Derisory trade-in offers

Guy:Incognito

ando wrote:

I never buy new, never. Its financial suicide. Anyway, for the money you'd spend on a brand new motor that is slow as a snail, you could get a 2 or 3yr old motor with a lot more oomph and lose less per year on depreciation

But if everyone took that attitude there wuldnt be any 2 or 3 year old cars for you to buy.

Guy:Incognito

iregk wrote:

Give you a laugh, was looking at a bigger car so went to nissan on the belgard road. Asked about trade in and this was there offer for a 00 306 GTI, perfect condition 10cd changer and mini disk head unit with only 30k miles. €3,000....

I bust my ass laughing at him and he then tried to convice me thats all I'd get for it!!!!

Just FYI, the part in bold is irrelevant to a dealer regardless of whether you may have paid €500 - €800 for the equipment. You'd save yourself money by sticking the standard radio back in and keeping the good one for youir new car.

Jip

Lawdie wrote:

Fiat dealers operate open book pricing, most other dealers use the new vehicle discount to boost the part exchange value.

Only on new vehicles. I was trading a used car for another used car. Plus I was trading in against an Alfa.

iregk

Stekelly wrote:

Just FYI, the part in bold is irrelevant to a dealer regardless of whether you may have paid €500 - €800 for the equipment. You'd save yourself money by sticking the standard radio back in and keeping the good one for youir new car.

Good point. Would that not make it slightly more attractive on his resale? Most likely i would take it out anyway.

magpie

Itchypu$$y Charisma

WTF? :eek:

masterK

ando wrote:

I never buy new, never. Its financial suicide. Anyway, for the money you'd spend on a brand new motor that is slow as a snail, you could get a 2 or 3yr old motor with a lot more oomph and lose less per year on depreciation

Wait until the Government Savings Scheme finishes, they'll be falling over one and other to buy brand new cars. The 2nd hand market could be flooded.

Gatster

Wait until the Government Savings Scheme finishes, they'll be falling over one and other to but brand new cars. The 2nd hand market could be flooded.

True, but good spec nice 2nd hand cars around the max value of the SSIA will also be getting bought in droves. The comical Irish obsession of an 05 plate on a pile of airfixed Korean crap only afflicts a few people.

You can't really get a decent new car for the price of the max from the SSIA scheme. I know people will put it down as a hefty deposit but it should, in theory, buoy certain aspects of the second hand market. If you have something that is difficult to sell now, it could work for or against you!

bazz26

Yes motoring trade are expecting a bumper year next for new car sales similar to the "must have a 00 reg car" a couple of years back.

Anyway I find that smaller dealers outside the cities are often better to deal with than those in large urban areas. Most larg dearships also have a leasing company that hires out large volumes of cars to rental companies, as the tourist season is now drawing to an end fleets of 6 month old cars are now starting to flock to the forecourt. Most dealers advertise during the summer that they are having a large "clearance sale" in order to accommodate these cars.

By the way buying a 6 month old ex-hire car can make alot more financial sence than buying a new one. You can save yourself a couple of thousand euros in the process and the car still has the balance of the manufacturers warranty. Make sure you have the car well checked out by a professional though as alot of these cars could have been driven hard or bumped and bruised.

masterK

bazz26 wrote:

By the way buying a 6 month old ex-hire car can make alot more financial sence than buying a new one. You can save yourself a couple of thousand euros in the process and the car still has the balance of the manufacturers warranty. Make sure you have the car well checked out by a professional though as alot of these cars could have been driven hard or bumped and bruised.

That's exactly what I did last year, I bought an 11 month old ex-lease Almera with only 7,000 miles on the clock for 5,300 less than the price of a brand new one. I couldn't believe the difference.

dealgan

I'm always amazed at the very very low trade-in values offered, but when you go looking for a used car the prices are high.
Its no wonder dealers are left with stock.

Makes no sense to me .. (like most things )

Where od all the cheap used cars go ?

mike65

dealgan wrote:

Makes no sense to me .. (like most things )

Where do all the cheap used cars go ?

They are bought up by enterprising back-street/roadside traders who have very low overheads (a field/big shed) and ready cash. The franchise garages get thier back lot cleared out for cash. The dealer gets decent €3-5 grand cars that shift pretty quickly to ppl who can't afford new metal or just don't want to set fire to a suitcase full of 50s!

Mike.

BrianD3

Re: the reasons for buying brand new cars. I think it has little to do with snobbery or having to have a 05 plate to impress the neighbours. The main reason is that so many 2nd hand cars (even newish ones) are nails. Many Irish drivers have no mechanical sympathy, drive the sh1te out of their cars on bad roads and don't maintain them properly. Clocking, overloading and bodged crash repairs are rife as are crap/dishonest garages.

All of this results in crap, unreliable 2nd hand cars. It's no wonder people are willing to put up with big depreciation so they can have a new car with a manufacturer's warranty.

Even 2nd cars that may appear outwardly good have probably suffered abuse. Eg I know people who always buy new and trade in their cars after about 30k. The clock may say 30k and the cars look grand but with the the way they are driven the clutch and gearbox have the equivalent of about 150k on them. Of all the car owners I know, there are only about 2 that I would consider buying a car off.

bmoferrall

Good point BrianD3.
Most drivers I know don't adjust their driving style according to road surface; they'll plough on over potholes, ruts and drains without slowing down.
When the interior starts to rattle and the suspension starts to squeak after a few months ownership they moan about bad build quality.
Personally, I'm happy to pay a premium for a rattle- and squeak-free car, in the knowledge that sympathetic driving will keep it that way.
There's a skyline-owner around my way who seems to permanently redline his car; God help the sucker that inherits his car.
If you can find a car that will keep you satisfied for 7+ years it makes sense to buy new in this country.

Plate-obsessed people who buy new every year are in a completely different category.

el tel

BrianD3-you're dead right.

I think many drivers only feel secure when buying a new car as they would have no faith in a second-hand vehicle. Given that the same new car buyers don't even know how to drive with mechanical sympathy let alone open the bonnet of a car it would seem that they are the very ones contributing to the number of used heaps out there.

On a side note regarding dealers and the faith people place in them -
On numerous occassions I've taken my cars back from a service (to maintain the warranty) only to have to repeat the job properly myself.

Gatster

Many Irish drivers have no mechanical sympathy, drive the sh1te out of their cars on bad roads and don't maintain them properly. Clocking, overloading and bodged crash repairs are rife as are crap/dishonest garages.

As someone else said, buy secondhand in the UK. I think in all honesty buying second here is an absolute minefield unless you know a reasonable amount. By definition of population size in the Uk there are more dodgy dealers, but the flipside is there are many more good and genuine cars.

unkel

prospect wrote:

PM 'somebody' if you would like the official valuation.

I'll sure keep that in mind

kluivert wrote:

Gf buys a 01 1L Corsa by a Opel Dealer for €6000 back in June 04.

A year later she wants to buy a bigger car so she goes for a 1.2 03 Astra that the same dealer has.

She asks for the value on her Corsa for the trade in, reply: €6000.

She takes it as thats what she paid for it. And... we left the dealer laughing in her new car.

I think they make it up.....

Nah they don't make it up. The Astra she bought had say a pricetag of €11k. The dealer would have been happy to sell that for €9.5k. By giving her €6k for the Corsa (he'll only be able to sell that for say €5k), he's achieved his target

Stekelly wrote:

But if everyone took that attitude there wuldnt be any 2 or 3 year old cars for you to buy.

Exactly! Buyers of new €100000+ cars are my heroes

Dilbert75

But I have a limited amount of sympathy for people who go out and buy certain* brand new cars which everyone with any sense knows have rubbish residual values and will be worth peanuts after a very short while.

Funnily enough, I know a driver of a "prestige" car - a BMW. In 2003 he traded his 01 530d for.... an identical 530d. It cost him (or he admitted to paying) €20k. In 2005 he traded his 03 530d for..... a 525d. He again admitted to paying around €20k (I suspect nearer €25k). So four years motoring depreciation cost him a conservative estimate of €40k, or €200 a week. In depreciation. That would pay three times over the car loan I got to pay for my 02 Citroen Picasso. And its not even nearly three times the car, not even twice the car.

unkel

Dilbert75 wrote:

So four years motoring depreciation cost him a conservative estimate of €40k

That's €10k per annum depreciation for driving a brand new large premium executive car and changing it every two years. Do the same thing with e.g. a €32k Renault Laguna and it would cost you maybe €7k depreciation per annum, so he didn't get that bad a deal at all

John R

Dilbert75 wrote:

Funnily enough, I know a driver of a "prestige" car - a BMW. In 2003 he traded his 01 530d for.... an identical 530d. It cost him (or he admitted to paying) €20k. In 2005 he traded his 03 530d for..... a 525d. He again admitted to paying around €20k (I suspect nearer €25k). So four years motoring depreciation cost him a conservative estimate of €40k, or €200 a week. In depreciation. That would pay three times over the car loan I got to pay for my 02 Citroen Picasso. And its not even nearly three times the car, not even twice the car.

I suspect most of the BM heads here would disagree on the last point.

Also at the end of that €40k he still had a new 5 series, what will you have by the time your car loan is paid off? A car that has depreciated into nothing.

Buying new is a sink-hole but so is buying the wrong car at any age. Carloans are not a fantastic idea either.

lomb

best bet is buy a 6 year old premium car like a 7 series or s class (although they are dearer) if u dont have a family a 840i or sl280 or sl320 brought in from the uk at the right money are sane choices and if sold within a year or two assuming bought at the right price will ensure nearlt depreciation free high class motoring.

no one can seriously say a newish 525d is a better car than a 99 sl320 or 99 840i?

528i

yes, they're both dinosaurs and the 525d would probably do 40mpg while being nearly as quick..

lomb

528i wrote:

525d would probably do 40mpg while being nearly as quick..

lol, not that it makes the slightest difference if u lose 10 grand a year hahaha.
i always laugh when i see people in new 525d and 530d and s320cdis, thinking they are 'saving money' they are actually very silly people, depreciation makes up 10 times the fuel saving, pointless....

lomb

528i wrote:

yes, they're both dinosaurs

i dont think they are actually, the new 5 series and in fact the whole new bmw line up of cars look as if they were designed by a dyslexic child. the 8 series looks miles better than the new 6, and the old 7 series looks miles better than the new, i never really liked the old 5 except the late eightees/early ninetees one, so the new one looks well 'ok' in comparison to the one preceeding it, still not 'attractive cars'

528i

well you asked if the e60 was 'a better car' and I think it is, on handling alone, a mercedes S320 would have all the agility of a beached whale by comparison.. youse biys are too young for this 'company executive barge on a shoestring budget anyway, who the hell does that unkel think he is, perched up in a 16ft limo like a lord of the manor wafting around his estate on that air suspension..

commited

My dad is trading his 01 Rover 75 2.0 V6 club (40k miles) which was about IRL£30000 - he's been offered €10,600 for it. Seemed fair to me considering the disaster that is MG Rover at the moment.

AMurphy

BrianD3 wrote:

Re: ......
All of this results in crap, unreliable 2nd hand cars. It's no wonder people are willing to put up with big depreciation so they can have a new car with a manufacturer's warranty.

.......Of all the car owners I know, there are only about 2 that I would consider buying a car off.

Something along those lines, in which case I'd try ferret out those 2 or 3. eg the local doctor, who takes care of his car and trades every 2~4 years.

However, I see no point in buying a new car at such a depreciation rate, makes no sense.
Select an indestructible vehicle with a good dep rate. now sure what that is is where you are. But I have heard of someone trying to trade a MB for a V6 Camry and being offered peanuts for the MB. That the MB for me.

sillysocks

I'm just about to head out to collect my new (used) car. Only buying a peugeot 206, 00 reg so nothing too fancy or expensive, but was trading up from an Opel Corsa 96.

I was planning on selling the Opel privately but asked about trade in in each garage in case I got a nice surprise. One garage said they'd give me €200 , most others around €1000-1500, but eventually got a trade in of €2250 (which I know it wasn't worth - seeing as I bought it a year ago for 2500 and have since put 24000 miles on it).

I was amazed by the difference in dealers - from 200 to 2250 is a big jump.

lomb

528i wrote:

well you asked if the e60 was 'a better car' and I think it is, on handling alone, a mercedes S320 would have all the agility of a beached whale by comparison.. youse biys are too young for this 'company executive barge on a shoestring budget anyway, who the hell does that unkel think he is, perched up in a 16ft limo like a lord of the manor wafting around his estate on that air suspension..

s class is a fine car, hell they are still making them!, anyway the sl would be a different animal, and taking say the 840i for example, it has the same 4.4liter aluminium v8 that bmw are still using, the gearox is sophisticated, and the ergonomics good.
true the cabin is a little dated , but the exterior arguably looks better than the 6 series. thats alot to say for a car, where its predessor is more attractive 15 years later...

AMurphy

sillysocks wrote:

.......

I was amazed by the difference in dealers - from 200 to 2250 is a big jump.

Maybe it's a ploy to determine if you are serious or just "kickin' tyres".

unkel

528i wrote:

who the hell does that unkel think he is, perched up in a 16ft limo like a lord of the manor wafting around his estate on that air suspension..

Lord Lucan?

Ain't got the self levelling suspension though

lomb wrote:

s class is a fine car, hell they are still making them!

Fine car it is, but I'll have to drive a V8 petrol before I'd put it on my short list for me next vehicle. Was in one a few times (S320 petrol) and not that impressed. Production did stop a while ago BTW