Haggling for a car in Finland

Kirsikka75 · Post by **Kirsikka75** » Fri Nov 15, 2013 8:49 pm

Hi,

After about a 10 year absence, my wife and I are moving back to Finland in a week. Life has moved on since our last sojourn in Suomi and now we have kids and so forth so I'm expecting it to be a bit more peaceful this time around

One thing I'd like some advice on... how receptive are second hand car dealers to haggling? When we moved back to the UK and bought our first house, my wife was a little taken aback when we were haggling on the price and so I'm not sure if that is a habit that she never picked up or if its considered insulting somehow to be pushy on the price in Finland? We're looking to get a car pretty sharpish but with cash burning a hole in our pocket and it nearing the end of the month when we get there, I thought I might be able to drive the price down by a considerable chunk.

I'm trawling through nettiauto.com and aldvaihtoautot.fi (both picked up from posts on here) to put together a shortlist of options but if there is anywhere I should be checking, please also let me know.

Any thoughts and guidance gratefully appreciated.

**Sponsor:**

kharnynb · Post by **kharnynb** » Sat Nov 16, 2013 10:48 am

First, do your homework, there's a site where you can check the car's history, use it, it only costs 2 euros per car checked.

Second, cash, without trade-in, you can usually remove 5-10% of the price from the dealer.

DMC · Post by **DMC** » Sat Nov 16, 2013 12:18 pm

Are you planning to buy new or used? I don't know about new but the only used car dealer I know is always prepared to haggle, especially for a cash deal. As to how much you can try to get off, that varies enormously from car to car and I couldn't suggest where you should start haggling.

Upphew · Post by **Upphew** » Sat Nov 16, 2013 2:00 pm

Getting the car with financing might get you a better price as dealers might have incentives to sell those too. But as others have said, cash trumps trade in.

Flossy1978 · Post by **Flossy1978** » Sat Nov 16, 2013 4:38 pm

Stay away from he sleazy secondhand dealerships in Tuusula....

Kirsikka75 · Post by **Kirsikka75** » Sat Nov 16, 2013 6:05 pm

Thanks for the tips, will definitely check out the car history. We're looking at 2nd hand, probably between €7k-10k. Unfortunately, financing isn't an option as we no longer have a recent credit history of any kind in Finland and since our plan is to start our own businesses we won't initially be able to point to a regular income either. We did phone and ask one dealer and he said we had no chance of getting financing because of that. So it's cash all the way...

I'll give the haggling a try and see how we get on

kharnynb · Post by **kharnynb** » Sun Nov 17, 2013 1:50 am

To give you an idea, 3 years ago, we bought our car, a 2003 citroen xsara picasso with about 15k km on the counter for 5000.
It was advertised for 6000.

DMC · Post by **DMC** » Sun Nov 17, 2013 11:45 am

The problem with used cars is that you can't generalise from one deal to other deals, especially where a dealer is involved. Sometimes you can negotiate a large price reduction, other times not. It depends on how much the dealer paid for the car - if indeed he "paid" for it at all, or took it in part exchange - and whether he thinks it will be an easy car to sell to someone else. You may have better luck haggling with a private seller, but again it is a lottery, depending on the seller and why they are selling. I suppose you just have to know what you are prepared to pay for a specific car, and see if you can negotiate a price you are happy with.

kharnynb · Post by **kharnynb** » Sun Nov 17, 2013 1:10 pm

I would strongly advise against buying private, unless you know the person selling.
There is no consumer protection for private buys.

Kirsikka75 · Post by **Kirsikka75** » Sun Nov 17, 2013 10:47 pm

Interesting comments kharnynb... we had decided to pay for what my wife calls the 'Car Dr' to test the car (I think its some kind of AA equivalent?) and also, if its a private buyer, insist they take out the insurance that costs about €79 which should cover us if there are faults in the first six months. That's what she said though... I have no knowledge of these things.

In fact, my car and motoring knowledge is, erm, zero. Possibly even less than that. Hence we thought getting it tested to ensure its a solid option.

zax · Post by **zax** » Mon Nov 18, 2013 12:44 pm

Along with the above advice, research the car you're viewing. Find out service schedule, common faults, known issues. All can help when it comes to haggling. If the next service is due in a month and it's a big one, or if there's a known issue or recall that hasn't been dealt with, even if the tyres need replacing soon, it's all ammunition!

Kirsikka75 · Post by **Kirsikka75** » Mon Nov 18, 2013 12:56 pm

Thanks again. We've picked a car and negotiated a bit on price. Not a huge amount but, to be fair, it was already reasonably priced so we're happy. Plus its just been serviced and is also covered by a manufacturer guarantee for another few years.

One more question on the process... it is a private individual we are buying from and I can see from the car's records that he has finance on it. How does that work in Finland? I've heard horror stories in the UK of people buying a car second hand where there was still finance and they ended up liable. Any ideas how I can make sure that doesn't happen here? Or isn't that possible under the Finnish system?

Thank you!

Oho · Post by **Oho** » Mon Nov 18, 2013 1:15 pm

Kirsikka75 wrote:Thanks again. We've picked a car and negotiated a bit on price. Not a huge amount but, to be fair, it was already reasonably priced so we're happy. Plus its just been serviced and is also covered by a manufacturer guarantee for another few years.

One more question on the process... it is a private individual we are buying from and I can see from the car's records that he has finance on it. How does that work in Finland? I've heard horror stories in the UK of people buying a car second hand where there was still finance and they ended up liable. Any ideas how I can make sure that doesn't happen here? Or isn't that possible under the Finnish system?

Thank you!

I bought a financed car a few years back. I paid the seller only the balance between the agreed sell price and the remaining financed debt, which, in turn, I paid directly to the institution which financed the car. Upon receiving payment for the outstanding debt the financier mailed me the title which allowed me to register the car under my name and that was the end of the matter. I was the legal owner and the car no longer was collateral for any outstanding debt.

If the car was originally titled in Finland you or actually the seller can buy reasonably priced additional insurance against major mechanical maladies from "If",

http://www.if.fi/web/fi/henkiloasiakkaa ... fault.aspx

which offers an insurance specifically to cover risks involved in private second hand car trades.

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