[ALPANDY]

I am thinking of waiting until after xmas because I don't want to rush into anything and end up with the wrong car, but would I get a better deal before?

[Kerr]

Possibly to make annual sales figures.

Not many people looking to buy cars at this time of the year.

[BGM]

i would say almost definitely.

end of quarter, end of year.

[The_Bear_Yid]

The longer you wait the better the deal but how long do you want to wait?!

Business years don't neatly fit in to calendar years afaik, so it may not be a massive factor the new year coming up.

It also depends on what car you want, people are getting good deals on E9Xs due to the new models coming in. Generally the price of anything will get cheaper unless you miss some crazy deal.

You don't sound sure so don't rush unless you have no car and need one ASAP.

[SteveC]

Whether you get a good deal or not depends on how well you negotiate. Prepare yourself by collecting competitive offers and working with 2 dealerships from different holding companies. In the run up to Xmas customers are generally more concerned with buying holiday related stuff rather than cars. Snow will help your cause. Buying new in late December will help your price but impact your resale value, so is best when you lease the car as the residual doesn't change much between January and December. Remember to negotiate everything.....price, finance rate, deposit amount, free servicing, additional options, winter tyres, a tank full of gas...its all money that comes out of your pocket. Also don't get caught with expensive add-ons like a quick polish for £500, alloy wheel coatings etc. Those products carry huge margins and have absolutely zero resale value

[Anneka @ Sytner]

If you're looking to buy new let me know and I'll have a hunt on the BMW system to see if there is a stock vehicle that fits your preferred spec that we're looking to shift.

[IanS100]

This is exactly the question I have been pondering - I'm not looking for new but a 2010/2011 320d M Sport with Sat Nav & Leather but still still looking & pondering - there's some more input in this thread

[ALPANDY]

Originally Posted by Anneka @ Sytner

If you're looking to buy new let me know and I'll have a hunt on the BMW system to see if there is a stock vehicle that fits your preferred spec that we're looking to shift.

To be fair I haven't even looked into buying new Anneka. I assumed that the type of vehicle I would be after would be out of my range financially but I guess this depends on the discounts etc.

The spec I would be after would be as follows:

M-Sport 320d,325d,330d or 335d (must be auto) Touring prefered saloon accepted
Dark exterior colour
light leather
or
white exterior-red leather (black would be acceptable on the right car)
professional media
Usb interface
Bluetooth if poss
heated seats would be nice ( not a deal breaker)
front and rear pdc ( rear only acceptable)
Can't think of anything else.
Thanks, Andy

[Desmondo]

Originally Posted by BGM

end of quarter, end of year.

End of quarter, yes...but most businesses end of year will be March

[BGM]

Originally Posted by Desmondo

End of quarter, yes...but most businesses end of year will be March

mine isn't

[Vaheed1]

Lloyds of Newcastle are currently offering a £1k deposit deal with a free 2 year warranty on all used cars.

[Carrera RSR]

Originally Posted by Vaheed1

Lloyds of Newcastle are currently offering a £1k deposit deal with a free 2 year warranty on all used cars.

Not good enough. BMW couldn't match the new car discounts MB and Audi are offering. Couldn't get much more than 10% and no finance subsidies.

Audi offered £6k on an A6 Avant + 7.9%APR. MB offered £4.5k on a C220 Estate + 5.9%APR.

I got a deal on a used car with £2.5k off a £25k car but had to rush it out their dealership before November month end.

Lots of dealers doing shit jobs of selling cars at present. If one can't help you buy move on the the next. Sytner Solihull were the only dealer hungry enough to do a deal on the same day. 10+ dealers of various brands were absolutely shocking and I'm sure they will all miss their sales targets.

[ALPANDY]

Originally Posted by Carrera RSR

Not good enough. BMW couldn't match the new car discounts MB and Audi are offering. Couldn't get much more than 10% and no finance subsidies.

Audi offered £6k on an A6 Avant + 7.9%APR. MB offered £4.5k on a C220 Estate + 5.9%APR.

I got a deal on a used car with £2.5k off a £25k car but had to rush it out their dealership before November month end.

Lots of dealers doing shit jobs of selling cars at present. If one can't help you buy move on the the next. Sytner Solihull were the only dealer hungry enough to do a deal on the same day. 10+ dealers of various brands were absolutely shocking and I'm sure they will all miss their sales targets.

So far my worse experience as been Stratstone at chesterfield, absolutely no movement on screen price and next to nothing for my car. All in all very dissapointing.

[rogerxp]

Stratstones are bastards to deal with as the sales people are bound by their 'group' rules. The only time to get a deal is after they have had a car on their forecourt for a good while. They have time based price-matching; something like after 30 days price match within a 30mile radius, after 60 days do a national price match, then the car gets moved on within the network or to auction.

[Chris100]

If you're in no hurry to change I would wait until the end of March, this is just before the start of the next tax year and it is when any dealer would have the most flexibilty to offer you a very good deal. But then I suppose it will depend on how well they have done that year, I've bought all my cars at this time of year for quite a while now and always find the dealers willing to go a little further than usual, of course that may just my experience of things.

[ALPANDY]

Originally Posted by Chris100

If you're in no hurry to change I would wait until the end of March, this is just before the start of the next tax year and it is when any dealer would have the most flexibilty to offer you a very good deal. But then I suppose it will depend on how well they have done that year, I've bought all my cars at this time of year for quite a while now and always find the dealers willing to go a little further than usual, of course that may just my experience of things.

I might well do this yet Chris as I am not in any rush at all.

[Rosslol]

If buying from arnold clark like i did, from working there previously i knew end of november would be the best, thats their end of the financial year so they give you the best deals. Even though they are terrible to buy from, haha

[Carrera RSR]

Although many operate a financial year end in March many sales quotas/targets are calendar. My targets were calendar year when I was selling in the god awful motor trade. December in notoriously the most depressed month for car sales and prices. By March the prices firm up especially in the used market and due to the new reg.

As we travel into a head on collision with a double dip recession I can only predict more deals on the horizon

[daviep.sco]

My sister has just picked up her X1 tonight and I have to say the deal wasn't that bad. I think the dealers are just so quiet if they get any sale they are happy. Hat's off to Harry Fairbairns in Giffnock, very pleasent to deal with.

Hopefully be in myself next year for a change.