New Car Price Reduction

I am thinking of buying a new car in Spain. However, it seems to take an age going to dealers and even more time on the net. Does anyone know where I can find a list of dealers with e mail details or has anyone found a good deal on a basic car?  I got a quote for a Chevrolet Aveo including a discount. Then when I looked up on the internet it was over 1000 Euros cheaper. I've e mailed the dealer to ask the reason. No reply as yet! Just feel that I am going to be ripped off!

Everything seems to indicate prices are falling. Is there somewhere that one could check the prices? Thank you.

New car prices in Spain are generally not negotiable the way they are in the UK. (Prices in the UK used to be so inflated to allow for the haggling culture that exists in new car sales). Discounts offered by individual dealers tend to be minimal and there's not usually much point (need?) to shop around. You can find the list price of new models by visiting each manufacturer's website. Most of them include a configuration tool so you can specify the exact model and add any extras you want. Even with limited Spanish they are all fairly self-explanatory, but if you can't understand the Spanish site, look at the UK version first - it will be pretty much identical (except for the language!) although some models vary from one country to another.

Ford were recently offering 25% discounts on certain models but this offer seems to have ended.

I've managed to work my way around the Spanish websites. In March I found a Huyandi Getz showing a reduction of 3200 Euros. When I went to the dealer I was told he had just sold the last one. I looked today and they still have them on the website with a 3200 Euro reduction.

I wrote to a Chevrolet dealer in my best Spanish and I was offered a price reduction of 2300 Euros plus a further discount of 900 Euros if I took a stock model. When I checked on the site they were cheaper still. I then wrote to the dealer again and was told that there were 200 cars to be sold at that lower price. It seemed I had to make a decision now over the net which I was not prepared to do.

I was hoping to be pointed to a site that contained accurate information.

By the way I went to a 2 Ford Dealers. Guess what nobody came to see what I wanted. They must have too much business!

I see your point. How frustrating. Sorry, no other suggestions really, other than maybe look through the various motor mags to see if they have any useful info.

Hi Kev

 Have a look at this site,a friend told me about it, let us know if its any good.

http://www.unoauto.com/

Steve

Hi Steve, Yes thanks a very useful site. I've quickly been able to look at loads of models. I see that all are available with some sort of discount. I've also checked the manufacturers web sites. Some have better offers. When I have narrowed it down to the car I want it will obviously be worth approaching unauto to see if there are additional discounts available per web sites. I will also approach a dealer or two and see what they can do.

I am shocked by the cost of air conditioning. It seems to avarage out at around 1000 Euros. However, on the Renault site a Twingo can have air conditioning and an upgraded stereo for under 600 Euros whereas on unoauto it is not available as a package making a total cost of about 1300 Euros!

I suspect there is a deal out there, just need to do more leg work.

I saw a Dacia site, they seem to be linked to Renault. Has anyone bought one of them? They seem to have diesel cars for the same price as petrol!

I thought all new cars in Spain came with a/c as standard these days

Dacia are basically old Renaults made under licence in Romania, like the Yugos and Ladas and Polskis of old. (And Seats). I think the current model is based on the old Clio, which I guess is a pretty sound base? If you're not a badge snob, they look like fantastic value.

Hi;

I haven't had any experience of this manufacturers vehicles. But, having driven various European Cars particularly Renault and Citroen during 20 years of commuting 120 miles per day and clocking up close on a million miles and watched the degree of complexity increasing with every passing year I have to say that If I was in the market for a new car now I would definitely consider the Dacia brand.

In Granada where I now live the range is fully supported by Renault distributors. On the face of it the range represent darn good value for money. The initial Renault concept was to produce a cheap car that could hold its own against the other major European producers in much the same way as VW did with Skoda.

One thing I would suggest is that if you do go looking, have a  look to see just how easy it is to do the most mundane task imaginable...changing a headlight bulb...On the Renault Megane Scenic its nigh on impossible without dismantling the front end of the car; not something you would want to be doing late at night at the roadside in the rain...The Megane range from Renault has notoriously dodgy electrics with more than a few problems brought about by using wire that is only just up to the job with very little room for over consumption; in the event of a short circuit very serious problems can occur. Wire chafing is a serious problem  on right hand drive versions (obviously not a problem over here!). I mention this only because of the Renault connection...if the wiring looms are home produced in Romania it shouldnt be such a problem!

Looking at the overall range it seems yes they do do a diesel engine, but its only a 1500cc; yes it has a turbo but I would suggest that it's got one because it needs one!

I found this site on the net; it's the main portal for Dacia in Spain and this fan site...

Good luck with the search; I find myself surrounded by Sales personnel whenever I visit my local Renault Agency...

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You probably deserve some sort of medal for clocking up a million miles in French cars! (I'm prejudiced) In my days of pounding the highways and byways of Blighty, I regularly clocked up 50,000 miles a year in a succesion of Nissan Bluebirds and Primeras, only ever stopping to change oil and tyres.

The Dacia 1.5 diesel comes with up to 85 bhp, which should be enough grunt for a car that size. The Skoda website doesn't seem to list prices, but I saw a billboard the other day offering the Fabia from about €10,000. If the prices compare favourably with Dacia, I'd be inclined to opt for German/Czech engineering, but the Dacia doesn't look bad at all. Millions of Romanians seem to agree.

Best of the bunch was a Citroen XM; the Big Blue Bu**er!

Final straw was its last MOT; purchased with 83,000miles on the clock, forcibly retired at 327,000. Cost me £1400 to get it through its last MOT; two rear hydropneumatic spheres, rear suspension adjusters but the real killer was new headlights at £450 each...the headlights failed because the beam shapers were behind the glass cover and were made from polycarbonate, they are mounted about 1" away from the halogen bulbs and due to heat got crazed over and become slightly opaque. Planned obsolescence!

The aim of the lights was set by adjusting 4 worm drives mounted on the front scuttle; the worm drives however are made of nylon and again due to the heat these become brittle and shear off at the headlight; the drive at the light cannot be replaced...so for the sake of a few cents worth of nylon the whole headlamp ass'y has to be ditched...more planned obsolescence...

You really cannot consider scrapping a car for the sake of the headlights so I had no real option but to pay-up!

Three weeks after getting its new MOT the headgasket blew big time...and my pet Citroen man wanted another £1400 to fix it...(Citroen agency quoted £2100)

To tell the truth if I had had the money available I would have paid it to keep the car on the road, but I didnt so she had to go...I actually did a straight swap for a Citroen BX 1.9 Turbodiesel and regretted it from the word go...The XM was like driving your favourite armchair; the BX like driving a plastic deckchair.

It lasted an 'orrible three weeks before I traded it in against a three year old Xantia 42000 miles on the clock;  finally retired her with over 300,000 miles when we moved over here....2 cam belts changed 'on spec' at 120,000 and 240,000 and 1 clutch at 150,000 miles.

I'm still undecided on Renault; many many years ago I had a 17TS then an 18TS no real comments about either of these; I didnt keep them long enough. Now got a Scenic and apart from its load lugging capability its all a bit of a nothing car; a plodder with no personality...It's the only car we've had that doesnt have a name...

(The XM was 'Christine' after Christine Onassis- perfect, provided you threw lots of money her way; also after Stephen Kings 'Christine' ; she took great delight in tearing lumps of flesh from my forehead from the corners of the doors and the boot lid especially if the suspension was down...I still have the scars to show for it!)

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Sounds like Christine developed cataracts in her old age. Also sounds like you had a kind of love / hate relationship with Citroens. In my mind, the only loveable models they made were the 2CV and of course the wonderful DS (known in Spain as the Tiburon) And maybe the SM, if you can count that as a Citroen?

So many modern cars are lacking character, as you say. The quirkiness of your Citroens was what made owning them enjoyable for you. One of my first cars was a Lancia Beta. I had to keep a supply of spare throttle linkages (nylon plasticky thingys about 4 inches long) in the glove box because they snapped that often. I also spent innumerable Saturday mornings filling holes on the front wings with glass fibre mesh and body filler. My current transport, a Mondeo, is 100% reliable and does exactly what it says on the tin, but somehow it fails to arouse my passion the way the Lancia did!

Now......what was this thread about? 

quote Roberto..."Now......what was this thread about?..."

Ah Yes...whoops...!

Comments about Dacia still stand though; lots sold in Granada...

Sorry Kev2006n...!

It was helping me understand Spanish car prices and trying to get a good deal. Going back to the point of air conditioning, it maybe that all cars come with it. However, in general it seems to cost 1000 Euros to add it. It could be that you can't buy a car without it.

I do have to agree that the older cars had more character. I remember having a Citreon Dyane, a modernised 2CV. Mine had a 435cc engine and I was always very pleased if I managed, after a lot of planning, to overtake anyone!

My original thoughts to save money on a car was to buy a new left hand drive one in the UK, get a form VAT411 which means you do not pay VAT in the UK.  However, going this route means you have to pay IVA of 16%, Matriculation of 14% and other costs including the help of a gestor. I was quoted a further 1000 Euros.  I don't even know what Matriculation is? I was told it was easier to bring in a second hand one and the cost would be a few hundred Euros.

Before we moved from dear ol´ Blighty, some five years ago, I obtained all the info. and brochures on my desired car- Toyota RAV 4, 3 door, metallic green, automatic. Many variations to choose from in England.

What a surprise in Spain! Only two models, the Luna or Sol, take it or leave it, plus it will take some weeks to get the special colour  you request, plus why do you want automatic, señor??

The prices were a big surprise as well!! Anyway, ordered the Sol automatic.

However, some five years later, I discovered I chose the wrong colour, beige would have been far better. Would not have shown the dust that settles back on the car some 20 minutes after I clean it!!

Apart from that, utterly reliable, love the automatic gearbox, serviced once a year, same tyres, battery, bulbs, etc. (must touch some wood.)

The main dealership in Cartagena usually call me to enquire if I was satisfied with the quality of service at my San Javier branch of Toyota, which is a nice touch, I think.

Hi Kev

Having a little search this morning, have found a couple more Spanish new car sites.

www.km77.com;  www.yamotor.com

Steve

Being Canadian (or American) to me it 100% Japanese or nothing. Since moving to Europe 10 years ago we've had 5 (6 if you count a used van we bought from a relative and promptly gave back) 3 2 Toyota's, a Madza, a Fiat and an Audi. Nothing but problems with the Europeans cars, and never a problem with our Japanese cars. One really nice thing about living in Germany is unlike America Japanese cars do not hold there value, picked up a 2 year old low mileage Mazda for less than 50% of the price new.

it must be a cultural thing that the Spanish are loath to lower prices on anything, be it housing or cars, better to lose a sale than lower the price. Anther major difference is dealers don't seem to carry used cars.

We were just in the market for a car (Yaris) and got a fantastic deal 8 months old, fully loaded (Wife had to settle for a stick) for 8500€, complete, really surprised the dealer when we offered cash, no financing. He also handled the ownership change et.

Speaking of such we were moving at the same time so the car is registered at the old address, any idea how to update the ownership? We used http://www.segundamano.es/ and click on Coche. We also lucked out that the dealer also spoke very good English.

When we lived in Boston, out patriotic friends were infuriated that we didn't buy an American car. After my experience with Nissans in the UK, I opted for a Maxima. Beautiful car, went coast to coast and back again with only a brief stop at Jiffylube for an oil change! Auto box, of course. Here in Spain, auto cars are rare, which seems really strange since Spaniards can seem so lazy in certain aspects. You'd think they'd cotton on to auto boxes. (I believe Alonso now has one with paddle change!) My last two have been autos, but finding a decent one is not easy, and they're also probably harder to sell.

Kev, matricualtion is registration, which is applicable to all new cars. If you bring a second hand car from UK you may still have to pay this tax, unless you have owned it more than six months and re-register at the same time as you become a resident.

Over the years I've found Belgium a good place to buy cars. They speak English and are keen to do a deal. Easy to find dealers on the internet and make enquiries by email & phone. Their cars come with Belgian plates valid for a month and incl 3rd party insurance,so you can pick it up and drive it anywhere.

Hi Guy

Intresting about Belgium,I always thought Germany was the cheapest place to buy a car in euorpe, however language is always a problem threre(unless you speak it) and the red tape might prove more difficult.

Guy, if you have got time do a search in Belgium and I will do one in Germany, lets say for a 04 Ford Focus 1.4 5 door saloon under 30k kms , post the link and lets see what we come up with.

Roberto

How could you have lived in the states and not had a big gas guzzler, front bench seat, colomn shift and all that, I remember holidaying there with a 8 litre V12 Dodge pick up, best bit of the holiday!,

Steve

Hi all

I was shocked to find the price of a used, pretty basic model, 04 Ford Focus in Germany.

http://suchen.mobile.de/fahrzeuge/showDetails.html?id=105501063&__lp=4&scopeId=C&sortOption.sortBy=price.consumerGrossEuro&sortOption.sortOrder=ASCENDING&makeModelVariant1.makeId=9000&makeModelVariant1.modelId=20&makeModelVariant1.searchInFreetext=false&makeModelVariant2.searchInFreetext=false&makeModelVariant3.searchInFreetext=false&vehicleCategory=Car&segment=Car&fuel=PETROL&minFirstRegistrationDate=2004-01-01&maxFirstRegistrationDate=2004-12-31&siteId=GERMANY&negativeFeatures=EXPORT&damageUnrepaired=NO_DAMAGE_UNREPAIRED&export=NO_EXPORT&maxMileage=40000&customerIdsAsString=&lang=en&pageNumber=1

I was even more shocked to find out that i could get a similar car in Spain for less

http://www.segundamano.es/malaga/ford-focus-cmax-16-trend-5p/a14814962/?ca=29_s

Steve