I am in process of selling my Honda Civic. LSi VTEC, 3-dr, Sep 1997 (R reg). It has 34,350 on the clock.
Went into whatcar.com on 2/11 and got a vluation for private sale of £5,296. However went in again last night, 19/11, and the figure is £4,901 - a drop of £395 in under 3 weeks!
Looked at DT Motoring which gives valuations more related to condition. My nmotor is, IMHO, really good condition apart from a tiny "supermarket trolley" type bish on one door. At average condition, DT gives £5, 110 for 34k miles and £5090 for 35k miles. But these valuations are for part ex.
I don't have access to Glass or Cap (probably more related to trade-ins?), and don't know if Parker's is any good.
Can anyone shed any light on this, or suggest a source of info please?
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Soory, shoulf have said, it's the very economical 1.5. hatchback, with e/sunroof (some 1.4 Civics don't have it), and one or two other bits and pieces.
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Look on the Auto-Trader web site and in the AT and E&M mags to see what others are asking for a similar car. That's what the punters are doing after all.
Too low in relation and everyone thinks there's something wrong with it, too high and you won't get as much interest as you could. So drop your price the next week... Might cost you a few quid in adverts and you don't sell it as quickly - but if you aren't in a hurry it's worth trying. The trick is to get someone to come and see it who has x amount available to spend. Be dead nice on the phone and have honest answers to all their questions. I've been put off cars imediately by someones wife answering the phone and giving away details such as the chaps only owned it for a few months or their utter surprise that someone has called!
If you ask a high price and get interest most people are pretty poor at negotiating and don't want to insult / upset you with a low offer. So although you might have to drop a bit do it grudgingly and eventually a punter will stump up a reasonable price.
Be honest about the dent with initial inquires - when someone has come to see the car they will be looking for faults. If you don't mention it on the phone they will be narked from the start and not in a mood to do a deal at your price. I sold my sisters car which was covered in dents, creases and scratches but by being honest with the buyer he only took notice of the good points of the car. If the potential buyers are looking at other cars then you can score by having it very well presented and being really nice to them - a really hot cup of tea or coffee works wonders! People are also really impressed if all the papers are in a nice neat folder with receipts for services etc included.
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Colin,
HJ will tell you this weeks "word on the streets" no doubt but....
I assume you are looking to shift this privately. When helping folks to buy the theory I get them to use is....
Someone looking to sell a car at £3K plus is usually buying another so their bottom line is beating the trade in offer. In fact they will usually do better letting you have it at the trade in (or even a little below) price because of the potential to shop around for a discount on the purchase.
So to me these private sale figures are non-achievable except for the most sought after vehicles, or if you get an "over innocent" buyer.
Thing is most folk selling will be itching to get the new car so they won't hold up that deal for ever, if they risk holding onto the old car for a good private sale after collecting the new one the bottom line might end up as a trade cash deal or auction sale to get shot......these price levels will draw a sharp intake of breath.
This is a lengthy way of saying don't pitch it too high. See what the best trade in price is, look at Parkers or similar and perhaps pitch a price 1/3rd of the way between trade in and so called private sale values. Be satisfied with an eventual offer of anything over trade in.
If your car is truly immaculate in all other respects I would get that small dent done with one of the operators on the FAQs here. Honda owners are a caring and critical bunch, you will be competing against the lady owners who just used the car to take the vicar round the parish!
Bear in mind Christmas will get folks thinking of other things than car sales so a keen price might help it sell before, if you end up with it at home on Dec 24th it'll still be there on 1st January and another year older.
The above isn't meant to be negative just realistic. That Honda is a super car with a ready market at a sensible price and the mileage is right.
If I had to put a figure on it I'd pitch just under £5K.
Good luck.
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Glass's Guide says about £5,250 trade, mileage adjusted for the 114bhp 1.5 LS 3-door. Follow Piers suggestion to look at what others are advertised for on www.autotrader.co.uk , then advertise your car for slightly less so you go to the top of the list for anyone searching the site on price.
HJ
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