Decision - not if, but when

[adamjbradley]

I've been looking around for a fun but somewhat practical car and the Megane 280 seems to fit the bill. Driven the cup and sport, auto and manual and like the compromise an auto cup offers. Is now a good time to buy, any new model just around the corner I should know about? Thanks in advance!

[chuckovski]

I've been looking around for a fun but somewhat practical car and the Megane 280 seems to fit the bill. Driven the cup and sport, auto and manual and like the compromise an auto cup offers. Is now a good time to buy, any new model just around the corner I should know about? Thanks in advance!

End of year, end of financial year, and end of the month are generally better times to buy. Bottom line though, rather than asking "can I save another $500 if I wait until..." I'd ask "do I want the car now or not?" Otherwise you'll be waiting years for depreciation to kick in. Thought with Renault it happens earlier than average...

[oscargamer]

OK.

1. Don't go into a stealership saying 'i want that car'

2. Do go into a stealership saying 'i want that car for $xxk but i'm also cross-shopping against a GTi / R / ST / STi ' etc...etc... DO NOT APPEAR over eager.

3. Find a stealership that has the actual car you want. They will be MUCH more eager to sell at a good price than a stealer who has to order it

4. What colour do you want (this relates to 3 above)?

5. What build date do you want? Remember that a late 2018 build is about to turn two years old. That is a strong lever you have.

6. Do shop interstate. I just got my RS for about 8k less than my state were prepared to go. It took me a 2 day round trip, which was actually very nice, a bit more paperwork, but a great saving.

Good luck

[grover61]

On 20/12/2019 at 7:36 PM, oscargamer said:

OK.

1. Don't go into a stealership saying 'i want that car'

2. Do go into a stealership saying 'i want that car for $xxk but i'm also cross-shopping against a GTi / R / ST / STi ' etc...etc... DO NOT APPEAR over eager.

3. Find a stealership that has the actual car you want. They will be MUCH more eager to sell at a good price than a stealer who has to order it

4. What colour do you want (this relates to 3 above)?

5. What build date do you want? Remember that a late 2018 build is about to turn two years old. That is a strong lever you have.

6. Do shop interstate. I just got my RS for about 8k less than my state were prepared to go. It took me a 2 day round trip, which was actually very nice, a bit more paperwork, but a great saving.

Good luck

$8k good saving, which state did you purchase in. 

Thanks John

[oscargamer]

NSW. I'm in VIC.

Almost not relevant though. Unless you are in Tassie and the car is in Broome !

Just need to find a stealership that needs to sell one that they have had on their lot for a while. Time is your friend. Take your time and wait for the right car at the right price. Set up a watch list on carsales or similar and you'll see the prices move.

[Ambrose]

18 hours ago, oscargamer said:

NSW. I'm in VIC.

Almost not relevant though. Unless you are in Tassie and the car is in Broome !

Just need to find a stealership that needs to sell one that they have had on their lot for a while. Time is your friend. Take your time and wait for the right car at the right price. Set up a watch list on carsales or similar and you'll see the prices move.

Do you mind telling us how you manage to save 8K from the original possible price? Thats huge !

[oscargamer]

What I was saying (or trying to) was that the price I paid for the car I bought from NSW was $8k cheaper than the exact same car here in Vic.

Clearly the NSW stealer was needing it gone whereas the VIC one wasn't.

So i guess the important point, is my last comment in the above post saying "Just need to find a stealership that needs to sell one that they have had on their lot for a while. Time is your friend. Take your time and wait for the right car at the right price. Set up a watch list on carsales or similar and you'll see the prices move."

If you read my longer post with the 6 dot points, that's how you need to do it. In my case, I shopped 3 VIC dealers, in 3 different towns/cities, but they really didn't want to negotiate on cars they actually had in stock. I found this very odd. So I looked interstate and with the help of a member here, found one that was a good price. I then negotiated fairly hard, but being very pleasant. It's always very clear from the first few exchanges how negotiable the price is likely to be.

Edited 25, December 2019 by oscargamer

[Lloyd Clarke]

On 20/12/2019 at 4:00 PM, adamjbradley said:

I've been looking around for a fun but somewhat practical car and the Megane 280 seems to fit the bill. Driven the cup and sport, auto and manual and like the compromise an auto cup offers. Is now a good time to buy, any new model just around the corner I should know about? Thanks in advance!

Hello, I did my research and found the Cup variant auto for my liking and profile. Good all round fun and firm enough for drives in the hills. Don't let the reviewers bios you to take a softer sports option. End of month or end of year is good. Good deals now as 2018 models are still around new and 2019 will need to move to make way for any upgardes next year. No new variant on the horizen except the Trophy. Buy now and enjoy now. You can wait forever and debate over $$$. Great advice in here. weigh it all up; and dive right in. I pick up my new 2019 Cup in 2 weeks.

Cheers and Safe Roads

 

Edited 26, December 2019 by Lloyd Clarke