Discount on options

[giddleberry]

I already have a quote on a base GTI that I am happy with and I was wondering how much of a discount I should expect once I put some options on?

Probably looking at ~5k worth

ACC
Leather
MDI

Thanks

[Nath]

Who knows, it all depends on the dealer, their margin and how willing they are to sell. Given you've already got a quote you're happy with I guess you could aim for the same percentage discount that you got on the base model with the options.

What did you get it for if you dont mind us all asking?

[giddleberry]

$42600 driveaway for a 5 door with DSG. Corp discount inc.

I think that's pretty reasonable. I'm not looking to screw the dealer out of every last cent I just want to get a fair price myself.

[Skoda Convert]

$42600 driveaway for a 5 door with DSG. Corp discount inc.

I think that's pretty reasonable. I'm not looking to screw the dealer out of every last cent I just want to get a fair price myself.

You say this but yet you are on a forum to see whether you can squeeze more out of him so this statement is very contradictory. I think you will fond thought that dealers have 10/5ths of nothing when it comes to margin on options. You might have a win within a few hundred but if you re expecting another 10-15% off the $5k you are being a little unrealistic.

If you are happy with the price just but it, most have paid retail to date so you are already thousands in front

[giddleberry]

I don't feel I'm being contradictory. I just wanted to know if i should expect a discount on options, a question which you seem to have answered already so thanks

[trueman]

quoted just under 50K for mine with corp discount. Expected more but its not a buyers market (yet)

[Christopher]

With the option that I selected, the 18" detroits, I was only able to get $100 off. The dealer showed me their margin sheet for options and that indicated that they earn bascially nothing on the options (e.g they had $57 margin on the wheels). Whether I should have taken to it with a grain of salt, that's another matter, but he'd been pretty good / honest with me...

I've also heard similar stories for mates who've optioned new cars, not vw's though.

[gregozedobe]

The dealer showed me their margin sheet for options and that indicated that they earn bascially nothing on the options (e.g they had $57 margin on the wheels). Whether I should have taken to it with a grain of salt, that's another matter, but he'd been pretty good / honest with me...

"I'm showing you the computer screen to prove I'm making hardly any $$$ on this sale" is a classic car sales ploy. While the figures may be technically "accurate" in one sense, they definitely won't be the whole story, with all sorts of different adjustments, bonuses etc happening behind the scenes between the dealer and the manufacturer/importer that they definitely won't tell you about. I've had these screens shown to me several times in the last 10 years, and every time I had the feeling I was being misled. Especially when you go to another dealer and they offer to sell you the exact same new vehicle for less than the "cost price" you saw on the screen at the previous dealers. They are hardly going to sell a new car for less than it costs them.

Lets's face it, if there really was that little profit in selling new cars wouldn't most dealers go broke very quickly ? Common sense and logic says they certainly wouldn't be occupying all the expensive real estate that they do, couldn't afford to build very costly (sometimes extravagently so) new car showrooms, wouldn't be able to carry all that expensive stock (new cars and demos) to show you, wouldn't driving around in nice cars, couldn't afford to have a whole heap of salespeople trying to sell you a new car, etc etc.

A better indication of a really good deal is when a salesperson admits they just can't match that price and send you off to the other dealer to buy - then you know you are getting close to the best possible price. Salespeople really hate to lose a sale because then they get nothing for their time and effort in trying to sell to you.

I dislike the business model prevalent in new (and used) car sales in Oz. Many salespeople seem to have no loyalty to the brand or the dealer. They are effectively an independent consultant who earns most of their money by making sales. This tends to lead to an attitude of "do whatever it takes to make the sale", even if it isn't in the best interest of the customer.

If they don't think you are a genuine prospect then you will be ignored, or at best treated very perfunctorily. It also explains the high turnover in sales people, as they are constantly looking for a better deal for themselves.

The sales process is also often treated as a "zero-sum game" by both the salesperson and buyer ie if the buyer can get $500 off then the dealer gets $500 less profit. This can lead to an unpleasant transaction where both parties end up unsatisfied with the final result.

I'm sure there are some really horrible salespeople out there, but I've also noticed some buyers around that I would not like to deal with, to say the least.

And no, I don't know what the answer is - if I did I'd get into new car sales and make a million or two for myself (while leaving every single one of my buyers very, very happy)

[elisiX]

I gotta agree with most of the above. I cannot stand sales people and the car industry as a while - it's disgusting. When buying just about any other goods (TV's to Pizza), you are generally not ever put in a situation which makes you feel awkward. With buying a new or used car however, unless you are a strong, cocky and confident person, you get walked all over and take for a ride. If you dare to buy elsewhere and give them the courtesy of informing them and thanking them for their time, they're generally rude and really pissed off - another awkward moment.

When I put down a deposit for the new GTI, I felt i'd negotiated a fairly good deal. That evening I joined this forum and realised I was a little bit off the best price. Exercising my rights (cooling off period) to cancel the deal, I simply called them and told them I was cancelling unless they made the deal better by $1500-2000. They didn't like that but had no other choice and I ended up having a few extra options included rather than reducing the overall price (hurts them less I imagine).

Very happy with the 10-11% discount we achieved in the end.

[gareth_oau]

another option is to treat it like a tender.

create a list of the car you want with all the options.

give it to a few dealers (including some interstate ones), and ask them to price it up, with all the options individaully priced,

when you get tall the quotes back, cherry-pick the best prices from the list, to create your hypothetical best price, then go back to the dealer(s) who you think are most willing to negotiate and advise them that their quoted options are overpriced and are they willing to match.

Dont forget they are experts at human psychology, so dont be weak with them

[gregozedobe]

another option is to treat it like a tender.

create a list of the car you want with all the options.

give it to a few dealers (including some interstate ones), and ask them to price it up, with all the options individaully priced,

when you get tall the quotes back, cherry-pick the best prices from the list, to create your hypothetical best price, then go back to the dealer(s) who you think are most willing to negotiate and advise them that their quoted options are overpriced and are they willing to match.

Dont forget they are experts at human psychology, so dont be weak with them

That is more or less what I did. A useful tip is to phone a salesperson at each dealer, you will probably get a much better response than if you send emails to a whole lot of dealers. Some dealers still haven't figured out they might sell more cars if they respond promptly to emails from potential customers.