To sell or not?

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jimmy

MB Enthusiast
Joined
Aug 8, 2002
Messages
2,316
Location
Northamptonshire
Car
Discovery 3 TDV6, Discovery 300TDi - Plaything!
I have a dilemma.

I had my car on ebay, had a reserve of £8500 (a bit high I know) anyway it did not reach my reserve it only got to £7600, the highest bidder contacted me wanting to do a deal. We spoke several times on the phone and we eventually agreed on £7850. Still a good price for the car but he must have thought so too as after a bit of thinking time he pulled out hours before he was due to come and do the deal on Saturday.

Since then the 3rd highest bidder who bid £7100 has contacted me and has offered £7500 for the car and would like the boot liner and roof box and roof bars at an extra price.

Since speaking to him I have looked at a few Audi A6's, nice cars but to get the same spec as mine, (cruise, auto, leather) I will be going over my budget of £10-£12K or getting a very high mileage car.

Now I am not desperate to get rid of mine, it is comfortable, smooth, fairly economical and classy but I think it is old and time for a change, I would like a 2001 or newer car, for no reason other than snobbery I admit!

My C250TD is basically a good, sound car apart from the front wheel arches that are rusting from the inside and some rust underneath the car that is not too serious.

So do I accept the offer of £7500 or readvertise on ebay but remove the extras, (AMG wheels, satnav, MP3 player, Stainless Steel sills, Towbar) and sell them seperately but I will still have to put some alloys on to sell it. I have a set of 16" Avantegarde wheels that need a refurb but no tyres.

Or keep it for another year and sell it for less but then the replacement car will be cheaper too.

I used to be indecisive but now I am not so sure! :D
 
Jimmy

If you really must sell her take the AMG's off and let her go for £7500.

Only my thoughts

230K
 
230K said:
Jimmy

If you really must sell her take the AMG's off and let her go for £7500.

Only my thoughts

230K

Yes, that is my first thought but what are the AMG's worth? and I will have to get the 16's refurbed (£100) and fit a set of tyres (£350?)
 
I'd leave the wheels and sill covers on and sell the audio and towbars separately. They sell well and putting cheaper wheels on will make your car less saleable, aside from the refurbishing costs
 
Keep it ! and wait.....
There will be an A6 out there somewhere, as well as the right buyer for your car, they may just not be looking for one right now.
 
every minute you delay will cost you in depreciation

the sales cycle on ebay can last a couple of weeks

the people who tracked your car 1st time round will wonder why it has come round again and will want to offset any potential issues with a discount

taking wheels off and getting it reshod will be a pain, selling stuff seperately is also a pain

that said, every minute you delay makes the A6's cheaper too!

Looking back, I would have foregone buying my CLK and waited another year until the bmw mcoupe came into my price range... The mcoupe was the car i REALLY wanted, now I have a relatively worthless CLK, plenty of money invested in it (repairs), but i would have had another car to use in the meantime.

So, for a slightly off the wall suggestion, sell the merc now, use the co van for a year and buy an RS4 (old shape) in a year's time!

there you go!

;)
 
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I had one of my mercs up on ebay a few weeks months ago.. and had the same problem.. didn't meet the reserve..and i was left thinking. I held onto it, and then readvertised in Autotrader a month later. Initially no reaction... but then 2 days into the ad, and i had a few people interested. Finally sold the car for £1500 more than i was hoping for on ebay.

So.. definately don't give in.. and as long as you're haven't asked too much for your car compared to its market worth i would definately try another place.. if not ebay again :)
 
In the scheme of things the £350 difference between what you are offered now and what you admited was a 'godd price' isn't earth shattering.

What if you take bits off and can't get near to that again.

Selling a car is always a ball-ache, I would get out while you can, at a price you are 'almost' happy with, and then you are in a buyers market!
 
Give it to the Mrs, sell her car and save for the car you want.

Then you get the best of all worlds, ie two nice cars!
 
I sold my C240 in Jan this year. Since then I have sometimes wished I hadn't .. the CLK 55 causes me so much more worries ... about where to park it, finding a tap nearby so I can handwash it, keeping the Nappa leather unmarked (there's a bloody great 3 inch scratch on the passenger seat after a jean stud tore into on Sun night in Devon!), and also each little creak driving me nuts.

I could live with all of this, and not worry with the C240. Reliable, not worth too much, comfortable, and looked great. I only sold it because I wanted power. You see, power corrupts and it corrupts absolutely.

I would hang on to the car and save until you can afford what you really want, otherwise you will be itching again very soon afterwards.
 
Jimmy

If you're seriously not too bothered about selling then keep the car. Yes it will be worth less next year but the one you want will have depreciated more.
 
Or the flip side is you keep her the extra year and the rust gets through the arches and you end up having to do bodywork to sell her :( not to mension another service or two depending on milage... The car you would be looking for will have also spent another year doing the rounds as well ...
 
Dieselman said:
Jimmy

If you're seriously not too bothered about selling then keep the car. Yes it will be worth less next year but the one you want will have depreciated more.


I was very close to changing car last year (when I was sniffing after a TT).

My reasons for changing were not that I didn't like the car, but mileage then heading towards 100K, I was wary of wear and tear on suspesion, steering and all other mechanical parts, not necessarilly engine.


Many said not to worry, ball joints etc are cheap and the car will go on well past 100K.

Since then, I have failed one MOT (this years due next week, fingers crossed) and have a major fault with the gearbox.

Sure, if I keep fixing bits as i go, the car in general will probably get to the late 100K's, but the fact is, all in all, I wish I had changed.

Sure I would be even poorer, repaying a spangly car, but I would feel better about the whole ownership.

Now, I enjoy the car, but it's just a tool. It's the Snap On, do the job properly tool, but not really any more.

Now, brace yourselves - it even goes through car washes now!

So Jimmy - if you want to move it on, move it on. Use your fortunante position (not NEEDING the car) to not accept rock nottom price, but change while the car is saleable.
 
GrahamC230K said:
Now, brace yourselves - it even goes through car washes now!

Good grief !! :eek: :eek: I don't subject even the BMW to such acts of vandalism !!!

Agree with Graham's points though jimmy, .... and as others have said, the rust issue is not likely to get any better ... :(

(We won't call you a SNOB :p)
 
Thank you all for your input, very valid points for both keeping and selling. I have decided to (temporarily!) keep it, well at least for 6 months or so. I have got a few things on the horizon that could be costly. I also need to resurface my driveway (a few of you will know that this will not be cheap :crazy: ) and re-paint my windows (again a few of you will know that is like painting the Forth bridge!! :D )

I had an A6 Avant, 3.0 Quattro on an extended test drive yesterday, yes it was nice, very nice, I almost contemplated doing a deal but was so pleased to drive home in my car, it felt like getting back into your favourite armchair.

Oh, I also put the Superchip back in it at the weekend, that did influence my decision somewhat. :devil: It's a shame that it was only running at 120bhp at Bruntingthorpe, it must be pushing out 180+ now.

Graham, I feel gutted for you, what with the ECU last year, now the gearbox and the wheels, I imagine you must be wishing you had changed it.

As for the rust, well I shall get some hammerite on the arches again and hope it will keep it at bay for a while longer.
 
why don't you have a painting/resurfacing 'party' day?

as someone who has benefitted from your time, expertise and generosity, I would be more than delighted to spend a whole Sat or Sun helping you with these chores.

no doubt many others would too!



jimmy said:
I have got a few things on the horizon that could be costly. I also need to resurface my driveway (a few of you will know that this will not be cheap :crazy: ) and re-paint my windows (again a few of you will know that is like painting the Forth bridge!! :D )
 

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