TradeMe car thread

[Atom Johnny]

GravelBen said:

Omerta said:

The ad looks good - every time you post it here I spend a few seconds trying to justify why I need it .

Only thing I'd suggest is posting some lap times to give an idea of just how quick it is. It would probably sell quicker almost anywhere else but Gore/southland IMO - can you ship it north to a mate to sell for you?

Cheers - good points especially location, I might add a note that I'm happy to meet a buyer at airport or deliver as far north as Timaru.

Not sure I'd post lap times. Maybe just 0-100kph time.

I'd certainly ditch the nice scenic photos for ones that don't show road filth spray up onto the car.
Look at most dealer pictures. They show the car washed and polished.
People like to think the car they are buying is well looked after and never been driven hard, even if it's not true.

[Omerta]

Pricey at $45k, but what a nice looking example....

http://www.trademe.co.nz/motors/used-cars/porsche/...

[Kiwi Carguy]

Omerta said:

Pricey at $45k, but what a nice looking example....

http://www.trademe.co.nz/motors/used-cars/porsche/...

The thing is find another for cheaper. There is only a handful in NZ and any that are advertised seem to sell nad they are not listed "often". This one has taken a bit longer but I am sure the economy has a little to do with that at the moment.

With Porsche's any RS, CS etc will in time will increase in value. Look at the past examples and history repeats itself. Another car that I believe will be a bit of a collector is the MK1 996 GT3 and the 996 GT3RS.

[Kiwi Carguy]

GravelBen said:

She's a tough market to sell in at the moment! Just dropped the price of mine a bit more, any ideas from you folks on what I might be doing wrong with the ad?

http://www.trademe.co.nz/Browse/Listing.aspx?id=44...

Ben I think the ad is ok. If it were me though I would try some of the following suggestions that have worked great for me.

1) Make your title standout. A simple thing is to make the first word in CAPS and that would be a "keyword". Try it and you will see it makes the title stand out from the rest.
2) Make it easy for anyone to buy. I.e offer freight (with quotes), pre-purchase inspection.
3) Offer finance showing repayments. Just ring up Marac or similar and get a quote. All your doing is pointing someone in the right direction. Your not providing the finance etc but merely a teaser. They will either get approved or declined.
4) Do a video of it (I just used my Iphone)going over the whole car, opening the doors, boot etc, revving the engine (not excessively) showing no smoke etc. I did this for our van we sold and my dirt-bike and both guys made a point commenting that the video made their mind up. Just post a link to it on your auction to youtube. Here's my bike one http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wdBPEOOepqQ&fea... Make sure you set the settings to private. it was a point of difference between my bike and others on TM.
5) Use your first paragraph to hook people in. "Well cared for MX5 with records for all work done bla bla bla"
If your really wanting it to sell change the listing to an auction. At least that way you see "what the market is prepared to pay". Unfortunately you will need to pay the fee again as you cant transfer the listing. Or just run both.
6) Not being rude but give it a good clean and take some good photos of it. Not scenic photos but pics showing paint work, interior, tread depth etc. Your engine shot is great but the other three just give nice scenic pics of a MX5 (remember I'm trying to help you here). If you get 20 pics off TM use them. You want people to read the ad and see the pics and think "that looks like a good honest car".

Use paragraphs in the ad as it makes for easier reading.

Lots of people are buying from abroad now so you have to do you best to sell the car to them on the net so they take the plunge to come and see it or get it checked buy a friend, garage etc. It depends on how much you want to sell it but get an appraisal/report at a local garage. Scan it and post it up on the auction. If you don't get a report done at least do a compression test and post the numbers or better still a pic of the printout.

I hope that helps. I'll add more if I think of it.

p.s It would be an interesting exercise to change your location to Wellington and see if you got more inquiries

[GravelBen]

Cheers - I actually took a deposit on it yesterday so assuming they follow through with it then its all sorted. Accepted a bit lower price than I was hoping for but thats how the market seems to be at the moment.

[Kiwi Carguy]

GravelBen said:

Cheers - I actually took a deposit on it yesterday so assuming they follow through with it then its all sorted. Accepted a bit lower price than I was hoping for but thats how the market seems to be at the moment.

Well done.

LoL I saw this thread a few days ago and didn't have time to reply. Where did it sell too? I've just sold over $7k worth of crap from moving house through TM in the last 2 months!! Some ads on there are so slack its no wonder some stuff doesn't sell.

[cheddar]

GravelBen said:

Cheers - I actually took a deposit on it yesterday so assuming they follow through with it then its all sorted. Accepted a bit lower price than I was hoping for but thats how the market seems to be at the moment.

Really?

What's the chances of that?

You're a retail genius Ben, forget all the above tips and hints and tell us all how we can do better!

[GravelBen]

Its going to Auckland once the guy sorts out flights etc to come pick it up.

Apparently the key is to let it go for less than you think its worth! Having bought it for less than you thought it was worth in the first place makes that a bit easier though. In hindsight I should have taken the offer I thought was just a bit too low in November because it was a fair bit higher than the one I've just taken!

Edited by GravelBen on Wednesday 1st February 06:20

[mark387mw]

Usually true with cars, and particularly houses, the first offer is often the best offer.

[mark387mw]

have you seen the price of Mark 1 Escorts http://www.trademe.co.nz/motors/used-cars/ford/esc...

[lestag]

Yet another TVR http://www.trademe.co.nz/motors/used-cars/other/au... what was of interest is the pistonheads stickers on it (Jap import)

[Omerta]

Apart from the biscuit interior it looks like a nice car - if the underside has been kept clean and rust free that seems a fair asking price. The jap TVRs have a number plate recess sized for the squarer japanese plates which is a bit of a hassle. Presumably the seller's certification plan will be "you're the first owner so can register it under SIV" - which as far as I understand shouldn't be allowed, but is done.

[mark387mw]

Can anyone offer advice on this MX5 as what to look out for. Considering as a runabout and a learner car for our kids! http://www.trademe.co.nz/Browse/Listing.aspx?id=45...
What is it worth and yes, needs to be auto.

[GravelBen]

Looks pretty good and well priced to me - pity it has to be an auto as the MX5 manual gearbox is absolutely fantastic. For comparison my first MX5 was the same age with faded/peeling red paint and 206k when I bought it for 3500, thrashed it for 2 years and sold it (2 yrs ago now) for 3600 with 225k on it. Both times it was among the cheapest on the market, so the asking price for that is pretty sharp - they're obviously keen to get rid of it quickly.

Edited by GravelBen on Wednesday 22 February 10:49

[Atom Johnny]

Somebody badly wants a TVR Cerebra.....

Both his classic '71 240Z and '08 Merc have to go.

http://www.trademe.co.nz/motors/used-cars/nissan/d...

Walk around videos...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e1gnUsXOOqI

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gXYi_bxEEY8

[mark387mw]

GravelBen said:

Looks pretty good and well priced to me - pity it has to be an auto as the MX5 manual gearbox is absolutely fantastic. For comparison my first MX5 was the same age with faded/peeling red paint and 206k when I bought it for 3500, thrashed it for 2 years and sold it (2 yrs ago now) for 3600 with 225k on it. Both times it was among the cheapest on the market, so the asking price for that is pretty sharp - they're obviously keen to get rid of it quickly.

Edited by GravelBen on Wednesday 22 February 10:49

Cheers Ben. Any weak points to look for? We want an auto because wife and daughter feel the need to look down for gears and pedals they want to use rather than instinct .

[cheddar]

mark387mw said:

Can anyone offer advice on this MX5 as what to look out for. Considering as a runabout and a learner car for our kids! http://www.trademe.co.nz/Browse/Listing.aspx?id=45...
What is it worth and yes, needs to be auto.

I've spent more on a set of tyres than that costs.

They were voted 'World's most reliable sports car' so not much goes wrong.

I've had 5 of 'em from high miley early 1600's (the sweeest engine if not the most powerful) up to 2004 MK 2.5's, nothing's ever gone wrong, nothing.

I'd check the oil pressure at warm idle - it can show only a quarter and still be fine and should go to half+ with some revs on. Take look around it, check the body for rust, rev the engine looking for smoke, drive it to check steering and auto box and buy the bloody thing before you miss it. Why not call them and offer $2500 cash and put the hundy you save into 5 litres of Castrol SLX?

Good luck!

[mark387mw]

cheddar said:

I'd check the oil pressure at warm idle - it can show only a quarter and still be fine and should go to half+ with some revs on. Take look around it, check the body for rust, rev the engine looking for smoke, drive it to check steering and auto box and buy the bloody thing before you miss it. Why not call them and offer $2500 cash and put the hundy you save into 5 litres of Castrol SLX?

Good luck!

Viewing today at 1pm

[mark387mw]

mark387mw said:

Viewing today at 1pm

Bought.

It's a bit rough down one side so must have had a bit of 'history' but at $2500 for a learners car with wof & rego should be good. Also nothing to cry about should the dents get further additions!

[cheddar]

mark387mw said:

Bought.

It's a bit rough down one side so must have had a bit of 'history' but at $2500 for a learners car with wof & rego should be good. Also nothing to cry about should the dents get further additions!

Good man.