Pre registered Cali

[coachman]

Hello all. After much thought, lots of reading of the useful information on this forum and a rental we have decided to buy a California SE. Very exciting!

We were dithering between new or a ex demo/pre reg but thought we'd found the best of both worlds when our local dealer had in stock an unregistered 140 manual in the colour and options we wanted. So if we went for it it would effectively be brand new and we would be first owners.

However whilst we were looking at it (in person with the salesman!) their admin team went and registered it as a demo! So now they can't sell it for 3 months.

The dealer has said if we buy it they will keep it in the shed for these 3 months and will not use it as a demo.

What sort of discount do you think we should be looking for? It's list price would be around £49000 and we are being offered a 10% discount at the moment. Also I'm not sure what disadvantages being the second owner would have.

Any help/thoughts/experiences you have would be useful. I'm a bit scared of spending all this money and don't want to get it wrong!

Thanks, Alison

 

[Martin]

Alison, I would ask for more than 10% as you would get very close to that type of discount on a brand new one, plus if you went for brand new it would be on a 15 plate.

 

[reserves]

Compare with a brand new discounted price here http://www.drivethedeal.com/buy-a-new-c ... 58572.html

 

[GrannyJen]

Same situation, I bought Albert at the start of the three month dealer retention period and the effective discount was around 13%.

With fair wind you will get a virtually new vehicle. Albert was taken out on demo twice in the three months that I waited. I have never regretted the decision.

 

[Maud]

I would agree with Martin about asking for more than 10% as I ordered mine back in September (a 180 SE) and managed to get 10% off the list price. It will be a 2015 registration and I will be the first owner so I think I would ask for 15% if I were in your position, especially as you still have to wait for it anyway, as you would with a new build.

Good luck!
Maud

 

[Stu]

In the 3 months you'll have to wait for this one it is in the 'quiet period' where unless it is a daily driver you'll probably not use it so much. BUT - as others have said I would expect quite a bit more than 10% as during the 3 months the dealer will be 'writing it down' as a depreciating asset as well as having had bonus from VW for adding a demo to the fleet.

 

[KernowLad]

Ours was registered three months before we bought it but with delivery miles (16 in fact).
Bought in Jan 2012 (Sept 11 build) for £44,750. RRP was £53k.

We played it pretty tough after being offered a rubbish p/x price for our Defender (sold it elsewhere) and said we'd back out so got HD rubber mats, rear bumper protector and seat covers thrown in too.

We also got £6k off a factory order BMW.

I'd hate to sell a car to myself. ;-)

 

[Meoncoast]

We bought ours preregisered with 99 miles on the clock after my "test drive" & at 3 month's old. We first saw it when it was ready to go.Plastc covers on mattresses etc totally unused. If you get it at the price you are happy with I would ensure you either ensure you have a get out clause or an aggrement that is not used, you do not want them letting someone have a weekend away in it.

 

[KernowLad]

Meon; similar here - the thought of paying a wee bit more for new suddenly became sensible when we thought about an unused bed(s)!

 

[Kirk]

also by the time you get it the 15 plate will be just round the corner meaning your new van will actually be a year old in reg terms. I would say 15-20% or walk away ! Lets face it, you wont use it much over next few months anyway

 

[KernowLad]

also by the time you get it the 15 plate will be just round the corner meaning your new van will actually be a year old in reg terms. I would say 15-20% or walk away ! Lets face it, you wont use it much over next few months anyway

Agreed.
Our 10 month old car is already two registration periods old!

You WILL be spun a yarn about how desirable they are, resale values, etc. To "counter" this also be aware how tiny the potential customer base is: those looking to spend £45k++ on a van with no loo, shower and the "same" as a builders work horse... ;-)

 

[DMB9R]

In dealer speak it's 'the time of the month' They need to get figures in.

 

[Stu]

In dealer speak it's 'the time of the month' They need to get figures in.

Yep, that'll be why they registered it. End of quarter.

 

[coachman]

Thanks everyone, we'll go back and try and get a bit more off the price. It's hard when you aren't a natural haggler. Maybe I should pay KernowLad a commission to do it on our behalf!

The Drive the Deal price for the options we want is £44000 so only slightly more once you add on the £750 for not taking finance. The dealer one has a couple of extras on it but nothing essential (chrome pack, mud flaps)

It will definitely not be used during the 3 months, it's currently in a storage shed with the plastic on and will stay there. The point about the reg plate is a good one, I'd forgotten that they change in March.

 

[KernowLad]

£750 for not taking finance?!
That needs knocking straight off!

Good luck; it's nerve racking but quite exciting!

 

[Stu]

£750 for not taking finance?!
That needs knocking straight off!

Good luck; it's nerve racking but quite exciting!

I don't think you can. The £750 for taking finance is a term applied by DTD to their price and requires the purchaser to take the van on Solutions PCP. The £750 will be drawn from commission paid to the dealer for selling the finance. Without selling you the finance he doesn't have the £750 to give.

My advice is to take finance and repay in the first 30 days.

 

[reserves]

I'm pretty sure I've read somewhere here that you can get a discount for *taking* the finance and then paying it off straight away with no fees.

 

[Stu]

I would be very firm with the dealer in price. The DTD price is for a new vehicle with you as the first registered keeper. You have time on your side, so 3 months is likely to get you a factory order.

You need to aim for the DTD price less a reasonable amount for it being a used vehicle.

 

[reserves]

Agreed, why pay more for something on a 14 plate with one owner?

 

[rich-s]

If they won't drop the price, I'd be tempted to walk away, or get them to order another one at the agreed price.
I purchased an ex Land Rover company car a couple of years back. I was to be the 2nd owner. After the deal was done I got a phone call to tell me that in fact the dealership had registered it to an earlier buyer who then couldn't come up with the money. But not to worry they said, it was only one more owner. I asked them to get that owner deleted from the record, or I'd be looking for another car. I didn't want to be the 3rd owner on a 12 month old vehicle. After initially telling me that it was not possible to remove the other owner, they eventually persuaded DVLA to do so. Can't imagine this could be done in your case, but you never know.

 

[Stu]

After initially telling me that it was not possible to remove the other owner, they eventually persuaded DVLA to do so. Can't imagine this could be done in your case, but you never know.

It is a good point actually, DVLA can de-register a vehicle. I had it with our Cali when they put the wrong reg number on it so they removed the one they'd mistakenly assigned and assigned the one I'd chosen.

http://assets.dft.gov.uk/dvla/V996Deregistration.pdf

There is a flaw in the plan -

We will not cancel the registration if the:
• vehicle is registered in the name of a dealer

 

[KernowLad]

£750 for not taking finance?!
That needs knocking straight off!

Good luck; it's nerve racking but quite exciting!

I don't think you can. The £750 for taking finance is a term applied by DTD to their price and requires the purchaser to take the van on Solutions PCP. The £750 will be drawn from commission paid to the dealer for selling the finance. Without selling you the finance he doesn't have the £750 to give.

My advice is to take finance and repay in the first 30 days.

Now that is a cunning plan.

 

[rich-s]

Surprised they don't have penalties for early payment. I know our mortgage does.

 

[Stu]

Surprised they don't have penalties for early payment. I know our mortgage does.

Not with VWFS. You are allowed a cooling/cancellation period. We took ours on PCP to get free servicing pack and paid off straight away.

 

[larrylamb]

I've been looking at a couple of 140 demos, quite well priced but they don't want to drop much more. Using DTD to price the exact same spec it works out about £1800 cheaper for the demo but it's on a 14 plate with 1 owner already and been pawed by about 50 families at the weekends. Therefore a shiny 15 plate seem better value in this case. I have priced up a better spec Cali ( as you do) and the dealer has immediately matched the DTD price saving 10% on list if you buy it on VW PCP or 9% if you finance it yourself. Be quick as last orders tomorrow before the increase on Monday.