This was way back in the mid 1970’s at least about 50 years ago and that was the price of a new one . Possible you were not old enough if even born back then but I got married in 1972. Things were a lot different back then but maybe you wern’t old enough to know. My first car was a Ford Anglia 100e second hand 1950s model for £125. this was in 1962 when I learnt to drive
So tell me, Do car salesmen still toddle off for nearly an hour to talk to their manager and all they probably say is, Rhubarb, Rhubarb to each other?
This was a ruse used by them and l always wondered if they were secretly listening to you discussing the ‘will l buy’ conversation you were having with whoever was with you.
If you didn’t buy, they would still bombard you with phone calls for days with their ‘best price’.
I wouldn’t trust a car salesman as far as l could throw them! That’s why l would offer what l thought l wanted to pay and they’ve got two choices.
I would use phrases like… a bird in the hand and all that… or, I’ll find a man who can.
I always won!!
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he last car we bought was Sue’s Honda Civic Estate .It was still their demo car and we got it at a great price wth only a few miles on the clock. It was actually out on the road for some other people to try out before we had a go. That is the best way to buy I think to save money.
What I don’t understand a new car can have "delivery "miles on the clock and still be classified as new. to my mind if it has more than 10 miles on the clock it is no longer “new” and should not be sold as
such.
Always pays to push for the extras such as better floor carpet/mat or even proper spare wheel instead of a squirty bottle thingy.
Art
they toddle of as part of a ploy so it doesn’t look as you are beng pressured into buying. If you have someone constantly doing the hard sell it can put people of wondering why so keen to get rid of.
Do you know, I’ve never bought a car in my life!
But I have dealt with a lot of sales people in my life and really enjoy it! Give them enough rope and they’ll hang themselves and I know all their ploys…….
Buying a car can be a nerve wracking experience and you could end up paying more, salespeople have certain tactics they employ to get your hard earned cash, going to see the manager is just one ploy, that’s to give you a few minutes to think about it, they don’t make much money on selling a new/nearly new car, no, their money comes from the add ons, paint protection, tyre insurance ect,ect, and, they don’t really want a cash sale, there’s more money to be had through finance,
One ploy is , if you arrive with your partner, the salesperson will quickly identify who’s boss and play one off against the other, I quite enjoy buying a car as I’m wise to most tactics used by them and can use them right back,
The car has to be road tested as part of the per delivery inspection
The market has changed, there is no haggling now, the price is the price, they are no longer salespeople they are sales administrators.
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We had a similar experience as you @realspeed In the mid 90s, also with a Volvo dealership, with the rep taking one look at us and concluding that we’d never be able to afford one of their cars. We, like you, he was totally wrong. Their loss, and Ford’s gain…we bought a new Mondeo instead.
I think that used car salesmen are brought up at the same school of learning as MPs.
i.e. they have learned that, if you have to tell a lie to sell your product, it’s better to lie than to end up with no profit!
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@Artangel made a good point about them disappearing into the office to speak to their manager for an hour to see if they can get a better deal. Blox!!
What really P****s me off with new cars these days is lack of a spare wheel. 
Since when is a spare wheel an extra? that stupid wee thing you get in some cars is a joke.
I would never buy a car that had no spare.
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Yep. Can’t stand the spacesavers. And there’s something just not right with the idea of squirting what is some kind of fast setting builder’s foam into a tyre, which must not only make it a real PITA for a garage to remove, but also guarantees that the tyre cannot be repaired. So a simple nail hole, which could have been fixed for a tenner will now cost you an entire new tyre.
I have said before I persuaded Sue to get a proper spare wheel off ebay as a lot cheaper than main dealers. Lucky i did as not long aftwards she hit a pothole in the road and wrecked the tyre . The first thing the breakdown man asked “do you have a spare wheel?”.
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Typical.
My wife kerbed a tyre once. Only then did it come to our attention that someone had stolen the spare, which should have been stored externally in a wire frame under the boot. Whoever nicked it had bent the clip aside, but had the “decency” to use a cable tie to hold the now empty frame in place.
When we phoned the AA (we were members) for help, they were reluctant initially since they viewed the absence of the spare as an “alteration” to the vehicle.
Few cars come with a free spare tyre nowadays, it was done to save weight and therefore manufacturers were able to meet their emission targets and a nice little earner for them on the options list
both our cars also carry 12v air compressors in the boot area as an extra just incase a tyre goes below pressure while away from home and dashcams+ first aid kits
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We carry the air compressors in the Land Rover and the Yeti. You just never know. But luckily both have proper spare wheels, you need them on the big 4x4s.
ROX
in the past I have had 3x toyota landcruiser VX 4.2cc -toyota 4 runner’-Isuzu citation- range rover- landrover freelander -Series 3 landrover- toyota GS landcruiser - 2x Lexus rx300- Honda CRV-and now a Nissan xtrail apart -Ford Explorer almost forget the Kia Sirento I could tell a story about each one but would take too long.
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Living on the farm it’s mostly Land Rovers we have, but I like something a bit less…Workhorse. So I’ve had a couple of Range Rovers, a Freelander, a Suzuki and now a Yeti.
This is Black Bess, my very first 4x4. I loved that car, had her till she was totally done.
Having Toyota Lancruiser VX 4.2cc was like being king of the road ,so much power under ones foot and abilitiy to see over other cars, yes I do miss owning one even now
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