Apologies but I am going all evangelical tonight...

So I have 4 cars (S2000, CRX, MX-5, and Yaris) who would think that I need anymore?

Well, in the office people assume that because I have several cars I must know something about them. Of-course, they are wrong but people keep coming to me to ask advice about how to save money on new cars.

In the past 6 weeks 2 colleagues and myself have saved nearly

 

good post, as you found out - getting a good deal is about having a strategy and using that effectively, it's not just about shouting at a dealer or some fancy talking - timing is everything.

I'm not a purchasing manager but I have worked a lot with our purchasing team and it's amazing how it works as long as you are prepared to do some research. The guy I worked with was a German guy, about 35 years old. He was about to negotiate the corporate discount with Mercedes for the company cars. He went to a dealer during a weekend (without an introduction) and wearing his casual clothes - sat in the cars and slammed the doors etc. The dealer told him to get out of the car - and when he asked "why are all your cars SO expensive" - the dealer replied "little boy, if you can't afford it get out of here and stop wasting my time". On the next Monday the sales VP from Mercedes turned up for the meeting about the corporate sales - my friend now dressed in the finest suit opened with " we are probably talking about 100 cars this year - but you know what I did this weekend, I'm not a great expert on the cars you make, so I thought I would have a look at what we were going to buying from you..." and explained his experience with dealer. Changing the tone "so...about the matter of the discount, clearly last years offer of 6% isn't going to work today, is it? - few minutes later the deal was done.

As long as you are prepared to walk away from a car deal - you have got the upper hand, never fall in love with the metal too much - it will blind your judgement.

 

8.9 % from a dealer is OK (I got 8.2% from Honda recently). The Cahoot rate is a variable rate. If the BofE Base Rate stays the same, then your quids in, if not, then it depends how much it goes up. I took the safe option as 8.2% APR is excellent.

The cheapest guaranteed rate at the moment is Nationwide at 8.9% APR. Rates below this are either variable rates like Cahoot or "Typical" rates. The problems with "typical" rates is that the rate you get depends on your credit score, how much you want to borrow and over how long. The more times you apply, and therefoe get credit scored, the worse your credit score can become...catch 22.

www.thisismoney.co.uk compare over 400 lenders - worth a look if you need a loan...

 

Last week my mum was going to buy a Honda Jazz. She asked the dealer for a price for her old Clio (got spot on book value) and tried to get some discount off the Jazz (looking for