B7 Passat Price Negotiations

[VAG newbie]

No need to trade in nor private sell. I lease my car every 1.5 years so always have to dispose my old car. The car broker also referred me to a company that helps you to sell the car.

Vehicle Auctions, Car Auctions, Online Auction - Pickles Auctions Australia

The car doesn't have to be a leased car. I recently sold my 2006 Honda Odyssey (standard) through them for $20000 in 2 weeks. Tried to sell through dealer for 6 months with no luck. Forget redbook, they are just guide only and it can really misguide you. It says my car would worth $29990, but no one enquire about my car even when i dropped to $20000. Get an evaluation with the trade in and see what they give you, then try Pickles.

All I had to do was fill out a form with info of my car (they didn't even look at it) they gave me an estimate of $18000-21000. Then all you have to do is drop your car off at their depot. One in each capital city.

They sold over $20000 (They take 4.4% of sell price as commission, and something like $180 to detail your car, so I got $19600 in my pocket), so very good estimate.

[Buzy_Robot]

Thanks VAG newbie - I'll keep your advice in mind.

[VAG newbie]

You must be talking about fleet pricing to get over $7000 off. I understand that a stock125TDI has well less than that in total margin.

That's why you use a broker. They get fleet discount which average Joe like you and me don't have. I used to consider myself a good negotiator. But since I've used car broker I never gone back.

In fact there was once I told the salesman that I will be using a car broker, immediately I was referred to the fleet manager, and I was given $4500 discount immediately, guess they really want the business and they realize no point mucking around with me (it was also VW, when I was looking to buy Passat in 2006, but settled with Accord Euro at the end, which I also got a discount of $4500 as well)

[mebius9]

2011 Passat 118TSI sedan

Icelandic grey
Blutooth

$40,888 drive away

Nepean Hwy VW VIC

Ask for Henry and tell him Tony and Max sent you

[VAG newbie]

For anyone interested. The car broker I always use is:
Car Lease Australia, Car Leasing and Finance, Lease a Car in Australia
The person I talk to is called Kerry, her number is 0412206816

The service is free. (The only car broker that I know would do it for you for free, so what's there to lose if they can't beat your best price?) They only ask you to be serious when you use their service. Don't ask the price for fun, or use it to go to your local dealer and ask them to beat it. (Even if your local dealer can beat it, they might give you a stocked car with a com

[VAG newbie]

For anyone interested. The car broker I always use is:
Car Lease Australia, Car Leasing and Finance, Lease a Car in Australia
The person I talk to is called Kerry, her number is 0412206816

The service is free. (The only car broker that I know would do it for you for free, so what's there to lose if they can't beat your best price?) They only ask you to be serious when you use their service. Don't ask the price for fun, or use it to go to your local dealer and ask them to beat it. (Even if your local dealer can beat it, they might give you a stocked car with a compliance plate > 6 months old)

For reference, I got my VW 125 TDI with MP, GPS + RVC + Park assist2, Driver assist and visibility pack, walnut trim, color of my choice, premium tint + 5 way protection pack for $51672 drive away. The car will be a 2012 plated car in Jan 2012, delivered to my house with a full tank of fuel!

My friend got his 118TSI, no options, white, at $38990 drive away.

In the past: Honda Jazz GLi auto, $18700 drive away. Honda accord Euro lux nav with sports grill + spoiler, MP, auto, $46500 drive away. Honda Odyssey Std, $37500 driveaway (which we sold $20000 in 5 years time thru Pickles, also referred by the broker) My wife's Volvo XC60 D5 with tech pack, keyless entry, power tail gate, walnut trim, front parking sensor, rain sensor, Bluetooth, premium audio, MP for $71000 drive away (it was also a saving of >$7000, the car was made to order, so color of our choice too!!)

The broker was also able to source the cheapest finance company! Overall the saving was huge (in both buying and selling the car, and the monthly repayment!) that I transferred from Jap to Euro cars now.

[Buzy_Robot]

2011 Passat 118TSI sedan

Icelandic grey
Blutooth

$40,888 drive away

Nepean Hwy VW VIC

Ask for Henry and tell him Tony and Max sent you

Nice! TSI on road list price is approx. $43800, so you saved yourselves around $3,000.

Nepean Hwy VW would be Barloworld. Worth keeping in mind.

[Buzy_Robot]

Just checked the Leaseworks Australia website and it looks like they offer an impressive range of services and savings. However, they don't seem to organise test drives, but they do all the leg work, so to speak, in terms of contacting dealers.

To be honest, I actually like the experience of going to dealers myself, seeing what they're like in person, checking out a range of model variants in front of me, going for test drives and haggling on price. Having already made a couple of impromptu visits to a couple of dealerships has already swayed me towards one particular dealer based on the attitude and professionalism of the sales consultant.

I prefer to strike up a long-term relationship with a car dealership as I've found that good ones will look after their customers for more than just the sale of the car.

Yes, it'll probably cost me more than going through a car broker, but I prefer the traditional method.

Nevertheless, thank you VAG Newbie for shaing this information as I'm sure some people will find it useful.

[VAG newbie]

Good on you! Perhaps the dealers in Vic are a lot more professional. In Qld, I've been to 2 different VW dealers, both times I was ignored and I actually had to grab the salesman for help. There was once I was even refused of a test drive because they were "short of staff"! It was a Wed afternoon and it wasn't particularly busy!

Also many of the salesman has very little knowledge about the car. I knew a lot more than them. So the questions that I asked they couldn't answer on the spot, they said they'll check with VW Aus, but never got back to me! I even chased myself, was told someone will get back to me. And guess what, never did!

It must be the way I dressed or something, but my experience with VW dealers have been disappointing. What's worse, I ask the same question directly with VW Aus twice, there was no reply!

I was about to buy the Skoda because of VW's snobbish attitude, until I got the excellent quote from leaseworks, that the deal is just too sweet to pass. Although I'm still tossing between the two. Well, one way or the other, I'll still be jumping on the VAG wagon!

[Buzy_Robot]

Last few days have been busy with me visiting VW dealers and test driving both the TSI and TDI variants. Both are fine cars, but I just love the growl of the diesel! I was surprised by the TDI because it's not noisy and all that torque is addictive. The prospect of really good fuel economy was another factor in choosing the TDI. I ended up taking my business to Werribee Volkswagen and the lovely Karen Taylor really did her best to secure a very good deal on a TDI sedan in Reflex Silver Metallic. Negotiations were tough and I played hard ball, but I helped the dealership acheive their monthly bonus and I got an excellent changeover from the Mazda6. Karen phoned today letting me know the ship has docked and I'll have my new toy in two weeks.