Car traders thoughts needed.......

[steveo_mex]

Hi all

Been a while since ive played with cars but I would like to ask for the thoughts of any car traders on here.....

I'd like to know what is the state of the second hand car market right now - good, bad, are cars selling or are they being discounted?

Reason is > ive been offered a car that I would look to sell on but I have no idea if stuff is selling or not. Any advice or experience woul dbe greatly appreciated.

BTW: the car is a landrover discovery 3, sat nav, dual AC etc (good spec), it is a V8 petrol, but then when was a Land rover ever cheap to run!!!

[Mk1mexcos]

I have a garage and do restorations , general repairs and car sales
We sell cars between 500 and 3k , we are busy and small hatch backs fly out the door , I sold a 2001 polo today basic model black 5 dr for 1195 , I had 3 people look at it today alone, the market is strong for this end of the market, on the other hand I have a 2003 a6 tdi v6 estate I want 2795 for and it's been for sale for weeks, the cars we sell as soon as we stick them out with a price are the small cars between 800 and 1600 anything over that sits around for a bit, the key is selling price ! Get it right and it will sell straight away!
I have a friend who does more expensive stuff say 3k up wards and he is still selling a good number of cars however there is a problem , he's only selling them on finance , very rarely does he have a out right purchase, I don't think the car market for this level of car is very strong for private sellers .
Also most buyers are more running cost focused these days , cheap tax , cheap runner and cheap to insure
So used car sales are flying , however in my opinion only on the smaller cheaper end are selling retail and private the dearer larger end are only selling retail and are being discounter to sell or financed,
Also there is less trade ins about which again points towards finance and not quite as many car sales at the higher end
As I said , price is the key , problem is the cars are not worth what people "think"
We do well because we aim to sell at a "private " sale price but from an established garage forecourt with a warranty
The car you have the option of getting will not be an easy sell unless it stands out from all the rest , which normally means the cheapest but with everything going for it

Pm me if you want a bit more info

[bunta20v]

I'm in the trade too. As already mentioned, small cars are selling like hot cakes. Low tax bracket and insurance group, cheap to run with a good level of spec will always sell.
For example I'm selling a 1.2 corsa sxi 5 door new for £9295 with free metallic That's £5200 off the rrp. The phones doesn't stop ringing for cars like these. Big and thirsty petrol cars are not selling. Diesel tdv6's are expensive to run let alone a petrol.

[steveo_mex]

Thanks guys that's really usefull info. So really for the type of car I am looking at (big and petrol) then price is critical and it must be better than the rest of them out there otherwise im stuck with it! Took a quick look round it today and it looks alright, full service history, 1 owner, good spec AND a full set of new pirelli tyres (big cost on a land rover) In terms of pricing it I have been looking at parkers used price guide, is that a reliable source?

[bunta20v]

Parkers is a waste of time. What you need is a system called cap. it's what we use to value cars as well as the majority of the dealers. Basically theres 3 levels of pricing clean, average or poor. Cap prices in general is a lot lower than Parkers so when we value a car to part ex in we use cap average even if the car is mint (low). Dealers use this too but when they need to sell a used car they will always quote Parkers and if it's mint then they use the highest price possible.
If you can buy the car at cap average, you know your getting a cheap car and can sell it on for a drink.
If you want pm me the reg and mileage of the car and tomorrow I will give you the cap price so your not paying over the odds for the car.

[Mk1mexcos]

Thanks guys that's really usefull info. So really for the type of car I am looking at (big and petrol) then price is critical and it must be better than the rest of them out there otherwise im stuck with it! Took a quick look round it today and it looks alright, full service history, 1 owner, good spec AND a full set of new pirelli tyres (big cost on a land rover) In terms of pricing it I have been looking at parkers used price guide, is that a reliable source?

Spot on there
Glasses guide is usefull,
But to be fair they are not realistic selling prices , the market is the place to find out
I have a freelancer for sale , both glasses and parkers say between 1400 and 1800 (it's a 1.8 petrol)
I'm selling for 1200 as its a more realistic price
Have a shop around for a similar model and spec , but look at it from the angle of finding the cheapest and you will find a big difference ,
Quick example, we have someone trading in a 2003 Alfa 147 , they looked on various sites inc eBay and and said they had seen plenty knocking around 1500/2000 , which to be fair is realistic "advertised" price , these ones will still be for sale though as some are priced at 1000/1500 ,
Most people start looking for cars from cheapest first when buying but base the selling price on dearest first
To sell a car you need good car at the lower end , not the cheapest but in the lower price
Everyones out for a bargain so for a seller to be successful they need to offer a bargain
I guess you know land rover resale value is shocking for depreciation !!!

[rs2000321]

The car game isnt as bouant as it once was a few years ago but people will always need cars so always a market!
I have a 50 car site and sell 30-40 cars month in month out, as stated you have to make sure of a few things
1) your not massively over priced (a little is ok, dont need to be cheapest other wise would never buy anything)
2) you pics and ad are spot on!
3) your car is 100% on its toes when you do get a nibble i.e clean and everything working!
4) you deal with the people in a decent manner and you will do ok

[Pushrod King]

Steer well clear!!

[steveo_mex]

Steer well clear!!

Pmsl!! Not a land rover fan then��

One last question - advertising, might seem obvious to most but I'd like some idea of what peeps find good. For example is eBay classifieds any good? Auto trader? Forums? What do people find effective

Thanks again all, help is appreciated

[alancdavis]

The largest dealer in our town gives nothing for yours and sell hiss above retail ,,, seems to sell a few though

[Mk1mexcos]

Gumtree seems to be hate best place at the mo and it's freeeeee

[dangerousdave]

You just have to sift out more idiots and chancers than on ebay with that place

[Mk1mexcos]

Yep agreed, but we don't have to much of a problem as we are selling as traders so I think we have more serious buyers from it , but yea certainly a lot of them about

[pablomills]

The largest dealer in our town gives nothing for yours and sell hiss above retail ,,, seems to sell a few though

I love the dance you do with car dealers. When I was looking at trading my X5d in for a 350Z, the first thing the dealer said as I walked in was 'hope you're not trading that in as they don't go for much these days'. I'm local and knew they'd shifted 3 identical ones for healthy money in the last month alone! I've got one pestering me at the moment 'The car's still here Paul, and we're getting about 10 calls a day on it so you really should come and look at it' followed by 'just give me your card details and I'll put a holding deposit on it so nobody else sells it'. I've not even said I want to view it yet!

Out of curiosity, what's CAP on a loaded 2005 911 (997) S with 60k? Off to see a few dealers on the weekend so would be interesting to see how close they're willing to get to the CAP price!