Has the arse really fallen out of the used car market?!

[Emeye]

I've just had a stupid quote for my Y reg Manual 530i Sport against an 8 month old Golf GTi.

Now I understand how the trade works, and wasn't expecting miracles - the car is immaculate, low miles, FBMWSH, but the salesman (who is one of the better ones I've dealt with) tells me all the traders they have contacted just are not that interested and so are throwing crazy low offers in.

Is it just about finding the right trader or will I have to sell it privately? I mean the economy is pretty good for a big engined car and this used to be a desirable car!

[Emeye]

Plug550 said:

Sam87 said:

The 530 is a very nice car, but with petrol prices and impending financial doom its not a car in high market demand, so they will shaft you on price more than normal.

Its gutting and were all in the same boat, my car is economical stbox and that is still loosing money faster than expected.

Look on the bright side at least you get away with the old VED duty and so your car will probably be worth more than a 51 plate if you were to sell private??

All the best keep us informed...

Wrong. It is for cars registered after 1/3/2001 - that's all Y reg motors

Yeh - mine is 3 months inside the new bandings!

I only bought the car in Feb, just before petrol prices went stupid and the new tax bands were introduced.

I don't think the new bandings come in until next April, so I should be able to buy a years tax next Feb using the current bandings. Is this correct?

There is nothing wrong with the car, just I'm now in the position I can afford a Golf GTi which I wasn't at the time, and it was perfect for all the time I spent on the motorway. Other problem is my missus won't drive it cos it's too big.

Oh well, thanks Gordon, not only has your credit crunch cost me my job, now I've got my trousers around my ankles you might as well give me the ass-raping of my life!

[Emeye]

sniff petrol said:

What did they offer you then?

Well, ~£3k!!!

[Emeye]

sleep envy said:

TBH they're only at £4kish in the classifieds and he has to make a living

I've had a look - and cars similar to mine are advertised anywhere between £6.5k upwards.

Doesn't mean they are selling though....

[Emeye]

sleep envy said:

Emeye said:

sleep envy said:

TBH they're only at £4kish in the classifieds and he has to make a living

I've had a look - and cars similar to mine are advertised anywhere between £6.5k upwards.

Doesn't mean they are selling though....

what's your spec?

530i Sport. Silver. Alcantara. Manual. Rain sensor. (think this is the only option as Sport spec is high). 73k miles. Immaculate. FBMWSH. Inspection 2 was the last service done.

[Emeye]

sleep envy said:

£6.5 is a bit optimistic IMO but no that far off

seems like it was an opportunistic bid or he might already have enough barges on the plot to spin

This was a VW main dealer who has been calling traders asking for a quote. He would not sell it himself.

I was expecting a worse offer of £5k to start, then him to chip £1k off his £17k Gti and then we may have had a deal.

Edited by Emeye on Saturday 19th July 14:58

[Emeye]

sleep envy said:

rather than trying to haggle two deals did you ask him for the cost to change?

I find it easier to wear them down that way

Yeh - I told him this morning I was just interested in cost to change - I'd set it at £10k - £11k being realistic.

I'm not after finance, yet not sure if this is an advantage, as they probably make money off it.

Edited by Emeye on Saturday 19th July 15:06

[Emeye]

derestrictor said:

It's completely fubar.

Several lots round here have noticeably lower stocks than normal - must be cashing in and reselling only eco(ish) cars.

Ref Dunk76's comments of a while back - much of the heavy metal out there is worth not just substantially less than it was/ever has been but conceivably nil.

This will extend beyond the current economic turmoil and reflects the beginning of the end for the cars where ownership is an automotive channel for the libido.

A fitting swansong befitting the complete failure of Nulabia's disasterous reign.

Derestrictor,

I wholly blame you for my purchase of this car in February! It was your Bargain Barge threads that got me thinking what good value a big motor would be!!!




Not really, it's my fault for changing my car so bloody often.

Cheers.

[Emeye]

f1stoxfan said:

Emeye said:

sleep envy said:

Emeye said:

sleep envy said:

TBH they're only at £4kish in the classifieds and he has to make a living

I've had a look - and cars similar to mine are advertised anywhere between £6.5k upwards.

Doesn't mean they are selling though....

what's your spec?

530i Sport. Silver. Alcantara. Manual. Rain sensor. (think this is the only option as Sport spec is high). 73k miles. Immaculate. FBMWSH. Inspection 2 was the last service done.

£3000 is bang on the money in this present climate

How much money do traders expect to make on a car. Looking at autotrader, they would be wanting atleast £3k profit.

[Emeye]

f1stoxfan said:

Emeye said:

f1stoxfan said:

Emeye said:

sleep envy said:

Emeye said:

sleep envy said:

TBH they're only at £4kish in the classifieds and he has to make a living

I've had a look - and cars similar to mine are advertised anywhere between £6.5k upwards.

Doesn't mean they are selling though....

what's your spec?

530i Sport. Silver. Alcantara. Manual. Rain sensor. (think this is the only option as Sport spec is high). 73k miles. Immaculate. FBMWSH. Inspection 2 was the last service done.

£3000 is bang on the money in this present climate

How much money do traders expect to make on a car. Looking at autotrader, they would be wanting atleast £3k profit.

I would advertise that car at £4495 with a view to get £4000 for it

I'd advise everyone to go out and buy one then, because the E39 530i Sport has turned into the bargain of the century. It really is a great car, it's so solid and is like a new car still, so if I can't sell it for a decent price I will keep it until it falls to bits. I get an average of 30mpg and next year the tax will only be £210 cos it's due in Feb.

Looks like my habit of changing cars all the time has just come to a depressing halt.

Edited by Emeye on Saturday 19th July 15:32

[Emeye]

After years of having whatever they want whenever they want it - even if it's beyond their means thanks to easy credit - the general stupid public are now realising how stupid they have been, but are completely over-reacting, because they are not smart enough to think for themselves.

The most frustrating part is that for those of us that have been sensible and not bought a house with a 100%< mortgage, and haven't gone out and bought a Porsche Cayenne or X5 to impress the neighbours with their ability to get credit; we are now having to take a financial hit for their selfishness and ignorance.

The crazy thing is, even though I was made redundant a few weeks ago, I took things easy during the boom and I can now weather the storm and I'm probably in a much more financially stable position than MR and MRS "Debt up to their eyeballs but at least our friends were impressed whist it lasted".

I have no sympathy for these people.

At least the worst thing for me is that I will have to keep my car for sometime or take a few grand-hit!

[Emeye]

pgilc1 said:

OllieBirmingham said:

pgilc1 said:

Cars arent selling as much because people are now starting to get it a little tighter - credit cards are harder to get, loans are harder to get, house prices are down and people are maybe holding on to their cars a little longer.

Some of the posts on here verge on mass hysteria.

(a) your car has only lost money when you sell it.
(b) dont change your car to save £100 a year on tax.
(c) bCar salesmen will only take a chance with your money, ie, if you try to trade in now, they will want you to be taking the risk of them not selling it by offering you a naff price for your car. If they get a great price for it when they sell it, then they've won. If they just get their normal margin, then they've still won. Dont give them the satisfaction.
(d) If your car is worth less than you owe on it, so what? keep paying the payments, keep enjoying your car.
(e) depreciation is always the biggest motoring cost. If you've went to the trouble of buying a car and driving it a while, chances are you've lost the biggest part of the depreciation over its lifetime with you already. Changing it to another car will only cost you more in that cycle of depreciation.

What a load of rubbish. Salesmen will only give you a value on your trade in once they have phoned round a list of underwriters to get the best price. They aren't going to guess the value and take a chance, they will effectively have someone waiting to buy the trade-in if it comes in at an agreed value. If the traders don't want to pay decent money then they salesman won't be able to give you decent money for it....

How naive.

Irrespective, the underwriter will do the same (and i was one for years).

Bearing in mind the underwriter is probably another dealer who is going to retail the car - Basically the thinking will be (assuming he wants to make a £2K margin). Hmm, that car is worth putting up at £14995 sticker price, so normally allowing for reconditioning and trade in discount (totalling £1000 for talks sake), i'd bid £12K for it. BUT the markets a bit iffy so i dont want to take any chances, so i will bid £9K on it. I'll still stick it on at £14995 and hopefully i will get a customer at that price but if i dont i can drop the price and make my usual margin.

So the dealer / trader / underwriter is not taking a risk with his own money. Lets face it, he wont ring the original owner of the car up and say 'hey i got £14995 for your car so heres a cheque for another £3000'

Also, the bulk of dealers will stock the decent cars anyway, and only use underwriters for older cars or cars too far outside of their normal remit, so that will be the mentality of the dealer bidding on your car.

Edited by pgilc1 on Sunday 20th July 16:45

Edited by pgilc1 on Sunday 20th July 16:46

This is exactly what has happened with my car! The VW dealer has no interest selling a 7 year old BMW on their pitch, even a mint one.

The salesman is still going to try finding a trader willing to give more for my car and get back to me - we will see what happens, but I ain't holding my breath!

This is definitely a buyers market - if you've got nothing to trade I'd suggest you go in bargaining hard! Unless you want ot buy me car off me!

[Emeye]

ITP said:

How did this thread about a bloke wanting to change his 5 series for a GTI end up about Africans driving stolen Range Rovers !!

No idea, but rather annoyingly I quite fancy an LPG Range Rover now!