News

Mike Brewer says buyers should treat car dealers with respect as they try and haggle themselves to a good deal

Time 9:05 am, March 21, 2021

Wheeler Dealer star Mike Brewer has told car buyers not to go in fighting when they’re trying to get a good deal from a car dealer.

In a video, the Used Car Awards host gave his advice to consumers about what they need to consider when visiting a car dealership and attempting to negotiate a deal.

He reminds car buyers that dealers ‘need to turn a profit’ and not to go in ‘with a sob story’ to try and get the price down.


His tips include ensuring customers have a ‘target price’ for their part exchange so they know what it is worth ahead of haggling.

And he tells car buyers that ‘first and foremost’ they should be treating car dealers with ‘respect’ and should be ‘polite and courteous’.

‘Don’t walk in with a pair of boxing gloves on thinking you’re about to have a fight with somebody,’ he warns buyers. 


Instead he says customers should ‘enjoy the experience’ in car dealerships when they’re buying a new or used car. 

Brewer is set to host the Car Dealer Used Car Awards at The Brewery in central London on November 29.

Car Dealer has been working with the venue to agree to only put on the event if government guidelines allow it to go ahead as it has done in previous years.

So far 20 sponsors – including the event’s headline partners Black Horse – have agreed to take part and there are just a handful of sponsorships left.

In this latest video, host Brewer also advised car buyers visiting a dealership to look out for any damage that needs repairing on used cars as he says that can be used to ‘negotiate the price down’ and to also look out for missing service history.

He said: ‘I do it all the time on Wheeler Dealers because that is what I’m looking for – cars that have faults.’

And he warns customers from ‘insulting’ car dealers with derisory offers and reminds car buyers that car dealers are businesses that need to turn a profit.

He added: ‘Dealers are nice people in general. Don’t go in there and tell them a sob story like your goldfish has just drowned.

‘It’s a bit like the X Factor when they’re trying to win viewers’ votes but it’s not going to work with a car dealer.


‘You need to remember that these are people have got overheads, staff and cleaning materials to pay for.

‘They have to pay the taxman so just understand that and appreciate the fact that you are getting a service.’

There are only a handful of sponsorship opportunities left for the Used Car Awards 2021. For more information you can contact [email protected] or call 020 8125 3880.

James Baggott's avatar

James is the founder and editor-in-chief of Car Dealer Magazine, and CEO of parent company Baize Group. James has been a motoring journalist for more than 20 years writing about cars and the car industry.



More stories...

Auto Trader Advert
Server 108