New Car Buying Advice

[DanGersFord]

As ive been saying for what seems like forever now im getting the New Focus ST3 and lo and behold the time has finally come where im in a position financially to order it :D woop. Anyway onto the topic point, I have never bought a brand new car before and im basically looking for advice on what I can get away with haggling wise, I'm considering getting a Sun roof from factory just wondering what peoples opinions are on sunroofs in general? I wasnt a big fan of them however a forum member posted a photo of his the other day and it did look pretty decent, also I've seen chrome and also all black versions of the ST headlights, I know the ST3 comes with xenon headlights as standard but im wondering if the chrome/black headlights are something that you need to specify you want when you order the car?

[Philf1]

I got my ZS in November,1st new car too.

You can try haggle anything to be fair, but be prepared not to win everything you want. Give a little and trade off one thing for another that you really want. A tank of fuel is great but only lasts a few hundred miles, a set of mats as long as you own the car, get the idea? Will ultimately depend on how desperate the dealer is to sell, if you have already ordered your on the backfoot, if just starting to look play hardball there are lots of Ford garages all competing for the sale and a new ST3 isn't the cheapest car in the showroom after all, a fair commission for the salesman. Shop around all theones nearby and see who offers best deal, then back to the one you want to buy from and ask them to at least match the deal. This is what I did and saved £2k on list price.

Good luck and keep us posted.

[DanGersFord]

Well the car comes with mats as standard anyway. What other kind of things could I look to get thrown in?

[Philf1]

Not necessarily,you'll have to check, mine didn't but I'd saved so much I couldn't get a set out of the dealer. You can try for spare wheel if not standard, or a free service, I got that, upgrades to anything, stereo, wheels etc. Paintprotection, seat protection,better part-ex depends how brave you are really. At end of the day they can only say no.

As for sunroof I'd have one they are great for letting in some fresh air if you don't want windows open and aircon on all the time. Seem to be rare nowadays always used to get them before aircon became standard.

[Philf1]

Forgot to say my daughter is after a MK6, preferably a facelift 6.5 and a zetec or zetecs any buying tips,or things to looko out for, she only has £3000.

(Sorry about hi-jacking your thread)

[DanGersFord]

It says in the brochure that it the ST3 comes with mats as standard the ST1+2 dont. Im getting the style pack (rado grey alloys, red painted calipers and illuminated scuff plates), premium Sony sound system, and city pack anyway. The paint protection is a good idea because I stay right near the sea so the air is quite corrosive round here due to the salt. My brothers buying my car off me anyway :)

[Philf1]

Better still then cash buyer should get some serious discount. If you are financing part then Ford give a dealer discount for taking their finance, I got £250 (think Focus is £1000) for taking small amount on finance then paid it off after 3 months (you have to keep it for 3 months or have to pay discount back).

[DanGersFord]

Forgot to say my daughter is after a MK6, preferably a facelift 6.5 and a zetec or zetecs any buying tips,or things to looko out for, she only has £3000.

(Sorry about hi-jacking your thread)

You can get a decent mk6.5 for round about that anyway. Id definately go for a 3Dr given the choice again they look alot better and the majourity of aftermarket parts available are mostly for 3 dr anyway. Mine was only the mk6 lx model so it was pretty much standard but ive done alot to it to improve it you've maybe seen my build thread? Dans mk6 fiesta. I got mine from a dealership and paid £500 for a warranty and it saved me a small fortune. Ive had a new coil pack, front o/s suspension spring replaced (snapped), the crank shaft oil seal replaced(which would have cost £300) and a wheel bearing replaced so all in all the warranty has saved me probably about £8-900 over 3 years. Mines an 03 plate if you go for a facelift I doubt you'll have many problems they're generally great little cars, cheap tax/insurance and great economy wise. I regularly drive 300miles to stoke to visit family there and still have a couple of bars worth of fuel left in the tank :)

[Philf1]

Thanks Dan, she wants the 3 door. Saw a zetecs 30th anniversary model for £3k on autotrader but it went before we could get there. Will check you thread for ideas.

[DanGersFord]

The zetec Blue is nice it comes standard witb blue interior seats and dash :) looks realy good. The dealership I first inquired at was giving me £1500 towards my deposit plus offering £1000 px for my car so ive sold my car to my brother plus saved up another £1000 so that should give me a £3500 deposit. I thought that was pretty good and as far as im aware I dont need to pay thatgrand n a half back