Do people not sell cars privately anymore?

[ChasW]

280E said:

SidewaysSi said:

We have had traders and private sales since the start of time.

Indeed we have, but in the olden times both parties had a similar level of knowledge about the product - whether it be horses, cars etc.

However, an increasing number of people have very little knowledge, either of the cars themselves - or the marketing of them. They now prefer to be 'spoon fed' by those caring dealers ready to 'upgrade' them - in a similar manner to buying the latest iGalaxy whizzo smartphone/comfort blanket.

As an 'old fogey', I shall continue to buy and sell privately

I don't think much has changed. My folks and in-laws generally traded-in with local dealer mostly for the comfort of continuity of relationship and hassle free transaction. What is different now is that a buyer can check so more much out before viewing a car. High res photos make such a difference. The chap who bought my 3 series this week had decided before he left home. He said the photos and description were enough to convince him!

[daemon]

nickfrog said:

daemon said:

most buyers looking at £5K+ purchases (...) far too much hassle for most people.

The key word there is "most" indeed - the private market for cars over £10k has cleaned up massively in my experience - we are left with a hardcore of the right kind of buyers/sellers. The qualifying is very easy (yet brutal) - never been so easy to buy/sell recent quality cars privately and yield a good return vs trade. As I said, 1 call = 1 sale = 0 hassle has been the rule for me for a few years already. Not having to deal with second hand car dealers is only the bonus ;-).

Yes, definately. And as you say, theres the "right" type of buyer and if you've the "right" car (maybe something not mainstream) then yes, it will probably sell.

Vauxhall Zafira at £5K though is a different story (generally)

[spreadsheet monkey]

Learn2MergeInTurn said:

Maybe I'm trying to sell the wrong type of car


Still, next car sales will be wbac or dealer.

There's a whole load of factors that influence it - where you live, what kind of car you're selling, where the car is advertised, as well as luck!

Maybe I just got lucky with my last two sales and I'm due a whole bunch of timewasters next time I try to sell a car...

[AdamIndy]

kayzee said:

I do hate selling cars though tbh, though my last car had the perfect buyer. Turned up when he said, with cash, didn't even test drive the thing! Just said yup that'll do mate and handed over the cash lol.

It's nice when that happens isn't it?

When I sold my MX5, a bloke and his wife drove 200 miles to buy it. Nice people, the bloke walked around the car in about 20 seconds and handed me the cash! I asked if they wanted to drive it. He said Na it's alright, I could tell on the phone you are an honest chap and the car looks exactly as you said so I doubt there will be any problems.

I made the wife drive it before taking the cash. Went inside to do the paper work and they tried to give me £20 for the petrol I put in and my time which of course I refused. I just wish it was always that easy!

I too hate selling cars and have always sold privately and never p/x'd anything.

[WJNB]

It's 2016 so look down any high street today & ask yourself how many people you see that you would be happy turning up in your neighbourhood, on your doorstep having learnt where you live, what you have for sale or what might be worth stealing?

[Rockmonkey]

It took me a few months to find the right Jag XF privately.
The price difference between dealer and private was a couple grand.
I also wanted to meet the person who'd owned and used it from new so I could get a good idea of how the car had been looked after and driven.
For a bit of security, I paid for an AA inspection and got an HPI check.
I also sold every car I've ever owned privately.

[dfen5]

Last vehicle I sold privately was a Berlingo van that had done a few thousand and was basically as new, a few months old. I even polished it when purchased new. Advertised cheaper than any in autotrader that were the same age and mileage (mostly ex-demonstrators).

Everyone came to see it at the advertised price and every last one of them wanted to drop the price, mostly by thousands. Most had mechanic friends in tow who poked about muttering awkward questions to make out 'you'll struggle to shift this..'

Finally a guy drove up, test drive, cash at the asking price. And then gets with demanding something back 'for luck'.

Never again.

[bigmowley]

Have sold two of our fleet privately in the last two months. A 2010 CRZ GT Nav we had from new, and an 2005 Audi 2.0TDi Avant that one of my lads used as his university car for 3 years. Sold both to the first viewer. I used Facebook to advertise the cars, an absolute first for me, especially since I'm not on the dreaded Effy-b. Luckily the missus is

Total spend on advertising zero!

Mind you I had them both valeted first and all the service histories were up to date. I used Cap to value them both and priced them at the mid point between the "trade" and "retail" values. I knocked a few quid off both in the haggle. The CRZ still returned £1K more than the trade in offer I had on its replacement. Happy days.

My advice: Be realistic with pricing, spend a bit of time cleaning them up, get the paper work in order, and don't bullst.

OH and try Facebook!

[anonymous-user]

I have but the last time put me right off. It was s sheer conincide but a week after viewing, and baring in mind I have never had any issues in this neck of the woods the car was subject to an attempted theft. Everything was ok in the end but next time i will have to see. Took phone calls from a couple of prospective buyers and was put off by their attitudes. I've only ever sold via owners forums, even these are now regularly viewed by thieves, targeting cars.

Taking a hit from a stealer in some ways is preferable.

[wack]

hora said:

Alot of people don't earn fantastic salaries and if you said to them 'would you like to earn two grand for a couple of days work'? Theyd be gobsmacked...yet they go and trade in their car.

At work they bought a £1500 trailer to show customers samples , never got used, I bet it hasn't done 500 miles

Note on the board , sealed bids , highest gets it, I bid £150 and won then found out I could have had it for £1 as I was the only bidder

Still got it , at the time of year it would have sold for £750 in a day on ebay but these people are slogging their guts out in a factory for £300 a week.

[Nickp82]

Just to add my tuppence worth, sold my OHs Leon this weekend, advertised it on AT last week but no calls so dropped it a bit (£200) in price and sold it to the first person who came to look.

Did sell it a touch cheaper than I would have liked but at this time of year I am glad to be able to cash it in now rather than wait for the new year when there are more buyers about and it is still £700 more than WBACs non-appraised price.

[NiceCupOfTea]

Hate this.

Have sold 4 or 5 cars privately and had a mixed time. No timewasters as it goes and first viewer has bought every one I think, but one or two were aholes. One "mechanic" expert viewing my wife's old Puma, and a complete ahole wanting my wife's old Corsa for his missus, spotting invisible oil leaks and "steering pulling to the side" (oddly seemed to coincide with him turning the steering wheel to the side). His missus shot him in the foot over that as she clearly loved it so he had to buy it at pretty much the advertised price . Lovely couple buying my MIL's Corsa for their son, had a quick look round, no test drive, full asking, and a text when they got home saying they loved it.

But I am looking to buy cars at the £2-4k market. Anything from a dealer in this range is going to be little more than scrap, but there is nothing but rubbish for sale privately. Really depressing.

My dad bought a car from a "dealer" for about £4k a couple of years ago for the "peace of mind". Discovered the a/c didn't work - trader wanted him to wait a month and claim on the warranty (basically fraud). Got really stty when my dad said he wanted him to take it in and fix it. Then started moaning about his trade-in (which was a really decent X3 that I would have had if I'd known he was selling). It was quite clear the trader was out of his depth and had bought a duffer at auction and didn't want to take the hit.

[giblet]

15 out of the 17 cars I have owned were purchased privately. My Lexus ISF has been advertised on AutoTrader and PH classifieds recently and had a few time wasters and people who seem intent on haggling without seeing the car and then saying they will be in touch when they have sold their own car. Never had such issues with selling on eBay but those cars were all cheaper than the ISF.

When it came to buying it I found it via the owners forum, viewed it and left a deposit and then collected it a few weeks later. Did the same with the Evo and both were hassle free. Pity the sale of the ISF isn't selling as easily.

[BigLion]

I tend to sell my cars privately.

One thing I have noticed is that a lot of private sellers are unrealistic and expect their cars to be worth as much as one from reputable specialists / dealers.

[braddo]

WJNB said:

It's 2016 so look down any high street today & ask yourself how many people you see that you would be happy turning up in your neighbourhood, on your doorstep having learnt where you live, what you have for sale or what might be worth stealing?

Are you a racist or a conspiracy theorist? Or both?

Or maybe you just read the Daily Mail, which is intent on making the British public miserable and paranoid when in fact, the UK is one of the best places to live on earth...

[benjijames28]

braddo said:

Are you a racist or a conspiracy theorist? Or both?

Or maybe you just read the Daily Mail, which is intent on making the British public miserable and paranoid when in fact, the UK is one of the best places to live on earth...

A bit untrustworthy, maybe but where do you get racist from?

People are dicks these days.

[nickfrog]

BigLion said:

One thing I have noticed is that a lot of private sellers are unrealistic and expect their cars to be worth as much as one from reputable specialists / dealers.

I have often expected mine to be worth more. And sold it. Conversely I would pay more for a privately sold car than from many "reputable" dealers, as I buy on condition.

[BigLion]

nickfrog said:

BigLion said:

One thing I have noticed is that a lot of private sellers are unrealistic and expect their cars to be worth as much as one from reputable specialists / dealers.

I have often expected mine to be worth more. And sold it. Conversely I would pay more for a privately sold car than from many "reputable" dealers, as I buy on condition.

I'm talking on a like-for-like basis. Take the 997.2, why would I buy one from you if I can get the same condition super well prepped, with a 6 month bumper to bumper warranty from someone like RPM Technik?

[Sunnysider]

I bought my 911 privately a couple of months ago with no problems. Spoke to the bloke on the phone a few times & got positive vibes, so took the Indy who looks after my Boxster along to do a PPI. 2 hours later, we did the deal & I drove it home.

It's really not that difficult.

[Bikerjon]

Sold both our cars privately last month. Oldish cars in shed territory, but even so I took the time to properly clean and advertise them. I sold both to the first buyers that came round and I couldn't quite believe it when neither wanted to test drive them - not even a quick spin round the block!