40,000 miles dilema or not ?

[Beerma§ter]

Hi Guys,

I've been the proud owner of a 2001 4L Tuscan ( bought second hand from a respected dealer in SE in late 2003 )

Business problems have made me put it up for sale with the dealer that I bought it from. The car's original owner had all the updates done to it to bring it up to modern engine spec ( even had to drive it under 3K for the first 1000miles then have it serviced/ checked ) ANYWAY. The dealer who is brokering the car says that the value of Tuscans drops once they've done 40k miles. Is this a fact ?

What would you guys estimate a 2001 4L Tuscan with all the updates and 40k on the clock to be worth ?

Thanks in advance

Beer

[TUS 373]

No doubt it will be also be the 'wrong colour' too. I suppose the problem will be that 40K is a high mileage for this type of car when there will be so many more with fewer miles. My thoughts are that a car with good miles on has proven itself to have some longevity about it.

Why not advertise it yourself privately e.g. Top Marques, and see what the response is like. Could net you £1-2K more than you would get via a broker?

[Mr.t]

I would tend to agree with Bryan, that as for the value "dropping" at 40k miles, your dealer is trying to have you over. The mechanics of the car are probably more solid, reliable and saleable than when it had 20k on the clock. As for value, I would guestimate around the £20k mark, IMO ?.

[justinp1]

To a certain extent, he may be right. It is not so much the actual reliability (even if this can be guessed with Tuscans) but perceived reliability. Also, the price for Tuscans with 25k on the clock is a lot less that you would expect, thus one with 40k on it you would have thought would be say £1000 - £2000 lower depending on how you think milage is important.

I certainly agree with the concept that a Speed 6 with 40k on it will probably cause less hassle than one with 15k on it, however from the dealers and a potential buyers point of view: two very similar cars on the forcourt, both at the same price, one with 15k on the clock, the other with 40k plus. It would seem obvious which would be bought first, unless there was a price incentive...

I also sadly sold mine so that I could get more funding for a business prospect, so it was certainly a decision made with my head. However, I guessed that I would get the average price as on Autotrader for similar cars. I was very wrong, and it ended up getting about £4k less... This was a 2000/X with 26K on the clock, also with all the factory mods. I would guess that both our cars would have had a similar market value. Back in April I sold mine for £18k to a small dealer after being advertised for weeks. The main TVR independants were offering between £12k to £17k.

I can understand their point of view. There are a lot of Tuscans out there, and not many buyers. I also know that any reason the dealer can point out to reduce the value, they will do.... But then so will any customer who comes to buy it later...

I would be interested to see the car/colour/spec etc, and see what you were offered though, and I would have thought that advice on here would help work out a good price to advertise at?

[gruff500]

Must admit the percieved second hand value of Tuscans does not fill one with joy - but I am a little suprised at the low offers made by dealers (12 - 17k) as I sold my 98' Griffith 500 (with 62k on the clock)to a dealer for 13.5k only 4 months ago. Think its a matter of dealers chancing their arm to see how cheaply they can get it off your hands and thus maximise profit in a tough market!

TVRs have always been OK at retaining value so no reason (even with the Sp6!) that owners should take such a drop on relative new low mileage examples - IMHO...

[dvpeace]

You just have to look at the forecourt prices. 2002 Tuscans still going for £32k, granted the dealer will be wearing any problems in the first 12 months but this is a far cry from 20k.

My guess is that a 2001 Tuscan will have a forecourt value of £30k with a view of it selling for 28k. So expect 4k less as a trade or brokerage.

Bottom line £24k. Higher mileage will then reduce this further so 22k would not seem that bad.

[justinp1]

dvpeace said:

You just have to look at the forecourt prices. 2002 Tuscans still going for £32k, granted the dealer will be wearing any problems in the first 12 months but this is a far cry from 20k. My guess is that a 2001 Tuscan will have a forecourt value of £30k with a view of it selling for 28k. So expect 4k less as a trade or brokerage. Bottom line £24k. Higher mileage will then reduce this further so 22k would not seem that bad.

Sorry to disagree, however my posting was based on actually buying and selling a Tuscan. It is important to remember that just because a car is advertised at a certain price, it does not mean it is sold at that price. If a dealer offered you £22k, you should snap their hand off, however I must disagree and say this would never happen... My evidence is based on the actual sale price of my car and my prior estimation, also in talking to a lot of dealers. For example, why should they buy yours at £22k when they can get this:

2001 TVR TUSCAN 4.0 Speed Six 2dr Convertible, Petrol, 19,500 miles, . 19,500 miles. Pearlescent metallic burnt Orange, Full main dealer service history, 1 prev owner, Full engine rebuild 21/6/05 with full 12 month engine warranty. Tuscan S front .

At an advertised price of £20995 which would also mean that their warranty liability would be much reduced due to the rebuild.

As I said, the dealers can cherry pick as they have to, as customers will also cherry pick too. Personally, I believe they have the option of buying whichever car thy like, and must purchase to make a profit. If you were offered £18k or thereabouts, that is probably a fair price to them, whether that is the same for you is another matter!

Unfortunately I was stuck in the same situation, and I have noticed that there have been some Tuscans advertised on Autotrader for over a year, due to the fact that they are either very early cars with low spec, high milage or just priced out of the market. Your car has to be more appealing than others. This is either through specification and work done, or price.

Anyways, you have the option of taking whoevers advice you wish!

[J_S_G v2.0]

As a rough rule of thumb on a Tusc of that age, I'd knock off £1k per 10,000 miles or so for the first 40,000 miles to calculate the price differential on that. Hence it'd be about £2k less than a 20k car.

Hope that helps...