Is there a slow down in the second hand market at the moment ?

C

CmTaz

Registered User
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I need to word this very carefully so as not to appear to be advertising but this is a genuine thread

I am trying to sell a Ford Fiesta privately and have it placed with carzone and auto trader. It is a top spec ghia version and I have priced it at up to 4k cheaper than dealers are selling the same and 2k cheaper than a dealer would sell an LX lower grade model.

I have had many views on the ad but not one person has contacted me about it.

The contact details are definitely correct !
The car is in super condition with low mileage. I would have thought that people would prefer a dealer sold car because of the warranty but surely 3-4k is damn expensive for 6 months warranty on an 03 car ??

A mate of mine speculated that with the SSIA's coming up a lot of people may be waiting for new cars.

What am I missing here ? I can't afford to keep this bad boy in my drive way !
 
CmTaz said:
I
A mate of mine speculated that with the SSIA's coming up a lot of people may be waiting for new cars. !
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The same thing occured to me when reading your post. Also, if I was in the market for a car, I would ask myself why you were selling it so much cheaper. Perhaps you've underpriced it and potential buyers are fearful that there's something wrong with it? Stick with it though - sometimes it takes a while to sell a car. I
 
Sometimes the prices that you’re referencing could be overpriced as it is, which would make your car just overpriced or other cars of similar age, spec are selling cheaper, having said that, I don't know how old your car is to make the comparison in the first place.

Selling cars does take time to give it a week or two, and then drop you price a small bit to see of anyone bites.
 
I had originally priced it at 10900 when garages were listing similar for 12900 in the knowledge that both prices could be knocked down by 1500. It is currently advetised at 8950 which is an absolute bargain for an 03 Fiesta Ghia - maybe it is too cheap as aonfocaleile says but it was dropped gradually over the course of 2 weeks to this price.
 
Maybe it's the colour?

It certainly is at the lower end of what the 'going rate' is for the model in question.

I actually got a pretty reasonable price for my car when I traded it in last July. No similarities with your own, and it was a garage as opposed to a dealer, but I have to say I was surprised.
 
Colour looks fine to me, your the second cheapest car there and only 15K mileage. maybe your underpriced but if i was in the market for a 1.4 fiesta, i would ring you first!
the engine size might be the reason its not selling also. most first time buyer are looking at 1.0L for tax and insurance.
 
Maybe - I'd imagine a first timer would be buying a 2 or 3k car or is that done away with by the celtic tiger etc
 
If I was looking, and I'm not, €4k off a dealers price for a private sale would seem excessive, and hence I'd be suspicious.

Carzone is pretty good usually. Perhaps your pix. are poor?

Having said that the used car market is awash with product at the minute.
 
True.

Stick with it!, put for sale signs and a mobile number on a a4 printout on both rear side windows.
put it in your workplace or friends workplace with a picture of the car.
 
I had my car on sale for about 2.5 months. Ended up trading in!!!! The garage was even reluctant as he said that there was just no sale on a 2nd hand at the moment!
 
CMTAZ I agree with your friend. It seems a high percentage of people are thinking of spending their SSIA's on (new) cars, thus flooding the 2nd hand car market. Great for anyone wanting to buy, but unfortunately bad for anyone selling. Also, I have to say, I would be a tad suspicious (in this money driven country we live in) to see something good value for money..
 
I'm in a similar position - been trying to sell my 1999 323ci BMW for 6 weeks. I've dropped the price from a "hopeful" €19,950 to a "take the bloody thing" €16,950 and still no takers.

Roll on SSIA money.....

Sarah

www.rea.ie
 

I think its as other people say , most people sre suspicious of a good deal. Im looking for a car myself as just learnign to drive, would love to buy your car but like other ftd's dont have that kinda dosh
 
foxylady said:
I think its as other people say , most people sre suspicious of a good deal. Im looking for a car myself as just learnign to drive, would love to buy your car but like other ftd's dont have that kinda dosh
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If this goes on much longer I might end up in your range
 
stick with it...
I've just spent 6 weeks trying to sell my car, and had to drop the price to get a sale. To be honest aside from the rest of the advertising trade (autotrader, some uk car site and cbg, I only had a couple of callers).
I asked around and based on feedback from another site I dropped the price, changed the photo and re-wrote the ad!
Stick with it, you'll get it sold!
 
It could also be the time of year - people are think about summer vacation and thus may not have the cash for a change of car - I think end of Jan/Feb/Mar are the best mths to sell - but stick with it
 
It seems it takes an absolute AGE to sell a second-hand car at the moment.

Both my Dad and my Father in Law are both selling at the minute, and niether have got a single call in over a month. Both cars are light-years apart too! on both sides of the price and size scale.

As a carzone/cbg junkie, we wrote the ad to appeal to all sorts, without overselling or underselling, and none of that 'owner emigrating' bull!

Latest news is that the irish times is supposed to be good for selling high-end car's, so will update if that works.

The only answer seems to be to head into the Dealer and get €5k less than expected.

Its our addiction to new cars thats the problem.

personally, I buy second hand 3-year old cars, and drive them for 3 years, with 2 'rules of purchase':
1. a good 3 years old car price is 50-55% of the cost price.
2. I always buy the top of the line model, with all the extras. Why not, you getting them practically for free! versus 5k on top of the new car price.

Not meaning to draw this conversation into 'what car is the best', but , to give an example, you can quite easily get a 2 1/2 - 3 year old Volvo S60 SE for under 20k. Thats a 45-50k car new! And its built like a tank, fantastic finish, especially inside. The problem is simple: they are hard to sell on the 2nd hand market. Buyers are scarce, and most buy new. Its the same with all makes and models.

the 2nd market is most definitely a Buyers Market, not a Sellers.
 
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