Case 1

MY 98 Reddish-Blue 56k, 2 owners, FSSH, asking £9500.

I find a few dents and scuffs and the rear silencer (standard) badly needs replacing so I offer £8500 then £8750. Blokes not interested and almost takes offence at my offer and will not accept that 9500 is too much for the condition and the current market. A week later it turns out that the guy part-exed the car and accepted £7850!!! for the Scoob as part of the deal.

Case 2

MY99 DGM 40k, 1 owner, FSSH, asking £10,500.

Nice car but interior looks like a pack of dogs have lived in it all the cars life and no attempt to clean the car. The windscreen has 3 chips and a crack so needs replacing. I offer £9500 and the guy looks at me blankly and says the car is easily worth 12!!! and has only priced it to sell for a quick sale. I leave my number and wait a week and then call to find out he has part-exed it on a new WRX at a local dealer where my mate works. I find out that the garage offered him £8500 on the car and he accepted it straight away.

If people carry on like this garages are going to continue to offer silly prices at part-ex time and then make a massive proffit when they sell it on. Why dont people accept that sometimes a car is not worth what they think but what the market is dictating and accept sensible offers when selling privately. I have never bought a car for the full asking price and dont ever intend too. Am I doing something wrong??? Your thoughts please as I am becoming increasingly frustrated.

 

I think you have to look at each car on it's merits.

Although these people obviously can't count, I think it's a little optimistic to go in with an 'I'm not paying the asking price' attitude.

Some cars are actually put up at a reasonable price.

Josh

 

Josh L,

Your first sentence is spot on however the two cars describes did not warrant the asking prices. If they were in A1 condition I would have been happy to offer closer to the asking prices. We all want to feel as though we have paid a fair price and are allways looking for a discount were possible. Thats my philosophy anyhow.

 

I did point out that I felt these people couldn't count, and can't even begin to wonder why they chose to PX for less than you offered them.

However, what I was suggesting was optimistic was your statement that you have never paid the asking price, and never will.

Josh

 

It's certainly possible that dealers are fiddling the numbers like that - I've seen it done, and as you point out, there's no loss to the customer. (If you're ever in the position of being asked to agree to this combination of a discount on the new car and a reduction of trade-in value, do insist on splitting the tax saved with the dealer though!)

With the number of Imprezas on sale, there's no reason to buy from someone who acts insulted by your offer. Just go and buy a different car instead. Sometimes you'll find that people are keener to sell than they first appear - being prepared to walk away is a very powerful bargaining tactic.

I got a good deal on my Westfield at the beginning of last summer by turning around and starting to walk out the door when it looked as though negotations had failed; it turned out that the seller HAD to get rid of the car and didn't want to take the risk.

Once you've seen a few, you'll get an idea of the difference between a good car (and owner), and a bad one. An owner that doesn't even vacuum up the dog hair before trying to sell really isn't an owner you want to buy from. There are some great cars out there - I have one myself - so you can afford to be picky.

A.

 

prodriva,

If you're willing to go a bit higher, I'll sell you mine:

2000 'W' Sonic blue Impreza Turbo (EU import, UK model), 15K miles
Colour-coded, inc. orange plastic bits in front bumper , 10 CD, 17 inch gold MY01 wheels.
(edited to add) 1 owner (me), FSSH (37.5K due soon)

Say £12k to allow for a bit of haggling

cheers,
Andy

[Edited by andy_w - 1/16/2003 4:31:18 PM]

 

I would say that Doofus has hit the nail on the head there.

The dealers do discount the new car so much, that they almost trick the buyer into thinking that they're getting the best deal

Not for me though. I took my dealer for all they were worth when I p/x'd my Impreza

 

Dealer offers you a reduced price but the same 'price to change'.
A couple of weeks later you're dissatisfied with the new car (for whatever reason) and go to get your money back.
You get back only the reduced price that you paid, not what the car was really worth (in the meantime of course your old car has been sold)
Be careful out there.
If the price to change is the same there is no advantage to the purchaser of having a lower valuation.

 

Thanks for all your comments.

andy_w - thanks for the offer chap but Scotland's a bit of a treck for me but your car does sound nice.

Josh L - maybe my comment was a bit harsh. All I am after is a nice car at the end of the day and the feeling of having come to a mutual agreement with the seller where we are both happy. I'm just trying to save a few pennies to go towards some decent security for the scoob so no thieving scum decides to take a shine to my new motor. You know the score mate. Cheers for your thoughts anyway.

 

Has anyone had any luck part exchanging an import?
I only had one offer for a 94 wrx wagon with 70k in good condition, and that was £2000 !!!
Think I will get it MOT'd and bung it on autotrader. Not sure what to ask for though.
Mark

 

Hi Prodriva,

If your'e looking for something slightly rarer have you thought of a Terzo. I just happen to have a lovely example up for sale.

See my thread on For Sale - "Terzo for sale". Several pictures and full details of the car. It is immaculate inside and in very good condition outside.

I'm certainly open to sensible offers, although am not desparate to sell.
The car is for sale as I'm waiting for my 2003 STi to be delivered, but I don't need the money to pay for it. The money will be used for a conservatory for the wife. Seems like a fair deal - she gets a conservatory and I get a new car!!!

If you are interested drop me an e-mail.


Cheers

Simon

 

Ringpeas,

Recently I've had a couple of part-ex offers for my 94 WRX wagon with 70k miles. (I paid 6k for it 4 months ago)

1 garage offered 4.5k against a 5k 300ZX

1 offered 3k but i talked him up to 4.5 against a 10k Supra RZ

The dealer i bought it from offered me 5k against anything in his garage (bearing in mind that this dealer knows i've taken advantage of the warranty and replaced the clutch, turbo, header tank, PS gasket, CD player, backbox and generally got the car into much better nick than it was when he sold it to me)

 

SimonJM,

Thanks for the offer and I do really like the Terzo edition but I'm after one with the newer dashboard (Forester style) which I believe is post MY98. To my knowledge the Terzo does not have this but please correct me if i'm wrong.

Cheers for all your thoughts.

 

Hi again,

The Terzo does have the newer (post'98) dash - different centre console, different air vents etc and white dials:







Cheers

Simon

 

Marty
Thanks for the info, I may try a few more garages.
The 2k I was offered was on an 8k car, but that was at a main dealer. Will try a smaller garage next time.
Ringpeas