@kdwolf The car that I am buying I have negotiated a 16% discount, but that’s off the gross price (inc VAT / VED etc) so it’s actually almost 20% off the ex VAT / VED price.
My negotiating tactic was very straightforward. I configured the car on drivethedeal.com to see what discount could be achieved. If you aren’t aware of them, they quote for brand new factory ordered cars (not pre registered or in-stock cars) to your exact specification, supplied by a U.K. main franchised dealer and it includes free delivery to anywhere in the U.K. My preference is to buy locally, so I presented my local BMW dealer with this information and asked if they could beat it. I expected that they might have offered slightly less discount, but they agreed to match the drive the deal prices, even though they don’t deal with them. They agreed to match the prices on all 3 engine types (petrol, diesel and PHEV) prior to me test driving them all. I have chosen the petrol.
I’m not interested in an EV, so didn’t run any numbers on those, but given how manufacturers are struggling to sell them I have no doubt that, had I wanted one, I could have got a much bigger discount.
Finally, it’s worth stating that I’m buying outright, not leasing, and don’t need finance of any kind, so the discounts weren’t dependent on taking out a PCP or similar. There are sometimes additional deals to be had if you take out finance. On two previous occasions (once with BMW and once with VW) I took out a PCP in order to get an even bigger discount but, exercising a loophole, I paid off the agreement in full in month 2, but was still able to keep the additional discount (multiple thousands) in return for about £15 interest!