16-06-2014, 05:56am
With (hopefully) an RRS arriving before year-end, my mind is turning to what to do with my Evoque, 2.5 years, Petrol, Coupe, 24k miles, £43k new in 2011. WBAC says £24k, the dealer might bid more but not hugely.
No problem, I thought, I'll sell privately, some decent pictures, sensibly priced, prepare the car and while I wouldn't be deluged, you only need one buyer.
Then I looked at Pistonheads. 307 Evoques for sale, how many of them private sales? Just THREE! If you look at the mix, many fewer coupes than you might imagine and the same with petrol. Just 5 petrol coupes out of that 307.
That low number of private ads must reflect a lack of success selling privately at this level (never mind higher) and the dealer has you over a barrel especially when you are buying a car with as long lead times as the RRS. They will clearly only offer rock bottom for it.
So why are so few people willing to sell/buy privately at this level? Buying from the dealer offers security but at a price. Finance, if you need it, may be easier to arrange than going cap in hand to your bank manager. What else? Distance to travel? Fear of being ripped off both as a seller or buyer? Us Evoque owners too lazy to do the work to sell privately? Too easy (if expensive) to turn up in one car and drive away in its replacement?
Each and every time I have part exchanged a car and then seen how much the dealer has then sold it for, in spite of their "we're over-stocked" and "no demand" protestations, I swear it will be different next time. I'm not sure it's going to be with the Evoque, sadly.
No problem, I thought, I'll sell privately, some decent pictures, sensibly priced, prepare the car and while I wouldn't be deluged, you only need one buyer.
Then I looked at Pistonheads. 307 Evoques for sale, how many of them private sales? Just THREE! If you look at the mix, many fewer coupes than you might imagine and the same with petrol. Just 5 petrol coupes out of that 307.
That low number of private ads must reflect a lack of success selling privately at this level (never mind higher) and the dealer has you over a barrel especially when you are buying a car with as long lead times as the RRS. They will clearly only offer rock bottom for it.
So why are so few people willing to sell/buy privately at this level? Buying from the dealer offers security but at a price. Finance, if you need it, may be easier to arrange than going cap in hand to your bank manager. What else? Distance to travel? Fear of being ripped off both as a seller or buyer? Us Evoque owners too lazy to do the work to sell privately? Too easy (if expensive) to turn up in one car and drive away in its replacement?
Each and every time I have part exchanged a car and then seen how much the dealer has then sold it for, in spite of their "we're over-stocked" and "no demand" protestations, I swear it will be different next time. I'm not sure it's going to be with the Evoque, sadly.