Selling tips

[raceboy]

Now I don't have to sell up but I think it could be time, as I'm feeling the pull towards something bigger and louder (if thats possible ) from the Blackpool range.
I'm guessing this time of the year isn't really the best time to be selling if you don't need to and I'm not really in any great rush to see my car disappear for peanuts.
The other problem is my car could do with a 'little' bit of TLC, nothing drastic but the kind of thing a 'tyre kicking, looking at every car for sale in a 200mile radius' type buyer will pick up on. So I guess I've got to sort them out, which would probably take me all winter so I'd be selling in spring which would be good
I don't actually 'need' the car so could sell privately than run round like a headless chicken with a pocket full of used £20's burning a hole in my pocket looking for just the right car
So not really sure where I'm going with this, it just seems to make sense to write it down
My list of jobs, if nothing else goes wrong/stops working/falls off over winter currently stands at....
Fix the windscreen wipers, which is in hand, and I'm hoping it's not going to cost too much
New screen, mainly in order to fix the trim above it which is coming unstuck so £50 for the screen and £50ish for the trim
Small bit of paint work along the bottom edge of the passenger door, no more than £100, but it would be tempting to have a nose cone respray while it was being done, so lets say £500
New, or re-fit of rear hood section, and maybe recover of top hood panel, shouldn't cost more than about £300 I would have thought
So after spending about £1k on it the danger is I'd be back in love with it and not want to sell untill the next little problem raises it's head

[jeremyc]

Fix the wipers but leave everything else as negotiating points with buyers.

You might find a purchaser will give you say £500 under your asking price without you having to do £1,000 worth of work.

Although you've kind of blown your negotiation by posting this level of detail here.

[Incorrigible]

Screen is £150 BTW

Just use some sikaflex to glue the trim back on, that's what a windscreen fitter would do anyway

Can you do mine afterwards

[raceboy]

Incorrigible said:

Screen is £150 BTW

Insurance documents say £50 excess
S'pose the trim could just be glued back up but the screens really got to come out to do it properly

[simpo two]

It depends on the buyer. Some would rather have it as it is for a lower price and fix it themselves - but from my experience people prefer to see a well-presented car rather than a slightly tatty one. How many times have we said 'if you're not sure, walk away'? I suppose you could advertise it as it is and see what happens, then if no joy do the work.

[FunkyGibbon]

raceboy said:

Incorrigible said: Screen is £150 BTW Insurance documents say £50 excess S'pose the trim could just be glued back up but the screens really got to come out to do it properly

raceboy, isn't that I really big MOT failing crack in the windscreen I can spy , claim on insurance (as you say £50) and bung the fitter some beer tokens to re-glue the trim.

[M@H]

simpo two said:

I suppose you could advertise it as it is and see what happens, then if no joy do the work.

..well mines been listed for a few days (PH & Autotrader) and is basically the same car (age/mileage etc) only mines already had the respray and doesn't have "bits" that need doing..plus its "too cheap" so I'm told..

...and I am totally underwhelmed by the interest.

[Incorrigible]

Sorry, read it as the only thinge wrong with the screen was the trim OK pay your £50 excess, the trim replacment should be part of the screen fitting

[raceboy]

Incorrigible said:

Sorry, read it as the only thinge wrong with the screen was the trim

Well you never know when a stone's going to fly up and smack it one

[M@H]

Having thought about this, Selling tips for the moment are "don't bother"..

If there was anyone looking for an early Chimaera in the marketplace, then my phone should have rung or I should have got an email..

I'm not being complacent/arrogant here, but nationally on the AutoTrader website there are a mere 11 Chimaeras available under £12,500. this includes one that "drives well, been repaired from light fire under bonnet" and another at over 80,000 miles..

If someone was in the market for an early car then by default they really should have got in contact as at £11,500 mine looks well priced and lower mileage than most.

I think I'll be hanging on to mine until the spring then

Matt.

[raceboy]

Well I've always got the Part-Ex option, but thats usually even more depressing
I'd be perfectly happy to keep the Chimaera over winter as it'll probably be safer in the snow anyway, and more buyers will venture out once they've got their Christmas bills out the way

[nashy]

I tried to sell mine (4L Chim, 1996) a few weeks ago while the sun was still shining, and also had little response - only one viewing.

Has anyone tried the PX route? I see on the other TVR threads a second hand Tamora can be had for £25k. Has anyone had a PX price for their Chimera against another TVR recently?

[raceboy]

nashy said:

Has anyone had a PX price for their Chimera against another TVR recently?

Just had a rough over the phone type offer of £10k against a £18k Cerbera

[_DJ_]

Go on, you know you want to (and it'll take the temptation away, assuming it's yellow with black spiders!)

DJ

[raceboy]

Very tempting, got a few calls to make 1st
Only downside is no Air-Con

[seaton]

raceboy and M@H,
You cant wait for 6 months can you
I'm seriously saveing for my first TVR but have'nt got the cash yet.
I've sold one of my landy's
I couldnt tempt either of you with an Escort+Range Rover+££££ could I



>> Edited by seaton on Thursday 30th October 17:19

[sparkythecat]

nashy said:

Has anyone had a PX price for their Chimera against another TVR recently?

Mine's a 98 Chim 4L 30,000miles new full TVRSH but no PAS. Dealer quoted £14,000 against a used Tamora at £34,000.
My how we laughed!

[Trefor]

sparkythecat said:

nashy said: Has anyone had a PX price for their Chimera against another TVR recently? Mine's a 98 Chim 4L 30,000miles new full TVRSH but no PAS. Dealer quoted £14,000 against a used Tamora at £34,000. My how we laughed!

Sounds reasonable to me. He'll put it up for 18-19k I guess and at this time of year it may sit on his forecourt for months. No PAS restricts the potential market too - sorry, it's a fact whether you like it or not.

Mind you, they should give a little on the Tamora or at least give you a smaller 'price to change'.

[M@H]

seaton said:

raceboy and M@H, You cant wait for 6 months can you

Fortunately for me, I can as I'd rather get a short term loan that cost me say £1000 in interest to pay for the house extension than desperately knock £1500 off the price of my car to get a sale..

[sweepinggeneralisation]

The problem with the TVR market is that as the cars are normally bought as luxury items then the moment people have a financial hiccup they are forced to sell them. Alternatively taking ColinRob as an example, sometimes people find another car they really want, and therefore needed to shift their older Chimaera quickly to fund the new purchase.

In these conditions, people dump their cars for "less than they are worth".. however in doing so, it pulls down the value of the other cars that are being sold by others who are not in a financial tight spot.

As in the TVR market this is more common than in the Eurobox market (per car being sold), this leads to effectively everyone being tarred with the same brush, in that the few buyers around lap up the cars offered for the "too low" prices, and anyone else just selling for a "reasonable price" loses out. Therefore to someone viewing the market from the outside, "what they are worth" is reduced accordingly.

This means the "reasonable price" people have two options, hang on to the cars until the peak buying period of May-July and hope for the best, or drop their prices to the "too low" category in the hope of securing a sale.

There is absolutely no reason why Early 93-94-95 Chimaeras that have been looked after reasonably well should not be selling for £11,000 - £13,000. Its merely that the market has more cars in it than buyers so sellers are being the architects of the downfall of the market price.

Fortunately these things do go cyclically, however the question is, in the peak selling period next year, will the prices be able to rise as there are enough buyers per car in the market, or will the people who have held on to their cars instead of selling at lower prices just manage to make a sale.

IMO if you buy a 10 yr old car, drive it an maintian it well for a year, it should be worth much the same as you paid for it a year later. In fact, if you bought one with some cosmetics that need doing, and got them done, there is no reason why it shouldn't be worth more. Sadly it seems at the moment, that a lot of people are willing to take what they can get for their cars, and the buyers know it.

[/sweepinggereralisation]

My2p
Matt.

>> Edited by M@H on Friday 31st October 12:28

[yiw1393]

Agree M@H, Was at Peninsula last night. They've got 14 Chimaeras for sale at the moment, 11 of them are 4L the other 3 4.5's - And it looks like nothing's moving.