WE at UsedCarExpert have been conducting research into the kind of profit that used car dealers actually make from the cars they sell.
The figures may surprise you. On average a dealer will make around £1,500 gross profit per unit they shift.
That’s not that much, especially when you take overheads like tax, staff and rent into account.
Luckily for you, the canny buyer, our website will automatically show you any reduction a dealer has made on a car since it has been up for sale.
This means that, if you see a discount of £1,000 or over, you know you are getting the car at close to cost – maybe less than cost if you consider that, unlike the dealer, you are covered by the sale of goods act should the car turn out to be faulty.
The bottom line is that if a vendor has knocked a grand off a car that means they really need to shift it and might be open to some more arm twisting.
Here are three picks from UsedCarExpert where you can be sure of getting the car for a very good price – you don’t need to sit awake at night wondering if you have paid over the odds or wonder if a friend got a better deal.
Remember – even if a car is greatly reduced, you can still haggle.
Toyota iQ VVTi
This is a remarkable little car. Though not that much longer than a Smart it can seat four at a pinch and three easily. Used prices are soft, which means you get the absolute cutting edge of Toyota’s city car technology for a very reasonable sum.
UsedCarExpert.co.uk Cars for sale: A 2010 car with 10,000 miles on the clock is for sale at £7,995. The price has already been cut by £1,000 so bargain hard.
Ford Focus ST 225
A bit of petrol in your veins? Well, look no further than the mighty Focus ST. Not only do you get to 60 in around six seconds, you also get Focus practicality and loads of warranty left.
UsedCarExpert.co.uk Cars for sale: A 2010 car with 11,000 miles on the clock is for sale at £12,995. The price has already been cut by £1,300 so sleep easy.
Audi A6
Need solid, dependable transport? You could do a lot worse than a low mileage, big diesel Audi. This is an old car – but the miles are tiny and these models are incredibly well built – years of hard usage, reasonable money.
UsedCarExpert.co.uk Cars for sale: A 2003 car with just 35,000 miles on the clock is for sale at £5,995. That may seem quite steep but this is a very sought-after car from the era of supreme Audi build quality and reliability.
Also, the dealer has almost written off their margin by dropping the price by £990 – indicating there’s plenty more to go.