mk6 dealer negotiations

[chylld]

...some of the posts here are giving people crazy pre-conceived idea's that are setting them up to go and lock horns with dealers and inevitably have a bad buying experience.

All the posts here are straight facts, real numbers that real people have achieved on real deals from real dealers. There is nothing crazy here?

Moreover, I don't recall any of the buyers here having major problems with customer service?

[philthy]

When a customer buys a car they usually want three things:

1. A high quality car.
2. The best possible customer service.
3. The lowest possible price.

Unfortunately, this is not an ideal world. You will have to comprimise on one of the above to get some of the crazy deals you guys seem to want.

You want your cars well below cost price, with plenty of extras thrown in for free, your full tank of fuel, floor mats, etc, etc.

Why would you sell a car below cost? Do these customers walk in with a loaded gun? If sell a vehicle with full knowledge that you are losing money and you don't expect to recover it through servicing etc. then I don't see how you plan to stay in business.

And then, when something goes wrong, you expect the dealer to ben over backwards for you? Where does the mentality come from?

Why on earth is it unreasonable for a customer to expect a dealer to honour a warranty? Are you serious?

I am by no means wealthy, but I guess I was brought up differently. If it is quality and service you are after, then you have to pay for it. If you can't afford the service and support of a Volkswagen dealer then there is always Kia and Hyundai.

It's a Volkswagen, not a Bentley. Get your hand off it.

Bottem line, if it was not good enough for me at full price, then it certainly is not good enough at a discounted price. I am all for getting a good deal, dont get me wrong. But going by some of the attitudes on here, I think we would be far better off just closing the dealerships and simply ordering our cars online from Amazon at a fixed price.

Agreed, your attitude makes me think that's a great idea.

I wonder how many of you walk into Coles or Wolworths and try to get two cartons of Milk for the price of one??????

Interesting point. I buy woolies brand milk cos it's exactly the same as the more expensive stuff, just without the added marketing BS cost.

[logger]

Nice one Philphy. Your post cracked me up. Couldn't agree more.

All i am saying is buying a new car should be enjoyable, we don't do it every day and some of the posts here are giving people crazy pre-conceived idea's that are setting them up to go and lock horns with dealers and inevitably have a bad buying experience.

Skoda Convert,
Actually I don't really give a rats about the buying experience which last a day or tow at most. For me, it is the ownership and use of the car that should be enjoyable. My local dealer has excellent sales people, who are very professional and do a terrific job. But for me that is not sufficient reason to pay their principals $500 more for the car than another dealer. If the dealership wants my sale then they need to jiggle their spreadsheet so their best price is the best price. Simple really.
In any case Locking horns with the dealer is fun especially since I have the cheque book in my pocket. It is the Dealers turn to bend me over when I take my car in for a service.

Chylld, I commend you for creating this thread and the SS which is a terrific resource for savvy buyers. You could start a business doing this sort of stuff you know.

[chylld]

Chylld, I commend you for creating this thread and the SS which is a terrific resource for savvy buyers. You could start a business doing this sort of stuff you know.

I only made the SS; Rufus made this thread

[kevin118]

I've enjoyed these comments today. Some interesting observations that made me think.

I'm in the camp of not caring a great deal about the relationship with the sales person, but caring more about getting the right car at the right price. The way of the world is that there is a lot more information available to help influence the decision about what car to buy; and what might be an acceptable price.

My experience with VW sales staff is very limited, but I have no complaints at all. I'm sure they have to deal with all sorts.

I would prefer, though, not to have to haggle for a car at all. 'Fixed price: take or leave it' would be great but that isn't the market at the moment. Similarly airplane seats aren't the same price either. The ability to secure a good price for airplane seat / new car has nothing to do with the service / quality expected.

I concede that the kind of people that play the sales game carefully (perhaps getting the better deals) may happen to be same kind of people that are particular about the product they get.

I've read many threads on this forum discussing 'problems' with their car, that I'd probably never notice, let alone complain about - which is a refection of my lack of technical knowledge. The quality of the car does not change (obviously) based on the price paid for it. Fussy knowledge people will be fussy and knowledge regardless of how they acquired the car.


btw Is the assertion that sales staff at VW get up to $150 commission for a 40K car right? I confess, I thought it was much higher.

[JasonP]

I have previously worked in new car sales, & have had my own experiences of buying new cars via a Car Broker, & negotiating with dealers directly myself.
I've always found that the buyer who screws every last cent out of the deal, ends up with the most hassles with the reliability of the car.
Buyers who know they've left a few dollars in the deal, end up in a Win/Win position.
They are happy to buy at that price, & the dealer is happy to sell at that price.
These are the buyers who never seem to have any warranty claims, or hassles with their new car.

Karma I think they call it......

[chylld]

It also depends how closely the sales and service departments are linked.

With my Honda (which I happily paid full price for), the salesman was super-friendly and assured me that he would personally take care of me to book services and make sure I get everything that I need. However once the car started having problems, he couldn't try harder to remember who I was, and when he did, he just forwarded me to the service dept who asked me the same questions all over again.

I know my Honda is just one case, but I wonder how VW is structured with regard to sales <-> service. IIRC the Sydney Parramatta sales centre is a few km away from the service centre...

[oileoi]

chylld thanks for giving me the 13.2% figure, i feel much better now.

[oileoi]

Cheers pologti18t, I ran APR yesterday and they told me all about the free trial and the upgrade

[aw611]

Hi all,
Thanks chylld for creating the SS.. been a long time reader of this thread and the info here help me a great deal in negotiating with the dealer which I have signed on the dotted line today!!

Golf 118TSI DSG
Sports Pack
Metallic Paint
Sunroof
MDI

$37k with Corp Plus discount..

I am really happy with the deal but delivery will be late Jan!!