Do most private buyers simply go on price? Car not selling.

[funkyrobot]

Trying to sell my car at the moment (2007 mazda 3 sport petrol). However, I don't seem to have any interest.

I've taken good pics, written a detailed advert, thrown in a set of winter tyres and given a genuine reason for sale.

I've priced the vehicle based on the fact it has full mazda history, has nearly a year of mot left and has just been serviced. Yet, despite many views, nobody has been in touch.

Pricing is difficult as I don't expect mega money for it,but i dont want to give it away. I think I need to drop it a bit. But it is a rare example amongst other similar cars due to history etc.

Is it simply a fact that I have priced too high, or are people brain washed into wanting diesels nowadays? Or, is it because nobody wants a 9 year old mazda.

I've not linked to my ad due to posting rules etc. Anyone have any ideas why the phone isn't ringing?

[akirk]

The reasons you see that make the car rarer / more valuable will not be reasons a buyer will pay more...
You make profit on cars by how low you buy them, not how high you sell them, for the simple reason that it is very difficult to buck market pricing trends on normal cars...

Unless outside the mainstream market, those reasons help a car move faster, not sell for more...
So yes, match the market price

[funkyrobot]

OK. Ta.

I'm dropping the price to sub £2k in a few days. If it doesn't go then, maybe ebay auction route is the way to go.

[waterwonder]

If you do a search on auto trader for loosely your spec age and mileage of mazda 3 (say in a 50 mile radius, more if you're int the middle of nowhere) where do you come when sorted by price?

For run of the mill stuff I'd say you need to be on the first page. For a mazda 3 which probably has a narrow market I'd suggest top 3 or so, or if it's a difference of £100 no.1.

The history etc is probably worth a bit but not a significant premium. I'd view it more as reason not to haggle rather to price top whack.

Or put it another way dealers will wait 60-90 days to sell a car before giving up and sending a car to auction. If you want to sell in two or three weeks you often (you can of course always luck out) need to price accordingly.

Edited by waterwonder on Sunday 2nd October 22:18

[anonymous-user]

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Mazda-3-sport-2-0d-2007-...

this is a diesel and leather around 2k. i think your car would have to be cheaper than this. But ph is not good for selling normal cars i would try ebay.

[funkyrobot]

Thanks.

Yes, I shall be pricing it more aggressively. On reflection, I originally set it too high. First time I've sold though so you learn as you go along.

Difficult thing for me though is that there aren't many examples of my car for sale privately. Dealers will have higher prices and I thought that around £1k less would be OK from a private perspective.

The last few weeks have given me a clear indication that the market for my car isn't massive.

[Ozzie Osmond]

If you were a private buyer and are looking at 20 similar cars, which one would you buy?

A. The most expensive?
B. One from around the middle price?
C. The cheapest?

IMO unless your car IS the cheapest, or at least looks decent value, it simply won't sell.

[funkyrobot]

The Spruce goose said:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Mazda-3-sport-2-0d-2007-...

this is a diesel and leather around 2k. i think your car would have to be cheaper than this. But ph is not good for selling normal cars i would try ebay.

Yes, that was recently reduced.

However, it has non working aircon and more mileage than mine. Diesel though, so should be priced higher.

I'll make mine cheaper.

Its on ebay, Gumtree and PH.

Thanks.

Edited by funkyrobot on Sunday 2nd October 22:25

[funkyrobot]

Ozzie Osmond said:

If you were a private buyer and are looking at 20 similar cars, which one would you buy?

A. The most expensive?
B. One from around the middle price?
C. The cheapest?

IMO unless your car IS the cheapest, or at least looks decent value, it simply won't sell.

I agree.

It needs to go, so I need to price it to go.

[waterwonder]

http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/m...

I assume this is your car?

Looks and sounds like a nice car! But to my earlier post there are two broadly similar cars on autotrader from £2750. I personally would be significantly undercutting these and advertising on autotrader as well. Pistonheads is a bit hit and miss on stuff like this in my experience.

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2016...

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2016...

Edit: need to go to bed. Thought you had it up at £3200

Edited by waterwonder on Sunday 2nd October 22:35

Edited by waterwonder on Sunday 2nd October 22:40

[funkyrobot]

waterwonder said:

http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/used-cars/m...

I assume this is your car?

Looks and sounds like a nice car! But to my earlier post there are two broadly similar cars on autotrader from £2750. I personally would be matching or undercutting these and advertising on autotrader as well. Pistonheads is a bit hit and miss on stuff like this in my experience.

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2016...

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2016...

Edited by waterwonder on Sunday 2nd October 22:35

Yes, that's mine at the top.

Thanks for the links. Puts the pricing into perspective.

I'll give AT a go.

[ANJ91]

I assume that you have reduced the price to £2300.

It should sell especially from reading your advert you know you could buy it and run it with basic maintenance for a long time.

Before deciding on a lease car I was considering buying one of those although prefer the blue colour.

[Momentofmadness]

Parkers suggests a private good price of £1000 (crazy I know!) and I'm not sure of how sought after they are, so it might be a tough sell to a non-PH'er with the dearer road tax etc.

Much cheapness below, I'm afraid

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/MAZDA-3-SPORT-2-0-/25254...

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/mazda-3-2-0-sport-manual...

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Mazda-3-Sport-2-0L-Bose-...

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Mazda-3-sport-/142118732...

[funkyrobot]

ANJ91 said:

I assume that you have reduced the price to £2300.

It should sell especially from reading your advert you know you could buy it and run it with basic maintenance for a long time.

Before deciding on a lease car I was considering buying one of those although prefer the blue colour.

Yes, reduced to £2300.

It should sell, but it isn't.

It needs to go as it is just sat on my drive not doing a lot.

I'm going to review the price and pop it on AT. I left AT out as it seems more expensive than other advertising means.

[funkyrobot]

Momentofmadness said:

Parkers suggests a private good price of £1000 (crazy I know!) and I'm not sure of how sought after they are, so it might be a tough sell to a non-PH'er with the dearer road tax etc.

Much cheapness below, I'm afraid

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/MAZDA-3-SPORT-2-0-/25254...

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/mazda-3-2-0-sport-manual...

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Mazda-3-Sport-2-0L-Bose-...

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Mazda-3-sport-/142118732...

The only thing going for me is that they are older models.

Seems to be an undesirable car. I think I'd make more taking it over to North America and selling it there.

[Momentofmadness]

funkyrobot said:

The only thing going for me is that they are older models.

Seems to be an undesirable car. I think I'd make more taking it over to North America and selling it there.

They are great cars, but undervalued to non-enthusiasts - it's still worth a go at £1995 or £1895 though, yours looks like a cracker and you only need the right buyer to turn up

Good luck with the sale whatever you do !

[funkyrobot]

Momentofmadness said:

They are great cars, but undervalued to non-enthusiasts - it's still worth a go at £1995 or £1895 though, yours looks like a cracker and you only need the right buyer to turn up

Good luck with the sale whatever you do !

Thanks. It has been looked after.

The prices you have suggested are what I shall be aiming at.

[Wacky Racer]

Competitive pricing is crucial.

Several years ago I had a seven kit car for sale on here at £7500 for several weeks. Minimal interest.

I dropped it to £6950 and it sold the very next day.

Could have been a co-incidence, but I don't think so.

[funkyrobot]

My car has had nearly 300 views on ebay. Something is putting people off.

Will see how re-pricing goes.

[Trabi601]

funkyrobot said:

My car has had nearly 300 views on ebay. Something is putting people off.

Yup, sadly, a petrol Mazda 3 in resale silver is always going to be a minority interest car.