What am I missing? Where is the catch?

[RadoVR6]

My partner is wanting to change cars and has her mind set on an Astra coupe.

We have been looking round for something about 3 years old and about £9k.

Then I come across this one :

http://www.evanshalshaw.com/search/vehicledetails/...

What I don't understand is:

1. Who buys a brand new £20k car, does 18k miles in it, then sells it after a year losing £12k.

2. Isn't £12k depreciation on a £20k car what you would expect see after 3 years and not a year?

All I can think is it's an ex lease/hire car, which is a no go.

Thanks

[hornetrider]

It didn't cost them 20k probably.

Edit. Just done a quick autotrader search, are we talking Astra GTC? Just seems they are a cheap car, loads of 3 year old one starting at 7k or less.

Edited by hornetrider on Sunday 12th February 10:16

[AWRacing]

Why is an ex-lease car a no go?

I could understand an ex-hire car but at least with lease cars you know they have been serviced

[ambuletz]

RadoVR6 said:

My partner... ...has her mind set on an Astra coupe.

Move on, plenty of fish in the sea, find another partner.

[RadoVR6]

hornetrider said:

It didn't cost them 20k probably.

Edit. Just done a quick autotrader search, are we talking Astra GTC? Just seems they are a cheap car, loads of 3 year old one starting at 7k or less.

Edited by hornetrider on Sunday 12th February 10:16

We were looking at the SRI mainly for the better interior. Im suprised by how cheap they are hence thinking there was a catch somewhere.

[curlie467]

It could be because they're crap.

[RadoVR6]

How would you tell if it was an ex lease car as the previous registered keeper would be a person?

[Mike335i]

Vauxhall in depreciation shocker.

They are not know for retaining value so I guess it's quite a good price for the car. Just be happy that your missus wants a cheap motor.

Be wary of the seller and don't pay any administration fees or other nonsense. I have been advised by former employers of the same company to tread with extreme caution. As the car is still under manufacturer warranty you would not have to deal with them again.

[s3fella]

Surely you don't think they paid £20k for a 1.4 Astra GTC?

It's in a basic colour with basic spec. Seems about right price wise.

[hornetrider]

RadoVR6 said:

How would you tell if it was an ex lease car as the previous registered keeper would be a person?

I have a lease and VW financial services are on the V5 (which I don't have).

[Mercury00]

My dad bought a brand new Astra 1.4 for £11k, the GTC can't cost much more?

Edit: Autotrader have demonstrator models for under £10k...

Edited by Mercury00 on Sunday 12th February 11:13

[HTP99]

I can guarantee you that, that car will be ex rental, anything out there at that age and mileage will be an ex Enterprise or similar.

If you don't want ex lease then you certainly won't want ex rental; even though neither will give you any bother, we sell hundreds of ex Enterprise cars a year and none give the new owners any bother that may be related to some perceived way that people think an ex rental or ex lease is used and abused, in its first year.

Of course you could pay a little bit less and get one that is 2-3 years old, however you won't have a clue how that was treated either by it's likely 2 previous owners, but you will feel better about your purchase, but likely you wouldn't have got as much of a bargain.

[RadoVR6]

I know this will be a bit out but this is where I got 20k from. I was thinking they would have paid 17-18k for it.

I will not pay anything but the cash to buy the car. I know I don't need them anymore once the car is bought.

[Riley Blue]

AWRacing said:

Why is an ex-lease car a no go?

I could understand an ex-hire car but at least with lease cars you know they have been serviced

I've bought ex-lease cars in the past without any problems, at one time I deliberately looked for them.

[Buzypea]

Riley Blue said:

AWRacing said:

Why is an ex-lease car a no go?

I could understand an ex-hire car but at least with lease cars you know they have been serviced

I've bought ex-lease cars in the past without any problems, at one time I deliberately looked for them.

I've leased 3 cars over the last 10 years and always looked after them perfectly well. Never driven them any differently to a car I have owned. There will always be exceptions to the rule but you could also buy a pre-owned car that's had the knackers thrashed off it.

[codenamecueball]

RadoVR6 said:

1. Who buys a brand new £20k car, does 18k miles in it, then sells it after a year losing £12k.

Car hire companies. Could have been thrashed, could have been babies and there's everywhere inbetween. No idea why people expect one owner private cars to be treated any better. Will most likely give you years of service, with the only major hiccup being it's a Vauxhall and you have to spend time inside it.