Sinbad
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They give you less for your car when you trade it in, then they give you trade in assist to bring it up to trade value and make you think they're doing you a favour
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Car finance
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They give you less for your car when you trade it in, then they give you trade in assist to bring it up to trade value and make you think they're doing you a favour
HapticSimian
Honorary Master
Trade-in assistance is a rebate - sometimes rather substantial - offered by the manufacturer to the dealer on a given model, on a per-transaction basis, which can be used in any number of ways to make a deal more enticing. As the name implies it is only offered when the purchaser is trading in a car, and it's most often used to assist in settling any outstanding finance on the trade-in. If that's not necessary though it's normally available to the buyer as an additional discount.
fish_man
Expert Member
Thanks guys.
MagicDude4Eva
Banned
Check the terms around trade-in assists. In most instances you are limited to mileage per year or total mileage over a number of years. In some cases they add all sorts of other conditions to the trade-in assist. TBH I think it hardly works in your favour and the few people I know who have it have their loans heavily loaded with residuals (so the higher trade-in value is offset against the residual and you don't really benefit).
HapticSimian
Honorary Master
Erm... That's a lease or guaranteed buy-back, and has nothing to do with trade-in assistance.
MagicDude4Eva
Banned
Ah I misread - thought it was the same as that guaranteed future value thing companies offer (i.e. Mini does it - http://www.bmwfinance.co.za/_files/MINI/Offers/2013_Q4/MINI_Reloaded_2.pdf)
HapticSimian
Honorary Master
From since forever, pretty much, especially if you're wanting a less popular model or something either very highly or oddly spec'd. Ordering a car is, essentially, expecting of a dealership to spend capital on the assurance that they'll get their money back when you take delivery. Your 'proof that I have finance' isn't worth the paper it's printed on.
Sinbad
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I think it's fair, else they order the car and you cancel, and they're left with the stock....
Standard vehicle. Very popular (3 month wait list). So I doubt it is that. This is the 4th car Im buying in my life and never had to put down a deposit In anyway. I can pay it, but they will get the interest for that 3 months
HapticSimian
Honorary Master
It's still reasonable, and it shows at least a semblance of reciprocal commitment. They know they have a buyer; you know you have reason to toss your toys if they sell your car to someone else. The pocket change they'll get in interest is hardly something to get excited over.
Agree to disagree.
I'm never happy to be viewed as a risk when purchasing a product. Willing buyer, non-trusting seller. Trust is needed with any purchase transaction. But now they are shuffling their non-trust to me by requesting a deposit.
Yes. when it comes to these type of things, I'm hardheaded.
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Sinbad
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Well if there's a waiting list, paying a deposit secures your place. Don't see a problem there.
HapticSimian
Honorary Master
You're free to be, but you're not doing yourself any favours. Keep in mind that a dealership has to finance each and every car in its possession, which is to say it buys every car from the manufacturer with the assumption that it can be sold at a profit. Stock is normally financed through a facility with one of the big banks, which runs into the millions... tens of millions for bigger dealers. These facilities are interest free for a period, but the moment a car has been on the dealer's books for longer than said period it starts costing the dealer money on a daily basis. Thus a dealer will do everything it can to minimise the chances of being stuck with old stock.
As with many things policies have to be structured around the lowest common denominator. You might keep to your agreement, but the vast majority's word carries no honour. I get pissed when I set off the alarm at my local Checkers because the cashier didn't deactivate the security tag on my block of cheddar... but when I consider how much stock shrinkage they must see to warrant tagging dairy in the first place...
Like I said. Agree to disagree. 
We can debate this to the nth degree but I know there is two opposing viewpoints here that may never have a middle ground.
(I blame my Dutch genetics for being hardheaded about it. )
We can debate this to the nth degree but I know there is two opposing viewpoints here that may never have a middle ground. (I blame my Dutch genetics for being hardheaded about it. )
HapticSimian
Honorary Master
Like I said. Agree to disagree.
(I blame my Dutch genetics for being hardheaded about it. )
I'm not debating anything; I can't force you to stop being wrong.
In seriousness though, I'm just trying to give a bit of perspective on why dealers tend to operate like they do. You don't have to like it, and be hard-headed enough and you might even negotiate an exception. Salespeople will also be far less inclined to do anything beyond the minimum for someone kicking up a fuss over a reasonable holding deposit, and having cash in hand also gives them leverage to secure the car for their customer.
The general policy won't change, because people tend to be dicks. If dealers were actually making the margins some think they are, they'd perhaps be a bit more pliable on such matters.
I'm not debating anything; I can't force you to stop being wrong.
In seriousness though, I'm just trying to give a bit of perspective on why dealers tend to operate like they do. You don't have to like it, and be hard-headed enough and you might even negotiate an exception. Salespeople will also be far less inclined to do anything beyond the minimum for someone kicking up a fuss over a reasonable holding deposit, and having cash in hand also gives them leverage to secure the car for their customer.
The general policy won't change, because people tend to be dicks. If dealers were actually making the margins some think they are, they'd perhaps be a bit more pliable on such matters.
The Dutch are never wrong.
And are traders by nature. We tend to negotiate on every point. If the dealer thinks I'm difficult, I'm still lenient on them. When it gets to the financing and insurance, I'm brutal.
HapticSimian
Honorary Master
The Dutch are never wrong.
If the dealer thinks I'm difficult, I'm still lenient on them. When it gets to the financing and insurance, I'm brutal.
I'm likely as much Dutchie as you...
Fazda
Honorary Master
Like I said. Agree to disagree.
(I blame my Dutch genetics for being hardheaded about it. )
Genetics aside, you are just wrong!
It is perfectly reasonable to ask for a holding deposit if a car is being ordered for you. That deposit comes off the final cost of the car, anyway.
I know that you think that you are personally squeaky clean when it comes to sticking to your word, but you have to realise that 90% of the guys out there will drop us like a hot potato if they get a better offer, and the fact that we have ordered a car for them which we will be landed with means zip to them and a hell of a lot to us.
A deposit simply shows intent to finalise the deal.
Case in point - we normally ask for a deposit of between 1 and 5k on an order, until a mate of the big boss walked in a few weeks ago and ordered a very highly specced car which will not be easy to sell, based on final price alone. The deposit was waived because of his "connection" and blow me down if he doesn't change his mind 2 weeks down the road and cancel the order - too late for us to inform Italy. We are now waiting delivery of a 250k Fiat 500C which suddenly no longer has a prospective buyer. The guy who ordered it doesn't give a damn, but if we had been sitting on his 5k, he might have thought twice before blithely tossing us into the wind.
What is to stop[ you from walking away from the deal, if you have nothing to lose?
Absolutely nothing.