Good afternoon all!
There was a comment recently on another topic from someone who said that when he advertised a car on the web version of autotrader, he was flooded with "I can sell your car cheaper" messages, but no real buyers. Several people suggested using e-bay instead.
For some rather complicated reasons, I will be returning to the UK in a few weeks time to sell a 1 year old Volvo XC90 (2.4d SE right hand drive, exported on purchase and which I will first re-import - it has the full UK guarantees etc). I can only really spare about 4 or 5 working days in London, before needing to return overseas. I have approached several dealers, who have made a few offers. Obviously they need to make their own profit, and what they have offered has been two to three thousand pounds less than similar cars I have seen advertised on-line. I would therefore really rather sell the car privately, but, never having sold such an expensive car previously, wonder whether I would be able to do this in the limited time available.
What I had been thinking of, before I read those other comments, was advertising the car in autotrader a week before returning to the UK (I would price it sensibly to sell quickly), answering initial questions by e-mail (sending further photos if necessary), hopefully arranging some viewings for when I get to the UK, and, ideally, completing the whole business in the 4 or 5 days. Does anyone think that this is completely impossible?
Would I be better off trying to do the same on e-bay, or is e-bay better suited for older/cheaper cars (I searched a couple of days ago, and there was only one XC90 on sale)? I have never used e-bay to sell anything more valuable than tenner or so, and am a bit nervous about the various pitfalls!
Or is there a better way of selling such cars (a better website than autotrader, for instance)?
If everything fell through, I could leave the car unsold in London for my parents to keep an eye on, and return in late May for a second attempt... However I would rather not do this!
Thanks in advance for any advice anyone can offer!!
\"Archie\"
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Archie
An advanced search on Ebay shows that no XC90s have sold in the last month. Two 2003 D5s have been offered. One was a buy it now at £25k (37k miles) - no bidders, and the other was bid to £19,200 (47k miles) but failed to meet reserve. Both were 1 owner, FVSH.
You could put it on Ebay with a reserve, check the cost.
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How about placing an entry in the 'Classifieds' section of this web site (in addition to other avenues) a few days before you arrive in the UK.....bearing in mind that such adverts are removed seven days later.
I would be interested to know where are you coming from...geographically of course:o)
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Thanks for the suggestions. In answer to "where am I coming from" - at the moment I am in the middle east, but the car is in Germany and that is where I'll be bringing it from.
If I were to sell it on e-bay (and I have to say that, at the moment, I am not so sure that is the best way - all the people selling similar cars on e-bay seem to be dealers with the ability to take deposits over the telephone etc by credit card, which I don't), I am wondering when should I aim the auction to finish? In other words, should I get it to finish just after I arrive back in the UK, to allow time to sort out the arrangements, or will bidders want to see it before bidding?
Does anyone have any ideas whether putting a small ad in the Daily Telegraph (or another paper - in which case, which?!) motoring section would be a good idea? There seem to be lots of dealers advertising there, but not so many private sales.
Any other suggestions welcome!
Thanks again.
\"Archie\"
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Just a view: You have to work around your personal circumstances, and you haven't really got time to mess around with uncertain payment timetables from eBay / AutoTrader etc buyers. If you hang on to the car it's only going to depreciate further.
If dealers are offering £2-3K below other advertised prices (which bear in mind buyers will expect a discount on) then I'd go for the certainty of the dealer sale.
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I second that, a sure sale with funds you don't have to worry about, (don't think I would want 25-30K cash in hand, and I would be paranoid about forged bankers drafts etc) given your time schedule and the dealer seems the best bet.
The 2 or 3K loss you would be taking would be nothing compared to losing the entire car due to counterfeit notes or a dodgy check.
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I have to agree with the previous posters.
Don't take this the wrong way, but I'd feel very suspicious if I was looking to buy the car and you told me you were re-importing it from Germany and that you'd only be in the country a few days.
With that in mind, I really doubt you'd get full market value for it in a private sale anyway.
Sell it to a dealer and save yourself a lot of potential grief.
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Archie,
I agree with the comments about buyers being suspicious of mobile phone nbr / middle east / Germany etc. Putting that aside, I sold a car on Autotrader's web site last year. I did get a couple of dodgy phone calls from people "who could sell my car for me", I just politely said "no thanks" and they went away. The photo and info was up on the Autotrader web site very quickly, much faster than they promise, and I sold the car quickly and easily for a good price. I can't comment on eBay, I've never used it (yes, that's me, the only person in the whole of Britain who's never bought or sold anything on eBay).
Good luck with the sale.
JH
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Try selling it here(!):
tinyurl.com/kfo4d
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What\'s for you won\'t pass you by
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"Located in Southeastern Massachusetts, Rockland is approximately 20 miles from BOSTON."
Is that close to Germany????
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>>Is that close to Germany????>>
A bit of tongue in cheek...:-)
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What\'s for you won\'t pass you by
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Thanks for all the comments.
There's nothing suspicious about the deal (though I do understand what you mean) - it is simply that I am in the Army in Germany (actually, I'm in Iraq at this minute, but will be back soon). We can buy one car per year tax-free under NATO rules, and, for those that retain their value well, if one sells them at the one year point (we are not allowed to sell sooner without taking a large financial penalty) one can, just about, recoup what one paid in the first instance; in other words, drive relatively smart cars for an affordable price. The reason I won't be in UK for long is because I have to return to work after selling the car, and don't have that much holiday! I know a couple of people who have sold cars by advertising them privately whilst still in Germany, in the way I described, but they did wonder whether they were lucky to achieve the sale. Also someone on another thread here had rather put me off Autotrader by describing how he only got junk calls/e-mails after his ad! Hence why I was wondering whether there is a better second-hand car sales magazine or web-site.
Since I posted, a dealer has upped his offer to, I reckon, about £1,500-£2,000 below a private sale value, so I am inclined now to accept it. It's a slight shame - that extra money would have paid for my holiday and more! But as several people suggested, at least I get some peace of mind that the sale will go through.
\"Archie\"
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If I were you, I'd hedge my bets.
List it on eBay it'll cost you iirc only £6. Don't mention Germany or anything like that. Timed to end when you arrive in Britain.
Also list it on Autotrader which will cost you rather more.
And then if it all fails, sell to that dealer. You are under no obligation to sell to him... if you don't turn up there's nothing he can do!
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No offense, but the car was bought through armed forces which means no VAT and a considerable savings over what the rest of us could have bought it for. If you "lose" £2,000 selling to dealer as opposed to private buyer you are still ahead of the rest of us UK buyers, as you paid quite a bit less for the car in the first place. How come you didn't state this originally?.
I know that may come across as sounding envious, but just stating it how I see it. I know of other military personnel who buy cars overseas and sell them back in the UK for exactly what they paid for it so essentially get a free car every year. Maybe for your next purchase go for a model that won't lose as much and will be an easier sell than the XC90.
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No offence, trancer, but if you don't think it's fair then you too can benefit from VAT free cars. I suggest you join the armed forces & go to Iraq for a tour.
It's called a free market, and within any free market there are distortions. Archie is quite rightly taking advantage of such a distortion.
just imvho.
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Thanks, Mapmaker! And I didn't mention it earlier because it was not relevant to the question - which was "what is the best way of selling a car in the UK when one has to do it in a short period of time in the country".
And yes, this is one of the few "perks" we get in the military to make up for the hours of service vs pay etc. I don't want to go down a rabbit hole on this one though...!
And as for the suggestion that I accept a dealer's offer and simultaneously advertise it on e-bay - I don't know... somehow I feel that if I accept an offer I am morally obliged to stick with it. Maybe that's silly, but I think that I would feel guilty!! Or do dealers regard that as normal behaviour?
\"Archie\"
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I don't think of it as unfair at all, just stating that he paid less for the car in the first place and would be better off than most even if he had to take a loss selling it to a dealer.
Lots of people get perks in their jobs, I have nothing against perks at all. One job I had meant that we would get free meals from a large number of restaurants in the area whenever on duty. Despite the free meals some co-workers would still complain about the food or the service etc. Its a matter of realizing that you are lucky to get a perk and not to expect any more of it.
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>that I accept a dealer's offer and simultaneously advertise it on e-bay
How firmly do you have to accept that offer? Tell him you'll probably be bringing it...
I'm glad to see that a British Officer's word is still his bond.
(BTW shouldn't that be hours of... playing polo, rugger, sailing, climbing, skiing...) ;)
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At the risk of dragging this on for ever...!
Absolutely; I fully realise I got a good deal on the car, but that's no reason to throw away money now! I don't earn enough for that...
And as for you, Mapmaker, I am afraid that those hours of polo, rugger, sailing etc rather stopped for most people about the time we deployed the majority of the army to Bosnia/Kosovo/Iraq/Afghanistan/where ever next...!! I dream of a bit of time to do some things like that... over-committed, moi???
Still, I suspect this has got rather off topic now, so better just thank everyone for their advice, and get back into the 38 degrees heat outside.
\"Archie\"
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Archie35 I may be in the market for your car. I have been looking at the XC70 deisel but may be persuaded. Email me the full car details and ideally a photo or two to Peter@3DAssociates.co.uk Regards Peter
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