Why so many used cars with low mileage?

Wig

I don't know what the actual average mileage is, and of course there are different types of average 'mean' & 'median' but I have always thought it to be 12K.

If OP is a cash buyer, he should certainly investigate the auctions, but not necessarily buy from auction. He should look to see how much they are going for and then add on the commission, -which traders don't pay or don't pay as much. Also don't forget, cars at auction never have roadtax, so you drive it away with no tax

It is feasible that he might get a better deal by negotiation with the forecourt retailer than with an auction, and he has the advantage of being able to test drive. There may be a fault not covered by warranty on the auction car (unlikely but nonetheless...)

He should also check Autotrader, which is another good place to see how much cars of the model wanted can be purchased for, and these cars can be test driven and probably come with a bit of tax for easier legal immediate driving.

Just to help OP start off
New Golf model 1.4 S 5dr. less than 1 year old - prices in red are the ones you could expect to have to pay at auction, then you have to add on commission. Phone BCA to ask how much the commission would be.

VOLKSWAGEN GOLF 1.4 S Hatchback, SILVER,
5 Doors, Manual Transmission, Petrol, 3490 Miles,
CA09VZF Registered 20-08-2009
Newport 04-02-2010 M023

New:£13496
Ret:£12795
Cln:£11600
Avg:£11250
Blw:£10750

New:£13990
Ret:£13365
Trd:£11865

VOLKSWAGEN GOLF 1.4 S Hatchback, BLACK,
5 Doors, Manual Transmission, Petrol, 5403 Miles, PK09ZVR
Registered 28-04-2009
Bedford 15-02-2010

New:£13496
Ret:£12695
Cln:£11500
Avg:£11100
Blw:£10600

New:£13990
Ret:£13325
Trd:£11825

VOLKSWAGEN GOLF 1.4 S Hatchback, BLACK,
5 Doors, Manual Transmission, Petrol, 7329 Miles,
AK09XFS Registered 15-05-2009
Birmingham 01-02-2010 JH006

New:£13496
Ret:£12550
Cln:£11350
Avg:£10950
Blw:£10400

New:£13990
Ret:£13285
Trd:£11785

flyingscotno1

Inactive wrote: »

" Includes Scrappage "

Teaches you for looking at a car at Arnold Clark with big price in windscreen and obviously tiny asterisk with a trade in value! I hate companies that include scrappage in their new car prices grr:mad:.... Well add £2k onto those prices it is still a bit cheaper than list!:p

roddydogs wrote: »

Why whats wrong with Arnold Clark?

They do not get the best reputation which crops up on this forum and other places from time to time.

hethmar

I think VW had a special £3250 scrappage offer.

Inactive

flyingscotno1 wrote: »

Teaches you for looking at a car at Arnold Clark with big price in windscreen and obviously tiny asterisk with a trade in value! I hate companies that include scrappage in their new car prices grr:mad:.... Well add £2k onto those prices it is still a bit cheaper than list!:p

I didn't post the AC link, you did..

Inactive

hethmar wrote: »

I think VW had a special £3250 scrappage offer.

All genuine scrappage is £2000, ... £1000 from us the taxpayers, the other £1000 is supposed to come from the manufacturer, however some makers have added to that £1000 to shift some unpopular models that were probably grossly over priced in the first place.

Kilty_2

Having wrecked a hire car I'd be careful when buying one - check thoroughly for signs of accident damage. One that a colleague had at the same time as me had really badly botched paintwork repair (and it was still on hire :eek:)

Usual things apply too like checking all the interior stuff is sound (including the cup holders! :rotfl:)

harveybobbles

Make sure you can return it under the SOGA cos you didnt check it properly first time round...

motorguy

roddydogs wrote: »

Why whats wrong with Arnold Clark? Nothing New about Low mileage cars being for sale, its always been the case look in you local paper.

Nothing wrong with Arnold Clark, but the Golf price listed is via the scrappage scheme.

motorguy

Wig wrote: »

I don't know what the actual average mileage is, and of course there are different types of average 'mean' & 'median' but I have always thought it to be 12K.

If OP is a cash buyer, he should certainly investigate the auctions, but not necessarily buy from auction. He should look to see how much they are going for and then add on the commission, -which traders don't pay or don't pay as much.

It is feasible that he might get a better deal by negotiation with the forecourt retailer than with an auction, and he has the advantage of being able to test drive. There may be a fault not covered by warranty on the auction car (unlikely but nonetheless...)

He should also check autotrader.

Just to help OP start off
New Golf model 1.4 S 5dr. less than 1 year old - prices in red are the ones you could expect to have to pay at auction, then you have to add on commission. Phone BCA to ask how much the commission would be.

VOLKSWAGEN GOLF 1.4 S Hatchback, SILVER,
5 Doors, Manual Transmission, Petrol, 3490 Miles,
CA09VZF Registered 20-08-2009
Newport 04-02-2010 M023

New:£13496
Ret:£12795
Cln:£11600
Avg:£11250
Blw:£10750

New:£13990
Ret:£13365
Trd:£11865

VOLKSWAGEN GOLF 1.4 S Hatchback, BLACK,
5 Doors, Manual Transmission, Petrol, 5403 Miles, PK09ZVR
Registered 28-04-2009
Bedford 15-02-2010

New:£13496
Ret:£12695
Cln:£11500
Avg:£11100
Blw:£10600

New:£13990
Ret:£13325
Trd:£11825

VOLKSWAGEN GOLF 1.4 S Hatchback, BLACK,
5 Doors, Manual Transmission, Petrol, 7329 Miles,
AK09XFS Registered 15-05-2009
Birmingham 01-02-2010 JH006

New:£13496
Ret:£12550
Cln:£11350
Avg:£10950
Blw:£10400

New:£13990
Ret:£13285
Trd:£11785

As i've already listed, you can buy them for £2k less and from a main VW dealer than the potential auction prices you've listed in RED, just by a few clicks on autotrader.

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201004351097300/sort/priceasc/usedcars/fuel-type/petrol/quantity-of-doors/5/maximum-age/up_to_1_year_old/body-type/hatchback/engine-size-cars/1-4l_to_1-6l/model/golf/make/volkswagen/postcode/bt667gu/radius/1500/page/1?previous=/search/used/cars/volkswagen/golf/postcode/bt667gu/radius/1500/fuel-type/petrol/quantity-of-doors/5/maximum-age/up_to_1_year_old/body-type/hatchback/engine-size-cars/1-4l_to_1-6l/sort/priceasc/page/1&logcode=p

I know which and where i'd prefer to buy

motorguy

Inactive wrote: »

All genuine scrappage is £2000, ... £1000 from us the taxpayers, the other £1000 is supposed to come from the manufacturer, however some makers have added to that £1000 to shift some unpopular models that were probably grossly over priced in the first place.

They've simply added the discount that was originally available to the £1000 the government gives.