Buying a new car - list prices how sticky are they?

[1FinickyOne]

I had pretty much the same experience as the OP - cash was considered less favorable - if I took a loan, they might have been willing to thrown in first years insurance... told them cash and they would give me nothing - - I asked for a nice umbrella - the salesman told me he would buy one for me himself...

[ross163103]

I've bought a Toyota pickup, Altis, Camry, and now an Accord. Discounts were;0 baht, 15,000 baht, 35,000 baht, and 0 baht respectively. I think the only reason I got a decent--relatively speaking, discount on the Camry is because the previous Toyota purchases were from the same dealer/salesperson. Generally speaking they don't keep much in stock especially higher priced cars, so they don't need to move cars out before the new models arrive. The first few dealers I went just let me walk out the door when I told them I wasn't paying MSRP. In fact they looked at me like I was crazy. In the country I come from no one EVER pays MSRP and the dealers will NEVER let a potential sale get out the door. TIT

[itsmylife]

I buy a Honda Jazz Top model cash ( cannot get loan because im tourist ) and ask for tons of free gift before i buy , everyone Happy .

All dealer are same price .

Edited January 23, 2016 by itsmylife

[bazza40]

Not entirely true....Cash payment can have further discount from the listed price. Was quoted much lesser price for Nissan March, 2months back.

I think it's harder to get cash discounts on desirable cars

I got a 90,000 baht discount on a Ford Fiesta Titanium, but maybe that's not up to your standards either.

Fiestas are great cars and I would be very happy having one on my driveway if I didn't already have another fine Ford.

Oh dear. People are attacking you for being a snob, and you're a Ford lover? Oh the irony.

[JaseTheBass]

Not entirely true....Cash payment can have further discount from the listed price. Was quoted much lesser price for Nissan March, 2months back.

I think it's harder to get cash discounts on desirable cars

I got a 90,000 baht discount on a Ford Fiesta Titanium, but maybe that's not up to your standards either.

Fiestas are great cars and I would be very happy having one on my driveway if I didn't already have another fine Ford.

Which you never get tired of bragging about. It's a pickup for crying out loud, not a Bugatti.

At least it's not a March.

And a Ford is not a Bentley.

My truck was voted 'Best Truck on JaseTheBass's Driveway in the World 2016', a Bentley has never picked up this prestigious accolade.

[bazza40]

Not entirely true....Cash payment can have further discount from the listed price. Was quoted much lesser price for Nissan March, 2months back.

I think it's harder to get cash discounts on desirable cars

I got a 90,000 baht discount on a Ford Fiesta Titanium, but maybe that's not up to your standards either.

Fiestas are great cars and I would be very happy having one on my driveway if I didn't already have another fine Ford.

Which you never get tired of bragging about. It's a pickup for crying out loud, not a Bugatti.

At least it's not a March.

And a Ford is not a Bentley.

My truck was voted 'Best Truck on JaseTheBass's Driveway in the World 2016', a Bentley has never picked up this prestigious accolade.

You might need to rotate the judges.

[JaseTheBass]

Not entirely true....Cash payment can have further discount from the listed price. Was quoted much lesser price for Nissan March, 2months back.

I think it's harder to get cash discounts on desirable cars

I got a 90,000 baht discount on a Ford Fiesta Titanium, but maybe that's not up to your standards either.

Fiestas are great cars and I would be very happy having one on my driveway if I didn't already have another fine Ford.

Which you never get tired of bragging about. It's a pickup for crying out loud, not a Bugatti.

At least it's not a March.

And a Ford is not a Bentley.

My truck was voted 'Best Truck on JaseTheBass's Driveway in the World 2016', a Bentley has never picked up this prestigious accolade.

You might need to rotate the judges.

The missus judged it in 2016, me and Bob (the dog) are shortlisted for judges in 2017.

[RBOP]

Generally the list price is non negotiable and supported by the 6 to 7 months waiting. You could wait for a car show like the one they have at Impact and Bitec which they offer discounts on some models. I went to the Impact show a couple years ago, got a price from the dealer that on duty that day, then went to my local dealer around the corner, told then the price I was quoted and said if they could beat I would buy from them. They knocked off another 10K baht and only waiting 2 weeks for a Mitsubishi Pajero Sport top model.

[bazza40]

Not entirely true....Cash payment can have further discount from the listed price. Was quoted much lesser price for Nissan March, 2months back.

I think it's harder to get cash discounts on desirable cars

I got a 90,000 baht discount on a Ford Fiesta Titanium, but maybe that's not up to your standards either.

Fiestas are great cars and I would be very happy having one on my driveway if I didn't already have another fine Ford.

Which you never get tired of bragging about. It's a pickup for crying out loud, not a Bugatti.

At least it's not a March.

And a Ford is not a Bentley.

My truck was voted 'Best Truck on JaseTheBass's Driveway in the World 2016', a Bentley has never picked up this prestigious accolade.

You might need to rotate the judges.

The missus judged it in 2016, me and Bob (the dog) are shortlisted for judges in 2017.

Sounds like Bob ( the dog ) will be the best qualified judge thus far.

[bazza40]

It's much easier to buy a secondhand example with low mileage. The worst financial decision anyone can make is to buy a brand-new car, because depreciation starts the minute the car is driven away from the dealership.

The OP can save himself a lot of sales BS and money by going for secondhand. Many cars in that market are barely run in.

[giddyup]

It's much easier to buy a secondhand example with low mileage. The worst financial decision anyone can make is to buy a brand-new car, because depreciation starts the minute the car is driven away from the dealership.

The OP can save himself a lot of sales BS and money by going for secondhand. Many cars in that market are barely run in.

Not in Thailand. You pay nearly as much for a 1 year old used car as a new one.

[stevenl]

It's much easier to buy a secondhand example with low mileage. The worst financial decision anyone can make is to buy a brand-new car, because depreciation starts the minute the car is driven away from the dealership.

The OP can save himself a lot of sales BS and money by going for secondhand. Many cars in that market are barely run in.

Not in Thailand. You pay nearly as much for a 1 year old used car as a new one.

Second hand can be even more expensive than new because of availability and easier finance.

[JacChang]

I must live on a different planet. I've purchased cars in 4 different countries, and it's all the same. I don't get the sales to offer me his price, I see if he can sell me the car at my price. In general, the manufacturer's suggested price, can be cut 10%, but do keep in mind, do let the sales earn some. Generally I let them earn about 10k to 20k, depending on the car value. A 700k car, I would cut about 60,000, with tints and that's all. No extra accessories. In Thailand, have done it with Toyota and Nissan, many times. An disinterested dealer will be disinterested no matter what, so do walk in about 3-5 dealers, let them know, you are ready to purchase a car, not just looking around, and the last dealer offered you ****, if they can beat it, the deal is theirs.

[2fishin2]

It doesnt work like that in Thailand. The dealers really dont get to make their own prices they are pretty much stuck on MSRP. They only thing they can do is offer you discounts on the models the manufacture authorized and or five you accessories

[Pib]

It's much easier to buy a secondhand example with low mileage. The worst financial decision anyone can make is to buy a brand-new car, because depreciation starts the minute the car is driven away from the dealership.

The OP can save himself a lot of sales BS and money by going for secondhand. Many cars in that market are barely run in.

Not in Thailand. You pay nearly as much for a 1 year old used car as a new one.

Maybe in a part of Thailand with a low selection of used vehicles, but over here in western Bangkok where I live they are many used vehicle vendors with thousands of used vehicles on their lots and a 1 year old vehicle will sell at a very significant discount from a brand new one same model.

However, prices of for vehicles (used or new) in Thailand are much higher than what most of us farangs are probably use to in our home country. Thailand has high "excise" taxes on new vehicles (domestic or import manufacture) which makes new vehicles very pricey. Although that excise tax is not reapplied when the vehicle is resold that starting high price keeps used vehicle prices much higher throughout their lifetime/resells.

[Cook my sock]

No point buying a nearly new car. Hardly any depreciation.

As the prices went up just a few weeks ago, Honda are more flexible right now, at least until the motor show in March. The dealer I went to get one of each colour in each delivery- the colour I wanted is available in two months. They offered a small discount or Honda 1st class insurance. The latter is probably the best choice as they repair onsite. She was prepared to negotiate and throw in more optional extras so I'm hoping for a call back before I call her.

Mazda offered me 30,000 AND 1st class insurance plus a couple of extras (Mazda 3SP). I thought that wasn't bad, it adds up to about 60k

For s/h cars I was tempted by the latest Beetle; it looks like the grey market is flooded with them atm ..VW aren't a premium badge in Thailand and of course the brand took a knock recently.

I was offered a great deal on a well specced 1.4L, 3 years old, 1.3M but I don't think we can stretch to it.

[seedy]

troll / flaming post and quoted reply removed

[buythisdashcam]

I paid cash for my Car (BMW) which had an estimated lead time of 6 months.

When I decided on the Car and Colour choice - they asked when I wanted it, I said, Now, for Cash - I'll take that one !!

This was Thursday, I picked up the Car on the following Tuesday... I suspect someones finance had failed to go through and I got lucky. I was driving one of the first of that model on the road.

So.. OP - There may be opportunity on the HRV to secure one if someones Finance fails to go through.

You may also see a couple of 2nd hand ones that are less than a year old - Still under warranty which may be a good option to jump the queue.

The same for the CRV.

It may be different with Honda - Don't tell them you are paying cash until the end !

BMW has a large stock of all cars in Thailand, this is why any model is always available and why they are ready to give their Mom and Dad to sell a car...

I hope that you got a huge discount because this is what they offer to everybody to keep the sale figures high.

Which model did you buy ? I keep trying to visit BMW every time I change my car to know what they offer and every time I am shocked compared to Merc where it is so difficult to get any good discount. But still, I don't know why but I always end buying a new Merc, this is maybe why they don't need to offer any discount...

[bazza40]

It's much easier to buy a secondhand example with low mileage. The worst financial decision anyone can make is to buy a brand-new car, because depreciation starts the minute the car is driven away from the dealership.

The OP can save himself a lot of sales BS and money by going for secondhand. Many cars in that market are barely run in.

Not in Thailand. You pay nearly as much for a 1 year old used car as a new one.

Disagree. There are used car lots in CM and CR full of cars and pickups. Suspect a lot of them are repossessions.

It depends on how hard you look. Bought one car privately, another through a dealer. The value-for-money cars are a matter of patience.

[IMHO]

Guys, sorry to say it but:

All new cars can be discounted.

Bar none.

If you accept their standard offer of a few freebies and maybe insurance and road tax, you've done OK, but not great.

The fact is, the buying public only think they're good negotiators - the new car dealers actually are, because they do it several times per day, every day - not just once every few years

If they're playing hard ball, that's just because they think they can - and you'll need to convince them they have competition in order to make them move. Sometimes a little white lie is needed to get the ball rolling though You also need to find a sales rep that wants to deal as well...

Also, never forget that in every negotiation there is a point in time where the next person to talk loses. Know when that is, and don't let it be you...

Edited January 24, 2016 by IMHO

[IMHO]

@Turgid: Just form some quick searching I've been able to find people booking the HR-V and getting all the regular accessory freebies (film, mats, body kit etc), plus insurance and road tax, and in some cases a 10,000 Baht discount off the finance down payment as well. That tells me there's probably 40-60K of discount movement in this model. Good luck!

[Cook my sock]

@IMHO good to know. It's quite hard to negotiate with the Honda sales lady as my wife's face says it all. She really wants this car. I put the wife off going back to the dealership straight away altho she's annoyed at me as she thinks we'll lose the colour we want.

[bearpolar]

I paid cash for my Car (BMW) which had an estimated lead time of 6 months.

When I decided on the Car and Colour choice - they asked when I wanted it, I said, Now, for Cash - I'll take that one !!

This was Thursday, I picked up the Car on the following Tuesday... I suspect someones finance had failed to go through and I got lucky. I was driving one of the first of that model on the road.

So.. OP - There may be opportunity on the HRV to secure one if someones Finance fails to go through.

You may also see a couple of 2nd hand ones that are less than a year old - Still under warranty which may be a good option to jump the queue.

The same for the CRV.

It may be different with Honda - Don't tell them you are paying cash until the end !

happened to me and i even got the free addons that the previous guy paid for (HRV pannel with LED lights under the door. It looks quite nice as its subtle, its worth close to 20k baht)

[turgid]

The best tip for negotiating with Honda is to go to Nissan or Mazda. The X-Trail and CX-5 are as good or better than the Honda CR-V, better value and a lot more negotiable. You can even test drive them which beyond most Honda dealers.

I drove an older model rental CRV to Phuket for a week over Christmas and I liked it a lot. I was ready to buy and they've unsold me. To be fair two dealers have offered me an HRV and CRV test drive although I haven't done it. Planning to test drive the Nissan X trail next week. Nissan definitely the nicest dealer. She understood every feature of the car without being overly aggressive which was a first here. I'd agree the Nissan has better features for the money but every review suggests its boring to drive due to the soft engine so we'll see.

The Mazda CX5 styling just doesn't work for me.

I visited a Honda dealer for the second time yesterday which she obviously took as a buying signal and was instructed fairly aggressively with a hint of anger to book a CRV now. No discount offered and no incentive beyond we have one, buy it. She said they are only bringing in white ones now. It may be of course they have over ordered on white and want to shift them. Or she's got stuck with a cancellation. Or its not true. The last time I saw service this bad was when after six months of indecision I went into Audi in Singapore with a cheque determined to buy an A4 and was treated so rudely because I wouldn't take finance I immediately went next door and bought a BMW off the floor from a very surprised junior sales rep. I may yet be driving a Nissan for the same reason.

[bearpolar]

if you have that kind of money, you can always pay a good garage to mod your car for better performance? The x-trail is pretty nice and a few more hp/torque would make it fun.

[bazza40]

if you have that kind of money, you can always pay a good garage to mod your car for better performance? The x-trail is pretty nice and a few more hp/torque would make it fun.

Would think if you did that you'd void any warranty.

[bearpolar]

if you have that kind of money, you can always pay a good garage to mod your car for better performance? The x-trail is pretty nice and a few more hp/torque would make it fun.

Would think if you did that you'd void any warranty.

if you can buy an a4 cash in singapore, you can afford to get a car fixed in this country as easily as most people buy breakfast.

mechanics arent expensive

and the risk is well worth it to get some decent performance.

[Cook my sock]

Bangkok Post say the CX5 update is out next month- questioned a Mazda sales girl about this and what I understood was they need to sell current stock first, at discount.

Edited January 25, 2016 by Cook my sock

[JacChang]

The more excuses you make for the MRSP or sales, shows that you have already lost the game. I've already indicated that 10% off the MRSP is standard practice, have done it on all my purchased cars, not even a surprise. Of course, I have met sales who won't budge at all, or offer 10,000 or 15,000 discount, let me tell you, in this industry that is the same thing as laughing in your face. Walk out immediately. A person who wants your business will want it regardless of anything you do. Here's what I do, I walk in, let him know, I have already test drove the cars including the competition, and I am having a hard time deciding if I want their car or their competition's. I will need to make this decision in 2 weeks to a month's time, or better yet, if I get a good deal, I'm sold.

6 years ago, I went looking for a Nissan Teana, the saleslady was very nice and let me test drive and offered very strict 15,000 discount. Calls me frequently, still won't budge. I went into another Nissan, discounted 125,000 plus all available accessories and insurance. I have to admit, I didn't do much work as I usually do during negotiations, as this salesman really wanted my business. Salespeople have quotas, each month usually 3 cars. I suggest you go during the last week of the month when they are missing that "last car", they will usually give handsome discounts if you can make the commitment during that month. If you went in the month too early, and that particular sales has already sold 2 cars and 1 car left, he would like to reserve it for the "highest bidder" because he has 20 more days to work with as opposed to running out of time.

So, it's not all manufacturer "set price". It's the sales who will do the negotiating with you, and his manager who will release that car for that particular price. 10% is the magic number to work with, remember let the sales earn atleast 15,000 to 20,000. If I know a drink costs 20, there's no sales in the world that can sell me for otherwise. I've shared my info with you, hope it helps for those that seek it.

[bearpolar]

key word nissan. If you don't want to buy the honda at full price, someone will walk in 5mins later and buy it unless in the middle of nowhere. The girls at honda are flush with $.