I heard if you work for one of the big swiss firms it is possible to get a fleet discount when buying a car by showing your work contract to the dealer.
Anybody have any experience with this, or how much you received off the price?
Hi All,
you actually fill and get a form stamped. Around 13% - plus 5% for the weak Euro now........
Check with your HR department as sometimes this only applies with certain cars, i.e. your company might have an agreement with your local Ford dealer, but not Volkswagon for example.
13% for fleet discount is exceedingly generous. It all depends on the type of car and the model. Small cars have very little discount whereas a large Mecedes you will get around 7%, plus any "euro bonus" and anything else you can negotiate.
I got 14% Fleet Bonus via my company, 6% Euro Bonus plus CHF 6,000 retail bonus.
Actually, 13% is not generous, is about the norm. Depending on the brand and model, the discounts do vary, but for premium brands, like BMW, Mercedes, Audi, the discount is in the 10-12% range (I am talking only about fleet discount, not including any of the other discounts).
For example, I received 12% fleet discount for BMW (standard fleet discount for my company, I am assuming similar deals with other big companies in CH). Mercedes would have been the same, Audi would have been 2% lower, but if you go to them and tell them that you have an offer from BMW with 12% fleet discount, they will most likely match it (just go to the dealer towards the end of the month, when they are under pressure to meet the quota for the month). The euro bonus and any other discounts (for example buying a showroom car) will be added on top of that. I would argue that the buying price should be at least 20% below list price (this was in my case, but I chose to order a car configured based on my own specifications and not a showroom car), but can be even lower (in the case of showroom cars or models close to being replaced by newer models).
I definitely suggest the OP to check first with his/her travel department in the company, or HR; they can provide what type of fleet discount deals are available and with what brands. If your prefered brand is not on the list, you can always go to the dealer, and ask for that discount (always quote a competitor and mention that the competitor is willing to give you the fleet discount).
As general rules, as mentioned above, showroom cars tend to have very attractive discounts already; at the same time, go car shopping towards the end of the month, when the dealers are looking at monthly quotas (they stand to loose much more money if they don't sell the volume, rather than selling one car at a very attractive discount).
Thanks all for replies