Are large 7 seat SUV over-priced?

[swiftguy]

In the market for a spacious 7 seat SUV, checked out Merc GLE, had a look at 2022 plate, had a look at these 2 from the the first page from lowest price.

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202409274...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202407111...

The above prices are shown below - along with their WBAC price - massive £10k difference - came as quite a shock - are the cars overpriced?

Dealer Price - WBAC
£43,995 £34,255
£44,220 £34,380

Huge price difference, just thinking what sort of depreciation I would face in a year of ownership.

[Dingu]

WBAC is not a valuation service. They are aiming to make a profit on anything they buy at auction to the trade.

[swiftguy]

Dingu said:

WBAC is not a valuation service. They are aiming to make a profit on anything they buy at auction to the trade.

I realise that, but gives an indication of what trade-in price will be, I'd expect it to be low, but this is another level. How far off would the trade-in price be from other dealers. Was thinking there would be a few grand difference - not a huge £10k

[Sheepshanks]

Have you looked at other similar price cars to compare?

I’m looking at supposedly cheap nearly-new EVs that are in the 30’s of £K and the WBAC (and CAP HPI trade in) prices are generally ~£10K less.

[TRKid]

Possibly just those high mileage Mercs.

I’d rather have something like this if I was in the market for a 7-seater:
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/2024101953...

A year younger, half the mileage. WBAC puts it £5k under the Volvo selekt retail price, which seems fair.

[swiftguy]

Sheepshanks said:

Have you looked at other similar price cars to compare?

I’m looking at supposedly cheap nearly-new EVs that are in the 30’s of £K and the WBAC (and CAP HPI trade in) prices are generally ~£10K less.

I'm going to look at others as well. Which EVs you looking at?
I'd look at EVs as well, but only a couple are 7 seaters - Merc EQB and Kia EV9 - the EV9 is very expensive around £65k - and you know that is going to depreciate like a brick.

I don't mind paying the price, it's whether I can stomach the depreciation - as typically it will be dealers buying back and no doubt they'll be offering figures not far off from WBAC.

Trying to find the sweet spot in terms of getting as new a car as possible with the least amount of deprecation over the next 2 years.

[cerb4.5lee]

TRKid said:

Possibly just those high mileage Mercs.

I’d rather have something like this if I was in the market for a 7-seater:
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/2024101953...

A year younger, half the mileage. WBAC puts it £5k under the Volvo selekt retail price, which seems fair.

The engine and the performance in that just can't be compared with the GLE400d for me though.

[MDL111]

to me 10k does not feel like that huge of a spread - they need to account for all of their costs, warranty etc. I mean even if you sell something on SOR, it will cost you like 5-7k right (or so I thought anyway)? And then you made be sitting there waiting for the money for the next 6 months until the car actually sells.

[MDL111]

and yes, I think it is save to assume you are down 10k pretty quickly/instantly unless you get lucky

[Sheepshanks]

swiftguy said:

I'm going to look at others as well. Which EVs you looking at?
I'd look at EVs as well, but only a couple are 7 seaters - Merc EQB and Kia EV9 - the EV9 is very expensive around £65k - and you know that is going to depreciate like a brick.

I’m looking at smaller - Hyundai Kona, BMW iX1, Volvo XC40 size.

The XC90 another poster linked to is closer than I’m seeing (although it’s £6K, not £5K). I just checked one of the XC40’s I’ve looked at - it up for £36K, WBAC is £27K.

[Davie]

Comparing an online trade buyers buying price against a Mercedes main dealer retail sales price...

[swiftguy]

TRKid said:

Possibly just those high mileage Mercs.

I’d rather have something like this if I was in the market for a 7-seater:
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/2024101953...

A year younger, half the mileage. WBAC puts it £5k under the Volvo selekt retail price, which seems fair.

Not a bad shout on the XC90, they seem to hold their price pretty well looking at 2021, 2022 through to 2023 models all still in the £30k+ bracket. Seems like a good shout from a depreciation point of view. Though styling wise and interior seems a bit dated. Might be an option to drive it for a year and then change.

MDL111 said:

and yes, I think it is save to assume you are down 10k pretty quickly/instantly unless you get lucky

MDL111 said:

to me 10k does not feel like that huge of a spread - they need to account for all of their costs, warranty etc. I mean even if you sell something on SOR, it will cost you like 5-7k right (or so I thought anyway)? And then you made be sitting there waiting for the money for the next 6 months until the car actually sells.

Dude, just seen your garage:
Porsche 2.2 Targa
Porsche 996 CLR
Porsche 997 GT3RS
Mercedes G63 AMG
Ferrari 430 Scuderia
Renault RS Clio
Ferrari FF

I can imagine £10k is like a tank of petrol for you compared to the rest of us mere mortals
Not sure what you mean by 'SOR'?
I understand that dealers have to put some margin and various bits and bobs - though imagine some just valet it and put it back on the market - but £10k on these cars is grand canyon levels of margin. £10k loss on Porsches and Ferraris might be the norm, but should only be a few £k on these types of cars.
I'd be mortified losing £10k on a car instantly. This is the sort of money you'd expect to lose buying brand new, not used.


Have done some more comparisons with other marques if anyone is interested:

Audi Q7 Autotrader WBAC
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202409144...
50 Tdi Quattro Black Edition 5Dr Tiptronic 3.0 59,293 miles 2022 (71 reg) £42,788 £37,620 (WBAC) -£5,168 (difference)

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202410125...
Black Edition 55 TFSI quattro 340 PS tiptronic 3.0 5dr 24,951 miles 2022 (72 reg) £44,730 £41,070 (WBAC) -£3,660 (difference)

BMW X5
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202410024...
X5 xDrive40d M Sport 3.0 5dr - Diesel Hybrid 15,390 miles 2022 (72 reg) £58,995 £45,865 (WBAC) -£13,130 (difference)

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202410315...
X5 xDrive30d xLine 3.0 5dr - Diesel Hybrid 22,401 miles 2021 (71 reg) £46,803 £38,385 (WBAC) -£8,418 (difference)


BMW X7
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202408092...
X7 xDrive40d M Sport 3.0 5d 47,053 miles 2021 (71 reg) £53,495 £47,000 (WBAC) -£6,495 (difference)

The Q7 Black Edition is tickling my fancy - though quite like all the 3 models. Noticed RRS are even cheaper than these, know they are plagued with reliability issues - even with a warranty - would rather the car not be stuck at the dealers getting fixed - then be without a car.

[Davie]

I'm still not understanding your logic of comparing dealer prices (and they are dealer stock cars linked!) to WBAC valuations? If you're not happy with the difference between the two, why not consider buying directly from the likes of BCA or similar outlets? Granted you'll get minimum buyers protection, very little come back beyond a terminal failure within a few miles... you won't get a trade in, flowers for the wife, a freshly valeted car with warranty and main dealer support but you'll get it a bit nearer the WBAC figures.

It's a bit like dining in a restaurant then complaining that their fish and chips is £28 a go and that's overpriced as you could buy some spuds from Aldi for a couple of quid then a fillet of fish from the local fishmonger for under a £5...

All cars on sale in a retail premises, such as a main dealers approved used stock be it a base model Fiesta to a top end Bentley could be perceived as being "overpriced" if you're comparing them to WBAC prices... who incidentally buy based on a variety of factors sure as condition, age, miles, history, damage and market trends but ultimately then just resell most of their stock via the likes of British Car Auctions... and they hope to make a few quid on said sale as that's business. Then, sometimes the buyers then spend a few quid making the cars right - fixing issues, sorting paint defects and so on then they put them on a forecourt with a comprehensive warranty and a cup of coffee on arrival... for a profit...

If you don't want to pay extra for the extras, you'll have to buy at trade level... but you'll be on your own.

[covmutley]

If you're only keeping it 2 yrs and concerned about depreciation,I'd be looking at 4 year old cars, not 2 year old cars

[covmutley]

Davie said:

I'm still not understanding your logic of comparing dealer prices (and they are dealer stock cars linked!) to WBAC valuations? If you're not happy with the difference between the two, why not consider buying directly from the likes of BCA or similar outlets?

Op's not comparing or complaining, just getting his head around losing circa 25% of his money in a year. The best answer is of course, don't buy a luxury 2 Yr old car that the average punter isn't anywhere near being able to afford.

[wyson]

covmutley said:

If you're only keeping it 2 yrs and concerned about depreciation,I'd be looking at 4 year old cars, not 2 year old cars

I’d be looking at leases and having fixed costs over 2 years of ownership. In terms of depreciation, I bet you could get in a brand new car for a similar cost over 2 years of ownership to a 2 year old car, perhaps even less, if you can find a deal and are flexible on the vehicle.

Edited by wyson on Tuesday 5th November 07:39

[NickZ24]

Just image gasoline goes up to 6 pounds a Litre.
Or they (Government) forbids to ride gas gurgling cars