Best 'decent' car to buy, keep a month and sell at no loss
Discussion
Hi all
I need to buy a car, somewhere in the £8500-£12,000 price range (won't bore you with the complicated reasons why) which I may then need to sell in 3-6 weeks time, maybe longer.
I'd prefer something 'nice' and I was thinking 'executive saloon' might be the best bet; plenty of options about, plenty of people buying and selling, right?
Would diesel be better or petrol?
Thinking along the lines of Merc (E or C class), BMW 3 series (but I've already had 2 and put off a bit by various issues I've had), Audi of some sort?
Perhaps a 2 litre petrol or 2.2 turbo diesel... again, something that I will enjoy, but will be quick and easy to sell privately (and possibly part exchange, but prefer private) with a minimal loss of purchase price.
I know Ford Focus/Fiesta are the best selling car but would prefer something interesting. Would enjoy a hot hatch but maybe not so easy to sell again. Mid powered decent MPG saloon/coupe would be ideal.
Thanks
Ross
I need to buy a car, somewhere in the £8500-£12,000 price range (won't bore you with the complicated reasons why) which I may then need to sell in 3-6 weeks time, maybe longer.
I'd prefer something 'nice' and I was thinking 'executive saloon' might be the best bet; plenty of options about, plenty of people buying and selling, right?
Would diesel be better or petrol?
Thinking along the lines of Merc (E or C class), BMW 3 series (but I've already had 2 and put off a bit by various issues I've had), Audi of some sort?
Perhaps a 2 litre petrol or 2.2 turbo diesel... again, something that I will enjoy, but will be quick and easy to sell privately (and possibly part exchange, but prefer private) with a minimal loss of purchase price.
I know Ford Focus/Fiesta are the best selling car but would prefer something interesting. Would enjoy a hot hatch but maybe not so easy to sell again. Mid powered decent MPG saloon/coupe would be ideal.
Thanks
Ross
mrrossi said:
No it has to be in that price range - reason (didn't want to go into as long story and distracts from the 'ask') is I have a car I'm struggling to sell privately but know I can get a trade in on for around 6-7k hence car to buy has to be at least 8k really
Use a car buying service, get roughly the same amount of money, use part of it to buy a cheaper car then keep the rest. if your buying a card from a dealer then selling after you will make a loss.
that difference between what you will buy the car at from a dealer and what you will get when you sell it privately is what allows dealers to make a profit.
buying a car privately and then selling privately you stand a chance of not making a loss, but buying from a dealer you will make a loss as soon as you drive off the forecourt
that difference between what you will buy the car at from a dealer and what you will get when you sell it privately is what allows dealers to make a profit.
buying a car privately and then selling privately you stand a chance of not making a loss, but buying from a dealer you will make a loss as soon as you drive off the forecourt
Thanks all for the responses so far, and yes I know I'm always going to loose out buying from a dealer but as I said, I'm struggling to sell it privately.
I think I need to explain the full situation.
I've had a V8 Jag for some time and it's been a great car, but I like to change cars regularly as I get bored. This is actually the longest I've kept a car in a long time.
I want a V8 Mustang (10-11k private, 12-13K dealer).
Problem is, they are rare, and most private sale (and better price privately).
Second problem, been trying to sell the Jag for months and not getting anywhere. Maybe it's the current market, it being thirsty, etc - don't know. I've had 33 cars and this is the longest it's taken to sell a car.
I know I can get a trade in at a price I can 'stomach'.
But there's so few Mustangs for sale via garages that will do a trade in, and I'm gonna get stung.
So my thoughts are: go for something that's more widely available, and easy to sell, find the BEST one at the BEST price and BEST offer of trade in, do the deal... look for the perfect private sale Mustang, put mine up for sale privately, sell quickly, buy the Mustang privately.
Yes/no?!?!
Regarding 'we buy any car' or any of those other s
te options - no. Just no. They may offer an 'ok' price on a Ford Focus or something 'standard' but on a performance/luxury car over a certain age and mileage they offer tuppence.
So! There you go
Can we get back to my original question please
I think I need to explain the full situation.
I've had a V8 Jag for some time and it's been a great car, but I like to change cars regularly as I get bored. This is actually the longest I've kept a car in a long time.
I want a V8 Mustang (10-11k private, 12-13K dealer).
Problem is, they are rare, and most private sale (and better price privately).
Second problem, been trying to sell the Jag for months and not getting anywhere. Maybe it's the current market, it being thirsty, etc - don't know. I've had 33 cars and this is the longest it's taken to sell a car.
I know I can get a trade in at a price I can 'stomach'.
But there's so few Mustangs for sale via garages that will do a trade in, and I'm gonna get stung.
So my thoughts are: go for something that's more widely available, and easy to sell, find the BEST one at the BEST price and BEST offer of trade in, do the deal... look for the perfect private sale Mustang, put mine up for sale privately, sell quickly, buy the Mustang privately.
Yes/no?!?!
Regarding 'we buy any car' or any of those other s
te options - no. Just no. They may offer an 'ok' price on a Ford Focus or something 'standard' but on a performance/luxury car over a certain age and mileage they offer tuppence.So! There you go
Can we get back to my original question please
The premise of your original question is flawed.
If you want to buy something that you can sell easily without a loss after a short time then you need to buy something at very good price for what it is. It doesnt actually matter what it is as long as it is well priced compared to other similar examples.
If you are then hoping / expecting that the seller of that below market priced car will also give you anything other than a below market price for your current car then you are going to have be very lucky indeed.
Sell your current car at "best" and if private sale isnt working and car buying service is the best or only offer on the table then that's what the car is worth. You can then concentrate on getting the best value Mustang in a much more transparent way.
If you want to buy something that you can sell easily without a loss after a short time then you need to buy something at very good price for what it is. It doesnt actually matter what it is as long as it is well priced compared to other similar examples.
If you are then hoping / expecting that the seller of that below market priced car will also give you anything other than a below market price for your current car then you are going to have be very lucky indeed.
Sell your current car at "best" and if private sale isnt working and car buying service is the best or only offer on the table then that's what the car is worth. You can then concentrate on getting the best value Mustang in a much more transparent way.
Oh dear 
I will say thanks to most people but some are clearly not getting the point.
I've tried to sell my car privately for the LOWEST amount I'd accept privately - which is actually what I've already been offered as a TRADE in price (but not on the car I wanted at the time to buy) but had no luck - so what I'm saying is - the only way I can shift it IS to do a trade in BUT there's no Mustangs I can do a trade in on hence why I want to get something else, BUT I'd still like to enjoy that car, whether it's for 2 weeks or 3 months before I find the perfect Mustang. Get me??
The 8.5-12K price range is because it would be hard to trade in a car for 6-7k on a car less than 8ish K - dealer always wants you to pay a bit.
sooooooo
Original question please
What is a good, executive, saloon/coupe car, I can buy in the 8.5-12k price range, that I could relatively easily sell for a similar price 2-6 weeks later AND is diesel (2.2-2.5) or petrol (2.0) a better choice?
P.S. I've bought many cars in the past and kept only 3 months and sold for the same price. One I even made a small profit on. Obviously I can't guarantee that though, it's all a risk... but if I can't sell my car privately, and can't trade it in for a Mustang, surely this is worth a try? Come on people... positive hats!!
I will say thanks to most people but some are clearly not getting the point.
I've tried to sell my car privately for the LOWEST amount I'd accept privately - which is actually what I've already been offered as a TRADE in price (but not on the car I wanted at the time to buy) but had no luck - so what I'm saying is - the only way I can shift it IS to do a trade in BUT there's no Mustangs I can do a trade in on hence why I want to get something else, BUT I'd still like to enjoy that car, whether it's for 2 weeks or 3 months before I find the perfect Mustang. Get me??
The 8.5-12K price range is because it would be hard to trade in a car for 6-7k on a car less than 8ish K - dealer always wants you to pay a bit.
sooooooo
Original question please
What is a good, executive, saloon/coupe car, I can buy in the 8.5-12k price range, that I could relatively easily sell for a similar price 2-6 weeks later AND is diesel (2.2-2.5) or petrol (2.0) a better choice?
P.S. I've bought many cars in the past and kept only 3 months and sold for the same price. One I even made a small profit on. Obviously I can't guarantee that though, it's all a risk... but if I can't sell my car privately, and can't trade it in for a Mustang, surely this is worth a try? Come on people... positive hats!!
OK, so you want to buy a depreciating asset, put more miles on it, and then sell it for what you paid for it at a time of year (approaching Christmas) when that sector of the used car trade is in a bit of a lull.
Can’t possibly see the flaw there
The only way I can possibly see this working is you taking a punt on something at the auctions and hoping you don’t buy a lemon. Then shift it on when you need to, hopefully at no loss.
However, that could be fraught with pain and unexpected expense. As the old saying goes, “if it was that easy, everyone would be doing it”
Can’t possibly see the flaw there
The only way I can possibly see this working is you taking a punt on something at the auctions and hoping you don’t buy a lemon. Then shift it on when you need to, hopefully at no loss.
However, that could be fraught with pain and unexpected expense. As the old saying goes, “if it was that easy, everyone would be doing it”
mrrossi said:
Ok, but that's rarer than the norm, right? Might be worth me checking out though. My Jag isn't perfect though so think it would be easier to part ex when the car I'm buying is a bit more
I looked at a couple of dealers and they were happy to give me cash to take one of their cars, so yes its worth a try.mrrossi said:
So my thoughts are: go for something that's more widely available, and easy to sell, find the BEST one at the BEST price and BEST offer of trade in, do the deal... look for the perfect private sale Mustang, put mine up for sale privately, sell quickly, buy the Mustang privately.
I'm in a not dissimilar position in that i want to buy a car, run it over the winter and sell it for at least what i paid for it. What i've concluded about my local market.- Big engined petrol cars take months and months to sell.
- For all the "anti diesel" sentiment, its still diesels that sell.
- High miles has a big knock on diesel residuals
- People dont particularly want big engined diesels, or if they do, they do take longer to sell than the smaller engined variants
- New model Passats with a bit of miles on them but not starship. SE Business spec. (2016 onwards)
- The 2010 onwards BMW 5 series shape. Probably 2012 ish. Avoid manuals. Look for reasonable miles and M Sport ideally.
- Mercedes E220 or E250 CDI. Ideally Sport spec or Avantgarde. Auto.
- Maybe an early new model 320d M Sport.
- Maybe a new model C Class C220CDI auto.
- Jag XF 3.0D. Might have a better chance of a deal if you're trading in a Jag against a Jag, but they do seem to take a while to resell...
Edited by Deep Thought on Thursday 17th October 21:35
PurpleTurtle said:
OK, so you want to buy a depreciating asset, put more miles on it, and then sell it for what you paid for it at a time of year (approaching Christmas) when that sector of the used car trade is in a bit of a lull.
Can’t possibly see the flaw there
The only way I can possibly see this working is you taking a punt on something at the auctions and hoping you don’t buy a lemon. Then shift it on when you need to, hopefully at no loss.
However, that could be fraught with pain and unexpected expense. As the old saying goes, “if it was that easy, everyone would be doing it”
That doesnt resolve the "what to do with the Jag?" question though?Can’t possibly see the flaw there
The only way I can possibly see this working is you taking a punt on something at the auctions and hoping you don’t buy a lemon. Then shift it on when you need to, hopefully at no loss.
However, that could be fraught with pain and unexpected expense. As the old saying goes, “if it was that easy, everyone would be doing it”
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