Why do dealers keep cars for so long without cutting price?
Discussion
There is a dealer near me that has had a certain car on its forecourt for over 2 years now. In that time the price hasn’t dropped or moved. It’s from a premium German brand at over £30k. These cars generally seem to shift fairly well.
Why would the dealer not just move it on or cut the price. Its certainly not a cheap car against the market at current pricing.
Why would the dealer not just move it on or cut the price. Its certainly not a cheap car against the market at current pricing.
Part of me wonders if it's something financially related, e.g. "we're worth x amount" - maybe for VAT qualifying or something? Just spitballing. I've wondered the same thing myself, there's a garage near me that's had a 1995 Fiesta for sale since 2019. For over £3,000! Unsurprisingly it's not shifted.
sherman said:
It could also be a sale or return for a private client. Client wants X price no negotiation butvis happy to wait for the money.
That's a really good shout actually. Dreamer / old doris / someone who doesn't know about cars wants x amount, doesn't really need it, so off the car goes and is gone and forgotten until suddenly a bank transfer for x pops into their messages.ETA: for some reason this reminds me of that (probably embellished at the least, fabricated more likely) story of someone wanting to take a £5k loan out to take a holiday/remortgage/gamble/whatever and offering a £20k M3 as collateral, the bank happily takes the M3 and wacks it into their private car park. A week later your someone comes back and pays the money back in full, plus interest, which would have been about £15. The bank asks why and they just say "well, £15 for a week of secure parking in Central London isn't bad".
Edited by Second Best on Monday 20th June 02:07
There's a car i was watching on AutoTrader. No idea how long it had been on there when I 'favorited' it but it was 18 months before it sold on after that, for a KIA with a blown engine! In all that time it was reduced a total of £6 
wonder how much they actually got for it in the end.
wonder how much they actually got for it in the end.P675 said:
You used to be able to tell the date the advert was posted on Autotrader by the URL but they've changed it since.
Still does;https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202109077...
Means it was 1st advertised on 2021 September (09) 7th (07)
dealers do not have very much margin to play with. It isn't anything like what many people (even on here) for some reason seem to believe it is, on new cars at RRP, that do not have an type of additional manufacturer support applied. The car is on credit to the manufacturer, and this is usually 6 months or so, and then the vehicle needs to be paid for in full, at cost price. Cars have very minor updates every 6 months or so, so dealers want to avoid keeping unregistered but paid-for cars for longer than they need to. Sometimes another dealer in the country will have that car sold, and will get in touch do transfer it. This gets more complex if the car is paid for. Often instead the car is registered in the dealers name, AKA 'pre-reg', where it then goes onto the used car book and is the used car sales manager's problem. However there is no point in registering a car that cannot be made cheap somehow, through manufacturer support or suchlike. Sometimes the manufacturer will apply extra support to a vehicle+Model year in order to get rid of them out of the network. However, if they don't do that, then the dealer is somewhat stuck with a car they cannot shift and cannot make cheap unless they want to make a loss on it, which is very bad juju. One loss-making chassis in this sort of instance can wipe out the profit of several other new car deals.
Two years is a long time for a car to be sat around.
Is the dealer using it?
Sometimes they advertise a car of theirs, or one their happy using, for a higher price.
Otherwise I'd imagine there's some sort of story with the car that's stopping people buying it?
Let us know if you find out.
But most dealers look to replace stock with fresh if no bites after 3 months or so.
Is the dealer using it?
Sometimes they advertise a car of theirs, or one their happy using, for a higher price.
Otherwise I'd imagine there's some sort of story with the car that's stopping people buying it?
Let us know if you find out.
But most dealers look to replace stock with fresh if no bites after 3 months or so.
Trevor555 said:
Two years is a long time for a car to be sat around.
Is the dealer using it?
Sometimes they advertise a car of theirs, or one their happy using, for a higher price.
Otherwise I'd imagine there's some sort of story with the car that's stopping people buying it?
Let us know if you find out.
But most dealers look to replace stock with fresh if no bites after 3 months or so.
I can’t see the dealer is using it. Its been there every time I’ve been past. I think its position has changed twice.Is the dealer using it?
Sometimes they advertise a car of theirs, or one their happy using, for a higher price.
Otherwise I'd imagine there's some sort of story with the car that's stopping people buying it?
Let us know if you find out.
But most dealers look to replace stock with fresh if no bites after 3 months or so.
I am half tempted to go & find the story!
Years ago, before buying the Clubman, I was looking at a Volvo C30 T5. There was a Black example up North that proclaimed it was owned by a Doctor that remained on sale for the same price for 3 years. If anything, Doctors are a high insurance risk and not the best drivers in the world, so I would have wanted a discount.
vikingaero said:
Years ago, before buying the Clubman, I was looking at a Volvo C30 T5. There was a Black example up North that proclaimed it was owned by a Doctor that remained on sale for the same price for 3 years. If anything, Doctors are a high insurance risk and not the best drivers in the world, so I would have wanted a discount.
Not sure why a dealer would have given a discount because the previous owner was a doctor.The 3 year bit of course is shocking, Saying that though we had a Nissan xtrail for 2 years and it sold for its original asking price
This doesn’t make any sense to me either.
If I was a dealer, I’d want to be churning through stock.
If you can make on average 10% on each deal and on average a car takes 1 month to sell then you can turn your £30k into £90k over 1 year.
So, if you make a mistake and overpay for a car, it's better to move it on quick, even for a loss than sit on it until prices rise or a bigger idiot turns up...
If I was a dealer, I’d want to be churning through stock.
If you can make on average 10% on each deal and on average a car takes 1 month to sell then you can turn your £30k into £90k over 1 year.
So, if you make a mistake and overpay for a car, it's better to move it on quick, even for a loss than sit on it until prices rise or a bigger idiot turns up...
Dan W. said:
vikingaero said:
Years ago, before buying the Clubman, I was looking at a Volvo C30 T5. There was a Black example up North that proclaimed it was owned by a Doctor that remained on sale for the same price for 3 years. If anything, Doctors are a high insurance risk and not the best drivers in the world, so I would have wanted a discount.
Not sure why a dealer would have given a discount because the previous owner was a doctor.The 3 year bit of course is shocking, Saying that though we had a Nissan xtrail for 2 years and it sold for its original asking price
Having worked in Insurance in my early years, Doctors are one of the worst risks on the market and premiums are loaded accordingly. It's likely they could barely drive which it why I would want a discount!
I can understand dealers needing to maximise the churn of cars, but some small dealers in rural areas seem to keep cars for sale for a while.
vikingaero said:
The point is that dealers like to claim things like: "one careful lady owner", "owned by a Doctor" or "owned by Lord Pissington-Smythe". Anything to give a veneer of respectability and give the illusion of some provenance.
Having worked in Insurance in my early years, Doctors are one of the worst risks on the market and premiums are loaded accordingly. It's likely they could barely drive which it why I would want a discount!
I can understand dealers needing to maximise the churn of cars, but some small dealers in rural areas seem to keep cars for sale for a while.
Why do you say a doctor "could barely drive"?Having worked in Insurance in my early years, Doctors are one of the worst risks on the market and premiums are loaded accordingly. It's likely they could barely drive which it why I would want a discount!
I can understand dealers needing to maximise the churn of cars, but some small dealers in rural areas seem to keep cars for sale for a while.
Poppycock.
ThisInJapanese said:
I sold my Type R to a Honda dealer in Swansea last August. It's still there from what I can see. It's now at the price I got for it from Motorway, so they will lose money on it. I've no idea why it's not sold (others have) and at what point they cut their losses and run.
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