carwow website and buying a new car

[p4ilip]

Hi Folks,
Ive always been pleased about the fact ive never bought a new car so I'm not fully up to speed with the ins and outs of this but my wife is looking for a 'new' Mercedes Gla 220 4 matic with Amg pack.
I found this site which allows you to build a car and then dealers quote a best price. On the face of it it looks very good as a dealer has quoted over £5000 off a new car which in turn the local dealer is likely to match. In fact he said I could have a new one this week and pcp looks to be quite a good option although I'm trying to get my head round it as with used cars ive always just bought them outright. So my question is,

1. Is £5k off RRP a good discount these days or am I falling into some trap here thinking ive got a good deal when infact I could have double this discount?

2. Id have thought if they can do this on a new car they should be able to do a lot better on a used car. Perhaps £5k off and then an extra 20% off as its tainted slightly having been used and cars are supposedly meant to lose 20% in the first year.
However, so far this doesn't seem to be the case unless the guy just didn't like me?
I spoke with the guy at the used section who wasn't particularly helpful. He wanted more for a demonstrator than the price ive been quoted for a new one and id have to wait for it where as the new one I can have this week!

Any advice appreciated.

[renmure]

I can't offer much, other than say that I follow a lot of the threads on PH about new car buying and what you have outlined above for new cars appearing to be easier to buy and cheaper than nearly new seems par for the course due to discounts and incentives etc. Seemed odd to me but apparently not.

[p4ilip]

Its hard enough trying to change the mind set to buying a new car without being told that the used one is more. Its like the matrix.

[Shug]

Industry is incentivised on getting new metal out there. We've got to a point where it's got incrementally more and more important every year, that the manufacturers are willing to push such great deals and the dealers are willing to go so far to get their quotas that, yeah, it's now a genuine choice between new and a year or two old in some manufacturers cases, with it well loaded towards new.

The madness of the car game and the fact that it's all about numbers out the door, not always numbers in the kitty...

[tenkfeet]

There is also drive the deal. The manufacturer incentives , deposit contributions, discount finance on new cars make them easier to sell than nearly new.

If you can get one this week is it a pre-registered car, old model or just new stock? Dont think there are traps on discount as long as you have done your research.

Pcp is normally more expensive in the long run but payments are less. If you have the cash and the pcp interest rate is high you can just clear it after the first month and do not loose the manufacturer incentives, but check just in case. After your discount is applied and they tell you your monthly payments see if you can squeeze a bit more off by saying the payments are higher than you wanted to pay and its x amount over budget. £25 a month or what ever figure you choose is better in your pocket. If you are going down pcp watch for excess mileage fees and they dont put a low mileage limit to keep payments down. Only really matters if your handing back.

[j2 lot]

On a whim we thought about changing other halfs car a couple of weekends ago.
Our ' local' dealer for chosen brand is ar$ehole Clark
They cannot / will not sell you a new car - they pre- register cars and buy in such numbers that they can knock huge amounts off list. If you want to spec a car, you can't - take what we've got. If you want a car they don't stock - tough, we don't sell low volume models and can't get them for you even at full price.
We then looked up the dealer network and ar$ehole Clark almost have a monopoly in Scotland- in many brands. Not only that they apparently own some of the high end brand dealerships too albeit under other names so they aren't tainted with the AC 'pile em high' mentality.
We did find a dealer that wasn't AC but they have so low a turnover that they were trying to sell us unregistered 2015 model cars on a 66 plate ( we realised as the spec was different in the brochure)
The new car sales industry does appear to be in need of a shake up but I want to see/feel the car I'm buying not order on- line.....

[graeme]

I think if I was buying new I'd forget carwow and seek quotes personally from multiple dealers, so you at least make contact and let them know you're a serious customer and not just wasting their time. Give them an exact spec, and get the dealers bidding for your order.

My dad did exactly this, but gave each dealer only one go at their lowest price, no second chances. It worked out very well. None declined to bid. All bids were very close, and I'm fairly convinced he was, at most, a few hundred quid away from the best possible price. Certainly none of the dealers had another £500 up their sleeve.

[Rag_It]

my wife is looking for a 'new' Mercedes Gla 220 4 matic with Amg pack.


Any advice appreciated.

Philip, please do yourself a favour and go and see my friend Paul at Western Mercedes, tell him David Hay sent you, and that you've been on Car Wow etc, but he assured you that you'd do him a good deal.

p.geekie@easternholdings.co.uk if i am not mistaken. Based at Newbridge in Edinburgh. I've sent about 4 people his way this year, and they've all been delighted. Sanjoy chose to ignore and bought from Glasgow, as i missed him asking about buying a new Merc.

Cheers,

Dave