How to Get the Best Price on a New Car
Seven steps that bring the price of a new car down, from choosing the variant to buying as a group.
The price on a new car's window is where the conversation starts, not where it ends. These seven steps help you pay less without giving up the car you want.
1. Decide the exact variant first. Dealers discount a specific car, not a model name. Know the variant, fuel, gearbox and colour you want before you ask for a price, and compare the variants side by side on the car's page.
2. Ask for the on-road price in writing, line by line. Ex-showroom price, road tax, registration, insurance and every other charge should each have its own line. A single total hides the lines that can be reduced.
3. Check the insurance quote separately. The dealer's insurance is convenient, but you are free to buy the same cover elsewhere. Compare one outside quote before you agree.
4. Question the extras. Handling charges, accessory packs and extended warranties are choices, not requirements. Keep the ones you would have bought anyway and decline the rest.
5. Time your purchase. Dealers have monthly and yearly targets, and stock of the outgoing model year is priced to clear. If you are not in a hurry, ask what is in stock rather than what must be ordered.
6. Arrange your loan before you visit. Knowing the interest rate your own bank offers lets you judge the dealer's finance offer on its merits.
7. Buy as a group. One buyer asks for a discount; twenty buyers who want the same car are a sale a dealer competes for. On DriveBloc, buyers in one city who want the same car join one group, and we take the whole group to authorised dealers for their best offer. Joining is free, and you decide whether to buy once you see the offer.
Whichever way you buy, check the final price with the dealer before you pay anything, and collect every document at delivery.