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Used Car Prices

2K views 20 replies 12 participants last post by  AndyN01 
#1 ·
Why have used car prices suddenly taken a nose dive?

I am picking up a new car next week. In Feb and March I used all the on-line tools to value my 4 year old Q5 and my wife's 7 year old VW Golf (e.g. WhatCar / Autotrader / WeBuyAnyCar) and got decent valuations. I also had a px price for my Q5. Last week ( a month after the first px price) the px price for the Q5 dropped £2k in line with last weeks valuations on the above tools. I put the wife's Golf on Autotrader and the Autotarder valuation dropped by on the Golf by £750 in a week and a similar percentage drop on the Q5. It is what it is and neither I nor you can change what is but why - why in 2 months have prices dropped so much, I would just like to know WHY? If they continue to drop at this rate, in a few months I will have to pay someone to take the cars off me!
 
#3 · (Edited)
The prices of many used cars are just too high in my opinion. There needed to be some correction.

It used to be that very few cars held 50% of their value after 3 years. Now anything average is holding 50% of its new price after 3 years. There didn't used to be huge discount off German cars a few years ago. Now 20-25% off list is common.

If you watch Autotrader loads of cars are up for sale for an age. If they aren't selling they are simply too expensive and that can be said for loads of different cars.

Confused.com and HPI both offer free valuations. I think they are both usually pretty accurate.
 
#4 ·
All supply and demand, I'm afraid.

Before the initial Brexit date, dealers were selling lots of used cars as prices were attractive. Therefore dealers were shifting lots and buying lots of stock to restock their forecourts.

Sine the end of March, its been more difficult for dealers to source stock at a reasonable price, forecourt footfall has slowed (appears that consumer confidence has declined) and the whole market has slowed. Dealers left with lots of stock, so the demand isnt there.
 
#6 ·
Are the cars diesel?

That could also explain the accelerated loss in values. Demand for diesels is falling and there is a big supply after years of massive sales.
They are diesel and I am in no doubt that if they were petrol they would be pricing much higher. This is my 3rd Q5 and I've wracked my brain thinking back to 4 years ago and why I never for one second asked myself the question "should I switch to petrol" - why, 4 years back, did that question not come up in my head, I never considered it for a second and I don't know why.
 
#7 ·
Most run of the mill stuff is usually over priced by private sellers, realistically WBAC plus £1000 is where your trade in should be, spec will sell a car as will price, the Q5 is now old and unloved, people want the latest model and a 4 year old version isn't it. Its also coming up to the time where they need big services and cambelts.
 
#8 ·
We've been looking at the Seat Arona for my parents recently and my dad likes the FR or FR Sport version, the SE is very drab inside and the Xcellence top model has a terrible grille and a light painted plastic dash in a pearly white. There are some FR Sport models out there for around the list price (£21k+) and even a year old is around the £17k mark, I found a broker that would do brand new for just over £17k and is currently putting them off in case it looses loads of money, especially as they aren't a massive seller, but it passed being easy to get in and out of and good visibility which is something I've struggled to find for my mum, Also VW has released the T-Cross its sister car to the Arona.

Seems the model plays a large part in the value of this one year old car....

SE, one year old, from around £13000
FR/FR sport, one year old, from around £16000-17000 (why buy used when you can have new for similar money?) very few private sales and most used are in the hands of the dealers.

I bought a sub £3k runabout to leave in the car park at work, (diesel, 11 years old, and one owner, 55k miles) it was a good £1000 more than i payed for the exact same car three years earlier although i do accept it has half the miles of the previous one you would have thought the £1000 more asking price would have closed over three years at a car of this age
 
#12 ·
SE, one year old, from around £13000
FR/FR sport, one year old, from around £16000-17000 (why buy used when you can have new for similar money?) very few private sales and most used are in the hands of the dealers.
That's easy - many buyers will not know that a new one can be bought for similar / less money. Dealers will happily sell an over-priced sed car to a customer once they have hit new car sales targets

Even in this day and age there are still many people who do little or no research and cannot / will not negotiate

A dealer will have far more profit in a used car so if a customer expresses interest in it why sell them a new one (once they know they have hit or will hit their new car target)
 
#11 ·
I'm sure this applies a lot more to bikes than cars. I bought a brand new CB1000R this week. I got it for £2K below list price alongside 0%. Straight away the 0% will make the used examples less appealing, even for a cash purchase as your cash can stay in your own account. Then there's the £2k off the list to contend with where a used example is concerned.

Often though with bikes it can go the right way in terms of value. One example being the Suzuki SV650S 2nd gen, you could pick up a brand new for £3999 a few years ago. You'd still pay close to £3k now for a 5 year old bike.
 
#13 · (Edited)
IMHO There's a fundamental point here.

Something is only "worth" what someone else will pay for it.

We all like to think/believe our car/house etc.etc is "worth" lots of £££'s

Bit it's only actually worth what someone else will pay. Next week/month/year that amount will probably be different, it might be more, it might be less but it'll still only be worth what someone else will pay at that time.

I recently purchased a new car to me. I hunted around on the usual sites and found something I fancied at the price I was willing to pay. I don't do the haggling thing and probably paid more than it was "worth."

It's turned out that the dealer has been superb. There have been issues that have come up over the last 6 months and all have been resolved, free of charge, with no teeth sucking/ducking and diving or anything other than great service.

I've had a new front caliper with both discs & pads, a new rear caliper (and the car has an electronic parking brake so these are lots of £££'s) with both discs & pads an air con re-gas and that has shown up a duff air can condenser and that's being replaced very soon - again free of charge. This is on an 11 year old car that's just clocked up 130K.

When it comes to changing one of our cars we'll simply go back to that dealer because of their attitude and service. Now what is that quality of service and peace of mind "worth" to you?

So, as far as I'm concerned, I've had a great "deal" overall and the car was definitely "worth" what I paid for it. Others may disagree.

Andy.
 
#14 ·
IMHO There's a fundamental point here.

Something is only "worth" what someone else will pay for it.

We all like to think/believe our car/house etc.etc is "worth" lots of £££'s

Bit it's only actually worth what someone else will pay. Next week/month/year that amount will probably be different, it might be more, it might be less but it'll still only be worth what someone else will pay at that time.

I recently purchased a new car to me. I hunted around on the usual sites and found something I fancied at the price I was willing to pay. I don't do the haggling thing and probably paid more than it was "worth."

It's turned out that the dealer has been superb. There have been issues that have come up over the last 6 months and all have been resolved, free of charge, with no teeth sucking/ducking and diving or anything other than great service.

I've had a new front caliper with both discs & pads, a new rear caliper (and the car has an electronic parking brake so these are lots of £££'s) with both discs & pads an air con re-gas and that has shown up a duff air can condenser and that's being replaced very soon - again free of charge. This is on an 11 year old car that's just clocked up 130K.

When it comes to changing one of our cars we'll simply go back to that dealer because of their attitude and service. Now what is that quality of service and peace of mind "worth" to you?

So, as far as I'm concerned, I've had a great "deal" overall and the car was definitely "worth" what I paid for it. Others may disagree.

Andy.
Reading that list of work you've had done on an 11yr old car, I'd say they've robbed you blind in the first place.
 
#17 ·
Diesels were looked upon favourably with the bik values too and with company mileage allowance. They're not worth the hassle now though, what with egr, dpf, dmf etc. likely to throw problems up, they've ended up like the early 90s turbo cars, fragile and susceptible to massive issues. There's a fine line between getting a powerful car to economical and making it a nightmare.
 
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