Selling privately after a number of years… tell me the worst
Discussion
Been a while since I've posted on these forums so appreciate there's a lot of new people in the group I don't know. Hoping you can give an old member a few tips. I was around when this forum helped track down a couple of Elise vandals which caused some controversy so if any of you still remember that you can appreciate how long I've been in the Lotus fold!
I'm after some general advice really as it's been probably 15 years since I sold a car privately and that was my old Elise. Now, after 10 years and only 4000 miles I've decided to part with my S2 Exige S. I was going to go straight to a dealer and avoid selling privately but none of them really want it as it's too old and they need to provide warranties.
I'll sell it through PH but what are the risks to watch out for these days from potential callers? i.e. what scams are people trying to pull, what are the risks of theft during viewings, is it better to meet people in a public place or at home, how is it best to get paid (bank transfer preferably but how long do you wait before you hand over the keys). All this stuff puts me off and having to deal with time wasters/tyre kickers sounds like a nightmare.
What experiences have any of you had recently with this and how long did it take you to sell?
All thoughts greatly appreciated and if you know anyone who wants an low mileage S2 in superb condition send them this way :-)
I'm after some general advice really as it's been probably 15 years since I sold a car privately and that was my old Elise. Now, after 10 years and only 4000 miles I've decided to part with my S2 Exige S. I was going to go straight to a dealer and avoid selling privately but none of them really want it as it's too old and they need to provide warranties.
I'll sell it through PH but what are the risks to watch out for these days from potential callers? i.e. what scams are people trying to pull, what are the risks of theft during viewings, is it better to meet people in a public place or at home, how is it best to get paid (bank transfer preferably but how long do you wait before you hand over the keys). All this stuff puts me off and having to deal with time wasters/tyre kickers sounds like a nightmare.
What experiences have any of you had recently with this and how long did it take you to sell?
All thoughts greatly appreciated and if you know anyone who wants an low mileage S2 in superb condition send them this way :-)
I’ve tried Will B already, I’ve also spoken to Stratton’s where I bought it from. Then tried B&C but Jamie didn’t want it as they have Emira to prioritise. JCT said it was too old and Hilton & Moss offered to look at it for me which was kind of them but the money they would pay is in the area of a standard NA exige on private sale.
As you can see I’ve spoken to pretty much everyone that we would go to if in the market to buy.
Jamie at B&C suggested I should market it privately at £36k which he felt was fair at todays prices. Maybe the market is not as buoyant as I’d been led to believe. Lots of people saying they are sought after but the same cars are floating around.
Anyway that’s why I’m seeking the advice from you guys…the experts so to speak.
As you can see I’ve spoken to pretty much everyone that we would go to if in the market to buy.
Jamie at B&C suggested I should market it privately at £36k which he felt was fair at todays prices. Maybe the market is not as buoyant as I’d been led to believe. Lots of people saying they are sought after but the same cars are floating around.
Anyway that’s why I’m seeking the advice from you guys…the experts so to speak.
I must point out all of the dealers and Will when I spoke to them were super helpful and friendly so this is not a slight on them for not wanting to take it. I guess it’s obviously difficult for a main dealer to sell a car of that age. I don’t think of it as old being one of the later S2’s but in reality it’s heading for classic status soon. They need to protect themselves from possible problems that come with selling older models not in production.
I don’t know the Lotus mkt specifically well, however what I would say is stuff like this ‘older specialist sports cars’ tend to do really well on collecting cars.
The spread (margin) between trade and retail on older sports cars can be 20% plus, e.g. sell at £35k buy at late £20s. Whereas the fees on collecting cars is only 7% for the buyer, thus sometimes netting the seller decent bids (above trade), with little of the usual risks with private selling.
20 plus Lotus cars sold on the platform in the last year,, which can be seen here.
https://collectingcars.com/?query=lotus&page=2...
The spread (margin) between trade and retail on older sports cars can be 20% plus, e.g. sell at £35k buy at late £20s. Whereas the fees on collecting cars is only 7% for the buyer, thus sometimes netting the seller decent bids (above trade), with little of the usual risks with private selling.
20 plus Lotus cars sold on the platform in the last year,, which can be seen here.
https://collectingcars.com/?query=lotus&page=2...
giveitfish said:
Have you tried Jon Seal (fridaypassion of this parish)? Google his name, he's a well respected Lotus specialist and I would have thought your car would be right up his street.
Yes that's me cheers. Drop me a line after 8.30 today. We are certainly keen on Exiges at the moment I have 8 on site currently although most are just waiting to go out.TheTalentedMr said:
I’ve tried Will B already, I’ve also spoken to Stratton’s where I bought it from. Then tried B&C but Jamie didn’t want it as they have Emira to prioritise. JCT said it was too old and Hilton & Moss offered to look at it for me which was kind of them but the money they would pay is in the area of a standard NA exige on private sale.
As you can see I’ve spoken to pretty much everyone that we would go to if in the market to buy.
Jamie at B&C suggested I should market it privately at £36k which he felt was fair at todays prices. Maybe the market is not as buoyant as I’d been led to believe. Lots of people saying they are sought after but the same cars are floating around.
Anyway that’s why I’m seeking the advice from you guys…the experts so to speak.
That's a curious statement. I wonder what that means? B&C not dealing in used lotuses at the moment? What a strange old world!As you can see I’ve spoken to pretty much everyone that we would go to if in the market to buy.
Jamie at B&C suggested I should market it privately at £36k which he felt was fair at todays prices. Maybe the market is not as buoyant as I’d been led to believe. Lots of people saying they are sought after but the same cars are floating around.
Anyway that’s why I’m seeking the advice from you guys…the experts so to speak.
I'd recommend Jon Seal; after being messed around by a number of private buyers asking ridiculous questions and winging about one of the services having an extra years gap etc. I gave up and asked Jon to take a look. It was an S2 2007 with 21,000 miles and I believe he sold it pretty quickly.
Cheers Mark
Always amazes me that the main dealers dont want the old cars I get a lot where they have been main dealer serviced but they won't buy them. Given that they at the moment can't really "stock" Emiras until the used ones filter through it seems odd to me but it is quite widespread and has been for years. The old problem the mains had was Lotus pushing factory cars onto them. How times change!
Always amazes me that the main dealers dont want the old cars I get a lot where they have been main dealer serviced but they won't buy them. Given that they at the moment can't really "stock" Emiras until the used ones filter through it seems odd to me but it is quite widespread and has been for years. The old problem the mains had was Lotus pushing factory cars onto them. How times change!
I’m really appreciative of you all jumping in on this. With regards to B&C Jamie said the overheads on dealer floor space are so huge that it just doesn’t pay to have older cars sitting there for months and it erodes all the margin in the car. That plus I hear Lotus group make all dealers offer a warranty on used Lotus’s now which is only valid on cars up to 10 years old. All in all it looks like Mr Seal is my next port of call. Is it best to contact you through PH or give you a call via the link I think someone’s kindly posted?
To be fair Will didn’t say he didn’t want it, he just didn’t seem particularly interested and low balled an offer which made me feel like it was just to end the conversation there. I’m sure he would have taken it if I’d had accepted that price. Even Will said they aren’t as easy to shift these days. I think he made far more sales when they were still allowed to be exported. Like I said everyone I spoke to was great from an information gathering perspective. Maybe my estimate of what it’s worth is off, I’m just basing it on the classified prices not a we buy any car estimate!
Why not just try and sell private? Yes it can be a bit of a pain but for the literal thousands extra you make I always find it worth it.
Yes you could get scammed etc but lots of stuff could happen in the world and I am sure you don’t worry about them every day. Just accept money by bank transfer and don’t give out the keys until the money is in your bank. Don’t entertain idiots. Pretty easy to spot genuine people.
Generally most people are decent at this level/ niche car market. Yes you have clowns wanting big money off. But it’s not like selling cheap cars to knuckle draggers who want to swap a boy racer corsa for a packet of biscuits, Xbox and a pit bull!
Write a decent advert with good pictures and price it right and it will sell. Especially as the weather is starting to get better.
Yes you could get scammed etc but lots of stuff could happen in the world and I am sure you don’t worry about them every day. Just accept money by bank transfer and don’t give out the keys until the money is in your bank. Don’t entertain idiots. Pretty easy to spot genuine people.
Generally most people are decent at this level/ niche car market. Yes you have clowns wanting big money off. But it’s not like selling cheap cars to knuckle draggers who want to swap a boy racer corsa for a packet of biscuits, Xbox and a pit bull!
Write a decent advert with good pictures and price it right and it will sell. Especially as the weather is starting to get better.
TheTalentedMr said:
I’m really appreciative of you all jumping in on this. With regards to B&C Jamie said the overheads on dealer floor space are so huge that it just doesn’t pay to have older cars sitting there for months and it erodes all the margin in the car. That plus I hear Lotus group make all dealers offer a warranty on used Lotus’s now which is only valid on cars up to 10 years old. All in all it looks like Mr Seal is my next port of call. Is it best to contact you through PH or give you a call via the link I think someone’s kindly posted?
What nonsense. The overheads on space are fixed. They don't go away if they don't have cars to sell.I think that's a sales tale for we don't want to buy your car! I agree that trying to sell privately is a good way to try.
TheTalentedMr said:
I’m really appreciative of you all jumping in on this. With regards to B&C Jamie said the overheads on dealer floor space are so huge that it just doesn’t pay to have older cars sitting there for months and it erodes all the margin in the car. That plus I hear Lotus group make all dealers offer a warranty on used Lotus’s now which is only valid on cars up to 10 years old. All in all it looks like Mr Seal is my next port of call. Is it best to contact you through PH or give you a call via the link I think someone’s kindly posted?
01924 654118TheTalentedMr said:
To be fair Will didn’t say he didn’t want it, he just didn’t seem particularly interested and low balled an offer which made me feel like it was just to end the conversation there. I’m sure he would have taken it if I’d had accepted that price. Even Will said they aren’t as easy to shift these days. I think he made far more sales when they were still allowed to be exported. Like I said everyone I spoke to was great from an information gathering perspective. Maybe my estimate of what it’s worth is off, I’m just basing it on the classified prices not a we buy any car estimate!
What’s the age / mileage / service history of your car - those are main variables. I’m guessing it’s 30-35k retail with trade bids 5-7k behind that to cover prep, profits, risk and warranty.
How does that compare to the offers received?
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