sure the salesman knows you ARE looking elsewhere and looking for the BEST price. Example would be to have a guide book with notes and in LARGE letters details of a nearby dealer. Don't worry about the salesman reading upside down, he is trained to do that.
7. If the salesman becomes disinterested then become disinterested in him. There are LOTS and LOTS of people selling what you want.
8. Do NOT make a decision on the day that is what the salesman WANTS and NEEDS, you do NOT, you WANT and NEED the best deal.
9. The salesman will do his best to be a FRIEND, never forget he is NOT a FRIEND, he is as mentioned trying to make a living out of YOU!
10. When you have the BEST price, guess what? You can get a better deal so remember DON'T accept it however much the salesman tries to make you. Walk away and when you contact him very casually tomorrow after you have checked a couple of things out, get the price down again.
11. A salesman's job is to ask you an open question, anything that starts with, 'WHO, WHAT, WHY, WHERE, WHEN and HOW. Each of these added into a question will mean you have to answer with a sentence, for example 'WHEN where you looking at buying?' A closed question will only give a yes or no response. For example 'are you going to buy today?' So armed with this information you must turn the tables on the salesman. 'WHY are you only giving us this discount?' 'WHEN can the motorhome be ready?' The salesman has to think and he is not as good at that as he is at selling. You will then get him in an awkward position, this is the time to keep ASKING open questions and keep pinning him down. Then of course don't accept his best offer, as mentioned above, walk away and call tomorrow.
I could go on forever and believe me I have trained a lot of people and made a good living out of selling. I am the odd one out though, when I sell it becomes a full time relationship with the client. But guess what? The reason is I want to know your friends and relatives!
Good luck in your quest and I hope that this small lesson is of use to you.
Also you've got no trade in You're in a strong position. Dont let them see your keen to buy & let them know you're more than happy to go elsewhere should you not get a satisfactory deal. Another thing to bear in mind is all the extra's that you'll "need" Include all of these in with the haggling. There's no point bringing them up once you've agreed a price on the vehicle. If you've haggled strongly they'll be keen to recoup some of the price on the vehicle & you'll pay top money for the extras.
If it is last year's model ask for twenty per cent discount. Tell him or her it is a cash sale today and then do not say any more. As already stated, the next one to speak has lost.
If you have the patience and are prepared to walk away you will probably get over 15 per cent off. Do not accept the first or second offer, keep your cool and wait.
When the price is agreed then start with the free extras you want.
John
Well they would knock £1500 off which was not enough for me. He was coming with the it's the last 1 we have. We'll give them a bell tomorrow an see if we can get some more knocked off.
I've been offered between £1000 and £1500 discount of a new 2007 models. So I would defiantly be wanting £3000+ of a 2006 especially as you have no P/X and the cash. Just be patient you will get a good deal, if not that M/H you will find another for sure.
Imagine the deal the other way around. If you owned the motorhome and wanted to sell it for £35,000 the dealer would offer you £28,000 and hope to settle for £31,000.
Decide how much you want the motorhome and set your price. If you cannot get it for that price walk away and look at the other 10,000 motorhomes that are for sale at the moment.
In haggling befriend the dealer, he will be happier to give a mate a bigger discount than someone who he does not like
stew
Last edited by artona on Thu Feb 01, 2007 6:06 am; edited 1 time in total
I agree with the comments made by Chris 100%. No need for tricks or gimmicks here, all you need to do is to print out the advice given by him and practice it. Be non committal and do not allow "friendship", be businesslike at all times, the salesman / woman will try to befriend you, it is an age old trick, do not under any circumstances fall for it.... Ever....
I hope the negotiation goes well for you and it should providing you are as focussed as the guy selling to you.
I would also agree with the 15-20% discount for cash theory, they want it gone quickly now, so decide your figure and do not deviate from it. Bear in mind that they may try to induce you with a "package" price to include all the goodies that you want, but be careful not to pay inflated prices to get a deal, consider the toys you want and get an idea of the cost of obtaining them from another source, then you will know if it is a good deal or not.....
By the way, I am not just typing this without knowledge, my wife has been selling capital equipment (very high value) for many years and has been paid handsomely for parting customers from their cash so as Chris says (quote|)"Your job is be the canny customer who is looking for a bargain."
Good luck and please let us know how you get on....
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Spain
You're in a strong position. Dont let them see your keen to buy & let them know you're more than happy to go elsewhere should you not get a satisfactory deal. Another thing to bear in mind is all the extra's that you'll "need" Include all of these in with the haggling. There's no point bringing them up once you've agreed a price on the vehicle. If you've haggled strongly they'll be keen to recoup some of the price on the vehicle & you'll pay top money for the extras.
