Yup, it's flat alright. One call for Mrs ND's Laguna this week and due to a misunderstanding on my "Don't let 'em drive it uninsured" speech to Mrs ND before I headed for the West Midlands for the week, the chap was put off over the 'phone. ::slaps forehead::
So a small drop in price and some minor rewording for this week. Have to see how it goes.
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Laguna is no more. £1550 changed hands this morning and the Laguna is no longer cluttering the drive. A fair deal all round I think. I got more than my lowest price and he got it for less than I was asking, so we're both chuffed.
Some toerags had nicked his previous car and he was keen to get some wheels asap.
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and my epilogue...
Cut the price on my ad to £9200, still nobody even called! So I cut my losses today and traded the Beemer in for £7900 against a £10k 2003 (52) Megane dci Dynamique with comfort pack. Don't think it exactly counts as Deal Of The Millenium, but after hearing all the prophecies of doom about the Beemer's lack of desirability, I'll settle for that. Given the first offer he gave me was £7k, I think I haggled OK!
Thanks for all the help anyway...
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Why were you in such a mad rush to sell it off in a week/two anyway.
I should have thought waiting maybe for a bit longer,maybe a month should bring someone who would pay a higher price.
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Well I've actually had it advertised 5 weeks all told, without a single call. So it wasn't as if I hadn't given it a fair chance. Perhaps I could have tried selling it again after Xmas, but it would have been getting to the point it would have been needing its next service before long, more advertising fees, further depreciation, I figured it best to cut my losses.
Got to say I found the whole selling experience rather depressing.
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there is only a very small segment of the market that is looking for such a car. ask yourself "who is the potential buyer of a used 5 series after the 3 year warranty has expired ?" for a start, most buyers of these cars will go to a bmw authorised dealer. the others will usually be looking for a very cheap deal and will go to places like cargiant.co.uk or bca auctions. if it was a 3 series, you might have got a few more responses but the 5 series appeals to a tiny target audience. (just as not many people will want a rolls-royce even if it is at a giveaway price.)
I know my target market's relatively small. But I think that I didn't have the budget to buy an approved used 5-series (which, by the way, I think is so much nicer to waft around in than a 3!), I'd probably look for a good private seller than go to Car Giant or take a gamble at an auction. From what I've seen of exec cars at car supermarkets, they're often very tatty and high mileage, certainly compared with more mainstream stuff.
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"which, by the way, I think is so much nicer to waft around in than a 3!)"
I very nearly misread that.....
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erm... maybe I could have expressed myself better :)
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Hi Felix
I think youll find that the whole used market is very flat. I am looking for a 3 or 5 BM, newer than yours Im afraid, and the 3 BM dealers I am watching are dropping their prices by about 2k on each model every 4 weeks. I went into one last week and they were all over me! I really think that its a buyers market right now. You only have to look at the main agents to see the ammount of stock they have that has not moved over the last 6 months!. Good luck anyway.
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Thanks :-( Mind you, if that's the case I'd have expected the Renault dealer I visited this morning to have been willing to do me a reasonable trade in deal against a Megane - I'm not seeing the benefit of being a buyer at the moment.
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Having sold my old car in Spain I am in a fortunate position with no px to worry about and ready to do a cash deal, I think that makes a difference.
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Remember that over the past couple of years BMW have probably sold more 3's than Ford have sold Mondeos! (OK, not quite, but you know what I mean). There are an awful lot of used BM's around. At the three year point the car is out of warranty, but still of high enough value that it needs looking after properly and will need a repair (as opposed to scrapping) if the £2.5k-worth of ABS electrohydraulic unit fouls up.
I would *never* buy a car of this nature from a private seller. There is absolutely no comeback if I get a major failure the following week. At a retail outlet I get protection. At auction I am paying a much lower price and can probably put the car back through a few weeks later and not lose money (if I find its a lemon).
Another problem with some private sellers of 'prestige' cars is that they've bought the line that the
car will 'depreciate slowly' and refuse to drop the price to a sensible level. VW owners are also a pain for this - I have been offered used VW's by owners that haven't been able to sell them privately for months, yet they still want CAP retail for it because 'they hold their value'!
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I would *never* buy a car of this nature from a private seller. There is absolutely no comeback if I get a major failure the following week. At a retail outlet I get protection.
Isn't that risk at least partially offset by paying a couple of hundred quid to get your prospective purchase professionally (AA or otherwise) inspected? You pay a pretty large premium for getting the same car from a franchised dealer, and the warranty doesn't cover "wear & tear" items anyway.
Errmm... mind you, in my case the premium's not quite as big as the last time I looked. Mr Grocer is right - my car is *a lot* cheaper in the BMW network than it was a month or 2 back.
Think I'll have to try a pretty substantial price drop....
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Felix - >I'm not seeing the benefit of being a buyer at the moment.> But you want to be a seller and a buyer, so (as with houses) you are on swing and roundabout - and there are fewer punters looking for BMs than Meganes, especially just now.
My daughter moved to Holland last month, leaving me a 4-year-old Punto HLX to sell, with 2 weeks tax left. Like you, my AutoTrader ad got zilch. I decided (as it wasn't my money!) not to persist with that approach, and to find a trader who would buy for cash. Fiat franchises weren't interested near the end of October, but an indie in Chester where I had bought one a few years ago was happy to deal. I may have saved a lot of ads and hassle.
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My daughter moved to Holland last month, leaving me a 4-year-old Punto HLX to sell, with 2 weeks tax left. Like you, my AutoTrader ad got zilch. I decided (as it wasn't my money!) not to persist with that approach, and to find a trader who would buy for cash. Fiat franchises weren't interested near the end of October, but an indie in Chester where I had bought one a few years ago was happy to deal. I may have saved a lot of ads and hassle.
If you don't mind me asking, what kind of deal did you get? I'd thought of trying to sell mine to a BMW dealer for cash (since I think they'd be able to resell it as an approved used car), but thought it would smack of desperation - I daren't imagine what they'd offer me!
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Felix - before going to Chester I checked WhatCar and Parkers, which suggested a value of £2650-3200. Dealer in Chester (Love's, family indie) showed me Glass's, and said the month's drop (this was Oct 25) was £150, offered £2800. I had hoped for a bit more, but haggling wasn't an option. I don't believe saying no made any sense, so went home with his cheque. You are at a different level of the market, but you are also looking to buy, so ...
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That doesn't sound too bad a deal. I was offered £6300 trade-in by a large car supermarket in the midlands (who shall remain nameless because we don't give bad publicity here do we ;-) ) against a £10k Megane dci Privilege. That's something like £2k below what Parkers suggested is "trade". Couldn't believe it!
If I could walk into a dealer and come out with what the book says is the trade price I might be tempted, but somehow I can't see that happening :-(
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I am looking for a 3 or 5 BM, newer than yours Im afraid, and the 3 BM dealers I am watching are dropping their prices by about 2k on each model every 4 weeks. I went into one last week and they were all over me!
Where was the dealer that was all over you?? I'm interested in getting a nearly new 530d and have twice been to my local dealer and not been able to speak to a salesman. They seem flat out selling 1 Series.
The used prices also seem absurd (even accounting for options fitted) - it's as if you're paying for immediate availability.
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You are paying for the fat salaries,shiney suits and posh premises,and don't forget if its a posh German car outside the network,it won't be 'proper'.
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fao felix
i remember you !
im sure you are a friend of my family.
if so, you could have 22% off the cost of a new megane.
my best m8 works for renault. i have just got 22% off a new megan sport tourer privlege 1.9dci 120
that would make up for your low cost on your 5
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Hi VTiredeyes, what clues as to my identity have I given away that make you think that! That's not a bad discount though...
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I really really really think you are a friend of VTiredeyes' family Felix.
22%
Are you sure you don't remember him?
--
Adam
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Aren't we all friends of VTiredEyes' family at 22% discount? and we'll give him 1% to prove it as an Xmas present:-)
madf
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