Why is selling a car so hard?
Discussion
I've had a 2017 Audi S3 up for sale for over 4 weeks. I've put it at the bottom end of the market. With my mileage, spec and year, some are selling at at the 19k mark. I've got mine up for 18k, and have not even had a wiff of interest. I've even put it on AutoTrader for 60 quid with no interest whatsoever. i'm going to WeBuyAnyCar it at this rate, or MotorWay. Any tips? Please
JamesLepreux123 said:
I've had a 2017 Audi S3 up for sale for over 4 weeks. I've put it at the bottom end of the market. With my mileage, spec and year, some are selling at at the 19k mark. I've got mine up for 18k, and have not even had a wiff of interest. I've even put it on AutoTrader for 60 quid with no interest whatsoever. i'm going to WeBuyAnyCar it at this rate, or MotorWay. Any tips? Please
How do you know some are selling at the 19k mark?If it is quite leggy I imagine its quite a niche market.
FWIW can't see any private sale 2017 A3s on AT at 18k?
Edited by fflump on Wednesday 10th May 21:11
JamesLepreux123 said:
I've had a 2017 Audi S3 up for sale for over 4 weeks. I've put it at the bottom end of the market. With my mileage, spec and year, some are selling at at the 19k mark. I've got mine up for 18k, and have not even had a wiff of interest. I've even put it on AutoTrader for 60 quid with no interest whatsoever. i'm going to WeBuyAnyCar it at this rate, or MotorWay. Any tips? Please
I’m selling an Audi for about a third of that price - admittedly a rarer model with very few alternatives for sale, let alone anything with similar mileage/condition - but am finding the market is very quiet.You have the issue that £18k is very much car finance money - most people don’t have that kind of cash to hand and may be more likely to buy from a dealer simply to access finance, regardless of whether the dealer price is much higher or not.
Do you have decent pictures of the whole car, inside and out and a good description of the car, highlighting key optional extras, service history, recent work done - anything to show that your car is in condition and should serve buyers well?
fflump said:
JamesLepreux123 said:
I've had a 2017 Audi S3 up for sale for over 4 weeks. I've put it at the bottom end of the market. With my mileage, spec and year, some are selling at at the 19k mark. I've got mine up for 18k, and have not even had a wiff of interest. I've even put it on AutoTrader for 60 quid with no interest whatsoever. i'm going to WeBuyAnyCar it at this rate, or MotorWay. Any tips? Please
How do you know some are selling at the 19k mark?If it is quite leggy I imagine its quite a niche market.
FWIW can't see any private sale 2017 A3s on AT at 18k?
Edited by fflump on Wednesday 10th May 21:11
@op is the car still on Autotrader? If it is, it may be miscategorised.
ingenieur said:
It's a case of knowing your buyer.
The sort of person who would love a 6 year old Audi S3 can't afford one. That's the difficulty. There's plenty of them for sale as well.
As above. No money, borrowing is now expensive. At your range, a lot of people will want some extra security a trade sale will bring. Strange, as I will only buy privately. The sort of person who would love a 6 year old Audi S3 can't afford one. That's the difficulty. There's plenty of them for sale as well.
Give us a clue of your area and I’ll have a look at your advert. Don’t post a link as it will be removed/you’ll be on the naughty step.
It might be your advert putting people off. Always worth a second opinion on how it looks/is written.
I've just sold my low mileage 2016 Jaguar XE as it had become surplus to requirements, I went with WBAC who made a strong bid, they did chip me a £100 for a couple of faint scratches but I reckon I wouldn't have got much more selling privately especially once you factor in advertising costs etc, but to be honest it didn't even cross my mind to try & sell privately at this price point, as others have already said people will want finance/warranty when spending 18k.
Process was pretty straightforward money was in the bank within 24 hours & best of all no dealing with idiots, tyre kickers or scammers.
Process was pretty straightforward money was in the bank within 24 hours & best of all no dealing with idiots, tyre kickers or scammers.
If yours at 18k isn't getting interest then the ones at 19k won't be getting sniffed at. Put it into WBAC, Motorway etc. and see what the trade offers. Then you can judge better what a private buyer would offer (or just sell it to a dealer).
MDMA . said:
Strange, as I will only buy privately.
Ditto - however I would like to think I am more mechanically astute than some. On that point, a car with a recent serviced/MOT might attractive the less wary private buyer.OP. You have 2 levers. Marketing and price. Shame we can't see the ad but perhaps you could post the text and a couple of pics for others to critique.
As for price, I don't know that market but the right car at the right price sells, even privately.
I have recently sold a 2017 M2 for £33k in 5 days.
Photos and text were near perfect in terms of answering any potential questions. Basically the buyer just turned up for validation and knew the price was right as exactly between trade and retail. He accepted that I didn't need to take an offer.
But in fairness the car still had extended warranty so that helped although he wasn't particularly interested in that.
As for finance, I think people who buy privately are clued up enough to know that dealer finance is very expensive so if they need any they probably go the personal loan route anyway.
As for price, I don't know that market but the right car at the right price sells, even privately.
I have recently sold a 2017 M2 for £33k in 5 days.
Photos and text were near perfect in terms of answering any potential questions. Basically the buyer just turned up for validation and knew the price was right as exactly between trade and retail. He accepted that I didn't need to take an offer.
But in fairness the car still had extended warranty so that helped although he wasn't particularly interested in that.
As for finance, I think people who buy privately are clued up enough to know that dealer finance is very expensive so if they need any they probably go the personal loan route anyway.
Not sure if the link will work....
Autotrader 2016 to 2019 cars
Because £18K for a 2017 is bang in the middle of the National UK market.
Hatch, Saloon, Nice Options, what's your location, is yours spotless in the photos? etc, etc, etc....
What makes yours stand out from a myriad of Trade Sellers offering warranty?
Autotrader 2016 to 2019 cars
Because £18K for a 2017 is bang in the middle of the National UK market.
Hatch, Saloon, Nice Options, what's your location, is yours spotless in the photos? etc, etc, etc....
What makes yours stand out from a myriad of Trade Sellers offering warranty?
nickfrog said:
OP. You have 2 levers. Marketing and price. Shame we can't see the ad but perhaps you could post the text and a couple of pics for others to critique.
As for price, I don't know that market but the right car at the right price sells, even privately.
+1 to the aboveAs for price, I don't know that market but the right car at the right price sells, even privately.
Photos - an attractive lead photo, plus photos from all angles, plus close ups of wheels/arches, plus interior details, dash showing mileage.
Text - clearly communicate service history - dates and mileages & where it was done. MoT expiry. Spec - anything optional above the standard spec for an S3 of that year. List any non-trivial defects / issues. Tyre age/mileage, and any other significant consumables that have been changed, brakes/clutch etc. Registration if plates not shown in pics.
If you've done all the above and not got any interest then it probably needs to be cheaper to sell. Worth noting that value of a car is the price is sells for, but the cars that have sold are no longer advertised, so the ads you see can give an unrealistically high impression of where the market is at. (Can check the dates in the URLs).
Gassing Station | Car Buying | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff