Does nobody sell cars privately now?

[colin86]

Been looking for new car nothing special and there doesn’t seem to be many private sales at all . Have people stopped selling privately? My thinking was they would be better looked after because some of the stuff I have saw in the garages are terrible condition.

[edc]

With WBAC, Motorway etc it takes the hassle away for the seller.

[Welcome.]

Yep, bought our latest chariot from a guy 20 miles away.

[Wilmslowboy]

Of the last 6 cars I sold in the past 3 years...... only 2 sold private (and they were both '70s classics)
Everything else sold to trade, private buyers largely looking for trade prices (or less) but without the no-hassle sale experience.

E.g. 7 seat 2020 Defender listed for £57,500 (similar cars listed on AT for well over £60k at the time)
Numerous private bids at £50k to £54K (some adamant that's all it was worth), trade buyer from dealer group called within 24 hours of ad going up, offers £56k - done and dusted - he then listed at around £63k and sold in a couple of weeks.

[hunt123]

Fwiw i sold an audi tt privately in march. Considered p/x'ing it at dealers but had derisory offers so sold it privately then bought my next car privately via ebay.

[Cryssys]

Recently sold my old car privately for £11k. via a well known website. Had lots of dealers ringing me in the first few days saying buyers don't want to spend that sort of money with private sellers as they want the security of some sort of guarantee/warranty provided by a dealer. For that reason they said I'd be far better off selling it to them and save myself a lot of hassle

In the end I sold the car within a week and got significantly more than I'd been offered by the trade. Buying or selling privately isn't for everyone but it can have it's rewards.

[fourstardan]

Bought my current car privately off of a medium size business 5 years ago.

Does seem to be less available on Auto trader when searching.

[Bill]

Yep, bought two and sold one privately this year. Sale was shed money, purchases 6-7k...

[Funk]

I simply can't be doing with the hassle of a private sale, especially with some of the stories doing the rounds. Far easier to lose a few grand and not have deal with any ste.

[edc]

fourstardan said:

Bought my current car privately off of a medium size business 5 years ago.

Does seem to be less available on Auto trader when searching.

Was that a private sale or business sale?

[Griffith4ever]

Still selling privately. You have to be patient and shrewd. But you get a lot more money. When the sad day comes my R8 will go privately.

[911Spanker]

Been umming and ahhing about selling my E36 328i - when the time comes it will need to be a private sale unfortunately. I can't be arsed with it really.

[Bobupndown]

Funk said:

I simply can't be doing with the hassle of a private sale, especially with some of the stories doing the rounds. Far easier to lose a few grand and not have deal with any ste.

[Bobupndown]

Double post.

[Griffith4ever]

Bobupndown said:

Funk said:

I simply can't be doing with the hassle of a private sale, especially with some of the stories doing the rounds. Far easier to lose a few grand and not have deal with any ste.

Your money..... at least I know why there are some bargains out there.....

[Mr Hoops]

I'd buy a shed from an individual if up for a couple of £k but any more and I'd buy via a dealer. The last car we sold went to WBAC, for not much less than similar cars listed at private sales (that was last year so the gap might have widened now).

Edited by Mr Hoops on Saturday 23 September 20:16

[Neil1323bolts]

Funk said:

I simply can't be doing with the hassle of a private sale, especially with some of the stories doing the rounds. Far easier to lose a few grand and not have deal with any ste.

A few grand ? To most people this is a lot of cash! Personally I’m prepared to put up with some time wasters to get the best possible price when selling. I’ve sold loads of cars privately, WBAC and motorway and alike have definitely changed the way people sell their cars , and they take a fair slice of cash doing so .

[clive_candy]

I reckon most stuff over £10k scares private buyers off. Sold a 320 Touring and a Tucson this year, didn't have a single private enquiry for either and they both went to dealers - though the people who bought the Tucson pretended they weren't dealers.

Mind you, I bought a Cayman last spring privately so I guess the situation's slightly different when it comes to stuff that's faintly exotic.

[OldSkoolRS]

I bought my son's Fiesta and an old Mk2 Ka last year via Facebook marketplace, both great buys and nice sellers. I almost bought the Ka's replacement off FMP too, but found a similar priced car nearer from a specialist dealer, so bought that instead, but didn't trade the Ka in due to the very low offer. I sold the Ka last week on FMP.

Older cheaper cars seem to be bought/sold privately, but far fewer on Autotrader though you can filer the search to find private sellers if you wish. Seems WBAC is easier for some people happy to give their money away. Likewise buying from a dealer as you can PX and it's an easier, if more expensive process. FWIW the car I bought from a dealer had some issues, non of which were worth me claiming from the 'warranty' as it was parts only and both jobs were high labour costs, so the warranty isn't always worth the bother.

[993kimbo]

My best results Selling have always been on Ebay funnily enough, but I rigidly filter out the time wasters via email then phone and only invite down the ones that have passed My Test. Try it. There are still nice people out there.

Edited by 993kimbo on Saturday 23 September 21:50