Reasonable price for 1998 500

[colinrob]

I am trying to sell my 1998 chimaera facelift rear lights etc with 57,000 miles changed price to £10 995 is this too much for a quick sale? should I reduce it? any advice appreciated

[s7paul]

Having seen your advert, and the amount that you've done to the car (and the £££'s spent) I can understand you not wanting to drop too much. On the face of it £10995 isn't especially cheap (there's a few around the £11K mark), but it may well be that the other cars at this price aren't as good as yours. Unfortunately it's not the best time of year to be selling a soft top, and there's a lot of competition. It all depends on how desperate you are to sell. If can afford the time, I'd try it for a week at the price you've suggested and see if you get any enquiries. Good luck.

[Chauch]

From someone who was looking very recently, I would have certainly looked at yours at that price if the condition / colour combinations suited. I do agree, simply a tough time of year to sell convertibles..

[stevebrac]

Prices have been low all summer and now that autumn is approaching I'd expect them to continue to fall especially if you need a quick sale.

Assuming that the car is as good as it seems if you sit tight it should sell at about the price your asking but it is totally a buyers market.

I've just sold a 2001 450 with 34k on the clock and this site is by far the best of the classifieds around.

[keirangrogan]

colinrob said:

I am trying to sell my 1998 chimaera facelift rear lights etc with 57,000 miles changed price to £10 995 is this too much for a quick sale? should I reduce it? any advice appreciated

I parted with £13,000 for a 1998 faclift 500 2 months ago, so I wouldn't drop anymore !

edited to say it had 35000 miles at the time.

I have been trying to sell my S2 all summer and have only had one person round to view, he was interested until the throttle stuck open and scared him sh*tless.

The market seems to be a little slow at the moment.

Edited by keirangrogan on Friday 15th September 17:18

[colinrob]

Come service time I think this will be the first year that I only have to pay for the service so if I can't sell it its no disaster as we are only trying to reduce from tree cars to two(TVR and SLK and BMW 540)and buy something we can both use

[oggs]

Colin I'd love to upgrade and buy yours
But cant yet unless you want my 4L and cash

I've alerted a few people to buy yours but they need to sell first.

[colinrob]

Hi oggs will you still speak to me on the next run if I turn up in a girly M3

Edited by colinrob on Monday 18th September 22:20

[hut49]

It's a shame many owners have or feel the need to sell quickly - I think lots of value is being given up unnecessarily.

I think the price of good condition/good spec/full TVRSH Chimaeras has fallen too quickly and too far. Bearing in mind that there's not that many around (with ALL the above) I think there's an opportunity to price up. There will always be a market for lesser condition examples that appeal to those with a very tight budget (and fingers crossed from the maintenance cost perspective) but why should top end models that have been properly invested with care and enthusiasm, chase the bottom-end models down in the price stakes? In my view folk are giving away these highly desirable assets too cheaply. There is a limited supply of good Chimaeras and potentially a larger number of wannabee owners looking for cherished examples. Ironically there comes a point in the price decline when those with say 15-20k of disposable and the motivation to fulfill a TVR ownership dream become disillusioned by fire-sale pricing and go buy another brand instead.

The recent comments on this site referring to used TVR prices in general and Chimaera prices in particular seem to reflect a lot of potential buyers talking prices down. Perhaps the national statistics of actual prices paid reflect this commentary but I somehow doubt it. Those non-owners looking at a selection of miscellaneous ads and offering generalizations on how to price a good condition/good spec/full TVRSH Chimaera seems to me always to drive prices to the lowest common denominator in terms of condition. I think those of us that own "good" examples of the model should be pushing the top end to create a range of prices within which there is a greater opportunity to attract a range of new owners. The 'condition' leverage on price seems to have become disconnected, with the result that the spread of prices has been lost.

I appreciate that in the circumstance of wanting to sell quickly the natural tendancy is to price low. I believe that good condition models should attract a price premium and that there are buyers who would be prepared to pay that premium within a market where there was a better spread of price.

So having said all the above I think GBP10,500 for a 57k miler 500 with all that's been spent over the past few years (and assuming there's no flaw in the otherwise excellent spec eg chassis condition) is significantly under where I would price a good condition example of that model with that spec. I think it potentially would put off some people - e.g. those who tend to overpay to get (or in the belief that they are getting) a superior example. But this is just my opinion.

[colinrob]

I also thought it may put people off but I do want to sell it, if it does not go for the price advertised I will keep it until next year and then decide what to do. It seems all cars have dropped drastically in price, two years ago we bought a 320 SLK for £20 000 seemed about the right price after looking around a lot, now trying to sell for £13 000 not even any offers, cars ar just a money pit but I love them (unfortunately

[nig-gtv]

As someone who sold my TVR Chimaera this year and now considering another, I dont subscribe to the notion that people are talking down prices. Some people seem to find it hard to accept that their pride and joys are devaluing generally, subject to seasonal fluctuations, manufactured by a company with a shaky future, in terms of performance and ability now being threatened by other cars in the same price bracket, and sometimes arent worth as much as they would like to think. If so, maybe the market of niche market high performance, high running/maintenance cost cars isnt for you. It isnt limited to TVR at all - it really is accross the board, but then sports cars are rarely a shrewd investment!

The Chimaera IS budget entry into TVR ownership, and that is no bad thing. I sold mine deciding it was time to move on, but they are like an addiction.... just one more! At the end of the day, if you have a mint car with full TVR history, the right spec and not too many owners then if you get that accross on your advert there should be someone willing to pay for these selling points, but acknowledge that demand and therefore prices are market-driven.

Colinrob's car does look good though...