Used car prices

[Fireboy]

I bought my last used car for £12,498 five and a half years ago (car was 6 months old), I just p/x'd it for my new MG4 Trophy at the same dealers and they gave me £8,641 for it. My old car is now back on the same forecourt for £11,298.
I can see why 2nd hand prices are so high when dealers want to bump there price up so much.

About 10 years ago I sold a car to a dealer and they only added £500 to the price when they sold it.

 

[Ian Key]

They'll probably sell it for £11000 making a profit of £2359 which has to cover wages, council rates, taxes, valeting, storage and any work to bring it up to standard as well as provide a warranty and that's if it sells.
A few years ago I part exchanged a diesel eco Mondeo and the garage added £2000 to the trade-in price. It sat on their lot for three months before they put it through auction at a loss.

 

[Fireboy]

The only thing this car needed was a wash, only done 13,500 mls. Mainly driven by wife. I have always ridden motorcycle and lately large scooters but time has come to hang up my boots. Currently selling BMW scooter and then car will be my main transport.

 

[tsedge]

I bought my last used car for £12,498 five and a half years ago (car was 6 months old), I just p/x'd it for my new MG4 Trophy at the same dealers and they gave me £8,641 for it. My old car is now back on the same forecourt for £11,298.
I can see why 2nd hand prices are so high when dealers want to bump there price up so much.

About 10 years ago I sold a car to a dealer and they only added £500 to the price when they sold it.

Dealers have a bunch of costs that private sellers do not.

They will have to fix faults for 6 months, typically include a warranty which is bought from a 3rd party company, then they will have to pay VAT on the sale.

If you also consider inspections and service costs and fixing anything that is wrong with your car (that typically is not declared by sellers), fresh MOT, paintwork, a full valet and then trying to get some kind of profit and covering their overheads for rates, rent, services, etc... then you'll understand why the selling price can often be £1,500-£2,000 more than they paid you for it.

£500 wouldn't cover the costs of doing business for most dealers.

And don't forget the sticker price isn't often the sale price, they'll have built in some room to haggle.

 

[chelsea56]

The only thing this car needed was a wash, only done 13,500 mls. Mainly driven by wife. I have always ridden motorcycle and lately large scooters but time has come to hang up my boots. Currently selling BMW scooter and then car will be my main transport.

Maybe you should have sold it private then . More work but more money your choice

 

[Fireboy]

When we went for test drive we thought there was a 3-4 month wait for a new car, I was surprised when they had one available for immediate purchase.
If I had to wait for 3 months I would have had the time to sell privately and get a larger deposit.

 

[Rolfe]

I was in the opposite situation. I thought I would have to keep running my officially-written-off Golf (bodywork damage) for 3-4 months, but when I realised there was exactly the MG4 I wanted available for immediate purchase, I got back to the insurer and said I'd take their write-off estimate after all, which got me £800 more than I'd have got as trade-in value, without the hassle of having to sell the Golf privately.

 

[Amun]

Dealers have a bunch of costs that private sellers do not.

They will have to fix faults for 6 months, typically include a warranty which is bought from a 3rd party company, then they will have to pay VAT on the sale.

If you also consider inspections and service costs and fixing anything that is wrong with your car (that typically is not declared by sellers), fresh MOT, paintwork, a full valet and then trying to get some kind of profit and covering their overheads for rates, rent, services, etc... then you'll understand why the selling price can often be £1,500-£2,000 more than they paid you for it.

When we bought the MG5 we traded in our oldest Mondeo diesel for £3200 - we could have got a bit more from the car buying sites, but as the MG5 dealer isn't that near to us it was much more convenient to drive there in one car and drive the new one away.

They'd originally said that they would just sell it into the trade, but seemed impressed when they saw the car, so we weren't surprised when t appeared on their web site at £5,495. As you say, there are a number of selling costs to them (warranty, VAT etc) so I don't consider that an unreasonable mark up.