Discounts - how much longer?

[TheWineLake]

I was wondering how much longer we might see these 24% effective discounts on A6's?
The finance thing in particular seems odd - why not just give a better rate? That way those who cancel the finance will miss out on the benefit.

One other question: If I decided to buy a car, but the delivery wasn't until October - and in the meantime I decided I didn't really want it, would my best option be to take delivery and try to sell privately or to cancel the order and lose my deposit?

[ha5smu]

You only normally pay £500 deposit when you order, then no commitment until it arrives and you pay the rest of the deposit.

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[jk88]

One other question: If I decided to buy a car, but the delivery wasn't until October - and in the meantime I decided I didn't really want it, would my best option be to take delivery and try to sell privately or to cancel the order and lose my deposit?

The dealer will ask you to sign a legally binding contract as they take your deposit (£1000 is more usual than £500). If you then fail to complete your side of the bargain, the dealer could, if they chose to, sue you for the lost profit on the deal and any other costs incurred. If they felt they could move the car on easily enough (depending on colours/spec), they may just keep the deposit and leave it at that. Best advice is to sign only if you are sure you want to buy the car.

[wja96]

The dealer will ask you to sign a legally binding contract as they take your deposit (£1000 is more usual than £500). If you then fail to complete your side of the bargain, the dealer could, if they chose to, sue you for the lost profit on the deal and any other costs incurred. If they felt they could move the car on easily enough (depending on colours/spec), they may just keep the deposit and leave it at that. Best advice is to sign only if you are sure you want to buy the car.

+1 - Don't order a car unless you're really sure you want it. There are always cars in the build pipeline and the dealers almost always have stock in the showrooms. That's how I got mine. And I still got a pretty hefty discount off new (albeit not 25%).

[wja96]

And from memory if you're going through DtD the deposit is usually 10% because the dealer pays DtD their commission from the deposit at that point.

[TheWineLake]

Thanks. I suppose my question was slightly more theoretical in that I was wondering how immediate resale values compare to discounted new - to get an idea of day 1 depreciation. My guess is that one could sell the car privately for perhaps £1000 less than what one paid.

[jk88]

My guess is that one could sell the car privately for perhaps £1000 less than what one paid.

Best bet would be to sell it on before registered (most dealers are happy with this scenario as you remain on the hook until a deal is completed) assuming you could find someone who wanted the exact same spec from the exact same dealership. Probably cost you a fair bit more than a grand though. If you sell it after registering it, then assume normal rates of depreciation (ie fairly savage) from the discounted price (remember everyone can buy new at similar discounted prices).

[TheWineLake]

I recall my brother did something like that when the TT first came out. There was a long waiting list, so he was able to sell at a profit.

Wonder if the same might be true of e-tron and Golf GTE plug-in.

[Allroad_2013]

Wonder if the same might be true of e-tron and Golf GTE plug-in.

I spoke to DtD about Golf GTE and they said they wouldn't get any allocation from their dealers for a least 6 months, meaning dealer only discounts (plus the £5K government grant). I'm quite liking the look of the GTE and may price one up when they get launched (August I think).

[retired99]

I guess that many (most?) buyers are unaware of the level of discount that can be achieved. Looking at used car prices, especially ex demonstrators, in the dealer network they are often more than the price of a discounted new car.