Advice on selling my C32 Estate

[jjcodex]

Hi guys

I haven't sold a car in ages, and to be honest I think I may have forgotten the most effective way to do it. I have placed an ad here in pistonheads ( http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/1295704.htm ), but do people think it is worth also paying for an ad on autotrader?

Advice and selling hints and tips most appreciated!

JJ

[SLacKer]

JJ

Looks like a very good advert. Maybe a rear photo but other than that I don't see why it would not sell especially with the warranty.

I am getting a C32 saloon on Saturday with a similar spec but with PDC front and rear so people do buy these cars. I found mine on Autotrader and it is a good car to sell on there because there are so few of them. Although AT have changed their site recently with a mind to put people off using it. Have you considered EBAY classified (not an auction).

Good luck with the sale and prepare yourself for the tyre kickers.

[jjcodex]

Hi mate

Thanks very much for the input - greatly appreciated. I think I will sling it on Autotrader as well to bolster the advertising. That will sadly cause a landslide of tyre-kickers though.

I guess the rarity of the estate should add some appeal.

JJ

[mickyveloce]

It`s a nice car in good order with the USP of being a private sale with a warranty .

Autotrader is fine , so far as it goes , but why not try to target the customer base a little closer and put a free ad on carclassic.co.uk and a photo ad ( small cost ) in the Mercedes Enthusiast magazine .

[softtop]

What about mbclub.co.uk ?

[jjcodex]

Thanks guys - what a good idea! I hadn't thought of the clubs. I will do that

It is refreshing that the guys in this forum have provided me some comfort - I made the same post in the Porsche forum section (as I have one of those too), and some of the comments have been just deeply irritating!!!

JJ

[rob928gt]

Hi JJ. Great car the C32, yours looks a very good spec car in excellent condition, I had a Saloon (replaced with a C55 Estate, now a C63 Estate!) and successfully sold it via The Sunday Times. Wherever you advertise it, don't forget to put "No Canvassers" or you will get numerous calls from pepole offering to sell it / advertise it for you which is a pain! Good luck, Rob

[SLacKer]

I read the Porsche thread.....

As for price remember that you will never get more for it so never go to low. Also I tend to steer clear of overly discounted prices that seem out of the norm. Also there is a need for wiggle room when selling.

I am biased of course as I have an SLK32 and hopefully will have a C32 at the weekend to keep it company so I do like the cars and the engine.

[jjcodex]

Hi guys

Noted about the canvassers - I will add immediately!

Hi Slacker - I agree - I think a little bit of trolling going on there sadly. Ref the SLK 32 - fab car!!! My wife has a basic SLK (230k) - I can only imagine how much fun with the poke of the 3.2k AMG engine in it!!

JJ

[Mikey_W]

I like that a lot

If only i had the money, I'd be tempted. Full service history & the Merc warranty are good selling points...

[Chris944_S2]

Good advert with what looks like a car in excellent condition!

A few things I would include in the ad:
- Number of previous owners and how long you have had it
- Interior & exterior condition
- If you have all the receipts at hand from the service history, add them up and put the figure in there, it will show the car has been well cared for through its life.

[jjcodex]

Chris944_S2 said:

Good advert with what looks like a car in excellent condition!

A few things I would include in the ad:
- Number of previous owners and how long you have had it
- Interior & exterior condition
- If you have all the receipts at hand from the service history, add them up and put the figure in there, it will show the car has been well cared for through its life.

Hi Chris - good idea ref the previous owners - On condition, I am always nervous about commenting too hard on this, as it is so subjective - one mans mint is another mans average.

The receipts for the car go back to when she was new - god only knows how much that adds up to1!! LOL

Thanks for all the kind words, guys - hopefully she will find the right buyer!

JJ

[r129sl]

Chris944_S2 said:

Good advert with what looks like a car in excellent condition!

A few things I would include in the ad:
- Number of previous owners and how long you have had it
- Interior & exterior condition
- If you have all the receipts at hand from the service history, add them up and put the figure in there, it will show the car has been well cared for through its life.

I second this. I would detail in a list the date, mileage, work done, workshop and cost of each service, and stress that the receipts are available to supplement the stamps in the service book. This is much more impressive than "FMBSH". All too often on a 70k mile car, FSH means 3 stamps in the service record and nothing more. That is no evidence of a well-maintained car: in fact the contrary.

I would also state precisely how many miles until the next service is due, what brand of tyres it has (presumably good ones), whether it has had paintwork, whether there is any rust (a big deal, as I'm sure you will know, for Mercs of this vintage), whether it is accident free. I think I would have an underbonnet shot and a boot shot, as well.

I look at a lot of cars and some ads really stand out. They are well-organised, detailed (what colour and code silver, does it have the original spare, the jack, the toolkit, the first aid kit), accurate (it is COMAND not COMMAND, anthracite not black leather) and neutral. There should be no exclamation marks, no unnecessary capitalisation, and no grammatical howlers: nobody wants to buy a car from a thicko. Start with the general and move to the particular. Having sold a couple of cars recently, I can say it is no easy task to put together a good advert.

A colleague has sold two cars now on Autotrader. If I were selling my car on Autotrader, I would go for the premium ads: the cheap, one small photo ads are very unimpressive.

Edited by r129sl on Thursday 15th October 08:49

[jjcodex]

Thanks for the advice - I do appreciate it. Actually, having looked at the history more carefully, the next service is a B service, not an A, which means my ad is wrong on that, so I must change it. I will embrace your advice and make some changes, and also add a full size autotrader advert to see. Looking at some of the recently listed cars, I may have to trim the price a little. There are a few marks on the bodywork, (ie small scratches or stone chips), so I cannot advertise the externals as immaculate (nor would I).

r129sl said:

Chris944_S2 said:

Good advert with what looks like a car in excellent condition!

A few things I would include in the ad:
- Number of previous owners and how long you have had it
- Interior & exterior condition
- If you have all the receipts at hand from the service history, add them up and put the figure in there, it will show the car has been well cared for through its life.

I second this. I would detail in a list the date, mileage, work done, workshop and cost of each service, and stress that the receipts are available to supplement the stamps in the service book. This is much more impressive than "FMBSH". All too often on a 70k mile car, FSH means 3 stamps in the service record and nothing more. That is no evidence of a well-maintained car: in fact the contrary.

I would also state precisely how many miles until the next service is due, what brand of tyres it has (presumably good ones), whether it has had paintwork, whether there is any rust (a big deal, as I'm sure you will know, for Mercs of this vintage), whether it is accident free. I think I would have an underbonnet shot and a boot shot, as well.

I look at a lot of cars and some ads really stand out. They are well-organised, detailed (what colour and code silver, does it have the original spare, the jack, the toolkit, the first aid kit), accurate (it is COMAND not COMMAND, anthracite not black leather) and neutral. There should be no exclamation marks, no unnecessary capitalisation, and no grammatical howlers: nobody wants to buy a car from a thicko. Start with the general and move to the particular. Having sold a couple of cars recently, I can say it is no easy task to put together a good advert.

A colleague has sold two cars now on Autotrader. If I were selling my car on Autotrader, I would go for the premium ads: the cheap, one small photo ads are very unimpressive.

Edited by r129sl on Thursday 15th October 08:49

[softtop]

I thought it would have gone by now?

[jjcodex]

softtop said:

I thought it would have gone by now?

Nope - but I am not too worried if I am honest. Having got it all nice and tidy, I am getting those pangs!

May end up being kept after all - it is a lovely car to drive, and I have had just soo much fun today in her!

I had intended to buy an E class 320 diesel in the spirit of sensible, but today I sat in Merc whilst some minor warranty bits were being done to mine (replacement 12v socket in front) with a guy who had the aforementioned diesel car. He had just been advised that his injectors had packed up, and it was going to cost 'very lots'!!!

I think that my budget wont buy me an equivalent condition E class, so am thinking - better the devil you know!

I am soooo fickle!

JJ

[wotnot]

softtop said:

I thought it would have gone by now?

I bought mine in haste back in March thinking that if I didn't buy it someone else would.

To be honest it wasn't the best example I could have bought and, in my haste, I missed some howlers that I'm still putting right. (Looks like I should have waited and bought yours, it looks fantastic).
Turns out that most of the others that were advertised at the same time were still being advertised for quite a while afterwards.
I think you're going to have to be patient fella; they're fantastic cars but I don't think there are that many buyers out there.
Personally, I'd go with your instinct and keep it.

I absolutely adore mine and intend keeping it till I can afford a C55!

[derin100]

To add to the advice from others (which I agree with) IMHO it might also be worthwhile re-doing the photographs as they're currently not showing the car too well. The location of the photographs at present has too 'busy' a background which detracts from the car .

I find black interiors very difficult to photograph but presumably you're using a digital camera so take lots and lots of photos in varying lights, try opening doors, roof etc and then only select the ones where you got lucky with a good shot.

I'm no David Bailey (although I'm getting slightly better...LOL!) so I take hundreds in order to get decent shots:

http://www.bmwclassics.co.uk/gallery/index.php

Even in this dealer's ad the shots aren't great but you'll see how the background is less 'fussy' and thus shows the car in a more favourable way?

http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/791023.htm

Personally, I don't think trimming the price will help or is warranted. It's a good car you have there; you just need to re-jig/re-do the advertisement. That is, if you still want to go ahead with selling.

Good luck!

Edited by derin100 on Saturday 17th October 15:53

[ALawson]

I was looking at your advert yesterday, I have been pondering a C55 estate for a while but couldn't justify the price. Like Mikey above my attentions are now directed towards a C32, my only issue with one would be rust and warranty. Both of these items not seeming to be a problem with yours.

Incidently how costly is it to renew with MB each year?

Your car looks immaculate and I am sure a buyer will be along in a while.

[derin100]

According to the paperwork I have with my C55 Estate the cost of renewal of warranty on a C-Class (interestingly it appears to make no distinction for the AMG versions) is £913 (Jan '08 prices).

Cars with over 60,000 are not eligible for Tier 1 renewal and drop to Tier 2...which still costs the same amount. Tier 2 is then further only available on cars with less than 100,000 miles.