Year-end discounts on cars & how to get the best deal when buying one

Recently booked a Kia Seltos GTX+ DCT in Chennai on December 28th, 2023, and got the vehicle registered in January 2024.

BHPian MadrasTurbo recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

Having negotiated multiple new cars for friends, family and self, I am fully convinced that December is the best time to buy a car if you plan to keep the vehicle for 5+ years. The discounts outweigh the depreciation from the MY if you play your cards right. Recently booked a Kia Seltos GTX+ DCT in Chennai on December 28th, 2023, and got the vehicle registered in January 2024.

Considering that the ex-showroom prices for this variant was just a tad less than 20L, and with the increase in tax in TN for cars over 20L, I decided to pull the trigger before the quarterly price increase by Kia.

Had to work with multiple dealers, but was able to negotiate a straight discount around INR 1.2L on the OTR price, but with no additional freebies. I always get insurance on my own for all new cars, but this time, was able to get an overall deal including return to invoice, so decided to take insurance from the dealer.

Considering that the pre-facelift model was being offered 1.8L discounts, to get 1.2L on the new face lifted variant was a fair deal.

Few observations and tips to negotiate a better deal from experience

• Start by making a list of all the dealers in your area and visit/call them to ask for the available stock - important to make note of available variant, colour, manufactured month/date, number of units.

• Start with the dealership where you have a good relationship, and ask for their best price. Do not tell them about not wanting to take insurance initially. Get the discount breakup and then negotiate further.

• Once you have a number, go back to the dealer who has the most stock in terms of numbers, and let them know that you are flexible with the colour and willing to take the one that they can give the most discounts on.

• Check with the other dealers and be transparent about the best offer you have been made yet, and there will be a point when you know you have a good deal. Now once you have this, directly go to your preferred dealer, or the dealer who has your preferred colour+variant in stock and 9/10 times, they will match the best offer. Surprisingly, most of the times they end up making the deal just a little sweeter when you tell them you will pay the advance right away.

Interesting observations

• The discounts can vary between different branches of the same dealership. Generally the ones in not so prime locations offer better prices.

• Best to not communicate your colour or variant choice because, when the dealer realises that the colour you are looking for is not in stock, the conversation ends prematurely, and when the dealer realises the colour you are looking for is in stock, you may lose the full negotiating scope.

• If there is a dealer with >1 car in stock for the variant and colour that you are interested in, the closer to December 31st, the better the deal. You will definitely be able to get at least additional freebies.

• We all know it is almost always better to not take the insurance from the dealer, but communicate this at the very end of the negotiation as I have seen dealerships even going as far as almost matching the market price. Same goes for the accessories, pick what you want in the end, and ask for appropriate adjustments in price.

• If it is a very small difference that your preferred dealer is not able to match, I would recommend still going with your preferred dealer as the relationship that you have with your dealer can save you a lot of time and hassle.

• Specifically check for corporate discounts, as some dealers leave this out.

• Finally, if the car is not so popular and if you are sure the stocks are not going to go off by the end of the year, wait for January. For really popular cars, I have noticed that they somehow are able to clear out the stocks by the end of the year, at least for all the good colours.

Though this might not be for everyone, and might seem like too much work for a few thousands, it is at the most a 2-day task and I do not really do it just for the monetary savings, but for the art of negotiating and getting a fair deal. Most of my friends and family call me when they have decided to buy a new vehicle and I always look forward to doing this!

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