How much discount should I ask when buying a used car?
October 26, 2009 | Posted by Rajendrasinh Padhiar 
Frozen M asked:
I’m looking at a Mercedes C280, the internet price is $24,000. It’s a little below blue book, just a little. It’s not certified. The new C-class just came out, so the prices for the old model should go down, I assume.
1. How much discount should I ask for? 10%, 5%….
2. Would it be different if buying from a dealer vs private seller?
This is the internet price already. The price on the windshield is way higher. I asked if the price is negotiable and the salesman said it’s “take it or leave it” because the price is already so low.
I’m looking at a Mercedes C280, the internet price is $24,000. It’s a little below blue book, just a little. It’s not certified. The new C-class just came out, so the prices for the old model should go down, I assume.
1. How much discount should I ask for? 10%, 5%….
2. Would it be different if buying from a dealer vs private seller?
This is the internet price already. The price on the windshield is way higher. I asked if the price is negotiable and the salesman said it’s “take it or leave it” because the price is already so low.
Categories: Buying & Selling | 
Tags: Blue Book, Buying Car, Old Model | 
3 Comments »
Normally when buying from a dealership the prices are marked up by $3,000 after the reconditioning costs. In other words, the dealer’s gross on a certain car’s “lot-up” price is roughly $3,000. Internet markups are not that much. Maybe $1,500 if that. Now the salesman gets paid on that gross, so do remember not to beat him too much. There is no set percentage but normally i would hit them low, maybe, $2,000 below the asking price, but at the same time, tell the salesman that you will buy today. Gets them going and working.
Now working with a private seller, you don’t get the dependibility, or the name of a dealership associated with the car. But you can always low ball a private seller but not a dealership, some will tell you to go away after a certain point.
yeah, typically 2500-3500 depending on how good they bought the car at auction or trade.
99% of the time, they expect to never get that much gross. They will pretty much accept any deal with a positive gross, even if its only $100 if the unit has been on the lot more than 3 months. If its been there longer, they’ll take small loss just to move the unit.
But be fair.
Most salesman work on commision only, and sometimes its a draw/commision. The Draw is based on minimum/wk and they must sell at least that amount to earn a commision check. Otherwise it carries over to the next month and they’re in the hole. The minimum commission they get paid is usually $100 a unit. If a salesman sells only 8 cars (thats the national average) thats only $800 for the month if they don’t gross. If their draw is $1000 for the month, that $200 difference carries over and they will need to commission at least $1200 just make any extra money next month. It gets vicious…I was once 1000+ in the hole to the dealership and never got another commision check for almost 7 months.
Fair gross would be 1500…that gets the salesman a decent $375 commission.
Typically the internet is pretty much the lowest price. Dealerships know that if they put a car on line, consumers will easily show the price, so they put their best foot forward. They use those low priced cars to help bring more people in the door in hopes they will buy a different unit. If the price fits your budget and is comparable to similar make, models, miles, and options, I would jump on it.
Buying from a dealer usually gives you more leverage later if you have problems with the car. Dealers will usually service vehicles they sold before ones that were bought elsewhere. Good Luck and I hope this helps!