Pre-registered cars

[senwar]

The wife has decided she wants a change and driving around yesterday, spotted what turned out to be a pre-registered Mini Cooper sport. It was registered last week of June and had 7 miles on the clock (I say had, as we put another 7 on the test drive yesterday).

Anyway, the car is effectively 20% under the list price and I know mini's aren't discounted very much (don't appear on certain broker sites). I've had a few carwow quotes but its still roughly £2k cheaper. Additionally, there's a £1k contribution if go with their PCP. I've considered this, then pay it straight off. In this case I think pre-reg is better.

Now I know this is a question to ask the dealer but is there much wiggle room with pre-reg cars? The pre-reg isn't an issue, she keeps her cars for a good few years so don't mind the 'second' owner. We've also done it with a p/ex so was wondering if there's more chance of anything if we sell that private. They've offered a relatively decent trade to be fair and while I think she'd get about another £500 private, it's not worth the hassle.

Just after any experience of additional discount on pre-reg? I've been fine haggling good deals myself in the past but not bought/looked at pre-reg before.

[cinnabull]

Quite a few years back I worked in the sales department of a Ford main dealer. We used to pre reg vehicles to hit bonus targets set by the manufacturer on registered vehicles. These bonuses can run into thousands. Or the flip side of the coin is that the dealer hasnt hit their minimum sales quota so had to register a vehicle.

If its the first scenario I would suggest there is money off to be had there. If its the second you’ll be lucky. However dont ask dont get. Just suggest if they knock £x of you’ll sign there and then, if not you’ll walk. If they let you walk then its safe to say they dont have £x in the deal, so perhaps return later with a lower £x.

Stuart


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[RichS]

You’ve just missed quarter end, which is probably why it was pre-registered, so probably now little wiggle room. Still, no harm in asking, even if you end up with free 1st service, car mats or Apple CarPlay.

[kungfupanda]

Also don’t under estimate the ease of part exing your car rather than selling it privately.

So much hassle comes with private sales. Prepping the car, wasting your own time, no shows, low ballers etc etc. Sales corner it ain’t...

[mitch1956]

just a note , if something terrible happens and the car gets totalled within 12 months , if there is a new car replacement clause on the insurance policy it will not be applicable if the car is pre reg and you are not the first owner.

[awright101]

I would say it's a good deal. I've been looking at a JCW again and there are little discounts on them.

[senwar]

Thanks for the responses all. I suppose there's no harm in asking, nothing to lose.

just a note , if something terrible happens and the car gets totalled within 12 months , if there is a new car replacement clause on the insurance policy it will not be applicable if the car is pre reg and you are not the first owner.

Thanks - didn't know that. Worth getting GAP in this instance then (I usually do but haven't for the mrs') although would use ALA

Also don’t under estimate the ease of part exing your car rather than selling it privately.

So much hassle comes with private sales. Prepping the car, wasting your own time, no shows, low ballers etc etc. Sales corner it ain’t...

Yeah get that - just easier to p/ex to be honest.

I would say it's a good deal. I've been looking at a JCW again and there are little discounts on them.

Thanks - yeah it does seem a cracking deal to be honest, and the exact spec she wanted - a Cooper S would be too much for her usage really.

[mitch1956]

Thanks for the responses all. I suppose there's no harm in asking, nothing to lose.



Thanks - didn't know that. Worth getting GAP in this instance then (I usually do but haven't for the mrs') although would use ALA



Yeah get that - just easier to p/ex to be honest.



Thanks - yeah it does seem a cracking deal to be honest, and the exact spec she wanted - a Cooper S would be too much for her usage really.

gap is good if something terrible happens god forbid, but a waste of money if it does not LOL you pays yer money and takes yer chance

[smalleyboy1]

I was in a BMW dealers in the NW where they had an M4 CS for sale with delivery mileage. The list price was £90k and they were selling it at £60k. I asked the salesman what the story was and he told me that BMW wanted some in the dealerships, so they got a decent discount. Additionally by pre registering it, they hit a target thereby getting further discount off all the stock they ordered in the previous quarter or the future quarter, can’t remember all the details.

I asked that given the £30k discount off list, if they were making any money on it and the salesman said no, they would make nothing and simply wanted to turn their money over.

[senwar]

Congrats on the watch, you now have to hope the car doesn't sell between "a few days" and today, to be honest after I'd offered my best deal I took great delight when a customer came back after a couple of days to look again and I could say "I told you it was good deal, sorry it's sold". Although my granny always said, "what's for you won't go past you".

Ha - yes I can imagine it easily goes both ways. The mrs has decided she wants to go for it after all so now will probably just phone first thing and fingers crossed.... If it's sold, then wasn't meant to be etc.. In fact, we've found a few pre-reg corsa's tonight, 1.4 SRI VX-Line Nav, basically looks like her Ltd edition but better. They're 6k less. However, its helped her decide she wants the mini

Please remember pre-reg means second hand, meaning you will be the second owner and this will have an affect on resale value, depending how long you intend to keep it, so can become a false economy.

That's fine - she keeps her car for a while (this one 6yrs, previously had one for 8) so her intention is 5yrs minimum. Thing is, they would even do 0% on new but the discount wasn't brill

I was in a BMW dealers in the NW where they had an M4 CS for sale with delivery mileage. The list price was £90k and they were selling it at £60k. I asked the salesman what the story was and he told me that BMW wanted some in the dealerships, so they got a decent discount. Additionally by pre registering it, they hit a target thereby getting further discount off all the stock they ordered in the previous quarter or the future quarter, can’t remember all the details.

I asked that given the £30k discount off list, if they were making any money on it and the salesman said no, they would make nothing and simply wanted to turn their money over.

Interesting - thanks for the info

[adrianw]

I was in a BMW dealers in the NW where they had an M4 CS for sale with delivery mileage. The list price was £90k and they were selling it at £60k. I asked the salesman what the story was and he told me that BMW wanted some in the dealerships, so they got a decent discount. Additionally by pre registering it, they hit a target thereby getting further discount off all the stock they ordered in the previous quarter or the future quarter, can’t remember all the details.

I asked that given the £30k discount off list, if they were making any money on it and the salesman said no, they would make nothing and simply wanted to turn their money over.

You know when a car salesman Is lying etc etc, it’s a secondhand car, that is all it is worth, there are pre-reg M5’s with 45k off at the moment, BNW can’t shift cars.

Don’t look at the sticker prices or believe the salesman, just look at the second hand prices and lease deals.

[number2]

You know when a car salesman Is lying etc etc, it’s a secondhand car, that is all it is worth, there are pre-reg M5’s with 45k off at the moment, BNW can’t shift cars.

Don’t look at the sticker prices or believe the salesman, just look at the second hand prices and lease deals.

Hmm always good to hear an expert opinion.

[Paddy!]

We pre-register vehicles to hit manufacturer targets and unlock factory/back-end bonuses. Invariably they will be sub 50 miles and there will be caveats from the manufacturer about how they are advertised. These particular terms will be similar to rental companies eg. not to be advertised/sold less than 90 days or 5000 miles, this varies.

Demonstrators are not pre-registrations, they may well be used to bolster numbers to hit targets, but they will be used by staff and customers for, well, demonstrations. Having been in the motor trade all my life, I still can't grasp the kudos associated with a consumer buying an "ex-demo". That vehicle will most likely have been ragged within an inch of it's life from cold by the lairy socked salesman, idiot valeter and god knows how many customers. Buying one is a bit like marrying a prostitute.

We, as dealers, rely heavily on manufacturer bonuses associated with registrations. BMW/Mini are a hateful manufacturer and impose some ridiculous targets on their franchisees (they are not alone in the "premium" franchises). I can't and won't go into too much detail but the entire network has been in trouble for some time now. The constant cycle of pre-reg is going to kill a lot of dealers.

The OP for example is looking at buying a pre-reg. You may well have considered buying a new car but have been swayed by the "huge savings". So now the dealership has lost another new registration. But because they pre-registered to hit targets, their quarterly target won't go down for new cars... because they hit it last time right? And when do targets EVER go down anyway... so now they're one natural registration away from their new car target again... which soon snowballs. To us, it's like filling a bucket up with water but it's got massive great holes drilled in the bottom.

I could rant about this for a lot longer but in answer to your question OP, of course there's always room for discount on pre-reg. They want them gone as they're costing them money!

Please still look at deals on new, especially if you are financing as invariably there will be 0% available and discounts towards the end of month/quarter when they're chasing that target.

[senwar]

Thanks for the detailed response Paddy, this is appreciated.

Also makes a lot of sense.

I did actually question the 90 day issue yesterday and they advised it wasn't a problem and is good to go now. Should I push this further? The car was registered the last week in June and other than 7 miles I put on it on the test drive, had 7 miles delivery mileage on it.

I genuinely want to leave it a bit but the mrs wants etc.

We did consider the 0% deals on new and it even comes with a lower deposit but they only knocked £800 off the car. I did get a few carwow quotes yesterday with bigger discounts and haven't played that card yet but the mrs likes the fact the pre-reg car is ready now and will save her having to have hers tested, serviced etc. In hindsight I think I dropped a bit of a clanger yesterday totally discounting finance - I should have just pushed that to see what they'd go to (we have the cash but sometimes finance works better)

[W124]

That vehicle will most likely have been ragged within an inch of it's life from cold by the lairy socked salesman, idiot valeter and god knows how many customers. Buying one is a bit like marrying a prostitute.

This made me smile - thank you !

[adrianw]

Hmm always good to hear an expert opinion.

What is wrong with what I said? they are secondhanded and it will have a large negative effect on re-sale, I have bought 6 nearly new vehicles over the last two years, two BMW's, two Mercs, and two Lexus's, the only dealers that haven't outright lied were Lexus. as it is now much harder for buyers to establish the history or previous owners of cars it is much easier for them to lie.

Three of the vehicles were corporate, one thing we did establish was that cars are cheaper north of Watford gap.

[number2]

What is wrong with what I said? they are secondhanded and it will have a large negative effect on re-sale, I have bought 6 nearly new vehicles over the last two years, two BMW's, two Mercs, and two Lexus's, the only dealers that haven't outright lied were Lexus. as it is now much harder for buyers to establish the history or previous owners of cars it is much easier for them to lie.

Three of the vehicles were corporate, one thing we did establish was that cars are cheaper north of Watford gap.

''Large negative effect'' nope.

[Kingstepper]

Is there really a big difference on resale with one vs two previous owners?
Wouldn’t worry me as a buyer.

[senwar]

Is there really a big difference on resale with one vs two previous owners?
Wouldn’t worry me as a buyer.

Me neither - especially as it's likely to be at least 5yrs old when the mrs moves it on.

In fact, during the trade in process, I don't remember them asking about how many owners its had (they've not even asked to see the car)

[adrianw]

Me neither - especially as it's likely to be at least 5yrs old when the mrs moves it on.

In fact, during the trade in process, I don't remember them asking about how many owners its had (they've not even asked to see the car)

Obviously the longer you own the car the less it matters, I assume they asked you the registration number of your car.

One thing people are saying more and more is that the dealers are offering exactly the same for trade ins as we buy any car.

[senwar]

Obviously the longer you own the car the less it matters, I assume they asked you the registration number of your car.

One thing people are saying more and more is that the dealers are offering exactly the same for trade ins as we buy any car.

Yes they did and they confirmed they use the same system that WBAC use - actually showed it me yesterday due to the decrease in offer on the system due to additional miles (but they stuck with the original price they offered). Basically said WBAC will provide a higher price point to then knock you down. As there's only £280 difference between that and the trade price offered we're happy to trade.

[JonRA]

Obviously the longer you own the car the less it matters, I assume they asked you the registration number of your car.

One thing people are saying more and more is that the dealers are offering exactly the same for trade ins as we buy any car.

I traded in my Honda Civic in February - they gave me slightly more than the price WBAC offered online (I hadn't visited but had put all the defects forward when getting the quote). I asked for more because it had a 5 year service plan than wasn't part of the WBAC offer.

A year earlier they offered about 800 less than WBAC and would not try to match it. So I think the trade is becoming more attuned to these new players and the convenient options they open up for sellers.

OP hope you manage to get the Mini - shame to lose it for the sake of 100gbp.

ATB

Jon

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[number2]

Is there really a big difference on resale with one vs two previous owners?
Wouldn’t worry me as a buyer.

Me neither - especially as it's likely to be at least 5yrs old when the mrs moves it on.

In fact, during the trade in process, I don't remember them asking about how many owners its had (they've not even asked to see the car)

No there isn't .