When buying anything, you'll want to make sure that it is money well spent, and that means stretching your dollar to the limit. The best way to do that, of course, is to find an extraordinarily good deal. In the car buying market, deals such as freebies are commonplace. What a smart car buyer will do is to seek out the more exotic and beneficial deals, which can result in much more savings as opposed to a hundred dollars or so of accessories that you might not need.
Here are some of the car buying deals that we know of, ranging from the usual ones, to some that you might not even know exist!
Freebies
This is one of the most basic ways to attract customers. You can always find them at electrical stores, at the IT show, interior design companies as well as car shows. What's better than to throw in a multitude of free gifts (usually of low value as opposed to the item sold) when it comes to attracting the kiasu Singaporeans?
The common freebies offered when you purchase a new car are usually accessories such as solar film, car mat, dash cams and leather seat upgrades.
These items are usually advertised to be worth a much higher price than they really cost, so you should not take it at face value and assume you have saved a substantial amount. Freebies are usually offered in conjunction with other offers and deals. You can also negotiate for cash discounts in exchange of freebies if they are of no use to you. You might just be surprised by what the salesperson is willing to do to close a sale.
Savings
The most practical of deals is undoubtedly an outright price cut that allows you to 'get more for less'. Smart buyers should always research the prices thoroughly to ensure that the discounts are not from inflated figures to draw customers in.
The simplest forms of such deals are outright discounts off the sticker price of the car. But that is not the only kind of discounts out there. Some dealers will also offer a year of road tax as opposed to the usual six months while others might offer cashback when you take out a loan or get your insurance through them. These will all result in a discount off the total price that you have to pay to get the car on the road despite not playing a part in the list price of the car. There can also be trade-in discount deals, whereby additional discounts are given when you trade in a car and also free servicing packages (which can help keep running costs down).
Clearance cars
While it might not be widely known, a great way to secure a huge discount is to opt for clearance cars. These are cars that have been sitting in the showroom as displays for customers to get a look and feel, or test drive cars. They are often sold with thousands of dollars of discounts and credits to be spent at the dealership.
Another sweet deal is to purchase 'management cars'. These are brand new cars that were briefly used by the staffs - usually six months or less. There have been examples of such cars being sold for almost $30,000 less than a brand new one, with only 4,100km on the odometer - surely a great deal for the financial savvy.
The best deal out there are event cars. It is worth noting that BMW 730i cars used in the 2018 Airshow were sold for a massive $42,000 off the list price! To top it off, these cars were only lightly used for the duration of the event, making them almost brand new! The only downside is that with merely a couple hundreds of such cars available, it might be difficult to snag such deals of a lifetime for yourself.
Other deals
Apart from the straightforward deals and offers that anyone can think of, the wily sales personnel have some other tricks up their sleeves to draw in more customers.
An age old trick is an overtrade deal, this is where the dealer takes in your old car at a higher price, while adding that difference to your new purchase. This seemingly redundant move allows you to take out a loan of a larger amount, effectively reducing the down payment required. As such, an overtrade deal allows one to purchase a car that could have been financially out of reach.
Some dealers offer free upgrades to a guaranteed COE package, which will ensure that you get a COE for the car even if the COE price were to climb to an unprecedented amount, giving you greater peace of mind. On the topic of free upgrades, warranty upgrade is another frequently coined deal. While it does not have an immediate impact on the cost of the car, it might come in handy in the long run, possibly saving you thousands from costly repairs.
Another deal you should look out for are good interest rates. This plays a huge part in the actual cost of a car, especially so for loans with long repayment periods. As such, the special interest rates that dealers might offer from time to time can also be an especially good deal for some.
Grab these fantastic deals
The best place to enjoy all these deals is no other than the upcoming Cars@Expo. With many dealers under one roof, you will not only be able to compare the cars, but the deals as well. Needless to say, with the competitive environment there will surely be plenty of amazing deals up for grabs.
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