What sort of price premium does a low km car have over an average or high km car.

[Drewie]

We have 3 family members in the process of selling cars at the moment, if you go onto the Redbook or Glass's sites they give a price range for the particular vehicle, however they also give an indicated km range, as an example they may say a particle vehicle will have say 130,00km to
180,000km now if the vehicle you are trying to sell has say only 60,000km
what sort of premium do you place on the fact of the low km, another $1000.
One of the cars we have advertised is probably about $2000 above what Redbok says and we are getting calls quoting the Redbook valuation, we point out that the car has about half the km, so we then get well it should be at the upper limit of the Redbook valuation, just after some thoughts as to whether we should drop the prices a bit. None of the cars are mine, other family members, but they have asked my thoughts on it.

[team illucid]

It depends on the buyer.

I thought 15K on my new car (as opposed to avg 50-60K on most others I looked at) was worth an extra $5000 that I paid.

[mac06]

Sounds like the potential buyers are just trying to get you to drop your price. The lower the km's the higher the value of your car. I'd be inclined to allow $500-1,000 per 10,000kms. That does depend on what sort of car it is and whether the car has done low or high km's. The higher the km's the less difference it starts to make

Another way is to check out carsales.com.au and see what everyone else is selling their cars for with similar km's. Discount those with stupidly high or low prices. That'll give you a rough idea what the market says your car is worth.

[QldKev]

IMHO I think redbook is a great guide for placing in the bin.

Pick up the local paper and check out the classifieds. I won't base a car price here in Qld on what cars are getting in WA. A while back I sold my Landcruiser. Local prices were lower than some interstate ones, but I priced it for the local market. The locals didn't touch it but I had a buyer from SA, who compared to their local prices got a bargain.

Low km's are worth a premium, but I don't think you can put a generalised number on it. If the km are low + body and trim is immaculate then you can expect the better end of the price range of what is for sale in your area.

QldKev

[Speedy Gonzales]

Low mileage if genuine can be a bonus for the seller, maybe 15% extra on top of average going rates, though in a depressed market, its going to be tough getting what you want, not just used cars but new ones too, the whole industry is getting a hammering, good for those buying new or near new, really depends on you as the seller what you are willing to accept and let the car go for.

You could put it up on Ebay with reserve.

[blackbettyhsv]

5 years ago I sold my vx clubby it was 6 years old with 55.000 K's yard offered me $22.000, I got $28.000 private & was asked 3 times about the speedo reading which in the end that sold it, interested to see about my ve clubby now 4 1/2 years old with only 32.450 K's probably does,nt matter any more

[Wonky]

Realistically you cannot just put a $ value on it. :weirdo: A low mileage BMW M5 is going to get a higher extra amount than a low km VS V6 Commodore. I would suggest a percentage is more realistic and at half to one third the average mileage as you suggest your car has done (60k compared to ave 130-180k) I'd add maybe 20% as a starter over cars with average mileages.

I'd certainly be willing to pay a premium like that for a genuine low km car IF it had a proven regular service history and the general condition of the car was commensurate with the mileage. At 60k a regularly serviced car should for all intents and purposes go for a long while before needing major work, yet many Commodores for example need expensive diff and auto etc rebuilds at the sort of mileages you are quoting as averages.

Stick to your guns and ignore people trying to talk you down on price. If they don't understand those type of points they're not worth bothering with. :jerk:

[feistl]

Just so you understand how redbook works...

They get given the numbers for the various road offices (EG RTA, Vicroads), who provide the numbers based on the submitted paperwork for a sale of a vehicle.

Now, generally what happens is ill buy a car from you for $20K, but get you to write down the sale price as $15k. That way i save a bit on transfer fees. None of the offices check up on this (unless its obviously dodgy), meaning the redbook numbers are actually an indication of what price people have "officially" paid, not what has changed hands.

As mentioned, have a look on carsales etc for a guide on pricing. But also remember some of these cars have been advertised for 6+ months, so their asking price is obviously too high.

Try to price the car at what you'd be happy with, but not a greedy price. A reasonable price should ensure a nice quick/easy sale.

Out of interest, what were the cars in question?

I personally think its worth getting the cars detailed first (provided their worth $10k+). Even if their in good condition, a detail will really make them look good. First impressions for a lot of buyers in important, so if its low kms and looks fantastic it'll sell easier.

Best of luck/

[smokey777]

ya im thinking 30k for me ute was prob abit too much but it only has 25000ks on it compared to normal 40/60000ks for its age. owell see what happens

[HARMSY]

Just like what has been mentioned, be realistic. A low K example should be able to get you a few more $ than a high K, but don't get caught up on it either, you may have to bite the bullet and take a reasonable offer to avoid having the car on the Market for months amd months.....

I would recommend trawling carsales to get a more realistic idea on what others are going for and then price accordingly, i.e if something with 100k is going for $20,000 and yours has 60K then adjust for arguments sake to $22,000, see how the market reacts and go from there.

[Drewie]

Out of interest, what were the cars in question?


Best of luck/


The cars in question are: 2009 VW Golf TDI DSG, 2003 Toyota Echo and a 2006 Mazda 3 Maxx Sport. Not that I intend selling but the whole exercise got me thinking about my 2001 VX SS with 70,000km as compared to some on Carsales with 200,000km. I appreciate every ones advice some good points have been made. I was surprised that a few of the callers have been quoting Redbook as the Bible and offering the Redbook values regardless of the low km.

[lowriding]

Depends on the car too , a low km enthusiast's car like an SS or HSV will pull a premium , a low km fiesta or runabout probably will not.

[LS1-5.7]

With the risk of repeating what has already been said, a low km car does not always mean it is a good car as a 60,000 km ss that has been treated like shit and rarely serviced is not a better buy than one that's done 120,000 km and been babied and looked after. Generally, glass' guide and redbook are there for used car salesmen and wholesalers who try to pay as little as possible for something they can sell for max profit and use these guides like the bible. It's just a shame the same does not apply when they are trying to sell a car :( The market sets it's own values based on what is available at the time and what it is actually being sold for.

Most people would consider the km's above anything else and then assess whether the vehicle is presented in a bad/good/exceptional condition for it's age and kms travelled. The varying levels of pride and care shown by owners eventually dictates what the vehicle is worth at the end of the day and yes a low km, mint condition ss will pull premium $$$$ but may take a little longer to sell. As always, it's buyer beware and there is no excuse for NOT getting any car assessed BEFORE you buy it to see if it is worth the asking price.

[Drewie]

My son just rang me to say he got a message on his phone from some professional car company wanting to come and 'Evaluate' his 2009 VW Golf, I assume it would be a case of a dealer looking for a bargain and offering some sort of wholesale price for it, any one come across this before? It was a bit of a vague message just a number to call back on.

Edit: He had a listen to the message again the company is called "Australian Vehicle Locaters" any one heard of them?

[redvxr8clubby]

5 years ago I sold my vx clubby it was 6 years old with 55.000 K's yard offered me $22.000, I got $28.000 private & was asked 3 times about the speedo reading which in the end that sold it, interested to see about my ve clubby now 4 1/2 years old with only 32.450 K's probably does,nt matter any more

I bought my VX R8 Clubby 5 years ago, $27,000 at a dealer (just a small yard), had 68,000 Km on it. The car had been on the road 5 years, but was 6 years old (built Oct 2000, First reg April 2001. Looking at prices today, you don't seem to see 5 -6 year old R8's (with say 70,000Km) for $27,000. A good looking VZ R8 is normally over $30,000 upto maybe $35,000. Early VE's high 30's - $10,000 more than I paid 5 years ago, but in saying that, the spec levels are a bit higher than the VX.

[Speedy Gonzales]

My son just rang me to say he got a message on his phone from some professional car company wanting to come and 'Evaluate' his 2009 VW Golf, I assume it would be a case of a dealer looking for a bargain and offering some sort of wholesale price for it, any one come across this before? It was a bit of a vague message just a number to call back on.

Edit: He had a listen to the message again the company is called "Australian Vehicle Locaters" any one heard of them?

They sound like a wholeseller to me and they will give you minimum for the car, then fix whatever is necessary and put it back on the lot for almost full whack for some other schmoe.

Dealers have buyers who go to auctions and surf online for cars to sell in their yards as well.