I must say I personally think it's a shame that so many people appear to place so little value on having and building a relationship with their local dealership, I got some discount from list price on our car but not anywhere near a ' Drive the deal' price. If people carry on buying on price alone we will no longer have shops/dealerships to look at and visit to help us make informed choices.
When there's a couple of thousand quid at stake in the decision, I could do without a friendly face if they're going to give me a sh!te part-ex price and no discount. If there's a couple of hundred quid in the "price to change" by staying local then I will, and I have. Competition is healthy for the consumer. When there's £5200 profit in a £26k car plus maybe £3k to be made in the part ex, most places can afford to give a discount.
My most local dealership offered no discount at point of ordering (Good Friday, before any discounts were apparent), and a lowish part-ex. I always go to one of the two local branches for servicing/warranty work because one is close to work and one is close to home. I tried my luck at the rival local(ish) dealership group and it paid off. I was almost £2000 better off going to the other place. They are very friendly and accommodating at car purchase time, but a little too far to practically go for servicing/warranty. So I have a decent relationship with both places, but for very different reasons.
