What's this worth?

Anan1

I'm thinking of buying this. What would be a fair price to pay for it? I'm thinking €18,5? Too much to pay? It's very low mileage, but poverty-spec. I'm particularly looking for help from those of you in the motor trade!:)

http://www.carzone.ie/used-cars/Volvo/V50/T5-REDUCED/1017141/

hellboy99

The price it's at is not a bad price, you would be lucky to get it at €18.5k

Anan1

I dunno, is there much demand for base-spec T5s? It's been around for a while. I'm wondering whether €18,5 wouldn't even be too much in the current market?

ninty9er

You sound like you don't really want the car TBH. Wait for the right car or you'll end up spending another €10k changing a car you never really wanted this time next year. There's a 2006 D5 Geartronic on Carzone for €31k. Maybe aim for the €26k you were willing to spend on the Subaru on that. Or check this http://www.carzone.ie/used-cars/Audi/A4/2.5TDI-Black/828970/

http://www.carzone.ie/used-cars/Audi/A4/1.8-T/903138/

hellboy99

Like I said it's not a bad price at all with the milage that is on it, i'd say it's been around for a while cause of the engine size. You could probably get a 1.6 for around €16 - €18k.

RobAMerc

Anan1 wrote: »

I dunno, is there much demand for base-spec T5s? It's been around for a while. I'm wondering whether €18,5 wouldn't even be too much in the current market?

You are buying cash right ? I would go in at 17k - thats where they'd start if they were taking it as a trade from you. I imagine the market wouldn't be in a big rush for 2.5 petrols to be fair.

It certainly would be a better drive than an A4 anyway.

I am sure Anan1 you know enough about cars not to be swayed by the neh sayers just coz its a Volvo, they are a nice drive imo.

I am not in the trade btw.

Anan1

You're right there ninety9er, I still haven't driven it but the idea doesn't really light my fire. That said, this car would be for my gf to drive, not me. The idea would be that she'd keep it for say 3 years and the mileage would still be low enough for the car to be worth ok money. In the meantime, she'd have a 5* NCAP car with ESP. OK, it'd be a bit hard on the juice (she only does ca10k miles pa), but it'd be refined & torquey too, and much cheaper to buy than a diesel. I'm trying for once to be sensible here.. I'm afraid I wouldn't buy an Audi, I have no faith in their reliability at higher mileages.:)

hellboy99

Would you not consider a smaller engine ?

unkel

Anan1 wrote: »

The idea would be that she'd keep it for say 3 years and the mileage would still be low enough for the car to be worth ok money.

I like your thinking. The car is good value as is imho, but why not fully exploit your position in the buyers' market we have at the moment. Don't underestimate how hard it will be to sell on though in this country. But perhaps it would sell on ebay.co.uk?

As others suggested, put €16k in cash on the table in front of the dealer. How can he refuse?

What's so basic about the spec, BTW?

Anan1

RobAMerc wrote: »

You are buying cash right ? I would go in at 17k - thats where they'd start if they were taking it as a trade from you. I imagine the market wouldn't be in a big rush for 2.5 petrols to be fair.

I don't think they'd go anywhere near that low, at the moment I have my doubts as to whether they'd even drop to €18,5. At the end of the day, 19k kms is very low mileage.

RobAMerc wrote: »

I am sure Anan1 you know enough about cars not to be swayed by the neh sayers just coz its a Volvo, they are a nice drive imo.

Image doesn't matter to me at all, the main factors here are safety and overall comfort/ease of driving.

hellboy99 wrote: »

Would you not consider a smaller engine ?

It has to be an auto and an estate, so there's not nearly as much choice. I'm also thinking that this one is a lot cheaper to buy than an equivalent ultra-low-mileage 2.0 diesel auto, to the point where it pays for the higher running costs.

bazz26

unkel wrote: »

What's so basic about the spec, BTW?

It's the basic S spec model. Most S40/V50 models sold here were the SE varient which have leather heated seats, cruise control, etc. All important imho when it comes to resale time. My thinking is that if someone is stumping up €1k or so a year for road tax alone that they will at least want a bit of luxury. It could be difference between buying it and not.

Considering it is the largest engine in the S40/V50 range it is a bit surprising that the original owner didn't go for the SE spec, suspect they spent all their budget on the larger engine option.

OP looking at the dealer's advert they were originally asking for €23,995 for, then dropped to €21,995 and now looking for €19,995 and still cannot shift it. I reckon you can play a bit of hardball here on such a car with a very limited appeal in the current second hand market. If you really want it I would start off by putting €17k on the table and see what they say.

L-M

I don't think he'll come down to 18.5K. The car was 23k now down to 20k, i'd say it was there awhile. I can't imagine him having a 5-6k margin, and putting warranty on top of that. U never know, ring them anyway or call in. But in the buyers market we're in, there could be a chance. Let us know how u get on.

Edit: Plus that is the only 2.5 petrol V50 for sale in the country(by country i mean on carzone.)

Anan1

Following a long chat, I offered €18,000 subject to seeing the car. I really didn't feel that there was any point in going in lower. He was very negative about it, but did say that he'd have a chat with the sales manager and call me back. I haven't heard back yet, but i'll keep you all posted. My feeling at this point is that it'll probably come down to whether I should pay €18-19k for the car.

@unkel - The car has no leather, power seats, hi-fi upgrades, xenons etc. It does have climate, 6 airbags and ESP though. She wouldn't be spoiled, but at least she'd be safe.:)

colm_mcm

At this stage, I reckon the dealership will accept that this is an oddball spec car, and they can either lose some money now, or even more in 3 months time. If the car is in stock for ages, the manager will want to blow it out now. I can't imagine the trade bids on this car are high, or that any trader would have an interest in it. Don't be afraid to offer 17k for it.

Anan1

They've had it at least three months now. Might I be better off letting the matter rest over the weekend and then contacting the sales manager directly?

colm_mcm

definately. whoever took this in will know they got it wrong, or that the used market/economic climate isn't what it was in the spring

The key is convincing them you're serious about the car, they will be more prepared to accept a low bid if they know you're not wasting their time.

Anan1

Thanks, Colm. Do you think it'd be an idea to spin down and do it face to face rather than by phone? If so, at what price would you recommend that I walk? It's a five hour return trip for me, so i'd like to be relatively confident i'd be coming home with the car.

colm_mcm

definately face to face, don't bother negotiating on the phone, or mentioning that you were on the phone today. I'm not a Volvo man, but I can't see this car being worth the asking price, From a sales point of view, I'd see the T5 bit as a problem, and would much rather be selling a 2.0d.

If you're happy paying 18k, fair enough. but aim low and you may come out with a bargain.

E92

The basic spec(for a top of the range engine) and the fact that it's an Estate must surely count against it and therefore make it worth less?

Marcus.Aurelius

I dunno, the Volvo estates weren't as common as the saloon. The spec does hurt the price, especially when you're paying for a bigger engine in tax.

Offer nice and low and see what happens. Explain yourself first, it can be very helpful.

unkel

Anan1 wrote: »

@unkel - The car has no leather, power seats, hi-fi upgrades, xenons etc.

Ah ok. No leather is unfortunate. If she does a lot of night time driving, you might consider retro-fitting xenons

Anan1 wrote: »

Do you think it'd be an idea to spin down and do it face to face rather than by phone? If so, at what price would you recommend that I walk?

Face to face with cash is king as I said before. Problem is you've played your hand a bit early because you offered €18k already. If I were the salesperson and we verbally agreed on €18k pending inspection and you showed up and offered €16k while there is nothing significant wrong with the car after you inspected it, I'd tell you to FO, even if I were desperate to sell...

Edit:

colm_mcm wrote: »

definately face to face, don't bother negotiating on the phone, or mentioning that you were on the phone today.

Missed that bit. You might get away with that, perhaps if it's a different person you'll be dealing with

Marcus.Aurelius

I'd still ask for a TB/tensioner change before I buy, and a full service as well, seen as it's obviously been lying around a while.

Check for cracked/perished pipes (low mileage-lots of sitting)
Check CV boots for perish/crack by driving car hard in first gear at full lock and listen for clunking noises. Check A/C for good cool air flow, otherwise you may have lost refrigerant or your pollen filter may be blocked. I don't know if Volvo use a pollen filter on the AC actually!

Don't be afraid to be cheeky, Bolands of Wexford are tough men but usually will do a good bargain, especially in the current secondhand climate.

Marcus.Aurelius

colm_mcm wrote: »

this is a T5 (petrol)though, not a D5

so it is, original post edited!!

L-M

There's no book value for that specific car, and because it's the only one for sale i don't know how u are going to compare like for like price wise.

Maybe spend twenty mins checking out the costs of importing one from a dealer in the UK. U never know u might get alot more spec for ur money on that particular car. The car is there along time, and i presume another weekend of it being there won't hurt.

Try the autotrader, find a nice spec one with similar mileage (if possible), calculate the vrt, costs of going over etc and see how much u come out at. I think it's definitly worth a try.

R.O.R

Very hard to price as they are so rare. Can't remember the exact spec on the S models of that era, but if it doesn't have the multi function steering wheel - walk away. No cruise control on the S models then either I seem to remember.

Before any negotiations, take a test drive to see what it's like. The 1st S40 I drove in the new model was a T5 Auto, and I thought the Auto box just didn't match the engine. Sluggish response from a cracking 220ps engine. AudiChris may remember it being ragged around the "test track" and being rather disappointing.

Anan1

Limerick-man wrote: »

Maybe spend twenty mins checking out the costs of importing one from a dealer in the UK. U never know u might get alot more spec for ur money on that particular car. The car is there along time, and i presume another weekend of it being there won't hurt.

Try the autotrader, find a nice spec one with similar mileage (if possible), calculate the vrt, costs of going over etc and see how much u come out at. I think it's definitly worth a try.

I've done that, they're all a lot more expensive (albeit better specced).

R.O.R wrote: »

Very hard to price as they are so rare. Can't remember the exact spec on the S models of that era, but if it doesn't have the multi function steering wheel - walk away. No cruise control on the S models then either I seem to remember.

Before any negotiations, take a test drive to see what it's like. The 1st S40 I drove in the new model was a T5 Auto, and I thought the Auto box just didn't match the engine. Sluggish response from a cracking 220ps engine. AudiChris may remember it being ragged around the "test track" and being rather disappointing.

I will do, but remember, this car is primarily for my gf!;) First thing i'd do would be to rebadge it as a 1.8. It doesn't have the MFSW but, at the right price, I could live with the spec. What i'm really trying to do with this thread is build an idea of what's the right price. Thanks again to all, some good ideas here.

L-M

http://www.carzone.ie/used-cars/Volvo/V50/1.8-SE/1071131/

Albeit that has more mileage, it's at starting 20k, so u could try knock off a bit. As far for ur worries on depreciation, u can see already that that is the only one in the country and is there for a long time for a reason. The 1.8 should be a better seller and has some of the extra's. I honeslty wouldn't reccomend the origional car.

Anan1

Unfortunately that's a manual though, and my gf only has an automatic license! If the 1.8F was available with auto i'd nearly think of buying one new, but it's not. The T5 has some important points against it, but it is very well suited to my current requirements. At the right price, it could be a good fit for me. That car does make the point that the T5 is overpriced, though, as you say a well-specced 1.8 has to be more desirable to most buyers.

Anan1

This was just listed today: http://www.carzone.ie/used-cars/Volvo/S40/D5-SE/1033855/

I hadn't planned on spending that much and it's not an estate, (which is a moderately big minus), but it still looks to be better-priced for the year, engine and spec? Black isn't good, though.

Zube

I read someplace (CAR magazine, probably) that the D5 motor and the autobox don't go too well together, take it with a pinch of salt, but worth test driving before you get too set on it...

Anan1

On reflection, a black saloon for €10,000 more isn't really where I want to be going here. The fuel savings wouldn't be huge with her mileage/driving, and I wouldn't be seeing an extra €10k back come resale.