How do Car dealers work? How long do they expect to hold stock for..

[crammy69]

2002 W210

I went for a mooch around this dealers stock and saw the above car (not my postcode in the link btw) back in February when it was on (and still is) Pistonheads for £6995.

I called the dealer again today to ask if they could do anything on the Autotrader £5995 price as I felt that without Command that this price was too strong for this car. He all but put the phone down on me!, he reckoned £5990 was reasonable for this car.

Of course if he feels its worth more thats his perogetive, but at what point does a dealer/Trader realise that he's not going to sell a car at a given price? I am interested in this car but struggle to see where he gets his price from.

 

[wemorgan]

I agree that price does look rather high, especially as there are very similar ones for sale at £4.5-5.5k. Styling wise the W210 are getting on a bit now so I imagine demand will fall away as W211 become more affordable. I'd hold out for a car at more sensible money.

 

[crammy69]

Thats what I thought

Parkers quote:

E240 (2.6) Elegance 4d Tip Auto, 2002/02, Average mileage: 70,000 miles
Original Price£29,240
Franchised Dealer £4,785
Independent Dealer£4,410
Private Good £4,130
Private Poor £3,310
Part Exchange£3,615

I know Parkers isnt the last word in pricing, but I had a look at a February copy of Glasses and that had the car around similar levels to parkers.

 

[Dryce]

Of course if he feels its worth more thats his perogetive, but at what point does a dealer/Trader realise that he's not going to sell a car at a given price?

It maybe depends on his accounts and his bank.

If he sells the car and drops the price he possibly takes a loss. But he's got the cash.

If he keeps the car and it's down on his balance sheet at some value. He's not actually taken the loss yet.

When times get really difficult and you have to satisfy other parties (eg. bank) as to your financial condition then your decision making may be entirely logical and yet apparently irrational at the same time.

 

[kth286]

older stock gets harder and harder to sell as punters keep seeing it and wonder what's wrong with it.

Dealer would not normally keep a car more then 3 months.

 

[MPG]

I know a number of dealers that I watch on the web that have had cars in stock for over 2 years....& in all that time the price has hardly dropped. Clearly they have deep pockets.....

 

[jaymanek]

I review my prices after holding stock for 1 month & 3 months... after 6 it gets put down to cost to clear.. longer than that and ill make a loss.. however its rarely the case.. only had one or two hang around longer than 6 months..

Dryce makes a good point... I had a couple sitting around since last feb, since id had a strong first quarter i just sold them off at a loss..

Dealers dont like to be told what their cars are worth... its better to phrase it something like... "i really like the look of your car but comparing to similar models id say its worth X.. would you be able to get anywhere near this figure?"

I get tons of phone calls from time wasters and the first and last question is usually "whats the best price"...
i get so cheesed off with this as they never ask anything about the car, they just want a bargain and sometimes i feel like saying... you know what.. you get what you pay for, so if you want cheap, go and buy one off a backstreet trader and suffer the consequences.

Anyway, back to the original question, Feb is not that long ago, id say he will only sell off at a bargain price after the summer..

How many cars does he have? you will often find that larger dealers will let stock like this sit as it doesnt mean as much to them to get it gone.

 

[sidmon]

Sadly within the trade there's a lot of stubborn trader's that would simply rather a car sit on the forecourt and rot than take even the smallest loss. However you generally find it tally's with them not being the most successful! It's the same with the odd one I sometimes deal with, they'll want to make on profit on a part exchange that they've given over book on because the car being sold was so profitable in the first place!

My advice is don't take any offer rejection to heart, use your feet and move onto the next one....then chuckle to yourself when the original car is still being advertised 4 months later!

 

[gaz_l]

When I was on the lookout for a C43, there was one for sale that I was interested in, but a) it was hundreds of miles away b) top money and c) had the two-tone interior (that I wasn't keen on).

The garage in question had it for the 18 months while I looked for mine, the 18 months I owned mine, and the best part of a year afterwards. The mileage never increased (at least in the advert) so I guess it sat on the forecourt all that time. I believe that in the trade these cars come to be known as a "landmark"..

It was still advertised for top money before it finally disappeared off the Trader, although top money then was considerably less than the top money of 4 years earlier. They must have lost a pile on it, why they didn't bale out of it earlier I don't know .

Cheers,

Gaz

 

[Vlad]

I think the winner for length of time in stock goes to Peter Jarvis Classic Cars who has held a hideous white R107 300SL wearing a dreadful bodykit in stock for @ 3 years or more. Amazingly the asking price on the car has hardly changed in that period of time.

If it were me, I would have ditched the bodykit and taken the car back to standard.

Peter Jarvis and look under Mercedes

 

[davidjpowell]

A trader that I used to know used to have a top of the range E class in his advert at top money. It was actualy her personal car which he would have sold if the price was right - but was not really looking to sell. Could be confusing if looking at the advert.

 

[Rory]

Dealers dont like to be told what their cars are worth... its better to phrase it something like... "i really like the look of your car but comparing to similar models id say its worth X..

Errr...how is that *not* telling the dealer what his car is worth!

I would have thought something like "I really like the look of that car but I just can't stretch to that price, can you do anything to help"? (Not sure that sounds any better - there must be a killer phrase to use!! ).


Interesting how some dealers will hang on to cars - I gather the big groups will send cars to auction after 90 days, and certainly in my business (electronics) we write stock off after 90 days, which is great if we then sell it, as it looks like it's all profit.

 

[jaymanek]

What I meant was dont be agressive about it.. many try to patronise the dealer which is the best way of getting him annoyed!

id say electronics are probably lesser value to cars.. cant write them off as easily!

 

[crammy69]

Yeah I can fully understand the dealer getting sniffy if he felt I was telling him his job, but I certainly hope I didnt come across that way. The dealers site is pretty tucked away, very poor location in my view, and half the stock is stuck around the back of the showroom. I guess they rely on advertising. They use Ebay,Autotrader and Pistonheads.

Ill maybe go down in person again, and this time see if face to face they want to deal, but if he thinks its keenly priced at £5990 then we are too far apart.

 

[jaymanek]

The dealers site is pretty tucked away, very poor location in my view, and half the stock is stuck around the back of the showroom. I guess they rely on advertising. They use Ebay,Autotrader and Pistonheads.

Sounds just like my place!

 

[SilverSaloon]

i guess that white SL on Peter Jarvis's site isnt depreciating so he is holding out for that someone who actually likes it. I personally hate it. same goes for the red AMG SL that Merc Enthusiast focused on a few months back.

he also has a red 560SL (LHD) with the american lights and bumpers. ok, its standard for a 560 (not offered here) but would look loads better with standard "euro" bumpers and lights, personally. i assume, again, he is waiting for that someone....

anyway unless the car is special, if i think its overpriced then i'd say so - if he gets shirty then just go elsewhere - it was overpriced anyway. tell him the customer is always right

 

[jaymanek]

The SL has been on PJ's site since before i got my licence.. over 9 years IIRC.. i remember looking at it thinking it was hideous even then.

 

[SilverSaloon]

its probably a high miler and he is hoping that if he keeps it long enough he can sell it for low mileage

 

[Seamster15]

its probably a high miler and he is hoping that if he keeps it long enough he can sell it for low mileage

If its the one for £16995 its got 44k on the clock.

 

[SilverSaloon]

it appears that white one has the kit on the doors aswell. maybe its just too much change to put back to stock....