Losing money on a car in a short space of time

Thatsthespirit

I bought a Fiat Bravo around a month ago from a small Fiat/Alfa garage. Was reduced from £2.5K ended up paying £1.995 which I thought was a good deal with it's condition and mileage.

Anyway, due to change in circumstances I'm having to sell the car now. Put it on all the main sites (Auto, eBay, gumtree etc) for what I paid for it and haven't had a sniff. I know buyers bring you down so I bare'd that in mind and was (through gritted teeth) willing to lose £100-200.

I'm having no bites though, and the car is playing up even though I'm not bloody driving it. When you switch on the glow plugs lights flashes saying they need to be checked then goes off. The cam belt or what I assume is that is making a funny noise. All of this is going to totally put buyers off I;m sure.

Am I really about to lose in upwards of £500 on a car within the space of a month?

AdrianC

You bought it from trade - so paid a trade premium, to reflect their profit margin and the statutory protection you got.
You are now selling it privately.

And that's before we consider that you bought a working car, and are now selling a broken one...

Thatsthespirit

AdrianC wrote: »

You bought it from trade - so paid a trade premium, to reflect their profit margin and the statutory protection you got.
You are now selling it privately.

And that's before we consider that you bought a working car, and are now selling a broken one...

....Right?

jimjames

Thatsthespirit wrote: »

Am I really about to lose in upwards of £500 on a car within the space of a month?

Yes, the short answer. That was the profit for the garage. If it's not now in the same condition you may lose more

Thatsthespirit

jimjames wrote: »

Yes, the short answer. That was the profit for the garage. If it's not now in the same condition you may lose more

Nice one Cheers

DUTR

Thatsthespirit wrote: »

Nice one Cheers

I'm not sure how you want readers to respond, even in another thread only last month you seemed aware that a vehicle from a dealer comes with some sort of warranty, why are you not able to use that for the car fault?
As for the car, yes some buyers won't mess their pants over a Bravo, so it's just a long wait for a buyer unfortunately.

Thatsthespirit

DUTR wrote: »

I'm not sure how you want readers to respond, even in another thread only last month you seemed aware that a vehicle from a dealer comes with some sort of warranty, why are you not able to use that for the car fault?
As for the car, yes some buyers won't mess their pants over a Bravo, so it's just a long wait for a buyer unfortunately.

Nice one Cheers

societys_child

willing to lose £100-200.

I'm afraid that's wishful thinking even if there were no problems with it. Private seller and no warranty?

motorguy

Sadly this is what i was getting at with your last thread on the subject. I would say you're realistically looking at a £700 bath to get the phone to ring.

Some nice little car from a specialist dealer / mechanic at £1995 is probably only a £1295 car on the private market.

Your glow plug light means it needs one or more glow plugs. I dont think they're terribly expensive from memory (check ebay and look for a decent brand like bosch) and they're not time intensive to fit.

Any sort of belt noises are likely to be your fan belt rather than timing belt so might just need the belt tightened or replaced (a few £).

Old Fiats are treated with mistrust by used car buyers therefore they are a slow seller.

Dont think i'm "having a go" here BTW, just giving you my tuppenceworth as an ex motor trader.

Nor am i taking any moral high ground here - i once bought a BMW for £42,000 and sold it six months later for £33,000....

Robisere

If the cam belt was in trouble you would know about it. If it was 'slipping' the valve timing would be way out and it would run very rough. If it snapped, it would damge the engine and you would come to a shuddreing, expensive halt.

arcon5

Glow plug light flashing doesn't mean it need glow plugs... could mean many things. Some more serious than others. Ford for example it flashes with fuel pressure issues so when injectors or pumps knackered for example; audis flash when timing issues.
Fiat could be many things still.

In fact a lot flag up the eml with glow plug open circuit.

Coil light only indicates glow plugs when turning ignition to ignition live before starting

I'm very surprised somebody claiming to work in industry has even said itll be a glow plug of two. Especially for a flashing coil light