Buying a new car

Cars / Motoring / Insurance
1

Hi
I am interested to know how your experience of buying a new car in France went.
I have been told that its normal to arrange to buy a car and then arrange for finance !
If I pay in cash am I likely to be able to get a discount ?
Did you get a good part exchange price?

2

No discount for cash, you can always ask though !
For finance you are better off looking at banks, especially the online banks that have some good rates at the moment.
My car was imported from Belgium, and I paid considerably less than for the same car in France. My garage imports cars and they did all the arrangements, including all paperwork. My other car was only fit for scrap !

3

Hi Tony,
many sales organisations (including car dealerships) run on quarterly accounting periods i.e. Jan-Mar so pitching up mid-march and uhmming and ahhing whether to complete a deal for that car on the forecourt now/in March (saleman may hit target/get bonus) or look around and buy a car in April may twist his(her) arm. This probably works best with new cars and bigger franchised dealers than the smaller franchises/owner trader.
Happy Hunting.

4

I have just bought a new car. I paid cash and got a discount. I don’t know if the dealership would have given a discount if I asked for credit but I don’t see why not.
My attitude has always been “What’s your best price”, which I don’t ask until they have told me how much they want for it. This is the third new car I have bought in France. The first time I bought one, after having asked for their best price and being told “le prix est le prix”, I simply stood up and said “merci monsieur, au revoir”. By the time I had got to the door a discount was offered.
There is one little trap to watch out for whether buying new or occasion and that is the ‘frais administratives’.
These consist of immatriculation costs etc. However they frequently include things like inscription to ‘Eurodatacar’ insurance. They get a fat commission selling this so they add it in without telling you. Most of the things covered by this insurance are already included in any regular car insurance policy.
Be sure to ask for a complete breakdown of the ‘frais administratives’ and if you don’t want the insurance tell them to remove it. If they tell you it is ‘obligataire’ then just tell them you will find a car elsewhere. My experience is that it quickly ceases to be so.

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