I would appreciate some advice from those familiar with auctions.
I have a 1999(T) E46 BMW323i SE Titanium Silver, no modifications, car is straight, clean, no mech.faults, with just the usual bonnet stone chips inc. a couple of largish ones, and a couple of minor supermarket dings and some fine scratches on the lower f/bumper that won?t T-Cut out (ran over a badger!)?????.BUT it?s done 168,000 miles.
I bought the car in 2002 with 86K from a lease co, and have added the remaining 82K with no problems. Full service history - BMW and more recently BMW indy specialist plus I?ve documented additional oil changes done by myself. Car has never used any oil, ever.
I now need to sell the car and don?t have the opportunity to p/ex. I?m thinking that I?m unlikely to attract a private sale through Auto Trader or local papers due to the mileage. I?ve never bought or sold on Ebay ? don?t I need to have some feedback to be a credible seller?
I live quite close to a Manheim Auctions site (Gloucester) and although they are mainly lcv they do have a Saturday sale for cars (dealer p/ex,trade, & private).
The online Glass?s valuation puts the car at £2780 average condition with 150k miles (it won?t value over this mileage) as a trade in to a dealer when buying another car.
Ok ? finally! ? the questions:
1)- Does anyone have any idea what price I could expect to get in an auction ?
2) - The MOT is to end June ? would it help to get a new MOT? ? or a waste of another £45?
3) - The auction fee is £40 + 10% of the sale price ? Is this about right compared to other sites?
4) - And ? what would be a reasonable reserve price? (presumably if it doesn?t sell or reach reserve I lose £40 & pay the full £40 for re-entry?)
Any other tips re: selling at auction - I want to avoid being ?turned over? ! if possible.
Sorry for such a long post ? but I wanted to give ALL the facts to enable the best advice.
Thanks,
Jacks
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It won't get much at auction. If it were mine I would get some of the cosmetic scars attended to professionally by an outfit like Chips Away and get it professionally valeted. Then place an advert in Autotrader or equivalent making reference to the high mileage but also its good service history.
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There must be some people out there who won't be put off by the mileage. Just a question of being honest and letting the car do the talking!
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With such a good model in a preferred colour, with decent history too, I'd put it in Autotrader at £3250 ono. Don't throw it to the wolves at auction. A trader will want it for £1500 and the public will think, nice car, what's it doing here and wont bid.
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I don't know the Gloucester site, but Mannheim will not rip you off.
Worth getting the MoT if you think it will pass!
If its a Saturday sale and the weather is good then the public will be there in number - you could find it sells for a surprisingly good price. In these circumstances appearance is everything, so get a SMART repairer to tidy up the body and then wet mop it and polish it.
You could try Autotrader, but TBH depends on how much messing about you want to put up with and of course its not cheap now either. IME of selling older 3-series BMW's you get a lot of Jack-the-lad types turning up 'cuz its a nice mota m8, innit!'.
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I don't know the Gloucester site, but Mannheim will not rip you off. Worth getting the MoT if you think it will pass! If its a Saturday sale and the weather is good then the public will be there in number - you could find it sells for a surprisingly good price. In these circumstances appearance is everything, so get a SMART repairer to tidy up the body and then wet mop it and polish it. You could try Autotrader, but TBH depends on how much messing about you want to put up with and of course its not cheap now either. IME of selling older 3-series BMW's you get a lot of Jack-the-lad types turning up 'cuz its a nice mota m8, innit!'.
It will pass MOT I'm sure - so I'll do that.
I was quoted £80-100 (by Chips Away) last year to repair a 20ml x 20ml mark on the rear arch (did it myself with some stopper and touch up paint) ......................so I was thinking that to do the bumper scatches, plus redo the arch plus the bonnet (all the other panels are ok) would be over £300, and that if the mileage was going to kill the sale anyway.....................it seemed a lot to spend !
Care to hazard a guess what it might bid to if i sort out the dings?
and............what would be a good reserve to set?
I did want to avoid the baseball cap brigade that Autotrader would attract if possible.......................and I live out in the sticks and when previously advertising items (not cars) in the local paper..............nearly everybody who rang said "it's too far to come" !!
Jacks
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I use Smart repairers sometimes. They are mostly franchisees and prices are 'by negotiation'. I could 3-4 dents done for £100. Once they are out at the car then they don't usually charge a lot for additional work. Mind who you get though. Had new bloke start up in my area - spent over an hour on a dent then gave up and it was worse than when he started....
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Agreed - sell it privately once fully valeted and tidied up. You'll get someone who wants a champagne motor on beer money soon enough.
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A trader will want it for £1500 and the public will think, nice car, what's it doing here and wont bid.
So you think public only go to auctions to bid on shrapnel?
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I'd put it on eBay. Little or no feedback will put a few people off but you get better exposure there. My MIL failed to sell her C3 on Autotrader but got a better price after using eBay. Be honest in your desciption and describe it thouroughly, with good pics and you'll get a fair price. If you're worried about zero feedback get someone you know who sell on eBay to sell it for you.
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with cars, zero feedback on ebay is no issue. Plenty of people sell cars on ebay and using ebay for the first time at that, YOu just explain in your add - "first time I have used ebay hence no feedback"
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TourVanMan TM < Ex RF >
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Oh and forgot to mention,
These cars in this price bracket are bought for image. Someones first image, so looks is everything for buyers in this market, If it gleams and looks the part it will sell.
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TourVanMan TM < Ex RF >
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Take ten good pictures in a decent location (we really don't need to see your neighbour's washing as well..), with a good camera not facing into the sun, describe it clearly and truthfully, detail any damage with a close up picture, and sell it on Ebay.
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Thanks to everybody who replied with helpful advice.
Cheers, Jacks
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