low second hand prices for larger petrol engine car?

[rob30]

I am considering selling my 2 litre petrol saloon (Saab 2004, 37000 miles) and trade down to a smaller diesel.
I was in a dealership and was offered 12000 for a car that lists for 18000 to 20000 on cbg.ie.
I said i did not feel that was a correct value, but I did see one external agent decline to offer for it while I was in the showroom. The dealers did say none would bid for it, but they themselves would do a deal for 12000 to take it off my hands for a trade in on a new car.
Is this happening to others, or is it posturing by the dealership to increase their take?
The car I am looking at is british made, would there be any point in trying to reduce the asking price, given the drop in sterling?

 

[jprender]

I have come up against the same thing. Offered 12k for my 2004 2.5 litre S40 with 50k miles on it.

Looks like I will keep driving it for a while !!

 

[bacchus]

Put your car for sale privately (e.g. carzone.ie) say at €17k, and see if you get any call...then slowly drop the price, and you will see the real second-hand value of your car once you start getting loads of calls.
Note: price in private sale will be lower than price in dealers.

 

[sse]

We were looking at trading in one or other of our 2 litre petrol cars - we have friends in the trade and their advice is that such cars are realizing only 2/3 of book value at present on trade-in - perhaps slightly more if very highly-specced with leather, satnav. etc. So we're sitting tight until next year to see how things develop.

How much of this is due to VRT confusion/uncertainty and how much is due to a permanent shift in value remains to be seen. Everybody is now shifting to diesel it seems - the jury is still out as to whether this is worthwhile unless you do very high mileages and even then the gap is closing given the higher maintenance cost of running a diesel car.

SSE

 

[Frank]

What higher maintenance cost of running a diesel.

most diesels are at least 10k serivce intervals with a lot at 20k miiles.

 

[mathepac]

...given the higher maintenance cost of running a diesel car.

I'd love to know the source this urban myth - petrol car salesmen?

The only additional maintenance item on a modern diesel is probably a fuel filter at 50k/60k miles - in or around the time you need to change the spark-plugs in a modern petrol car, but the fuel filter will be a lot cheaper.

 

[sse]

I think people are confusing the reliable, plodding, low-tech. diesels of a few years ago with the current situation - a modern diesel engine has had so much new technology added to it to get the g/km figure down that most are way more complex than the equivalent petrols.

So not only are they more expensive to buy in the first place the cost of fixing any one or more of these increasingly-common problems could wipe out any savings you make on economy or tax.

You might want to check out Honest John's column on www.telegraph.co.uk where this very topic is discussed - he's stopped recommending recent diesels in many cases.

BTW, regarding service intervals, a diesel engine pollutes its oil with combustion byproducts - whether you are wise to leave that to go 20k is debatable. The only reason manufacturers introduced the longer intervals is to get the 3yr lease cost per mile down.

Good luck
SSE

 

[IFT]

Don't think it is just petrol v diesel question.

Why would i buy a second hand car in Ireland in June when i can buy that car cheaper ( diesel ) in July from England.

So whether it is diesel or petrol, those cars will continue to depreciate and come July; prices will fall even further with larger cars (petrol and diesel) feeling the bigger brunt.

 

[levelpar]

What higher maintenance cost of running a diesel.

most diesels are at least 10k serivce intervals with a lot at 20k miiles

AFAIK, Ford recommend a service either on X milage or 1year depending on which happens first. Consequently, you would have the cost of a yearly service anyway. Remember, a lot of people will buy diesel after July for lower co2 and therefore lower vtr and lower road tax and not because they will chalk up high milage.

Considering how the modern petrol engine is fuel efficient and the extra cost of diesel fuel as against petrol , is it worth while buying diesel?

 

[aircobra19]

You'd have to factor all the costs. The savings in fuel, vs the higher cost to buy the diesel car, lower depreciation, difference in insurance and tax if you buy a smaller capacity engine etc.

 

[Frank]

higher price is bigger problem with new cars only.

Easier to shift on a diesel car.

driving a 1.8 petrol and 1.9 diesel pretty much the same on tax insurance etc. servicing pretty much the same.

Saving on fuel and the better driving experience well worth the extra few bob initially

 

[aircobra19]

I'm not completely disagreeing with you but I think the devil is in the details, and you have look at the total cost of ownership, and running cost on an on going basis.

IMO I think the higher price applies regardless of the age of the car.

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As for diesel being more popular, I think it depends. If its a city location, you might find most people aren't doing the mileage to justify a diesel so a petrol might be more popular. So its not that clear cut, all the time. As I found out selling a low mileage diesel in Dublin. Surprised at the lack of interest.

With petrol you generally have a greater choice of engines. So you can drop down to a much lower capacity engine. Which does give you savings in Tax and Insurance.

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As for the driving experience, well thats subjective. Some like more torque at low rpm's some like high rpm's. I like diesel, but then I like the sound of a high revving engine too. Some of the new diesels are more prone to stalling than the older type too. More like a petrol car.

As for servicing, not all cars, even cars of the same fuel type have the same servicing intervals. So it would again depend on the service schedule of the specific engine you are talking about. Many would recommend changing the oil at shorter intervals than the manufacturer recommends. Some cars, it might be 6k, 10k, 15, or even 20k. Not that changing the oil is a significant cost in itself, its one thing you can still do yourself. On most cars.

 

[galwaytt]

I'd love to know the source this urban myth - petrol car salesmen?

The only additional maintenance item on a modern diesel is probably a fuel filter at 50k/60k miles - in or around the time you need to change the spark-plugs in a modern petrol car, but the fuel filter will be a lot cheaper.

You must be joking - as the owner of an 02 Mazda 2.0 turbo d - where the engine just expired, despite a service history, I have to say I'm far from impressed with the over-reliance on technology at the expense of reliability and economy. Honestjohn has a thread on my engine type, here: http://www.honestjohn.co.uk/forum/post/index.htm?t=57098&m=706170#706170

btw, whilst re-financing, my SO has been driving my 3.0 Porsche - over 3 months, the Porsche is cheaper to run than a 2.0 Diesel Mazda.......I think we need to re-visit the whole diesel thing, now that it's 10c/litre more, as well.......

 

[galwaytt]

Why would i buy a second hand car in Ireland in June when i can buy that car cheaper ( diesel ) in July from England.

not quite true - you'll only benefit from lower annual roadtax if the car is on 08............all others are taxed on current system. The VRT will decrease, sure, on lots, but that's a one-off saving, not an ongoing one.

So whether it is diesel or petrol, those cars will continue to depreciate and come July; prices will fall even further with larger cars (petrol and diesel) feeling the bigger brunt.

I don't think so, I've just traded up to a 3.0 petrol - deliberately -because of VRT changes. My brother has also gone from 2.0 petrol to 3.0 petrol, and sister-in-law from 1.9 petrol to 2.5 petrol.

Mad? Maybe. But we're getting premium cars for silly money, and no amount of diesel economy, or biofuel, can come close to recouping the huge premia involved.

Don't get me wrong, we still have an 06 1.9 diesel Saab, but that's because it's a really nice car to drive - it just happens to be diesel.

 

[hova]

Always beware buying a big engined car, make sure you know how easy/hard it will be to get out of it when you sit into it! The current economy has virtually all interest in purchases of big engined cars. Ive been try in to sell a 4.4 V8 petrol engined car since last october through every resource even over 10k less than next lowest offer and nothing. Main car dealers wont even take a trade in with it against a new car! As new condition!

Beware,

Hova