Tuesday 12 February 2008

Smart Move?


When visiting car showrooms I really feel I'd like to have somebody like Dominic "don't get done, get Dom" Littlewood accompanying me. It's relaxing enough and most of the staff are ostensibly pleasant. I simply don't enjoy haggling.

The miniature Smart cars are at David Agnew's Mercedes showroom on Boucher Crescent, Belfast. There were two on display today: a black cabriolet passion and a blue pure, both 71bhp. I'm interested in a 84bhp passion with extras like leather, alarm, power steering, chrome etc.

They're getting an 84bhp model in shortly, so I'll test-drive that. Meantime, the salesman appraised my car and, predictably, offered me somewhat less than I expected. I'd checked Glass's Guide and had an idea. At present I'll get a better deal if I sell my present car privately. I'll try twisting their arms a bit to see if they'll improve their offer.

I'm impressed with the little Smart car and look forward to test-driving it.

2 comments :

Alan in Belfast (Alan Meban) said...

I've had one of their courtesy fortwo's for the last couple of days, leaving it back in the morning. Take one for a good test drive, and figure out what extras will make it feel a little less utilitarian!

Anonymous said...

I think to attain the best deal privately you really do need to go to them without a trade-in and play very hard to get. Hold out for a better deal, in a sense.
There must be people losing thousands of pounds on trade-ins, on a one or two year-old trade-in. Like "CJ", Agnew's didn't get where they were...

Tim