Do people buy cars privately anymore?

Do people buy cars privately anymore?

Author
Discussion

MPorsche

202 posts

60 months

Tuesday 6th April 2021
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Wilmslowboy said:
Curious to know what was the difference in price you advertised it for compared to the price you sold to Ashgood, and then the price Ashgood sold at ?
Couple of thousand. I wish I had initially bought from Ashgood, mega slick outfit. They spent ~ 2 hours checking the car before buying it. They bid me nearly 7k more than one OPC. Rather than sitting on stock for months they are happy to move cars on faster with lower margins

Jefferson Steelflex

1,428 posts

98 months

Tuesday 6th April 2021
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I've currently got my 997.1 Turbo for sale on here and it's the first decent car i've bothered to sell privately. The interest is definitely there from private buyers, if anything I have more people interested in the car than I can manage, and so far this would suggest that there is certainly a decent private sale market.

There is a lovely middle ground of buying/selling private where both parties get the best deal. Buying through the trade benefits only one side financially, but gives the buyer added peace of mind I guess.

Chris355

790 posts

195 months

Tuesday 6th April 2021
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I prefer to buy and sell privately if possible. Obviously exercising a great deal of caution, especially as the cars grow increasingly expensive. I would also tend to have the car inspected if buying.

Wilmslowboy

4,188 posts

205 months

Tuesday 6th April 2021
quotequote all
MPorsche said:
Couple of thousand. I wish I had initially bought from Ashgood, mega slick outfit. They spent ~ 2 hours checking the car before buying it. They bid me nearly 7k more than one OPC . Rather than sitting on stock for months they are happy to move cars on faster with lower margins
Thanks, goes to show not all trade bids are equal.






ChrisW.

6,210 posts

254 months

Tuesday 6th April 2021
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I also like buying and selling privately if I can.

As always it comes down to the car, the conversation I have with the other party is very important in terms of the history of the car and our empathy --- but to be fair fellow enthusiasts rarely have a problem with this !

Price ... is generally more than a dealer would pay but less than a dealer would sell at ... and part of a fair negotiation. My experience is that it's better to price slightly low and have a lot of interest than it is to price high and have only one or two interested purchasers.

And finally, the car must be good. With the advantage that if a Porsche with extended warranty, a private sale carries the balance of this with it and the opportunity to extend it without a 111 point check. The only downside is OPC servicing which is more expensive and can be impersonal by comparison to your favourite specialist.

It goes without saying that a well written advertisement with good photos of a well prepared car adds value.

philcray

845 posts

202 months

Wednesday 7th April 2021
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Agree with the above, I prefer to buy privately but it obviously depends what is available at the time. Pricing is key and can be tricky to get right. I have just bought a 17 plate (2018 MY) 718 Boxster from Porsche Kendal, paid £38,250 but it has just had the 4 year major service, has 2 years warranty and they gave a years road tax & mot, hence over £3k of real cost which I would most likely have incurred buying privately (assuming I added Porsche warranty, which I probably would have done given how many times I used it with my 911....). So a similar private car would have had to be under £35k to give the same value. And that is without factoring in the reduced risk of buying from a main dealer.

Royal Jelly

3,674 posts

197 months

Thursday 8th April 2021
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You definitely scooped up the thick end of 3.5k in ‘benefits’ with that.

I prefer private buying but there must be a decent gulf in price. That gap was 6-8k for 981 Caymans when I was shopping. That gap seems to be closing up now - and 718s seem at first glance to be very close.

Have you collected yours yet? Great timing for the summer, that’s for sure.

Simo_UK

101 posts

102 months

Thursday 8th April 2021
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A rare thread where the general consensus is the same! 😀

I always sell private. Have flirted with px a couple of times but always had a last minute “I wonder if I can get an extra £1000+ In a quick sale”. I prep my cars as I’d want them to be and always honest in the advert. Sold both within a week.

I’d usually buy private too. My 981BS belonged to a retired guy, it was mint and after our test drive he insisted on cleaning the wheels before it went back under a cover. Came with warranty too and I called the OPC to understand what history it had on the network. I thought that’d be a safe bet 😀

Recently picked up a 981CGTS from an OPC, but similar to @philcray above, got a lot of prep included in the deal. Front and rear bumpers, side panels and bonnet all resprayed. 2x tyres. Front discs and pads all round. v Minor interior issues fixed plus 2.5yrs warranty and great service.

With that attention to detail, prep and great aftercare I’d buy from an OPC again. But at the end of the day it just happened to be the exact spec I was after.

jimmy p

960 posts

165 months

Saturday 10th April 2021
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Ed, I like the updated photos on the advert, much improved and shows the car off. Hope it does the trick!
Managed to sell my car privately although to a trader but at a price I was happy with and there was zero tyre kicking!!

LemonTart

Original Poster:

1,365 posts

133 months

Saturday 10th April 2021
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jimmy p said:
Ed, I like the updated photos on the advert, much improved and shows the car off. Hope it does the trick!
Managed to sell my car privately although to a trader but at a price I was happy with and there was zero tyre kicking!!
Thanks Jimmyp,

I took the advice on this thread and did some photos not in full on sunshine and also put a few of the car with the roof on and the cat audio too.

I have renewed the ad for a couple of weeks so let’s see what happens.

Cheers
Ed


Wilmslowboy

4,188 posts

205 months

Friday 16th April 2021
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This might go some way to demonstrate the spread on used Porsche prices between ‘private’ and dealer retail.

There was a used 911 on CC over the last week, 135 photos, long wordy details, able to ask questions, all details of services and invoices posted up, not quite a private sale, but close (in terms of engagement and protection).

Money for seller achieved was £38,000,
Total price paid by the buyer £40,280

Now up for sale (as within 24 hours of the sale) at a specialist dealer for £48,000

In this example, the ‘private sale’ was at 15% below retail values, a level so low that a dealer bought it (I.e. it was trade value).








Royal Jelly

3,674 posts

197 months

Friday 16th April 2021
quotequote all
Wilmslowboy said:
This might go some way to demonstrate the spread on used Porsche prices between ‘private’ and dealer retail.

There was a used 911 on CC over the last week, 135 photos, long wordy details, able to ask questions, all details of services and invoices posted up, not quite a private sale, but close (in terms of engagement and protection).

Money for seller achieved was £38,000,
Total price paid by the buyer £40,280

Now up for sale (as within 24 hours of the sale) at a specialist dealer for £48,000

In this example, the ‘private sale’ was at 15% below retail values, a level so low that a dealer bought it (I.e. it was trade value).
It looks worse than it is, though. 7.7k ‘mark up’ is rapidly eroded by a bit of remedial work - some pads/disks/paint correction etc, plus overheads etc.

Everyone’s a winner here, because the dealer didn’t low-ball anyone; they won an open auction. If they think they can sell on for a worthwhile profit, good on them.

jimmy p

960 posts

165 months

Friday 16th April 2021
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Cant help but feel the seller would of got at least 40-42k on a genuine private sale through an Autotrader advert though, especially for that car.

Orangecurry

7,398 posts

205 months

Friday 16th April 2021
quotequote all
Royal Jelly said:
It looks worse than it is, though. 7.7k ‘mark up’ is rapidly eroded by a bit of remedial work - some pads/disks/paint correction etc, plus overheads etc.
Seriously? You think that 18% mark-up would be eroded by trade price costs on brakes and a half-day mop, if they were done at all?

(EFClarity)

Edited by Orangecurry on Friday 16th April 11:16

Jefferson Steelflex

1,428 posts

98 months

Friday 16th April 2021
quotequote all
Wilmslowboy said:
This might go some way to demonstrate the spread on used Porsche prices between ‘private’ and dealer retail.

There was a used 911 on CC over the last week, 135 photos, long wordy details, able to ask questions, all details of services and invoices posted up, not quite a private sale, but close (in terms of engagement and protection).

Money for seller achieved was £38,000,
Total price paid by the buyer £40,280

Now up for sale (as within 24 hours of the sale) at a specialist dealer for £48,000

In this example, the ‘private sale’ was at 15% below retail values, a level so low that a dealer bought it (I.e. it was trade value).
Agreed, and per my post last week....

Jefferson Steelflex said:
I've currently got my 997.1 Turbo for sale on here and it's the first decent car i've bothered to sell privately. The interest is definitely there from private buyers, if anything I have more people interested in the car than I can manage, and so far this would suggest that there is certainly a decent private sale market.

There is a lovely middle ground of buying/selling private where both parties get the best deal. Buying through the trade benefits only one side financially, but gives the buyer added peace of mind I guess.
I sold my car within 48 hours for full asking price. The only effort on my part was giving it a bloody good clean, then borowing someone else's private driveway for the photos and writing what I thought was a decent ad. I could have sold the car 4 or 5 times over, the level of interest was off the scale.

To put it into numbers, I sold the car for the £53k asking price without any quibbles, yet was offered £43k p/ex the day before (I wanted to get an idea of the spread). I was historically against private sales, but having been burnt on Collecting Cars last year, I'm glad I went private sale this time. Hardly any effort and far more cash in my pocket.








Orangecurry

7,398 posts

205 months

Friday 16th April 2021
quotequote all
Jefferson Steelflex said:
I was historically against private sales, but having been burnt on Collecting Cars last year, I'm glad I went private sale this time. Hardly any effort and far more cash in my pocket.
Do you mind sharing what went wrong, if we are allowed to say anything negative about CC?

As I have just suggested to a friend he puts his 996 C2 to sell via that platform.

Royal Jelly

3,674 posts

197 months

Friday 16th April 2021
quotequote all
Orangecurry said:
Seriously? You think that 18% mark-up would be eroded by trade prices on brakes and a half-day mop, if they were done at all?
No, obviously not, because that would put them out of business. Trade prices for some bits and pieces, rent, wages, etc will erode some of it.

It’s a red herring, anyway. They got it for cheap, and are selling it for market. Anyone could’ve come and bid more if they wanted.

The seller on CC has undersold it.

LemonTart

Original Poster:

1,365 posts

133 months

Friday 16th April 2021
quotequote all
Just for interest.

Ashgood have a lovely 997.2 GT3 RS for sale, it seems to be the same one as on Collecting Cars a week or two ago, hammer price there was £144.5k plus fees it was on Ashgood’s site for £170k on Wednesday night and £175k now.

Gives you a measure of mark up on what looked to be an immaculate car.



Andyoz

2,887 posts

53 months

Friday 16th April 2021
quotequote all
LemonTart said:
Just for interest.

Ashgood have a lovely 997.2 GT3 RS for sale, it seems to be the same one as on Collecting Cars a week or two ago, hammer price there was £144.5k plus fees it was on Ashgood’s site for £170k on Wednesday night and £175k now.

Gives you a measure of mark up on what looked to be an immaculate car.
I also notice that. The £25k differential in price would buy you a nice Boxster, a car you'd actually drive a bit, so I'd buy both.

Or the £25k buys more than half a new Mezger engine I think.


douglasgdmw

488 posts

218 months

Friday 16th April 2021
quotequote all
LemonTart said:
Thanks Jimmyp,

I took the advice on this thread and did some photos not in full on sunshine and also put a few of the car with the roof on and the cat audio too.

I have renewed the ad for a couple of weeks so let’s see what happens.

Cheers
Ed
I sold my 987 Spyder to a dealer in about a day a couple of weeks back and got a good price as it was very competitive. I think I still have the details of a private buyer who was interested in mine, if you send me your advert or car details by PM/DM I will text him in case yours is of any interest.

The most response that I have was on the Facebook page "Porsche for Sale UK" - was really surprised but when I put it up on the Saturday got 5 or 6 enquiries straight off and then sold it on the Sunday.

George