advice re: buying & selling/trading in cars

G'day all,

long story short I'm looking at upgrading from my VT (advertised here http://www.ls1.com.au/forum/showthre...wkw-115-000k-s for interest's sake) and buying a VE SSV. Now my VT is in immaculate condition and has only done 115,000k's, plus 300kw and a few body mods etc., so I believe it to be worth a bit more than your average trashed 98 5.0 clunker with no paint left. With this in mind, I realise it will not be easy to sell (made harder by the p-plate restrictions no doubt).

So my conundrum is thus:
-Do I take a loss, but guarantee a sale without needing to worry about test drives, roadworthies (although I dont believe there will be alot wrong to stop it getting one), and the threat of not getting any offers, and trade it in? Obviously this means buying from a dealer, which means the new car is more expensive, and of course won't give me the value of the car.

-Or, do I buy the new car (have pre-approval for a personal loan which allows me to pay off as much as I like when I like, so could do a balloon payment when/if mine sells privately) and wait for the VT to sell.

-Or, there is a third option, as there is nothing wrong with the VT do I simply wait for values to come down (this will effect both my car and the VE naturally) like next year sometime, or do I simply give up and keep the VT for good.

Now, forgive me If I'm wrong but I was thinking dealers would be having a tough time moving a 6.0L V8 in the current climate, when you can buy a new hatchback for just over half the average price of a VE, but the (two) dealers I have made serious enquiries at regarding specific cars are extremely unwilling to negotiate. In some cases I am looking at cars with the same mileage as my VT at (at least) half the age, and they are demanding over twice the price as I am, yet are unwilling to discount by even 5-10% of sticker price. I have even looked seriously at a couple of private sales, and they have only offered $1000 or less off their advertised price. As an aside, I would be willing to do that on my VT, despite the relatively larger (%) comparative discount. One even stated they had had no serious interest in the car whatsoever, and yet would only take $1000 off the price, despite the car being in slightly rough condition. For example I have my VT advertised on gumtree, quicksales, and three different forums, and although it has only been 3 days I haven't gotten a single nibble, which has me worried, so I would keep that in mind when a potential buyer made a decent offer. So I don't understand this at all.

So, can anyone shed any light on the matter? Am I looking to do this at the wrong time of year? Or have I simply been unlucky so far?

Any advice/opinions/leads is & are appreciated.

You'll probably get a max of 4-5K trade in, maybe less? You'd be better off selling it for anything higher than this.
If you don't see this as being worthwhile, then you may as well hang on to it but the reality is that you're asking VY prices for a VT.
If you can afford to have both for a while, then find the car you like (dealer or private) and buy it. And like you say, put the VT money on it once it sells.

You;re pictures aren't working in that link. Only advice i'll offer is to be realistic with how much you want for the VT and sell it privately before taking on another car/loan and you will get a better deal buying another car as it will be a simple transaction.

Agree with White Lie, as well looked after as it is, its probably not worth 13k and you'll struggle to find a buyer at that price.

I plan on selling my VY SS early next year and realistically I'm budgetting getting between 10 and 11K. Has all the same mods as yours and is pretty much immaculate, but thats the joys of selling a big V8.

13K...wowsers,

Trade in on an unmolested VTSS is $3300 (try to find a dealer that will give you that and take on an old V8)

Mods make the car depreciate more and more, and narrow the market that will look at purchasing, whether it has 150rmkw or 6000rwkw, and now that P Platers cant drive V8's the market for selling them is pretty much non existent! All I can say is good luck!

If you love the car that much, keep it, put it in the shed, drain everything and leave it there! Might be worth something with those k's and mods in say 40 years...(thats where my clubby is, just sitting and waiting! - I couldnt justify the $35K I paid for it to sell it for $5K, I'd prefer to keep it in my shed and perve on it when Im drinking!

OK, maybe a price drop is in order. Have already been offered $7500 on a trade in (guess I should have taken that), if they offered $3300 I'd rip their heads off. Redbook has trade-in value at $4300-6300, VRII you may be looking at a series one? Looks like flickr has screwed me on the photos too. awesome. Will drop the price to $11,500 and see how that goes.

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Originally Posted by VNV8

OK, maybe a price drop is in order. Have already been offered $7500 on a trade in (guess I should have taken that), if they offered $3300 I'd rip their heads off. Redbook has trade-in value at $4300-6300, VRII you may be looking at a series one? Looks like flickr has screwed me on the photos too. awesome. Will drop the price to $11,500 and see how that goes.

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yeah i was mate, i thought somewhere i read it was a 5L...

I haven't read your whole original post, but I sell used cars for a living.

9 times out of 10 you are better off trading in. Keep in mind we dealers are in business to make money, brace yourself for offers and don't take it too personal.

Any questions, PM me for more specific details.

Cheers, Mick

I understand that Mick (although it's hard not to be insulted be some of those offers), what has shocked me is the almost total lack of negotiation. For example both dealers I have dealt with have been willing to increase the trade-in value, but will not take more than $500 off the sticker price when added up.

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Originally Posted by MickStephens

I haven't read your whole original post, but I sell used cars for a living.

9 times out of 10 you are better off trading in. Keep in mind we dealers are in business to make money, brace yourself for offers and don't take it too personal.

Any questions, PM me for more specific details.

Cheers, Mick

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How are you better off trading in? Maybe you're better off when you finish reaming the customer but i've bought and sold enough cars over the years and never once was i going to be better off.

I think he's referring to the relatively easy process of trading in, rather than dealing with rwc's and test drives etc. , not the money they give you.

New thought - remove bonnet and OTR (would probably get $750 or so?), sell separately, and trade her in. Take some of the sting out.

Dont trade it in mate, like you already seen they will not do much for you in regards to dropping there price if you are trading. Are you buying a new SSV or second hand? Just as an idea i negotiated a new Manual sedan SSV in 2009 down to $48500 with full size spare, boot liner, 2xHRT jackets, SSV mats & other stuff i cant remeber and this car wasn't even on the lot, only paid $43500 thanks to holden mastercard rebate. I guess my point is move on if they are not willing to give you a good deal because someone else will.

$5k rebate? :confused:

I had heard of the rebate, didn't realise it was that much though. But no only getting a used one.

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Originally Posted by VNV8

OK, maybe a price drop is in order. Have already been offered $7500 on a trade in (guess I should have taken that), if they offered $3300 I'd rip their heads off. Redbook has trade-in value at $4300-6300, VRII you may be looking at a series one? Looks like flickr has screwed me on the photos too. awesome. Will drop the price to $11,500 and see how that goes.

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$7500 is a very good trade in for a VT II SS, unless the SSV is overpriced, I would say that's about as good as it's going to get. With the VT being 12 years old, you'll be very lucky to get much more, how much was the SSV you were offered on this tradein? I think there isn't much market for old V8's as say someone who is on say a $10K or less budget for a car probably can't afford the fuel bill. On the other hand if it's in immaculate condition, you never know someone may consider it a cheap performance car.

Most times you are better off selling Private. Dealers are in the business of making money and need to offer enough to sell for a margin. You will need to do the numbers between Dealer and Private.
If you are trying to save money by second-hand.
It is worth considering a Dealer if they have a car at a the right price. There’s no harm in trying to negotiate. If you need help take someone who is good at negotiationing. Have a budget, know what your car and the Dealer’s car is worth. Know the Dealer will offer less than Private. There’s plenty of Commodores around, so walk away if the deal is not right.

Just putting this out there from experience. It may or may not relate to your situation.

- When you consider trading in a car to a dealership, the dealer, or the dealers wholesaler is effectively buying the car from you the same way you are buying the car from them. The "trade in" price is in no way a discount off the car you intend to buy. They are 2 separate transactions on the dealers side, but some dealers like to play the game of the "Change over figure" or the "Geezus, look how much we gave you for your car, we can't discount our car even more" etc.

- If you have the time and can be home enough to sell privately, this is always the best way to do things finically, not always the best thing to do if you are time poor or just CBF'd with the crap we sales consultants put up with every day. (We get paid good money for a reason)

- When trading in a modded up car or even something unique like yours i.e. Extremely low km, great condition for its age etc, a wholesaler or yard see this as a negative as it narrows the audience they can advertise and sell to. We love plain jane factory cars that scream reliability. Cars that are 10 years old on paper don't appeal to the masses, even if they have low km.

- I'll be crucified for suggesting this, but to test the dealer you are dealing with on their trade in offer and if its legit, or their car is just over priced, ask if you decide not to buy a new car, will they still want to buy your car for the same price. A honest good quality dealer will, the rat bags won't as they can't commit to their offer as often its been false "puff" with extra profit they have in the car they are selling. (Common trade tactic)

- Don't always rely on RedBook or Carsales for accurate trade in pricing. They don't buy and sell cars, they advertise and suggest. There are only 2 people who can put a price on your car. 1. You. 2. The person willing to buy it. The rest is just hearsay as it is very difficult to know exactly what cars are selling for at any one time through out the year. What they are advertised for is not a guide to what they sell for.

My personal opinion. If I was wanting to upgrade my own car. I would sell mine first for as much as I can get for it, then start looking for the right car for me. The only draw back is finding a way to get to work and get around while looking for your new car.

If you want some tips on how to get the most for your car, PM me and ill share some tips. i can't go giving away all my secrets on how to sell a car in here ;)

Cheers, Mick

Last 2 cars I offloaded I put them on eBay. I got more than trade value and less than private sale. I was pretty happy as both were pretty hassle free sales. One was a dirty old 304 VT and the other was a 6-speed VY SS.

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Originally Posted by Wonky

$5k rebate? :confused:

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I meant $45,500 after the 3k rebate.

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Originally Posted by redvxr8clubby

$7500 is a very good trade in for a VT II SS, unless the SSV is overpriced, I would say that's about as good as it's going to get.

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Yip thats a pretty good trade in, I just got offered 6500 for my VY SS on a brand new car :doh:

well I've decided to trade it in, and have put down a deposit on a silver SSV 2006 with very low (only 32,000!!!) k's. Didnt make it back up to $7500 but got $6500 so not too bad. got an enquiry on gumtree today too (the first legit one, after two scam attempts)! typical!. Oh well. New car is immaculate apart from some wear on the drivers seat bolster, which most of them seem to have, hopefully can be fixed with some leather stuff. From the original sticker price of 29,990 I paid 26 even all up. So pretty happy.