Selling my 2012 car - is it worthwhile getting service done and do NCT?

PGL · 12-10-2023 3:53pm #1

Hi folks

I will likely selling my 2012 car as part of a trade in with a dealer in the next few months. Car is in very good nick (has full service history etc), but will soon be in need of an annual service and is also due an NCT. Will it really make much difference to the dealer on his proposed trade in value of my car whether or not I go to the hassle (and more importantly the cost) of a service and NCT?

Many thanks!

User1998 · 12-10-2023 4:16pm

NCT yes. Service no.

Addmagnet · 12-10-2023 4:37pm

Wouldn't you be wise to keep the service history full though?

bazz26 · 12-10-2023 5:34pm

NCT would be worth doing as it would make it more valuable with a fresh NCT as a trade in.

But don't see the benefit of servicing a 12 year old car your about to trade. Dealer will benefit from it being serviced by you either by not having to spend money on a service for the next owner they sell it to or if they are selling it onto a smaller dealer because of it's age, they might get a little more for it. Either way you won't benefit from servicing it unless you sell it privately.

PGL · 13-10-2023 10:26am

If I was to go for the NCT, I suspect i'd have a much better chance of passing it if I service the car first. Hence, I've a catch 22 scenario!

kennethsmyth · 13-10-2023 10:32am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121231691#Comment_121231691

Nope, far more efficient and cheaper to just check over the car yourself for obvious items like bulbs / lights and put in for NCT, if it fails get those items fixed (with service if you wish or not).

bazz26 · 13-10-2023 10:44am

Better off just sticking it through the test and see if/what it fails on. Obviously do the usual easy checks yourself before hand.

You could always ask the dealer what they will offer you for it as a trade-in for it with and without a NCT. Having the fail sheet will make that easier for the dealer. Then weigh up whether it's worth spending money on it yourself or just trade it as is.

Calahonda52 · 13-10-2023 10:46am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121231781#Comment_121231781

No, get the NCT done first as otherwise you give dealer a licence to say whats wrong with it

bazz26 · 13-10-2023 11:15am

This is why I mentioned bringing the fail sheet. In most cases it will cost a dealer less to pass the NCT than the current owner. No point potentially spending big money to pass the NCT only to lose most of that money in it's trade in value anyway, remember it's a 12 year old car. If the fails are small or cheap then obviously get them sorted before trading it. But having the fail sheet and a cost to fix already will let the OP know if the dealer is low balling trading it in without a NCT.

User1998 · 13-10-2023 2:11pm

Just NCT the car and if it fails massively I would get rid of the fail sheet and sell it as is but if it’s just a couple of small jobs then get them fixed and sell it with a fresh NCT.

Do not get the car serviced first as you will get mechanics changing things ‘just in case’ so that you definitely pass first time.

PGL · 14-11-2023 9:39am

Hi folks

Thanks for all the feedback. I went ahead with the NCT without getting the car serviced / pre-nct checked etc. It failed due to the need to replace: 1) the two front coil springs (NCT guy said this is a common issue with Ford cars); and 2) need to replace one of the front tyres (which I was expecting). I wonder is it going to strengthen my hand enough with a car dealer to spend money correcting these issues to pass the NCT?

All feedback welcome!

PGL · 14-11-2023 5:00pm

Just a follow up to my last post. From a brief conversation with my local mechanic, it would cost be roughly €400 to get the work done to pass the NCT. Would the best approach be to talk to different dealers, where I tell some the truth (where I show them the fail sheet), and for others I say I haven't yet done the NCT and see what trade in price they offer me? Or is there some sort of database where the dealer can see I have failed the NCT?

User1998 · 14-11-2023 5:24pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121368175#Comment_121368175

Anyone can see that you failed, enter your reg on the NCT website and it will show you are a due a retest.

A dealer is unlikely to do this tho. What type of dealer is it? Its a 12 year old car so any main dealer is going to just send the car to auction, so I don’t think the fail sheet is any use to them.

goochy · 14-11-2023 5:29pm

could you get the car to pass the nct and sell privately ?

would say it will get more money and will be easy to sell with fresh nct ?

PGL · 15-11-2023 8:28am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121368280#Comment_121368280

the general consensus here was to do the test and if it failed provide the fail sheet to the dealer, assuming the reasons for failure were not serious, which is the case here....

PGL · 15-11-2023 8:29am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121368301#Comment_121368301

i hadn't given that a lot of consideration. does anyone know roughly how much extra in percentage terms you might make from a selling a car privately versus a trade in with a main dealer?

User1998 · 15-11-2023 8:33am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121370173#Comment_121370173

Ideally tho you would have passed the test or only had a small outlay to pass, therefore increasing the cars value with very little spent. But your saying it needs €400 worth of work which to me is a bit hefty to be spending on a car your trading in.

I’d imagine they will now just view it as having no NCT and price it accordingly. Fail sheet or not.

This all depends on what type of dealer your buying from, which you haven’t answered.

littlevillage · 15-11-2023 8:50am

If you are selling privately, then definitely get an NCT. (otherwise it'll be a very hard sell)

If you are trading it in with a dealer there's soo much more involved in the 'deal' that nobody here is going to be able to give you any solid advice. Eg. The trade in price will likely have some relationship to value of what you are buying. Things like if you are using a dealers finance etc can make a difference too... In short the dealer might be more inclined to give you a bit more in the trade-in price ... if he's making more on the other end.

Its going to be specific to each dealer and each deal, whether or not its worth your while getting an NCT.

djan · 15-11-2023 10:14am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121370176#Comment_121370176

Really depends on the car but recently was in a similair position with a 2012 for which I got an offer of 7-9k trade in and sold on donedeal for just under 12k.

The minimal hassle of selling a car privately is so worth it and it baffles me why more people don't do it.

PGL · 15-11-2023 2:49pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121370468#Comment_121370468

That's encouraging. Do other people have simialr experiences of going down the private route in terms of: 1) significantly higher price compared to main dealers; and 2) having minimal hassle doing so?

PGL · 15-11-2023 2:50pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121370183#Comment_121370183

sorry, should have clarified, that if i trade it in, it will likely be via main dealers....

User1998 · 15-11-2023 3:49pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121371746#Comment_121371746

In that case they won’t be selling it themselves and will just send it to auction or sell it to a local trader. Chances are the fail sheet won’t make any difference to the value.

bazz26 · 15-11-2023 4:16pm

A main dealer will not resell a 12 year old car on their forecourt as it's too old. They will either offer it to small dealers to bid on it or send it to auction. Probably won't make any difference to the price they give you for it as it will be a trade price.

PGL · 15-11-2023 4:59pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121371735#Comment_121371735

Just following up on my last post above. Interested to get more feedback on my questions above if I opt to sell the car privately. Is there scope for buyer recourse if they discover an issue with the car after you have sold it to them?

goochy · 15-11-2023 5:43pm

none at all - totally sold as seen - try and encourage people to bring a mechanic - though if they spot something they may try and bring price down

only you know if you can possibly do without a car for a small while if it sells quickly and you have not found replacement

what car you thinking of buying ? hopefully there are many on the market

Selling my 2012 car - is it worthwhile getting service done and do NCT?

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