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Hi folks,

I'm starting the hunt for a ~07 NC tomorrow taking one for a test drive, I'm going to take a few for a drive before I make any decisions. Just wondering if anyone has any experience with how hard you can negotiate on prices for a car like this, I haven't had too much car buying practise!

Cheers

count-ant wrote:Hi folks,

I'm starting the hunt for a ~07 NC tomorrow taking one for a test drive, I'm going to take a few for a drive before I make any decisions. Just wondering if anyone has any experience with how hard you can negotiate on prices for a car like this, I haven't had too much car buying practise!

Cheers

If the price seems too much just say so and walk away! If they have your name and number they will ring

zero00 wrote:

count-ant wrote:Hi folks,

I'm starting the hunt for a ~07 NC tomorrow taking one for a test drive, I'm going to take a few for a drive before I make any decisions. Just wondering if anyone has any experience with how hard you can negotiate on prices for a car like this, I haven't had too much car buying practise!

Cheers

If the price seems too much just say so and walk away! If they have your name and number they will ring

Haha thanks for that! Problem is I'm not quite sure what a good price is yet.

Going to see this tomorrow, guess I should view a few first.. http://www.carsales.com.au/dealer/detai ... id=5259918

Never ever tell them your budget, as they'll charge right up to it if you're over the odds. Have a cap in mind, stick to it.

That car is priced well compared to others on CarSales but the reality is that they probably gave $12000 for it. Because most private sellers have no idea what their car is worth and price it on what they see ASKED on CarSales rather on what it sells for there is a huge gap, If you like it offer $2000 less than you think it is worth and walk away leaving your details and be prepared to negotiate.

If you are a no trade buyer don't give away that advantage without getting value from that position.There will be other cars.

I buy about 15 cars a year for others and find this works well except when it is MY car and then emotion bows all the logic out the door!!!

Good luck, Peter.

Don't get sucked into paying crazy prices for Tint, paint protection or break down services.

If they keep you at the dealership and screw you around "I have to talk to the manager" etc for over an hour then walk away. It's their trick to make you feel you've spent so long there you will sign anything to just get the process over and done with.

ALWAYS make sure there are both the keys with the car, don't take the car salesman's word for this and include them as an item on the contract, because consumer protection will do fark all if it's not a listed item ... you can guess how I know this.

Thanks for the advice everyone, I'm not looking to make any negotiations yet but it's valuable information so thanks for taking the time. I'll let you know how my first mx5 drive goes tomorrow

I'm actually lucky to be paying cash for the car when I find one I like, should I be able to use this later on to bargain with? I always thought they would prefer trade ins and loans to increase their margins?

Tradeins are most of the time helping to run down the age/value of their stock so there is a point when they don't want one and will just sell it off to a dealer of lower priced cars or auction.

I know this is not a new car but when buying new I have never had a better result(changeover) trading in compared to selling the trade privately for a realistic price and getting a no trade discount,usually between $2000- $5000 off list(not special) price.

As always the dealer may have paid a bit more for this and want to get it back,may be overstocked and want it gone, be due to pay the rent and need $$$ or a heap of other variables that will influence what they will sell for.Your task is to find that level and always start low,on that car(if it is the one for you) i would offer $17000 and be prepared to be ridiculed, walk away and see what happens.

As others have said take care and drive a few even if the first one seems great.

Peter.

Thanks for the details pcmx5, I was thinking I would be best selling my current car and getting a decent price for it over a trade in anyway, but I was unaware that you could get a discount for not trading in!

I posted the wrong link yesterday, actually saw this red 07 model http://www.carsales.com.au/dealer/detai ... =2&sdmvc=1. Was great to actually get inside one and take it for a drive! Unfortunately it had deep scratches on the driver door that looks to be from the reflectors, also both side mirrors have been scratched along the side with some heavy wearing on the leather seat.. probably from having to slide into the seat?

A bit OT for this thread but I found it had a difficult 2nd gear to engage, but coming from my 6n polo which is like shifting sticks of butter around, including the clutch I might just not be used it.

My understanding is that the shifter sits over the gearbox and doesn't have the usual setup (wires I think) making the shifting gears a bit more mechanical feeling, also a really tough/short clutch, is this the same for all MX5's?

Anyway I had a blast taking it for a drive with the top up and down (coupe version), took a bit of getting used to driving it but next time I should take it on the freeway and take an extended drive to really put it through it's paces. Anyway sorry for the long post you might not care about haha.. it is a very different driving experience to my current, I want to say it feels heavier probably from less electronic assistance. I shall stop spilling my thoughts now but it was a good experience, and I definitely don't think that car was worth the 20K tag!

We've been following a commodore wagon at a country dealer for 6 weeks. He started at 10 g's and it was still advertised at that price when we got it yesterday for 5 and a half! I know it's a different vehicle but hey there is either a lot of fat in dealer prices or things are pretty tough out there - I think the latter applies in this case. A wagon has a different market but there are a lot of NC's around for the number of buyers and if you're not in a hurry shoot low. If you fall in love then of course you'll find any excuse to pay top dollar!

trader wrote:We've been following a commodore wagon at a country dealer for 6 weeks. He started at 10 g's and it was still advertised at that price when we got it yesterday for 5 and a half! I know it's a different vehicle but hey there is either a lot of fat in dealer prices or things are pretty tough out there - I think the latter applies in this case. A wagon has a different market but there are a lot of NC's around for the number of buyers and if you're not in a hurry shoot low. If you fall in love then of course you'll find any excuse to pay top dollar!

Good advice trader, shows how willing they will be to mark it down to get the sale. Did you make lower offers originally or just waited around for it to sit unsold before making an offer? I'm okay waiting a couple months I think to find exactly what I want and get a decent price, however I'm a little worried there might not be as many NC's around Perth as the eastern states.. who knows

I have a permanent search set up for NC's under 100000 klms on CarSales and there are 7 in WA under $20000 at the moment so you may have more choice than you think..A couple including a 2007 HT have been there a while and have come down considerably.With the new MX being talked about under $40k I don't think NC's are going to do anything but go down in price so it may be worth off loading your car first and being in a position to bargain hard,with plenty of choice.

Peter.

pcmx5 wrote:I have a permanent search set up for NC's under 100000 klms on CarSales and there are 7 in WA under $20000 at the moment so you may have more choice than you think..A couple including a 2007 HT have been there a while and have come down considerably.With the new MX being talked about under $40k I don't think NC's are going to do anything but go down in price so it may be worth off loading your car first and being in a position to bargain hard,with plenty of choice.

Peter.

Great idea, I actually just set up a search. It seems crazy that the price can range from ~18k-25k for nearly the same car but I know which I would prefer With the new ND not expected til mid-late next year I wouldn't think it be likely the prices would drop for awhile until it is actually released.. don't think I can wait that long!

count-ant wrote:

pcmx5 wrote:I have a permanent search set up for NC's under 100000 klms on CarSales and there are 7 in WA under $20000 at the moment so you may have more choice than you think..A couple including a 2007 HT have been there a while and have come down considerably.With the new MX being talked about under $40k I don't think NC's are going to do anything but go down in price so it may be worth off loading your car first and being in a position to bargain hard,with plenty of choice.

Peter.

With the new ND not expected til mid-late next year I wouldn't think it be likely the prices would drop for awhile until it is actually released.. don't think I can wait that long!

BUT they won't go up!!! They have already taken a fairly big hit in the last few months,with the ones that are selling being at the lower end of the price range,the others just sit there.

Peter.

pcmx5 wrote:
BUT they won't go up!!!

Peter.

Good point, thanks for your advice!