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I don't know what you are buying, but try and find a dealer who also sells Saabs. If they can move it within the group you will get a better deal.
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Thanks for the advice. To answer the question on value is tricky. Autotrader only has one similar model within 100 miles. Its an 08 plate (mines 58) and has a screen price of £12K. Spec looks the same as mine as does condition, mileage etc. Mines Fusion Blue though and would also have more of the SAAB warranty left.
So maybe mine would be a bit more than that on the forecourt. I apprecaite the dealer I buy from (not SAAB) won't want it, but what can I expect in p/ex? I have had one say £9K, is that as good as I can expect or are they taking the micky? Appreciate too that difference is the key, but I'm trying to understand both ends of the equation.
Thanks again, FTF.
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Don't go Autotrader, search via www.saab.co.uk. They are advertised at £16K.
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£9,000 is a fair p/ex price. Running a luxury car is always going to be expensive-if it wasn't, no one would be trundling around in an N reg astra.
I don't mean to sound unkind, but trying to make the economics of running a prestige car favourable is an exercise in futility. In under three years, the car has 'lost' about 65% of its list price-£20,000. If the car isn't giving trouble, your best bet is to keep it and spread the loss over a number of years. Why do you want shot of it?
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Thanks, I might even get another 9-5, but the diesel version if I get a good deal at SAAB. Appreciate all the advice, I can see the sense in it all.
The one that is £16K has the lux pack which when I was looking for mine added between £1K to £1,5K to the price. FYI the lux pack gives sat nav which is not very good and high maintenance and heated rear seats which aren't worth the money. Only thing I would have liked that mine hasn't got is the memory on the electric adjustable seats.
Anyway, maybe at a dealership mine would have a screen price around £14K, elsewhere £13K ish, so surely £9K is taking the micky. I don't have a problem with the fact that they need to make money from the deal, but I'm looking out for me too!
Reason for sale. Cost is one thing. I can afford to run it but I could run something else for I reckon at least £100 a month less and with daughters at uni etc I would rather help them out with it. Also it is very quick and I'm going to get myself in trouble. It gets to speeds that I shouldn't be going too quickly! I know that's a weakness on my part, but there you are!
Thanks again for the advice, FTF.
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The money you will save will be outweighed by the costs of changing I think you will have a rude awaking when they value your car.
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To try (and probably fail miserably!!) to quote the finance people at work, one is capital, the other is revenue.
I can take the hit on the capital i.e. the loss on the value of the asset, I want to save the revenue i.e. my monthly expenditure on insurance, car tax, petrol etc.
FTF
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I don't understand your arbitrary distinction between capital and monthly revenue-money is money. If you spend a lump sum of £20,000 on buying a new car every three years, it works out as an average of £555.56 month. Whether you pay in a lump sum or by monthly instalments is irrelevant (interest excepted of course). The only figure that matters is the total annual cost of ownership.
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>> I think you will have a rude awaking when they value your car.
You're right, that's what this thread is about.
Cheers, FTF.
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A screen price of £13k for a 58 Aero will be solely so the dealer can offer immediate big number discounts to a prospective buyer-the agreed price will be much lower. If you're concerned about fuel prices, so is everyone else. This is the very worst time to be selling a big petrol for a fuel sipper diesel. As you've found out, you get bottom dollar for your car and you pay top dollar for your replacement.
Now you reckon you'll save £100/month in running costs. I reckon that your Saab has lost over £700/month in DEPRECIATION ALONE. I bet this dwarfs fuel costs, tax and insurance combined. You can't recoup this money but you can stop making the same mistake. The good news is that the rate of depreciation is now much lower and you have a well equipped car.
If you're feeling the pinch, for the love of God don't spend your free time kicking tyres in dealerships. Every single punter who ends up buying a car went in 'just to have a look'.
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Hi unthrottled, I see your point but I am looking at it quite differently. By selling an expensive and rapidly depeciating vehicle and buying something more 'appropriate' I can reduce the depreciation and my running costs. The concept of losing money on a car is not one I adhere to. I didn't buy an investment and expected it to drop like a stone.
Maybe its my warped logic!!
FTF
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Another way of looking at this is that you are going to spend £5 -6 K to save £1200 a year.
So you could keep the current car which you must enjoy or you wouldn't have bought it, and just draw £100 a month from your savings to cover the extra cost of it.
In 5 years time your current car and the replacement could well be worth about the same, so no real difference there.
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The concept of losing money on a car is not one I adhere to.
If this were true, you wouldn't be quibbling over the price the dealer has offered for your Saab. You're falling into the trap of being penny wise and pound foolish.
Depreciation falls away exponentially. You've suffered the steep loss, now it's plain sailing! A new turbo diesel will depreciate faster than your current vehicle.
Say your current car is worth £9000
In 3 years time it'll probably still be worth £5000
Total loss over 3 years=£4000 or £110/month
Buy a new turbo diesel for £15k
In 3 years it'll lose about 50% or £7.5k
Total loss over 3 years =£7,500 or £210/month
So the £100 month you estimate you'll save in running costs is almost exactly wiped out by the extra depreciation of a higher value car.
Also, £15k will not buy you anywhere near as luxurious or powerful car as you already own. You're not going to get even a nearly new 530d for that sort of money.
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Ok, say I lost my job, or had a cut in salary and had no savings and needed to reduce expenditure.
If I could p/ex the car for another of the same value that was cheaper to run surely it makes sense. The TCO or theoretical loss is irrelevant.
FTF
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Well, if you don't spend £16k on a new car, you'll have £16k in savings, won't you...?
You're under no obligation to accept any advice, but why ask for it, if you're going to ignore what's proffered. Are you just waiting for someone to say 'DO IT!!' as confirmation that it's a good idea?
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Well the original question was about getting the best p/ex. You said don't sell, I didn't ask for that advice with which I happen to disagree. To stay with an asset that is falling like a stone and is expensive to to run because in some theoretical sense it reduces TCO doesn't make sense to me.
And whether you are right or wrong take a bit of advice from me, try and deliver it in a less obnoxious way.
FTF
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The best p/x I suppose depends on the dealer and the car you want to buy.You know what your car is worth if they give you less for your car what you want ask the dealer to drop the price on the new car.Private is best if you can put up with the hassle people knocking on your door and timewasters.Good luck.
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You are really looking for the best deal rather than just the part exchange.
As usual this will be hitting dealers near the end of a month or quarter.
The P/x price alone in irrelevant if you pay too much for the new car, so you are looking at the 'cost-to-change' as has been mentioned above.
My experience of p/xing cars has usually been given a price with the sales team barely even a look at my car - I can't even remember if they asked if it had FSH, etc, and they certainly didn't test-drive it, suggesting they were just looking at what they'd get firing it straight to an indie or auction as opposed to putting on their own forecourt.
If you are looking to save money, or be financially secure your best bet is to sell your car privately and buy a cheaper, low running cost car so that you will save both depreciation ("loss of capital") and running costs ("loss of monthly expenditure").
I do agree with unthrottled's points about money, however: ££ is ££ whether it is a lump sum, or a slow drip-drip every month - it's the total that matters most.
Edited by Lygonos on 05/02/2011 at 20:56
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In my experience to get the best part exchange you should get the car painted a different colour. The salesmen always tell me that my car is the wrong colour.
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Thanks all for all the advice. The stories you all tell of dealing with the salesman are coming true, many just look in the book and don't even bother to drive the car. Appreciate its the price difference (if any) that is key. Just looking to reduce my monthly costs with as little outlay at all.
Maybe I should appologise to unthrottled, appreciate that he was trying to help and had a point. The written word can come across wrong but I did get the feeling that I was being spoken to as though if I didn't get it I was thick or stupid. I just need to reduce costs and if I need to lose a bit of asset value to do that then sobeit.
Regards. FTF
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FTF - I absolutely see your position, sometimes it's the monthly cost (the throughput) that is vital to an accounting system rather than the paper losses on sunk costs.
However, unthrottled is talking absolute sense.
I too subscribe to your theory of not recognising depreciation losses on cars, but I do it with the final part of the equation that makes it work - I don't sell cars (at least, not for more than 'end of life' value) and I never change car unless my current one becomes uneconomical to repair.
It's true, a car is not an investment, it's just a cost, you'll never make money out of running a car. So I don't consider the purchase price to be some sort of 'loss' on an 'investment' like some people do, but then I drive my cars until they become uneconomical to repair. Depreciation just isn't a concern for me because I'll never buy a new (probably not even a nearly new) car and I don't sell them for more than £1k. If the part of the market you're engaged in is selling £9k cars and buying £14k cars then depreciation absolutely should be a consideration.
The fastest way to lose money is to change your car regularly. That's why the dealers like punters who switch regularly, because money that punters lose is money that they make.
Which is why I'm so please with the '99 Passat I bought for £6k in 2003 with 91,000 miles on the clock. Still going strong with 210,000 miles now on it, so even if I assume it's worth nothing (and it isn't, it's probably worth £500 - £1,000) my 'depreciation' is £600 a year!!!
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gfewster-Good point, and one I should have clarified. Depreciation is of course meaningless-until you sell.
But the desire to change cars can seem irresistable.
FTF. Thank's for your generous comment. I frequently use a less than appropriate tone. I just want you to get the most motoring for the least money! Of course, if you really don't like your current car, it makes no sense to hang on to it, just to avoid the hit. Good luck with whatever you decide.
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Thanks both, for your patience with me. I have dwelt on your comments and they are apprecaited.
All the best. FTF
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I'm with Dutchie, private is best. Autotrader and Pistonheads for your type of car. At least give it a go, sounds like you'll likely get a couple of grand more for it and be in a great position to buy your next car from a main dealer, internet broker or privately, you'll have the choice.
It's a nice car, someone will want it but not a lazy dealer. I know several people coming out of company car schemes looking for this type of quality car and have decided on big engined petrol cars for the style, performance, comfort and to avoid the scare of used diesels and DPFs, DMF, injectors, wrongly fuelled etc.I'll be there in 15 months time and I'll be going petrol and putting up with the mpg and VED disadvantages. Your type of £30k when new car at around £10k to 12k would be within my budget as would a 330i, Legacy 3.0R, Merc 320.
If you are only going to go the px route then if the dealer is offering you considerably less than your car is worth, make sure you return the favour and do the same or worse to the asking price of the car you're after.
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Hi oldtoffee, its on PistonHeads for £11.5K and currently parked on the road with a 'for sale' notice (which I don't like doing) on the screen. Might try AutoTrader after the weekend. Hoping I will get a grand or so better than the trade which as you say will put me in a better negotiating position with dealers. One of them described it as mint, and there's nothing wrong with it, its under SAAB warrentee until Sept.
Dammit, I might even keep it!
Thanks again for the advice.
Edited by fredthefifth on 09/02/2011 at 12:58
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I've always used autotrader-worth every penny of the ad-it just has such a wide reach.
I'm leary of the 'parking in the road with sign in window'. If you leave the car in the same place it looks like the car is being sold by an amateur dealer with no premises! No harm in driving around with it on though!
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I would suggest the OP trys to offer it to a SAAB dealer or SAAB specialist.
A 9-5 is not a 3 series when it comes to consumer demand but there is a market for these cars - the difficulty is finding it.
As regards to value, Autotrader is as good a guide as any. Look for the trade ads as these guys will be trying to sell at as near the "market price" as possible.
If you can't offload to a dealer, try Autotrader.
It goes without saying that the car should be immaculate inside & out, smelling of freshly cut flowers
Good luck
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Hadn't noticed this thread was still getting posts. Thanks for the advice. I have tried a SAAB dealer and certainly their opening gambit was a tad higher than elsewhere, but not enough to make me wait for them to find the right car. Elsewhere they hardly look at it, but those that do describe it as 'mint'.
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FTF, if you are really set on selling it, try advertising where those that might be interested will see it - Saab enthusiasts! Take a look at www.saabscene.co.uk, where there is a "For Sale" section.
TBH I have recently toyed with the idea of reducing my outlay by exchanging my 2004MY Aero automatic estate for a lower-powered and more economical car, but it's such a marvellous vehicle for the use I put it to that I just can't do it until some terribly expensive repair crops up!
As someone else said, depreciation and loss of value is a non-issue until you sell..........
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Mike, sounds like you share my sentiment, it is a lovely car but montly costs need to be reduced. (The TCO/depreciation discission has taken place above!)
I use saabscence but hadn't thought to pop an advert there. I've done it now with a link to the pistonheads advert. Think that's ok, they only seem to ban links to ebay.
All the best. FTF
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Totally agree.
I've only sold a couple of cars, and both below the £1,000 mark, but my experience (also helping friends sell) has been that if you put a car on AutoTrader in the middle-to-upper range of what appears to be the average price for that sort of car, then the phone will start ringing the next day and will ring 2-3 times a day until the ad expires.
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