Can anyone else just not be bothered?
Discussion
I really want to change my car, my usage has changed and I’m desperate to get in to something more comfortable.
I just get confronted with a feeling of dread.
Do I Px my car and get a bad deal?
Do I try and sell privately and deal with loads of time wasters?
Do I spend more for peace of mind and get something on the work scheme?
Do I get a small loan and add this to my Px? But then I’m in the £10-12k danger zone of things maybe slightly past their best.
I should get a diesel for my driving style and miles but the ones I’ve had (and I’ve had a fair few) always have issues.
At the moment I’m erring towards something like a petrol automatic Mazda 6 and just stomaching the fuel costs because I doubt it’ll go wrong like some sort of diesel rep mobile would, but then there’s no torque and grunt for the sort of driving I do.
I suppose this is a rant more than asking for advice.
I’m a car guy but increasingly can’t be bothered any more… maybe I’m just getting old!
I just get confronted with a feeling of dread.
Do I Px my car and get a bad deal?
Do I try and sell privately and deal with loads of time wasters?
Do I spend more for peace of mind and get something on the work scheme?
Do I get a small loan and add this to my Px? But then I’m in the £10-12k danger zone of things maybe slightly past their best.
I should get a diesel for my driving style and miles but the ones I’ve had (and I’ve had a fair few) always have issues.
At the moment I’m erring towards something like a petrol automatic Mazda 6 and just stomaching the fuel costs because I doubt it’ll go wrong like some sort of diesel rep mobile would, but then there’s no torque and grunt for the sort of driving I do.
I suppose this is a rant more than asking for advice.
I’m a car guy but increasingly can’t be bothered any more… maybe I’m just getting old!
ilikejam said:
I usually keep my cars for around 2 years then swap them out. Pretty much the day after I pick up the latest car I'll start searching for the next one - a process which usually takes around 2 years of forum browsing and searching Autotrader every 90 minutes or so
See, he's a car guy. 
Actually I totally get that...
private sales are grim, so many time wasters, and because so many people buy cars on tick now, not that many people do private sales in comparison to dealers. So all to often you are left with people who can't get a loan or someone trying to bash down the price so they can sell it on...
PX you just have to accept they are going to give you a crap price... its the nature of the game...
But can't you just hunt all the classifieds and imagine like the rest of us... until that itch becomes so bad you have to either accept the PX tax or knuckle down and wait on that unicorn facebook market place buyer who wants your car without 'best price mate' without even seeing it...
private sales are grim, so many time wasters, and because so many people buy cars on tick now, not that many people do private sales in comparison to dealers. So all to often you are left with people who can't get a loan or someone trying to bash down the price so they can sell it on...
PX you just have to accept they are going to give you a crap price... its the nature of the game...
But can't you just hunt all the classifieds and imagine like the rest of us... until that itch becomes so bad you have to either accept the PX tax or knuckle down and wait on that unicorn facebook market place buyer who wants your car without 'best price mate' without even seeing it...
Adenauer said:
ilikejam said:
I usually keep my cars for around 2 years then swap them out. Pretty much the day after I pick up the latest car I'll start searching for the next one - a process which usually takes around 2 years of forum browsing and searching Autotrader every 90 minutes or so
See, he's a car guy. ilikejam said:
I usually keep my cars for around 2 years then swap them out. Pretty much the day after I pick up the latest car I'll start searching for the next one - a process which usually takes around 2 years of forum browsing and searching Autotrader every 90 minutes or so
This but i usually give it about 4 to 5 years at which point the wife questions why i want a new car in the first place.ilikejam said:
I usually keep my cars for around 2 years then swap them out. Pretty much the day after I pick up the latest car I'll start searching for the next one - a process which usually takes around 2 years of forum browsing and searching Autotrader every 90 minutes or so
That used to be me, I would buy a brand new car and then a few weeks in start thinking about the next one. It is without doubt the best way I can think of of setting fire to money after getting a divorce.I then started getting cheaper cars in the upto £5K range and selling them privately through eBay whci wasn't too much of a hassle back then. I still lost money, but not as much as buying new cars.
Eventually it all became too much hassle and the amount of timewaters was unreal. For about the last 15 years I have just bought sheds and run them until they die and then buy another one.
I still look every now and again, I now tend to do the investigation, get excited, sleep on it for a few weeks and then get it out of my system.
I am also a classic example of someone who gets buyers remourse with expensive cars, if it brand new it will be because of the monthly payments, and if it is second hand it will be because I find some previously repaired damage when I am washing the car and immediately lose interest.
Sheds just work for me as I don't have to care and don't have loads of money tied up (or any monthly payments).
I've sold all my cars privately on FB marketplace over the last 10 years or so.
Yes, you have to deal with the "wots your best price for cash today m8" comments but i either ignore or give a factual response - "car is well priced as is, but i may be open to a small amount of negotiation when you've come and seen the car". You soon get to spot whos serious and whos a waster and thus can be ignored.
I'd an M2 for sale last December. I fully expected to be overwhelmed with dolts and time wasters. Sifted through the dolts easily, had three serious buyers, first guy who came out bought it. Got £5K more than the online trade buyers were offering.
I will almost certainly sell my current car - 2019 Mercedes C43 - the same way. I'm in a much much stronger position when buying if i've no trade in (i've had the scenario before where i've loved the car i was trying to buy, but was getting a god awful trade in value).
But even if you dont want to sell privately, definitely consider the transaction in three parts -
=> Price of the car you're buying - negotiate on that
=> Best way to fund it - if you require finance, consider a cheap loan or check around for finance offerings, dont just accept the dealers finance.
=> Price for your trade in - find out what the dealer is offering, see what the online buyers are offering and also other dealers in the area (i have rang dealers in the past, asked to speak to "the person who does their used car buying" and got them to bid me).
You are absolutely not obliged to sell your car to, and accept the finance offering of the dealer you are buying your next car off.
Yes, you have to deal with the "wots your best price for cash today m8" comments but i either ignore or give a factual response - "car is well priced as is, but i may be open to a small amount of negotiation when you've come and seen the car". You soon get to spot whos serious and whos a waster and thus can be ignored.
I'd an M2 for sale last December. I fully expected to be overwhelmed with dolts and time wasters. Sifted through the dolts easily, had three serious buyers, first guy who came out bought it. Got £5K more than the online trade buyers were offering.
I will almost certainly sell my current car - 2019 Mercedes C43 - the same way. I'm in a much much stronger position when buying if i've no trade in (i've had the scenario before where i've loved the car i was trying to buy, but was getting a god awful trade in value).
But even if you dont want to sell privately, definitely consider the transaction in three parts -
=> Price of the car you're buying - negotiate on that
=> Best way to fund it - if you require finance, consider a cheap loan or check around for finance offerings, dont just accept the dealers finance.
=> Price for your trade in - find out what the dealer is offering, see what the online buyers are offering and also other dealers in the area (i have rang dealers in the past, asked to speak to "the person who does their used car buying" and got them to bid me).
You are absolutely not obliged to sell your car to, and accept the finance offering of the dealer you are buying your next car off.
sunnyb13 said:
stick it on motorway and get a fair value
This. I was selling a warmish hatch so I never even entertained selling privately and dealing with test pilots, etc and took a punt on Motorway. Whole process was pretty painless and car was sold in the first auction and I got paid the full price I'd accepted (which was comfortably above WBAC and px) when he came to collect it a couple of days later.As for the best way of buying ... I am still not sure I have mastered that
Chris
We need to buy a new family car. The current one, tired bodywork aside, is an otherwise happy 7 year old/110k miles Mazda CX5. We’d like a decent sized SUV (size up) for the final few years of family life before our daughter leaves home.
But the prospect of dealing with car dealers, and spending the money (all our cars are paid off) and the general hassle of losing previous weekend time to trawl around dealerships really doesn’t spark joy.
I still like cars, but buying them is tedious and expensive.
But the prospect of dealing with car dealers, and spending the money (all our cars are paid off) and the general hassle of losing previous weekend time to trawl around dealerships really doesn’t spark joy.
I still like cars, but buying them is tedious and expensive.
I would consider myself a car guy, but I'm in the same boat. I have a Tfsi Audi Q5 and it's a great car but I bought it to tow a horse trailer that never worked out. I really fancy a change but I can't be arsed. Changing my wife's car recently was enough for a while. I'd rather be trapped in a lift with Ed Milliband than spend time with most car sales people.
ScoobyChris said:
sunnyb13 said:
stick it on motorway and get a fair value
This. I was selling a warmish hatch so I never even entertained selling privately and dealing with test pilots, etc and took a punt on Motorway. Whole process was pretty painless and car was sold in the first auction and I got paid the full price I'd accepted (which was comfortably above WBAC and px) when he came to collect it a couple of days later.As for the best way of buying ... I am still not sure I have mastered that
Chris
I love browsing for cars but get cold feet whenever I go to look at cars, catastrophising and overthinking everything. As a result I tend to keep my cars far too long and past their best so they are harder to get rid of. Currently have a non-runner Saab 9000 and an e46 330i that will be hard to do anything other than scrap...
RizzoTheRat said:
I part-ex'd mine recently against a new car. I'm sure I could have got a bit more for it selling privately, but just driving in to the dealers in one car and driving out in another felt like magic compared to the hassle of selling privately.
If you're happy with the cost to change, this is definitely the easiest route, although it can be a nervous time making sure the car doesn't get damaged in the window between doing the deal and collecting!Most of my px experience over the years though has feels like they are pulling your pants down twice in the deal, once by not budging on the price of their car (dismissing anything you highlight as acceptable wear and tear) and then again by not budging on the lowball px offer (because those very same things on your car are apparently not acceptable wear and tear).
Chris
ScoobyChris said:
If you're happy with the cost to change, this is definitely the easiest route, although it can be a nervous time making sure the car doesn't get damaged in the window between doing the deal and collecting!
Most of my px experience over the years though has feels like they are pulling your pants down twice in the deal, once by not budging on the price of their car (dismissing anything you highlight as acceptable wear and tear) and then again by not budging on the lowball px offer (because those very same things on your car are apparently not acceptable wear and tear).
Chris
+1Most of my px experience over the years though has feels like they are pulling your pants down twice in the deal, once by not budging on the price of their car (dismissing anything you highlight as acceptable wear and tear) and then again by not budging on the lowball px offer (because those very same things on your car are apparently not acceptable wear and tear).
Chris
The BMW / MINI dealer offered me £12K for my Cooper S on a trade in. I sold it privately for £15,500.
The M2, I got £24,500 for it when CAP Clean trade price was £19K.
Granted, on cooking variants and older stuff theres not going to be such a big gap and sometimes people need a drive in / drive out capability as they cant be without a car for a period of time, but i'll quite happily tolerate the odd "whats your best price m8?" query if its putting several £,£££ extra in my pocket.
I could have written that original post. I'm a car guy, or at least I was, however not like some on here.
I've always had new cars, kept them no longer than 3 years.
My current one, M3 is now three years old and I've been looking for something new. I own this outright having been a cash buyer and got a good deal. I love it but being out of warranty scares me and I fancy a change. It's too quick for the road and I now have a different commute. (I'm sounding less a car guy aren't I)
I've looked at all kinds. I fancy a 911 but the prices new are insane and I just can't justify it as like I said, mines too quick but at least it's practical. Plus as my kids have legs it presents a problem on the rare occasions we'd go out in it.
I looked at a etron GT, but I can't commit to ev, I've looked at a M5 but it's too quick, I've looked and rest driven m5's, brilliant and comfy but boring and the new prices seem crazy.
No offer for mine is enough because I love it. I may think it's too quick, it may annoy me how it eats through tyres and petrol but for those rare moments you can give it a squirt it's superb.
I have always found the car changing game stressful and usually spent ages considering all kinds of options but given my go tos are pretty boringly obvious (I'm not sounding like a car guy) in Merc, Audi and BMW plus a dabble at Alfa, a fling with alpine that I can't commit to and then a quick flirt with Porsche, I just get the feeling there is nothing that beats what I have for me and given.
Perhaps it's the car I want doesn't exist, perhaps I just don't want to change, but I think the new car market has never been poorer. Loads of cars now look the same, speed is no longer a differentiator when grannies in their nissan EV can do 0-crashed into a cafe shop on 3 seconds...
Maybe I'm just not a car guy anymore, maybe I never was Vs lots of those on here.
I've always had new cars, kept them no longer than 3 years.
My current one, M3 is now three years old and I've been looking for something new. I own this outright having been a cash buyer and got a good deal. I love it but being out of warranty scares me and I fancy a change. It's too quick for the road and I now have a different commute. (I'm sounding less a car guy aren't I)
I've looked at all kinds. I fancy a 911 but the prices new are insane and I just can't justify it as like I said, mines too quick but at least it's practical. Plus as my kids have legs it presents a problem on the rare occasions we'd go out in it.
I looked at a etron GT, but I can't commit to ev, I've looked at a M5 but it's too quick, I've looked and rest driven m5's, brilliant and comfy but boring and the new prices seem crazy.
No offer for mine is enough because I love it. I may think it's too quick, it may annoy me how it eats through tyres and petrol but for those rare moments you can give it a squirt it's superb.
I have always found the car changing game stressful and usually spent ages considering all kinds of options but given my go tos are pretty boringly obvious (I'm not sounding like a car guy) in Merc, Audi and BMW plus a dabble at Alfa, a fling with alpine that I can't commit to and then a quick flirt with Porsche, I just get the feeling there is nothing that beats what I have for me and given.
Perhaps it's the car I want doesn't exist, perhaps I just don't want to change, but I think the new car market has never been poorer. Loads of cars now look the same, speed is no longer a differentiator when grannies in their nissan EV can do 0-crashed into a cafe shop on 3 seconds...
Maybe I'm just not a car guy anymore, maybe I never was Vs lots of those on here.
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