Selling cars privately

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TripleD

Active Member
Joined
Aug 13, 2016
Messages
175
Location
Suffolk
Car
C300h loaner as my C250d broke after only 900 miles :(
Has everything changed?
I thought seems as I had 4 weeks before I pick up my new MB, it was worth putting my 2013 BMW up forsale privately to see if I can get more money than the trade in price.
I took the trade in price added £2k and thought that was a good start, still cheaper than the rest on autotrader.

Bearing in mind I haven't sold a car privately since 2009.

All I seem to get is emails from people asking "what's my best price" the few that have phoned all want to know the cheapest price as they are travelling 80-100 miles. Then they seem to want to talk via what's app and make stupid offers! Currently the best offer I have is £1000 below the trade in price.

Makes me sound old, but if I wanted to buy a car, I'd phone ask questions, judge the asking price to see if it's in budget, then view the car and face to face do the negotiation. If I had to travel twice to pick it up, so be it.

Is this how cars are sold now, not viewing until you negotiate the lowest price?
 
Q: What's your best price ?
A: How much are you willing to pay ?
 
Q: What's your best price ?
A: How much are you willing to pay ?

Exactly my answer!

or make an offer, or its negotiable we can discuss after you've seen it!
 
It's mostly down to people's laziness and stupidity, try not to take it personal.

I have found its a lot to do with the type of car you sell; selling my XFR was a doddle, selling a 2010 Passat TDI was a nightmare.
 
My E320 cdi sold on the Classified ebay add within 2 days. Phone call asked how much was my best price, i said what it was followed by NO haggling when you arrive.

He came down and bought it Job done.
 
Has everything changed?
I thought seems as I had 4 weeks before I pick up my new MB, it was worth putting my 2013 BMW up forsale privately to see if I can get more money than the trade in price.
I took the trade in price added £2k and thought that was a good start, still cheaper than the rest on autotrader.

Bearing in mind I haven't sold a car privately since 2009.

All I seem to get is emails from people asking "what's my best price" the few that have phoned all want to know the cheapest price as they are travelling 80-100 miles. Then they seem to want to talk via what's app and make stupid offers! Currently the best offer I have is £1000 below the trade in price.

Makes me sound old, but if I wanted to buy a car, I'd phone ask questions, judge the asking price to see if it's in budget, then view the car and face to face do the negotiation. If I had to travel twice to pick it up, so be it.

Is this how cars are sold now, not viewing until you negotiate the lowest price?


You are a normal person, lots of others aint :D
 
It's the norm. When I advertised my C63 (and other cars) I got loads of 'what's your best price mate' type calls. Most wanted the car for less than trade price even though it was keenly priced. I did get a good trade offer so sold it to him for more than the 'private' buyers were willing to pay, their loss in my opinion.
 
It's the norm. When I advertised my C63 (and other cars) I got loads of 'what's your best price mate' type calls. Most wanted the car for less than trade price even though it was keenly priced. I did get a good trade offer so sold it to him for more than the 'private' buyers were willing to pay, their loss in my opinion.

Seems very much the case, I got a good trade in value, but with one guy I showed my hand, told him the trade in price, and what I wanted trading = £250 as my bottom line see what the reaction was. He offered £1000 less than trade in!
Think I'll stick to trading in cars, seems less hassle!
 
Think I'll stick to trading in cars, seems less hassle!

It is , it also saves dealing with the idiots / chancers / scammers / timewasters / daydreamers that are out there.

Drive in - Drive out job done , you may be a few quid down but when you weigh up the potential hassle then it is worth it.

Kenny
 
Experienced the same myself.

With my previous RR, i thought i'd see if i could get more than the trade in offer by listing it on ebay & Autotrader.

I had the usual "what's your lowest price?" and had one saying he had a similar one to mine for less than my price, so i suggested just go and buy that one then :dk:

In the end i just traded it in, just not worth the hassle IMO.
 
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I think some of the trade in prices these days are more generous than they used to be.

Maybe they're making more money on the 'extras' - finance, gap insurance, paint protection, alloy wheel insurance etc and other incentives to meet sales targets or whatever.

On the flip side of this thread, I always find it odd when sellers say stuff like 'I've been offered this much part ex' or 'we buy any car offered me X amount' etc. If you'd genuinely been offered that much and you were happy with the offer you'd take the cash and run!
 
On the flip side of this thread, I always find it odd when sellers say stuff like 'I've been offered this much part ex' or 'we buy any car offered me X amount' etc. If you'd genuinely been offered that much and you were happy with the offer you'd take the cash and run!

True, I thought the car was worth more than the trade in value, and as I had some time between deal and car pickup it was worth a shot, turns out from all the calls that ppl don't think it is, or maybe when talking about 15k ppl would rather by from dealers?
Car sold for a very small extra on top of the trade in value, enough to buy a hatchbag for the new Merc. Tbh this whole process makes me think that I won't attempt to sell the next one privately!
 
True, I thought the car was worth more than the trade in value, and as I had some time between deal and car pickup it was worth a shot, turns out from all the calls that ppl don't think it is, or maybe when talking about 15k ppl would rather by from dealers?
Car sold for a very small extra on top of the trade in value, enough to buy a hatchbag for the new Merc. Tbh this whole process makes me think that I won't attempt to sell the next one privately!

I think the trouble is people buying ordinary/everyday cars from private sellers want a bargain. Coupled with generous part ex offers - the margin that you tried to create didn't exist :eek:

For £15k most people would probably pay a small % more and buy a car prepped to retail standard and get a warranty as well as avoiding the other potential risks.

Although you might have known it to be a good car and were a genuine seller, how does a buyer know (?) :)
 
I think some of the trade in prices these days are more generous than they used to be.

Maybe they're making more money on the 'extras' - finance, gap insurance, paint protection, alloy wheel insurance etc and other incentives to meet sales targets or whatever.

On the flip side of this thread, I always find it odd when sellers say stuff like 'I've been offered this much part ex' or 'we buy any car offered me X amount' etc. If you'd genuinely been offered that much and you were happy with the offer you'd take the cash and run!

I always get a quote off WBAC just so I've got a idea of the value of my car. If the p/x price is near to quote then I'm happy. When I brought my MB the salesman asked me if I had a price in mind and I said I've been on WBAC ,he just smiled and put a piece of paper on the desk with his price on it,he had beat it and he knew it without asking.
I wouldn't sell a car private, I hate tyre kickers.
 
Fascinating thread.

I've sold all my cars privately. Last was 6y ago though.

The main driver for this was my perception of poor px offers from dealers. I mean by several thousand pounds. For me, that was always an amount that justified the hassle.

In terms of the hassle , I have found it painless. Post a range of factually correct pics, accurate description of the car and most importantly a keen price. Significantly lower than a dealer price. Higher than a px price.

I've not entered protracted negotiations by txt or email. Just tell em the first to see will buy. I would have no problem leaving a bit of negotiation space.

However, now I'm a bit older and richer, I might not bother esp if the differentials are lower
 
Ebay has become the most popular place for "traditional" fixed-asking-price sales (as well as the usual ebay Auction style that it's known for).

Unfortunately, ebay is still full of the usual downmarket buyers who want something for nothing, and these are the chancers you are having to deal with.

It will change as the Ebay Car section gets a bit more maturity, but if you have a contact email published for all to see, you will attract all-sorts.

Usually, the hassle will be worth it, but I can see why some would prefer not to bother.

If you wsnt an example of the kind of pond-life that internet-based adverts attract, just read the comments on ANY Youtube video!

....and these people are allowed to vote and drive cars!
 
So I've had my CLS up for 8 days, what's people's general consensus on AT? Lots of views. Thinking of trying Pistonheads.

It hasn't been up for sale for long and understandably buying a car is a next down the pecking order from property I guess depending on your financial standing.

My previous cars have sold within days,I believe this is down to my OCD and wanting perfection. is it economics or the current used car market?

I believe I have priced my car very competitively compared to some of the poverty spec, dross others in the same price range.

To add, I had intended on keeping this car and have spent thousands more than I have should have if I hadn't intended to so. I guess that's my own look out bodywork oem AMG rims, OEM AMG CLS a Grille new Michelin PS3S MO, obsessed with service items and servicing replacing parts for preemptive maintenance.

Guaranteed most people wouldn't do this to then sell on.



Any feedback, pointers. Appreciated.

Thanks


Michael
 
This time of year is definately the time to avoid if you want to sell ANYTHING!

Too many people on holiday!

Pull the advert and re-list it in say, 2 weeks, the difference in the number of possible buyers will be huge.

I've been selling on ebay for 18 years or more and the (Auction) prices I get during the holiday period are about 30% down on the rest of the year.

This is especially true for high-value goods, holidays (or planning for them) are just too distracting..
 
I've been buying and selling cars since I left school. Never as a main trade but it was always worth it to make a bit on the side. Over the past 4/5 years it's changed. Guess now that finance is pretty easy to get now makes a big difference but it's just so much harder to sell a car privately nowadays.

I find a car on the higher end of ten grand or above or a old shed three hundred or below sells quicker and easier than say a three grand car.
 

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