The client knew what they wanted. The market didn't make it simple.
The brief was clear: upgrade the current vehicle within a set budget. What looked straightforward had layers. A trade-in with a real shortfall, two dealerships offering very different valuations, competing vehicles at similar prices, and several finance structures that each produced a different monthly figure.
Without a structure, the client would have made a high-value decision under dealer time pressure, with incomplete information and no way to compare the options fairly.
Trade-in analysis across two dealers
The client's 2022 BAIC X55, with a settlement of R325,000, went to two dealerships at the same time. The valuations came back far apart. I mapped both positions, worked out the real shortfall at each dealer and found where dealer support could close the gap.
R60,000 in combined dealer support
On one of the two options I negotiated R30,000 in trade-in assistance and a further R30,000 over-allowance. That is R60,000 in combined support that cut the client's effective shortfall. Dealers offer this kind of concession. They rarely volunteer it.
Eight finance scenarios, side by side
Both vehicles were modelled at four balloon options, 20%, 25%, 30% and 35%, over 72 months at market rates. The client could see each monthly figure, the balloon owed at the end, and how each option compared on total cost.
Both options on the table
I didn't push one outcome. Both options were presented in full, with an honest view of the trade-offs and a clear recommendation: apply for finance on both at once and let the bank approval and final trade-in figure decide the stronger deal.
The client walked in with the same information advantage dealers use every day.
What this shows
Vehicle deals are rarely about the car. They are about pricing, structure, timing and leverage. The client didn't need to understand dealer incentive structures, balloon payments or trade-in arbitrage. They needed someone who did, working for them and not for the dealer.