My car isnt selling

[lynnemcf]

I've advertised my car in the local paper for 2 months and its still not sold. Where else can I try? What about ebay?

[bored of debt]

Hi,

what car is it?? The way you describe the car is very important!

You could try Gumtree or Pistonheads, depends what car it is really...

Let me have a few more details :D

[lynnemcf]

Nissan Primera 2000 Y 72,000 1.8 blue.

[Inactive]

Nissan Primera 2000 Y 72,000 1.8 blue.

Required price????

Condition ???

Service History ??

[lynnemcf]

I'm not trying to sell the car thru this board, I'm just looking for advice. Condition is good for its age and I have FSH. I'm asking half the price that dealers advertise them on ebay! In hindsight I should have taken the PX offer, I thought it would sell easily, nice family car to a nice family.

[Conor]

Yeah but if you don't tell us how much you're selling it for, we can't say whether or not it's overpriced.

Certainly at Y reg, I'd not want to pay much more than £1000 for a car.

[custardy]

Yeah but if you don't tell us how much you're selling it for, we can't say whether or not it's overpriced.

Certainly at Y reg, I'd not want to pay much more than £1000 for a car.

depends where you are in the uk.thats well into £1.2-£1.5k up here

[chris123]

why not go on to the auto trader website i have looked at it a few times and thought it quite good. also stick to your guns ask for a good price, if i was to buy new i would probably not take the part ex either

[Inactive]

I'm not trying to sell the car thru this board, I'm just looking for advice. Condition is good for its age and I have FSH. I'm asking half the price that dealers advertise them on ebay! In hindsight I should have taken the PX offer, I thought it would sell easily, nice family car to a nice family.

Fair enough, but you asked why it wasn't selling, without that information, nobody can realistically help you.

The usual reason that a car doesn't sell is because the owner values it at more than it's market value.

Nobody suggested that you were trying to sell your car on the board.

Similar cars on AutoTrader seem to range from around the £900 mark upwards, to about £1700. but these are mainly dealer cars that come with some form of warranty.

[custardy]

plus its probably the worst time of year to sell

[lynnemcf]

I didnt expect it to be so difficult, so I'm just a bit downhearted about it. I stayed home all day yesterday for someone who didnt turn up. I'll drop the price (again) and see what happens.

[custardy]

if you only have it in the local paper you have a limited market.
post in gumtree and the free papers as its costs you nothing anyway

[anewman]

if you only have it in the local paper you have a limited market.
post in gumtree and the free papers as its costs you nothing anyway

Just be wary of anything to do with abroad, especially Nigeria.

[blue_haddock]

The surefire way to sell if you want to get rid of it sooner rather than later is to place an ad on ebay. I've sold several this way and always get good money for the cars. The secret is to take lots of good quality photos, give the car a full and honest description( including the bad points) then start the auction on a thursday night and let it run for the full 10 days.

[highguyuk]

I'd get it EVERYWHERE.

Local shop boards, supermarket board, free papers, local papers, online sites such as freeads, ebay, forums, car window, people at work ... to name a few.

It is though the worst time of year to sell...

[Jorgan]

You need to remember that the last two months are probably the worst two for trying to sell a car, everybody is either buying Christmas presents or skint as a result.

Make sure the car is well presented, if need be invest in a good valet so that the car looks its best. With the current weather, I would be washing it twice a week so that it looks its best.

Are you able to park the car on a busy thoroughfare, so that it is seen by as many people as possible? Don't forget to list the best features of the car, don't just put 'S' or 'SE' in your ad. List what the spec the car has. Likewise service history, Mot etc.

[highguyuk]

But also, make sure you DO put S or SE or L or whatever the model is.

When I bought my new last month, there were so many adverts not specifying the model. I wanted a certain engine and model, yet often had to hunt or even ring up to find the simple information I wanted.

[Nail_Lad]

Can you send us a copy of the ad wording, maybe we can add some helpful suggestions to it?

[daveyjp]

e-bay could be worth a punt. Nissan Primeras are well regarded amongst those wanting a reliable cheap motor.

[the_big_fact_hunt]

be aware that this time of year can be a good time to buy if the price is good. people want to sell as they have overspent at xmas so they are likely to accept less as buyers are fewer. I am trying to sell my 4x4 and my caravan and have had limited interest, mainly silly offers, and no shows, but i'm not desperate to sell so i'm not giving them away

[Christa1]

I don't think it necessarily has anything to do with the time of year. Last year my husband bought a brand new MPV on line so saved £5k-£6K to what the dealer wanted with that spec. The company offered him PX too, but he thought he could sell privately and get more, this was a 3 year old Ford Focus he had from brand new too, and was selling during July and August. Everyone said he would get more selling privately, well yes but only if you sell. It cost him money to advertise locally, on auto trader then another £90 odd quid to a company who is able to finance cars for people with bad credit. Apart from one call to vivit, who never turned up that was it. So my husband could have PX for far more, plus taking into account he was out of pocket with the cost of trying to sell, so it went in October( in the end) to Car Craft who paid him next to nothing. Selling privately is all well and good if you sell, but the stress and having another car around that you don't want really gets you down. Sometimes just selling it in PX is a relief. Of course hindsight is a wonderful thing. While his own was on order he should have started advertising it then, but he thought people would want it before he would be able to sell as his was being customised, so was going to be 6 to 8 weeks for delivery. You live and learn!

[lynnemcf]

Thanks Christa. I've dropped the price and the phone hasnt stopped ringing ... but people are just not turning up. Three were due yesterday, three are due today. I've not even had a "silly offer".

[Christa1]

I really do sympathise. We had a few calls and thought perhaps the person had driven to the house and looked at the car without calling, which of course they can do, but my husband too kept dropping the price, and still nothing. All we could think was because it was a Focus which are very popular and so therefore loads around, I don't honestly know. The Focus is a lovely car and we had 3 years of totally hassle free driving, 1 owner and 42,000 miles on the clock. Had he sold the car in the PX deal we would have saved £400.00 to what we lost/spent., plus worry and stress. Good Luck!

[lynnemcf]

I just wanted to thank everyone for their advice. My car is now sold (hurrah). The information posted on here made me change my attitude. When I got phone calls about the car, I had all of the information to hand. I was willing to go out of my way to meet with the buyer when THEY wanted to view, and I was well-prepared when prospective buyers turned up. A job well done, fellow MSErs

[Hintza]

That is good news well done.

[Wig]

Assuming it was a 2001 Y (there is no 2000 Y only 2000 V) 4 door saloon S not SE....

I would value it at £1,700 and be prepared to take £1,500

Good job you sold it, I always look on autotrader (website) when I look for a car.

The most important thing is to list all the following these are absolute MUST HAVEs for the advert
Make
Model
Derivative e.g. L S SE GLS
Year & Plate
Gearbox
Miles
MOT till date
Tax disc till date
Fsh/sh if applicapable

Optional details
tyre condition
features aircon elec windows/mirrors sunroof elec sunroof (personally when I look for a car I research what comes as standard for the derivative so this is not important to me as a buyer)
good runner
good condition

[harveybobbles]

Nissan Primera 2000 Y 72,000 1.8 blue.

I've just sold a Y reg Vectra 2.2SRi done 80k for 1695
Y reg Mondeo 2.0 Zetec done 90k for early teens.

Problem with Primera's is they're a limited/low interest car.

In the last 12 months Ive sold maybe 2 Primera's and probably 80 ish Mondeo/Vectra's.

Your best bet is autotrader. Look on there for Primera's similar to yours on age/spec/mileage and put yours £200 cheaper to make it nearer the top of the list when people are searching.

HB