Price depreciation on trade-in

[Deleted member 37751]

I don't know what the problem is with depreciation, if it didn't happen no-one would be able to afford most cars, but when it's someone else who takes that hit, that's ok.

To the OP, no-one forced you to buy the car for the amount that you did and no-one is forcing you to sell for the amount you've been offered. How could it be anybody else's problem what the depreciation is?

It always amazes me how little research people do when making probably their second biggest purchase after their home, then precede to complain about high ownership costs and ultimately low residuals.

Forewarned is forearmed....

 

[Deleted member 37751]

I don't know what the problem is with depreciation, if it didn't happen no-one would be able to afford most cars, but when it's someone else who takes that hit, that's ok.

To the OP, no-one forced you to buy the car for the amount that you did and no-one is forcing you to sell for the amount you've been offered. How could it be anybody else's problem what the depreciation is?

It always amazes me how little research people do when making probably their second biggest purchase after their home, then precede to complain about high ownership costs and ultimately low residuals.

Forewarned is forearmed....

 

[Dryce]

the many posts I have read on here suggest that top quality service and trouble free purchases are fewer and further than one might think by using a MD

I think an analysis of the 'many posts' would indicate that problems do not occur frequently. And when they do the MB dealer either puts things right quickly or ends up looking silly and putting things right eventually.

Things with some *non* MB dealers may end up with some additional complications and less come-back.

It all comes down to risk premium and what your buying and for how much.

 

[Rory]

MB Direct is the retail arm of Mercedes, it is used to dispose mainly of management (staff) cars and I find them generally massively overpriced.

They sell a much wider range than that - I think they've got 7 or 8 outlets now so the throughput of ex-management cars wouldn't be enough to keep them going, and they have some surprisingly old cars.

I got my car from MB Direct and it is an ex-management car - it was about the same screen price as franchised dealerships but far better equipped (few had COMAND then) and I eventually got £3500 off the the price so that made it a lot cheaper than other sources. It's one of the few cars I've ever bought were afterwards I felt I got a good deal. Certainly the guy I dealt with was *very* keen to sell me a car - completely different from franchised dealers that I visited at the time.

 

[artyman]

How do you determine which dealers are MB and which are franchises?

 

[John]

This is one reason when i buy a car i always use finance.

So you can cancel the finance within the cooling off period?

 

[JohnDeere8530]

This is one reason when i buy a car i always use finance.

not sure I follow your logic. Ok, I never use finance so what am I missing here apart from paying an overall inflated price over the lifetime of the finance ?

 

[paneraiseeker]

not sure I follow your logic. Ok, I never use finance so what am I missing here apart from paying an overall inflated price over the lifetime of the finance ?

So instead of pumping all my cash into a depreciating asset i put my cash into a appreciating asset.

 

[Red C220]

They sell a much wider range than that - I think they've got 7 or 8 outlets now so the throughput of ex-management cars wouldn't be enough to keep them going, and they have some surprisingly old cars.

I got my car from MB Direct and it is an ex-management car - it was about the same screen price as franchised dealerships but far better equipped (few had COMAND then) and I eventually got £3500 off the the price so that made it a lot cheaper than other sources. It's one of the few cars I've ever bought were afterwards I felt I got a good deal. Certainly the guy I dealt with was *very* keen to sell me a car - completely different from franchised dealers that I visited at the time.

I think the bulk are staff and management vechiels, but many will be late plate trade ins taken by a main dealer and contract hrie returns and moved out to the retail group.

I actually asked them how they differed from the main dealers ann that was the explanation I was given by a main dealer.

 

[markjay]

So instead of pumping all my cash into a depreciating asset i put my cash into a appreciating asset.

That is correct. If you have an investment path that returns better percentage than what you are paying as finance costs, then this makes sense.

I think the problem is though that most people will struggle to find such investment route, the finance cost are quite high and you really need to be in certain line of business, e.g. building-up a property portfolio etc., in order to better what you will be charged by the finance provider.

 

[Red C220]

How do you determine which dealers are MB and which are franchises?

It generally becomes aparrent once you start looking for a car. I asked my local dealer who they were and what group was covered.

So Redhill, Gatwick, Brighton and Eastbourne all turned out to be Lookers PLC

Northampton, Newbury and a few others turned out to be Sytner group and were a shocker to deal with.

Croydon is Mercedes Factory.

I'm reasonably sure MB World Brooklands is a Mercedes Factory dealership and it would surprise me if Milton Keynes was a franchise.

Each "group" will have different sales targets and different ways of doing business.

In our case, Croydon had access to a car we wanted (from the nationwide new stock) that none of the Franchised dealers did, they had different targets and were able to offer better incentives, being factory supported.

 

[markjay]

AFAIK both MB Temple Fortune and MB Park Royal are owned by MB UK.

 

[paneraiseeker]

So you can cancel the finance within the cooling off period?

I think you have a 7 day cooling off period.

 

[Bobby Dazzler]

How do you determine which dealers are MB and which are franchises?

You look here: Mercedes-Benz Retail

I think the bulk are staff and management vechiels, but many will be late plate trade ins taken by a main dealer and contract hrie returns and moved out to the retail group.

I actually asked them how they differed from the main dealers ann that was the explanation I was given by a main dealer.

And ex-rental cars.

 

[Rory]

... but many will be late plate trade ins taken by a main dealer and contract hrie returns and moved out to the retail group.

I can't imagine why trade-ins at other dealerships would end up at MB Direct - the dealerships would keep them for themselves.

Contract hire & PCP returns makes sense though. Skipping through a few models on their website, they've only got a few cars older than 2008.

 

[gIzzE]

Buying a 4 year old car from a main dealer is going to hurt, it would be top whack and most will not want it back come trade in time even after a few months as most don't want 5 year old cars.
I have lost more money on my current E Class than any other car I have owned, that is also a 56 plate.

Also remember dealers have hundreds of trade in coming in next week with the new plate so more stock is the last thing they want right now.

 

[hawk20]

Whitters the problem here is that you like most people did not check with Glass's Guide (the trade bible) before buying. Go to the Glass's website and they will give you a detailed valuation for any car before you buy for a measly £3. They give the part ex price, private sale price, dealer prices etc. And if you list the extras they even give a value for them. You can then print off the valuation and use it as a valuable tool for haggling. Next time you can be forearmed and get a good price.

Dealers are very competitive at the moment and often with haggling you can get very near a private sale price. But look on the MB website and use the search engine and you can see the asking prices for all the cars offered for sale by all the Uk dealers. You soon get a very good idea of what the going rate is and you will see some asking prices are way out of line.

 

[312 Sprinter]

I'm reasonably sure MB World Brooklands is a Mercedes Factory dealership and it would surprise me if Milton Keynes was a franchise.

Milton Keynes is Sytner

 

[kusanku]

I think the problem here was the original purchase price, rather than the current trade-in price being offered. If you take your car to a few dealers and enquire about trade-in value, I suspect they will not vary by much more than £500. This is a more realistic way of finding out the trade-in value of your car, than looking it up on a website of which there are several, but it obviously involves more hassle. Any trade-in will represent the lowest price you will get for your car, but in return you get the convenience of not having to sell it yourself.

MB Direct represent a very expensive way to buy a used car, but it is a question of how highly you value the service that comes with it (quality stock, inspected cars, warranty etc).

 

[Rory]

I think the problem here was the original purchase price,

..bear in mind the car came with 2yrs Tier 1 warranty. If you bought that it would cost, what, £1600+?, and it must have cost MB Direct a fairly significant amount to provide it.