Where are all the private sellers?

[HowardD]

There's nearly 362,000 cars on Autotrader right now.

Less than 7% are private sellers. (and even some of those might be traders!)

The newer the car, the % is even lower. 98% of mercs from 2008 onwards are being advertised by dealers.

Where are all the private sellers and why do I care?

 

[wemorgan]

Where are all the private sellers and why do I care?

I noticed the same when buying my car the other week.

Of the cars I saw, the private sellers had nicer cars than the dealers. The dealers I saw had only cleaned the cars to prepare them for sale. When I pointed out the badly curbed alloys, overdue service & old brakes they then used those as bargaining tools, saying they would fix those if I paid the full price. But the full list price was typically 10-15% higher than private sellers with very good condition cars.

You pays your money and you take your choice

 

[st4]

Where are all the private sellers and why do I care?

Are you about to sell a newish car privately. Many, including myself would be put off by handing over £20k to an individual with no redress if it all goes wrong, (dodgy outstanding finance undetected, accident write off, lemon etc)

I'd always buy from a reputable garage or a seller I would know (family, close friends etc)

 

[JohnDeere8530]

I noticed the same when buying my car the other week.

Of the cars I saw, the private sellers had nicer cars than the dealers. The dealers I saw had only cleaned the cars to prepare tghem for sale. When I pointed out the badly curbed alloys, overdue service & old brakes they then used those as bargaining tools, saying they would fix those if I paid the full price. But the full list price was typically 10-15% higher than private sellers with very good condition cars.

You pays your money and you take your choice

When I buy secondhand I always buy private. You can judge a lot about a car by its seller and the surroundings. If the seller is repsectable and his house and other vehicles in the household is looked after then there is a fair chance the car for sale will be as well. Talking to a untrained seller you soon learn lots about the car, what they dont say is as important as what they do say.

Additionally as pointed out you can save about 10% of the price of the car. Buying from a dealer gives no inidcation of what sort of the life the car has had previously ie you dont see the old owner etc. Ok you get a limited warranty from a dealer, but in practice they are not always the easiest to claim against in the event of a fault.

One way of getting information on a used car even before you see it if it is advertised with fsh, is to get the license plate and ring the local main dealer up and ask them for the history, 9 times out of 10 they will tell you if it is services with them and if there is any outstanding work needed advised by them in the last service. This can be an invaluable source of information

I suggest buying a warranty from a third party company such as warranty direct or from an insurance company. These for a newish car cost typically about £500 and are just as likely if not more to pay up than a main dealer

One thing I would add though ALWAYS HPI the car, it will tell you if there is finance outstanding or has been written off etc. If the details they give is wrong, they will then pay up to rectify the problem, ie buy the car off you !!

 

[lynall]

I bet its as simple as autotrader costs to much to advertise in/on.

Pistonheads for example is free

E bay people sell it then tell e bay sale fell through so pay only listing fee.

Basically it comes down to money every time.



Lynall

 

[Fady]

Are you about to sell a newish car privately. Many, including myself would be put off by handing over £20k to an individual with no redress if it all goes wrong, (dodgy outstanding finance undetected, accident write off, lemon etc)

I'd always buy from a reputable garage or a seller I would know (family, close friends etc)

I take the same position as JohnDeere8530. As long as you have done your homework to minimise any risks, then you save yourself a fair amount of money over what a dealer would charge. Obviously if you are not comfortable then you buy from a dealer. But imho dealer's take the p*** both on buying and selling. So even well heeled people don't always like being offered the joke trade-in prices and would rather seek a better price with a private sale.

 

[JohnDeere8530]

I take the same position as JohnDeere8530. As long as you have done your homework to minimise any risks, then you save yourself a fair amount of money over what a dealer would charge. Obviously if you are not comfortable then you buy from a dealer. But imho dealer's take the p*** both on buying and selling. So even well heeled people don't always like being offered the joke trade-in prices and would rather seek a better price with a private sale.

I agree with you, a dealer does take the ****.

If anyone hates wasting money, wants value, has common sense with some technical know how (or knows someone that has this knowledge who could go along with them to view the car) and is able to research the model thoroughly beforehand then the private route is the only way to go. You will save literally thousands, easy money if you ask me !

 

[wemorgan]

Just to be clear, I'm certainly not anti-dealer. It was just in that particular week the dealers I saw had poorly prepared cars.

 

[JohnDeere8530]

I bet its as simple as autotrader costs to much to advertise in/on.

Pistonheads for example is free

E bay people sell it then tell e bay sale fell through so pay only listing fee.

Basically it comes down to money every time.



Lynall

I have sold about 15 cars over the past 20yrs or so, each one was a presteige car and they were (in today's money) all worth in excess of £20,000 when sold. I found and still find Autotrader is the best way to go. The cost is insignificant compared to the car and I guess anyone serious about buying a certain car privately will automatically go to the Autotrader and its website. It is the industry standard.

Piston Heads is not bad, and have advertised on here as well, but I find the AT magasine brings in the most punters

 

[st4]

I not all that has being said but for me handing over lots of money to an individual (who may have mates waiting) or taking cash from someone then who knows where you stay I feel too big a risk IMHO for me. I'd have to know the seller (i.e. work, family, friend forum member of good standing) before I'd relax.

 

[wemorgan]

I have sold about 15 cars over the past 20yrs or so, each one was a presteige car and they were (in today's money) all worth in excess of £20,000 when sold. I found and still find Autotrader is the best way to go. The cost is insignificant compared to the car and I guess anyone serious about buying a certain car privately will automatically go to the Autotrader and its website. It is the industry standard.

Piston Heads is not bad, and have advertised on here as well, but I find the AT magasine brings in the most punters

I agree, though ahve you read this thread to see how things may be changing:

http://www.mbclub.co.uk/forums/general-discussion/78788-autotrader-old-site.html

 

[Will]

I think Lynall has a very fair point.

Of the 50 (approx) cars that I've owned, I've never advertised or sold a single one through Autotrader as it is expensive.

Used to use LOOT years ago (remember that ) and would typically use eBay and Pistonheads these days, as well as word of mouth/car forums etc.

Perhaps a lot of private owners are keeping some of their cars a bit longer at the moment too (recession and all that), I know there has been a shortage of some secondhand cars in supply terms.

Will

 

[James Rothwell]

Scrappage is partly to blame, a lot of the cheaper tat is just being binned now and the more expensive stock goes to dealer rather than private sellers.

 

[SSBB]

Dealers are running businesses, they have tax, vat, rent, wages , heat and light etc to pay. I have some limited experience with the car trade, and lots with the motorcycle trade. I would estimate that a dealer needs to make at least £1000 profit on each car to survive. Theres only one person whos going to be paying it! Thats why my C220 CDi Avantgarde SE estate, Dec 03, 56000miles, Full leather, sport pack, FMBSH, 4x new tyres, new genuine discs was valued at £5,100 last week...thats also why I'll be selling and buying privately.

 

[JohnDeere8530]

Dealers are running businesses, they have tax, vat, rent, wages , heat and light etc to pay. I have some limited experience with the car trade, and lots with the motorcycle trade. I would estimate that a dealer needs to make at least £1000 profit on each car to survive. Theres only one person whos going to be paying it! Thats why my C220 CDi Avantgarde SE estate, Dec 03, 56000miles, Full leather, sport pack, FMBSH, 4x new tyres, new genuine discs was valued at £5,100 last week...thats also why I'll be selling and buying privately.

Nobody is disputing this, just that the more 'savvy buyer' will often buy direct, ie from the public, cutting out a lot of expense in the process

 

[Rory]

When I buy secondhand I always buy private. You can judge a lot about a car by its seller and the surroundings. If the seller is repsectable and his house and other vehicles in the household is looked after then there is a fair chance the car for sale will be as well.

I think that's absolutely true, but I found, buying used cars for myself and being asked to help other family members, that the vast majority of private sellers have something dodgy, or at least disconcerting, about them and / or the car they were selling. It's very wearing, not to mention time consuming, trying to find a car and a seller that ticks enough of the boxes.

When my kids needed cars on leaving uni and starting their first jobs I just couldn't go through the hassle of trying to find them decent used cars and helped them buy new. As it happens, one of the cars (SEAT Ibiza) has had a fair number of issues but at least there's someone to fall back on.

 

[Seamster15]

Lots of traders that I know have been buying private recently and are happy to travel huge distances to secure a sensibly priced car. Also due to demographic price differences traders have been sourcing cars from other traders forcourts, myself included.

 

[lynall]

Plus the autotrader beta site is rubbish as mentioned in the earlier link.



Lynall

 

[Setanta]

my experience is that buying privately is better

 

[Smiley]

Agree with all on this thread; private purchase all the way; and concentrate as much on the seller and where he lives / what he does for a living as the car. It is no good looking at a 3 yr old MB for sale privately on a grotty housing estate in a run down city - on the other hand my last MB purchase was from a city stockbroker who had bought it at 18 months old from his local MB dealer paid cash (cheque I guess) and still had the invoice and all the servicing invoices - why was he selling privately - because he thought the trade in offer from Audi was derisory so offererd it on AT. Same story with a Beemer; bought from a dentist - same sort of checks. Having said that these cars are hard to find and it is time consuming - but it is very financially attractive; I saved much much more than 10%, more like 20% - and then re-selling privately = another 10% saving. Buying from a dealer and then p/x ing back to a dealer a few times is a very good way to lose a five figure sum over a decade.
And best of all you never have to deal with the smart sales guys patter and BS.