Car & Bike How to talk at a Car Dealership ?

raksrules

raksrules

Elite
Next month i am coming to Mumbai for a week and i along with my FIL are going to few of the Hyundai Car dealerships to get best rates and such details for a car which we have tentatively finalized (Eon Era+). But we do not want to just go to a single dealer and finalize things, we want to go to 2-3 dealers at the least and see what they have to say.
But since we are all noobs when it comes to cars, can experienced people and car owners tell me how to talk at a dealership ?
Like what questions to ask, how to try getting best price and haggle, what most important queries to ask, how to try extracting the best ?
Whatever details you all can give will be appreciated.
We plan to go to these showrooms acting as if this is their first showroom we are visiting and have a set budget and we shall ask them to suggest what we should buy, rather than we telling what we want and we have pre decided.

I am not part of any car related forums so i posted here.
 
Just like any other showroom. Talk about the price and the discounts/freebies what you can get with the car. Generally the showrooms offer insurance and car accessories at a higher price then the local market. Also if you getting your car financed then Nationalized banks have lower rate of interest then private banks. Do get a quote on that. Finally insists that the dealer do not ask for anything extra for registration for the car except for the official charges. If he insists bargain hard on that price. Also do a PDI before registration of the car and make sure that the tyres of the car of good make(Like in case of Swifts there was cars came with either JK or MRF in which MRF was a better OEM quality).

Regarding which car to buy... Mention your requirements and your budget. There will be loads of people to help you out here with that. Make sure you take a test drive all the cars you have selected before making the final decision. Test drives are free at all the major showrooms.
 
Ok few clarifications..

In most probability we won't be taking insurance from the dealership, my FIL has a friend in insurance company and he is going to arrange for insurance.
For financing, my FIL works in a bank of Baroda and he is taking loan from his bank only. I think he told me max he can get is 80% of the ex-showroom price of the car.
 
Some pointers from me -
  • Try not to look very interested in the car or the sales talk spouted by the salesman
  • Have proper knowledge of the competitor's offerings - often draw comparison to competitor's offerings - example - the alto has cheaper servicing costs and spare parts - what about hyundai
  • Quote horror stories people have with their cars -- not necessarily with the eon -- but alter it to fit the eon in particular and hyundai in general
  • Ask for discounts and draw comparisons to pricing from other dealers - quote dealership name and location
  • These are dark and difficult times for the auto industry - they will do anything to make a sale
  • Ask for freebies like car accessories, etc
 
The day I deal is,
First I get the price online. Very easy. Go to online sites like carwale and get the net price.
Dont ask for accessories as part of discount. Infact if they offer, simply tell em that car mats, mud flaps are so cheap anyways, I rather install myself.
As sunny rightly said, show interest but also talk abt other cars so that the sales rep knows that ur looking around. Infact carry other car brochures.
At first meeting itself ask for offer and mention ur only interested in upfront discount. Here itself u will know if the dealer is the right dealership for you or you need to look elsewhere.
Assuming me has offered a upfront discount, at final nego ask for accessories as a deal breaker mentioning other dealership names and things they are willing to offer...

The thing is, whilst dealers are desperate to sell, hyundai and maruti ain't doing too bad and might not offer anything gr8.

If nothing works on the upfront path, ask for free extended warranty and road side assistance.
 
It's best to talk to 2-3 dealers by calling them home.

Next tell them that you expect mats and mud guards for free as everyone gives them.

Let them know that you do not need insurance and paint protection, after that ask them what can they offer instead?

Stress on accessories or cash discount, depending on preference.

I got a 13k cash discount plus mats/mud guards plus illuminated door sill plates for i20 like that.

Do not use another dealer's quote as a bargain till the end.

They might try and push a GPS tracker or something similar for the car, but don't get it if you don't want it.

Let them know what you want plus something extra in the middle of discussions, so that even if they reduce something, you get what you want.

Don't push for very high discounts as it might make things go in a negative way.
 
Read the car buying and post buying delivery check guidelines posted on team bhp, perhaps better help than anything you will get on a new thread here. Remember you need registration to post but you can read the entire threads as a guest anyway.
 
<OFF Topic> Consider micra activa starting 3.5L onwards, just launched and eon is a bb as compared to it in just (20k) bucks </Off Topic>
 
Hyundai Eon also has a problem with its gear stick. It vibrates quite noticeably while driving. This was told to me by the Sales rep at a Hyundai showroom last month here in Kolkata. You could use that as a bargaining chip too. And definitely tell them that you are looking around for the best deal.
When I had gone to the showroom and chatted with the sales rep for a bit, he asked me about colour preference. I told him I liked the Ember Grey. Suddenly, almost by magic, his boss appeared and informed me that they only have one unit in stock with that colour. I almost laughed out loud at that point.
So be aware of these small sales tricks.
 
Yes i will try to see if they pull any trick like low stock and only one piece left and such things. After i am back from the dealership, i will reply here as what experience i had.
 
if you want a really good deal, the best carrot is always that payment will be full cash upfront. for any dealer, cash is king, and a upfront paying customer is an immediate deal viz a loan applying customer who gets a few days to further look around.
 
Went to couple of other dealerships and prices were more or less the same. They say more offers can be done for pricier cars and not on the lower models like we want.

Went to Continental Hyundai at Khar/Bandra and the only discount they were giving was free insurance. And max discount of like 6-7K from dealer side.
Then went to Modi Hyundai at Santacruz and the sales guy there showed little interest when we told our budget was 4L on road. Seems he hates people who buy cheaper cars. :mad:

Although i don't know if my FIL has confirmed or not buy will be buying from Sreenath Hyundai, Andheri west as my FIL has a friend who knows the people in the dealership and can give better discounts.

Not sure what they bought but it is Hyundai Eon, not sure if Era+ or Magna
 
axeman said:
if you want a really good deal, the best carrot is always that payment will be full cash upfront. for any dealer, cash is king, and a upfront paying customer is an immediate deal viz a loan applying customer who gets a few days to further look around.
Click to expand...

Actually, the most in demand customer is the one who is willing to finance through the dealer. They get a small percentage back from the company financing the car. What I did was to get an amount pre-approved from my bank. At the dealer, I said that I would be willing to go through his financier if they beat the deal my bank offered me. He is giving me a discount for that.

I have been talking to various dealers this last week and I find that I really dislike the process. (I am in the US but my dad tells me it is the exact same thing in India). Each one gave me the runaround. They don't have the base trim in stock so that you are forced to pay for extra packages. At every dealer, I clearly mentioned that I don't care for any upgrades and that I don't have a colour preference (I did, but don't let them know;). After the test drive, even if you are very happy with everything, say that something about the car displeases you. Maybe the accelerator response is bad or the blind spot is large or the car has a lot of body roll. After this, ask for a quote (in writing). Be upfront that you will shop with a couple of other dealers as well. Then take the lowest quote and go to the others and see if they are willing to beat it. Price negotiation is a power struggle but they hold a lot more information than you do.

As an aside, I lucked out a bit. Found an out-of-state dealer on a forum who was offering a 7.5% lower price than all my local dealers. Placed a deposit with him, hopefully I get it sometime in September.
 
@whatsinaname

Spot on. We talked about full upfront payment and they said they do not get anything when the customer pays full and they can offer better discount if we finance through the dealership.
 
Guys, me along with my family are planning to go to Solitaire Honda this Sunday to check out the brio AT. Can anyone suggest me what all to ask there ? My younger brother will be doing the TD since he knows car driving better. I am expecting no discounts on AT model. So please suggest what all questions I should be asking.
 
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