Sports Cars...

smash

I'm selling my Celica now and I alsoknow someone selling theirs, it's an older model than mine with less extras but neither of us have had any calls yet. I'm in no hurry so I don't mind but I have been monitoring some cars online and I've noticed that sports cars, even low end ones just hang around for months without moving off the lots... I know people think insurance can seem a bit high but I don't think it's bad at all and there's so many people that want sports cars out there but it seems like nobody will buy them. Why is this?

Stephen

Most people who like this kind of car (such as me) fall into the young male profile so get shafted by insurers

Have they got any mods or anything? That would put me off a car straight away.

3ps

give us all the details and the price and we'll tell you it's overpriced!

mloc123

Steve06 link to carzone etc..? Its a 190 isn't it?

Anan1

At a guess, I'd say your problem has less to do with the fact that it's a sports car than with the fact that it only has two doors and tiny rear seats. This was more acceptable in the days when coupés offered better handling & performance than saloons than it is now. A friend is having exactly the same problem with his Alfa GTV. People who like driving prefer the 156, and people who don't won't buy an Alfa.

smash

Well the 2 door isn't an issue, I do have a baby seat in the back and it fits no problem... they also have a big boot. The only mod my car has are the 18" Alloy wheels. It's a very high spec with low mileage and I'm selling it with a warranty through my dealership that I'm starting up so it's not overpriced.

http://www.carzone.ie/503876

Anan1

steve06 wrote:

Well the 2 door isn't an issue, I do have a baby seat in the back and it fits no problem... they also have a big boot.

I kind of meant compared to a 4 door saloon.;) I dunno, it looks like a nice car. I wonder would it sell more easily if it weren't as quick?

qazz

If I were a rich man...:D

Tipsy Mac

Fine motor, now what puts me off and I suppose some other people too, my opinion and I may be completly wrong but you are looking for advice so I will give it...

Car appears to be on UK plates, you should have Irish plates on it or else obscure them so it's not readable as people prefer the VRT cleared and not an issue.
Mobile number along with dealers name, people prefer a land line to deal with and an address for the business.
It's alot of money to shell out on a sports car thats sold private, people fear little or no come back should there be a problem and alot of people assume a sports car will be driven hard by previous owners.

JHMEG

Also, aftermarket alloys (esp ones that are over 17") do nothing for it and I would take any emphasis off those. Putting back the original alloys would help.

smash

ye, the original alloys had some corosion, which is a problem with toyota alloys on the celica 190 and t-sport so I changed them. The car hasn't been driven hard and has a full service history. As I said I'm gonna start to import cars and I know Celica's aren't a big seller over here so I'm not gonna bring in another one and I'm in no hurry to sell it quick because I do like it myself. I have an order for an NSX but I know I'll want it myself when I get it in.

Kali

If you're serious about importing cars from the UK i'd suggest you do a bit of research into whats going to sell ... and how to sell (some of these are already mentioned):

Dodgy photos (a dark car park for a black car? come on bring it outside).
No mention of it being a UK car.
FSH means nothing to me if a car looks like its been modded.
HPI clear means nothing to Irish buyers.
Tax disc holder? Pointless when in Ireland you'll need 3 of them
Any car ad that lists a 0-60 time and bhp is aimed at one type of person. And unfortunaly thats the type of person who (in Ireland anyway) doesn't have the cash to go buy it... and personally I woudn't buy a car when the ad sounds like the cars been driven hard.
Finally the type of person who trawls carzone (which is a dire site) is the sort of person who is going to spend 5000 max on a car... more specialist cars like this need to be advertised properly and at the right demographic (IceTronix do this well with their jap imports).

smash

I know images are dark, I'm going to get better ones asap.
Car doesn't look modded, it's just new alloys.
BHP is stated for a reason, it's a 190 not the standard 140...
Carzone is the best car website in Ireland with a huge response, that's why all the dealers use it...

I'm not only going to be importing from the UK and I do know what sells because I'm already in the industry and have access to a lot of resources and information. I already said I know they take ages to shift. I brought the car in for myself and I will be getting a new car soon but I'm still in no rush to offload it.

fletch

I know it's only a small issue but I'd remove the pic of the tax disk holder and references to it. To be honest, it hardly adds to the value of the car and would only make people think that a boy racer may have owned the car.
Aside: I looked at a car at the weekend and the previous owner had installed a set of 6x9s in the rear parcel shelf. He/She did a sh1te job of it and it put me off the car a lot, my thinking being, if they cared so little about that job, I wondered did they also cut corners when doing general maintenance.

pbergin

It is really hard to sell higher powered cars in Ireland, it would probably sell quicker if it was the 140, due to insurance. I had a Celica (older model) and to took me 6 or 7 months to sell it (6 years ago), the funny thing was, a guy I worked with bought it, he didnt know me or the car, he just saw my add in the buy and sell.
My last car was a 2.0 156, any garage I went to said if it was the 1.6 it would be worth more, that really annoyed me because the 1.6 is absoutely crap when compared to the 2.0.
It looks like the Irish market like the biggest car possible, with the smallest engine possible!!

smash

fletch wrote:

I looked at a car at the weekend and the previous owner had installed a set of 6x9s in the rear parcel shelf. He/She did a sh1te job of it and it put me off the car a lot, my thinking being, if they cared so little about that job, I wondered did they also cut corners when doing general maintenance.

What's that got to do with my car?

pbergin wrote:

My last car was a 2.0 156, any garage I went to said if it was the 1.6 it would be worth more, that really annoyed me because the 1.6 is absoutely crap when compared to the 2.0.

ye this is true, the 1.6 sell pretty fast.

fletch

steve06 wrote:

What's that got to do with my car?

Sorry just trying to highlight that people like a car to be stock when they go to view it.....

smash

it is stock apart from wheels which can be replaced and as stated, the Toyota alloys have a problem with corrosion.

Mcsirl

steve06 wrote:

I'm selling my Celica now and I alsoknow someone selling theirs, it's an older model than mine with less extras but neither of us have had any calls yet. I'm in no hurry so I don't mind but I have been monitoring some cars online and I've noticed that sports cars, even low end ones just hang around for months without moving off the lots... I know people think insurance can seem a bit high but I don't think it's bad at all and there's so many people that want sports cars out there but it seems like nobody will buy them. Why is this?

Tell me about it !!! im trying to sell my 04 Cooper S for the last month and not a single call about it and i have it in autotrader.ie, cbg.ie and carzone !

I know im looking for a lot of money but its still cheaper than any other same spec Cooper S around

smash

Cooper S is a great little car. It's the insurance companies that are screwing us and nobody wants nice cars....

jank

How much is your insurance and tax for this steve?

smash

The point I was making is kinda obsolete now.. I've had 3 calls in the past 2 days.