Value in sub £1500 cars from dealers

[Challo]

Been looking for a cheap replacement for my E46 and been checking eBay and Autotrader but most of the adverts seem to be traders. What’s the margins dealers are working at these prices? Is a £1500 car really £1000 or does it depend on the car?

Worth holding out and buying privately at this price?

[daemon]

Challo said:

Been looking for a cheap replacement for my E46 and been checking eBay and Autotrader but most of the adverts seem to be traders. What’s the margins dealers are working at these prices? Is a £1500 car really £1000 or does it depend on the car?

Worth holding out and buying privately at this price?

Unless its a trade in the dealer is simply blowing out at cost price (very unlikely) then yes a £1,500 car is a car a trader has picked up for £750-£1,000 somewhere and has marked it up accordingly.

You'd be better looking for a genuine private sale car as you'll get a better feel for how the car has been cared for and get a better car for your money.

Make sure its a genuine private seller though. A lot of cars at this point are driveway traders advertising as private to avoid their responsibilities.

[DuraAce]

Private sale at this price point is the best way IMHO as any 'warranty' you might get will have so many exclusions it's effectively worthless.

Find something that someone has owned for a few years and has some paperwork to back things up.

[MrAverage]

Majority of my cars have been in this price bracket. I always buy private as you get a lot more for your money.

My current 'shed' is a 1 owner 2007 focus, 97k miles, fsh, all the toys etc etc. set me back a whopping £1150 i don't think a dealer would get anywhere near that price or quality of car (ie. not just bought from an auction and washed)

[Mr Tidy]

I'd only ever buy privately at this sort of budget - half of it will be the dealer's mark-up, and any "warranty" is probably worthless.

The bonus is you get to meet the previous owner, which can be quite insightful!