unrealistic expectations of the used car market???

unrealistic expectations of the used car market???

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danlightbulb

Original Poster:

1,033 posts

105 months

Sunday 22nd November 2015
quotequote all
Hi all,

I'm still looking for a car to replace my aging Mondeo. I'm still not having any success. I want to spend £1,500 to £2,000. I believe my own car to only be worth around £500. (A 2003 Ford Mondeo TDCI Zetec hatchback 192,000 miles).

I'm very disappointed with what is on offer on ebay, autotrader etc for £2,000 and under. Even for £2,000, I have not seen anything which is any better than my current car which is only worth £500. It doesn't make sense to me.

Yesterday I viewed a Saab 9-3 Aero, 2006 model estate. It was up for £1595 @ 134,000 miles and I was told over the phone that it drove well and had no mechanical or bodywork issues. When I turned up to view it, the engine was a dog, it drove like st and the interior and bodywork has issues. The seller has since dropped it to £1,000, but even at that price I wouldn't buy it.

Am I doing something wrong in looking for a car, or is the market itself overpriced and full of unwanted crap?

Thanks





Butter Face

30,191 posts

159 months

Sunday 22nd November 2015
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At that price, buy privately.

Anything on a 'dealer' (I use that lightly as it won't be a Main dealer, it'll be a 'bobs value motors' type place) will basically be a £1000 car with their margin+ prep costs.

£2000 buys you a lot in the Private market and it's not like you will get a lot more backup from a trader on a £1695 134k SAAB.

danlightbulb

Original Poster:

1,033 posts

105 months

Sunday 22nd November 2015
quotequote all
I'm looking privately as well, and would prefer it, but like I said, what seems to be around for £2,000 is pretty rubbish across all outlets. The Saab 9-3 I saw was the closest one and I had to travel 60 miles to see it. The selection is so poor.

parabolica

6,703 posts

183 months

Sunday 22nd November 2015
quotequote all
^i don't think the OP mentioned anywhere anything about the Saab being from a dealer.

OP I think it's a case of the second hand market being oversaturated. There are still good buys out there, you just need to search for them. I'd put money on there being 1 minter for every 10 dogs out there - you just need to look around.

Edited by parabolica on Sunday 22 November 16:04

oldnbold

1,280 posts

145 months

Sunday 22nd November 2015
quotequote all
The further you drop down the price range the harder it is to find a car without any issues. Certainly by the time you get to the £2k bracket it has almost become a "needle in a haystack" search.

Most reputable dealers won't even consider selling cars at this price point because of the huge potential for trouble that they bring, and most private sellers are only selling because they either know off or fear a major problem coming very soon.

But very occasionally you get a gem, however they take a lot of finding.

danlightbulb

Original Poster:

1,033 posts

105 months

Sunday 22nd November 2015
quotequote all
parabolica said:
^i don't think the OP mentioned anywhere anything about the Saab being for a dealer.
No I didn't but the poster guessed right. It was a two bit place I wouldn't go back to.


oldnbold said:
The further you drop down the price range the harder it is to find a car without any issues. Certainly by the time you get to the £2k bracket it has almost become a "needle in a haystack" search.

Most reputable dealers won't even consider selling cars at this price point because of the huge potential for trouble that they bring, and most private sellers are only selling because they either know off or fear a major problem coming very soon.

But very occasionally you get a gem, however they take a lot of finding.
In my mind cars around 10 years old should be around this price if they aren't top range premium models. The common advice on here is that getting a car in this price bracket is easy, and that spending £8k on a car is unnecessary. I have had this advice myself. Saab's commonly recommended, but less than 2k are almost non-existent, despite Saab being a bust company!


Butter Face said:
£2000 buys you a lot in the Private market .
This is what I keep being told - but where are they because I'm really struggling.




Edited by danlightbulb on Sunday 22 November 16:15

MissChief

7,095 posts

167 months

Sunday 22nd November 2015
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As you've found, people that look after an older car as they would a new one are few and far between and many only sell on because they don't want to continue spending on it or because they've bought something else. To many they're just appliances that receive little more than is absolutely necessary to keep it going.

PositronicRay

26,952 posts

182 months

Sunday 22nd November 2015
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You have to kiss a lot of frogs before you find your prince.

Funkycoldribena

7,379 posts

153 months

Sunday 22nd November 2015
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People on the Smoker Barge thread seem to be able to get Saabs for around £17 with just a valve cap missing,dont know how they manage it.

E30M3SE

8,465 posts

195 months

Sunday 22nd November 2015
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OP get yorself over to this thread for some inspiration.

http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...

MissChief

7,095 posts

167 months

Sunday 22nd November 2015
quotequote all
Funkycoldribena said:
People on the Smoker Barge thread seem to be able to get Saabs for around £17 with just a valve cap missing,dont know how they manage it.
By looking all over the country and everywhere. Here, AT, eBay, gumtree, MB owners clubs (they love a Benz in the Smoker thread!) and other owners clubs. Sometimes you get the odd gem on places like Facebook selling groups although my local one seems to be all 'no MOT but will sail through guaranteed' crap for less than £500.

Edited by MissChief on Sunday 22 November 21:10

danlightbulb

Original Poster:

1,033 posts

105 months

Sunday 22nd November 2015
quotequote all
E30M3SE said:
OP get yorself over to this thread for some inspiration.

http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...
Inspiring if I wanted a car that I would have owned had I been in my 60's twenty years ago.

Except for the Audi on the last page. How has someone bought a V6 twin turbo quatro estate for a grand? Based on that car alone I should get what I want for two grand.

andy-xr

13,204 posts

203 months

Sunday 22nd November 2015
quotequote all
£2500 rebuilt with a warranty and a compression test

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/331712321177?_trksid=p20...


danlightbulb

Original Poster:

1,033 posts

105 months

Sunday 22nd November 2015
quotequote all
Is nice yes and seems good value. I perhaps should have said up front that I need a family car. A mid sized estate preferably. I have seen cars for the money but none of them are suitable. In what I am looking for, I cannot find any good value cars.


Ghost91

2,964 posts

109 months

Sunday 22nd November 2015
quotequote all
If Saabs are your thing, I strongly recommend you join UKSaabs forum and post a wanted ad on the sales section.

I stuck one on, looking for a 9-3 or 9-5 aero, well looked after and not needing any work for £1500

The response was brilliant, and I've been offered a few cracking cars

Edit to add: I think people are also over valuing their old cars now tbh. I was bidding on a Mondeo as a bit of a winter hack today, it was nice, well serviced and had some newish mid range boots on, but it was still a 2002 petrol mondeo, which no one really wants these days. No one else bid on it but me, didn't meet reserve, and seller thinks it's worth a fortune after messaging him about it, when in reality, old petrol Mondeos are ten a penny. Seems like you get a reasonably nice example of something and people expect unrealistic prices for them.

Edited by Ghost91 on Sunday 22 November 17:25

vikingaero

10,256 posts

168 months

Sunday 22nd November 2015
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Are we seeing the effects of the car scrappage scheme c.04/09 which took a load of decent vehicles off the road and restrict supply so much that only dross is filtering through?

danlightbulb

Original Poster:

1,033 posts

105 months

Sunday 22nd November 2015
quotequote all
Ghost91 said:
If Saabs are your thing, I strongly recommend you join UKSaabs forum and post a wanted ad on the sales section.
I'm on there and have been monitoring the classifieds. There was a seemingly well looked after 9-5 in bognor regis but it was high miles (not a problem in itself), but I just couldn't get there. 3 hr+ drive just to view it and if I buy it a 5hr+ train ride needing a day off work to pick it up. I hadn't considered a wanted advert. I guess my thought is that if someone wants to sell their car they will put it up for sale.

Ive been looking almost daily at AT, ebay, gumtree, exchange and mart and various car forums.






Edited by danlightbulb on Sunday 22 November 17:32

eldar

21,614 posts

195 months

Sunday 22nd November 2015
quotequote all
MissChief said:
As you've found, people that look after an older car as they would a new one are few and far between and many only sell on because they don't want to continue spending on it or because they've bought something else. To many they're just appliances that receive little more than is absolutely necessary to keep it going.
Good ones are around. My son recently bought a decent but boring Volvo V40 estate, 58 reg and 60k miles. Clean, no dents or scratches, nice interior and mechanically sound. £850

Willy Nilly

12,511 posts

166 months

Sunday 22nd November 2015
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OP, no machine I have ever used has got better with age, they ALL wear out.

Regardless of rose tinted spectacles, new vehicles are the best, you then have to decide where on the cost v's risk curve you want to operate, new being the least risk but highest cost, I like nearly new and then look after and run into the ground.

I got £111 for an MB2 Civic I had had for 12 years, serviced on time every time, everything bar the rear washer pump worked, including the AC and it ha no leaks. But I thought it was starting to cost too much in running repairs outside normal service items. Were it trouble free I would not have bothered parting with 9 grand for a very low mileage replacement.

There are plenty of stories on here about people buying various massive, old German cars for £2.50 and everything working. bks, I don't believe a word of it. There are also plenty of people that tell us on here how they bought some car or another that has covered an interstellar mileage and just needs the dash wiping to get through an MOT. If you had a good car upon which everything worked, met your needs and had done all off its depreciating, why would you sell it?

You are going to be very lucky to get anything significantly better than what you already have for your budget and would almost certainly be better either considerable upping your budget or keeping the one you have going with your replacement budget.