The expert gave advice on finding a car with a discount

Discounts on cars can usually be seen before the start of the new year and in late winter and early spring, said Alexander Kornev, head of the Department for work with importers at Gazprombank Automotive Leasing. He told Izvestia on March 14 how profitable it is to buy a car in the current reality and what discounts Russians can expect.

"We need to start hunting for discounts with the latest news. If the brand changes the model to a new one or completely removes it from production, it means that with some probability in the near future the current cars will be sold at a discount," the expert explained.

In addition, according to him, discounts are usually made before the start of the new year and in late winter and early spring: the remnants of warehouses are unloaded before global shipments of new shipments. At the same time, the willingness to lower the price may not be directly indicated, but it will be easier to negotiate concessions with sellers.

"At a time when the market was provided with a variety of brands, sellers could lower prices at the end of a quarter or month in order to improve sales statistics. Now plans can still influence price tags, but not with such force. Against the background of overstocking warehouses, sellers have become more accommodating, not only based on the results of the reporting periods," Kornev added.

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In addition, the expert pointed out that sometimes the reason for haggling is a non-standard configuration. As an example, he cited a situation where all buyers want a specific model with an automatic transmission, but it was brought in by mechanics, which has bad reviews. You can bargain for such an illiquid option. Only in the future, when reselling, it is worth considering that you will also have to give in price.

"There is no point in asking for a discount over the phone, especially now. You must establish personal contact with the seller. You arrive at the salon, choose the right car and start talking to the manager who arrived in time about its advantages, other cars, trim levels — about everything, just to show the seriousness of your intentions. You can sign up for a test drive or ask for a second visit, "so that you have time to think about the purchase." You need to convince the seller that you are ready to buy, it remains only to carefully talk about the discount. The main thing is to make it clear that you are interested in the car and bargaining is not an end in itself," Kornev advised.

He also noted that if the seller is uncooperative or the buyer is principled, then it is worthwhile to get a ready-made offer with a specific minimum price, and then go with it to other salons. This will make it easier to bargain, starting with specific numbers.

"Another caveat: dealers used to offer a set of rubber, interior mats, and sometimes even a pasting or antikor as a gift. These are very rare now, but if they exist, it can also be considered a discount, albeit a small one," Kornev added.

Earlier, on February 27, Sergey Tselikov, director of the Autostat analytical agency, said that Russia had recorded a historical record for sales of new pickups in a year. By the end of last year, 29.2 thousand such cars were sold in the country, with an annual increase of 65%.