Buying old car price variations between AutoTrader and Parkers?

UKSBD

My lads just passed test and looking to buy a cheap motor <£4k

Virtually every car we find on Autotrader is at least 30% higher than the Parkers valuation.

I know Parkers is just a guide, but is it really that far out, or do cars on Auitotrader tend to get advertised at higher prices?

kinger101

It's normal to advertise a used car for more than it is worth.  A bit of negotiation is expected.  I've only bought one where it was a fixed price, but that was a good fixed price because they were trying to sell me finance, snake oil shines and 1001 insurance policies for trivial risks.  


30 percent does seem a bit steep though.  Are you sure you are comparing like with like.

You can look at the Parker's price but really, you are looking for the best price for a car that suits your needs within a distance you are prepared to shop around.

Nobbie1967

It was my understanding that traders advertising on Autotrader tend to allow very little haggle room in the prices as people usually search on price and only go and look at the cheapest ones. You do tend to find a lot of private sellers price similar to traders despite offering no additional benefits such as trade in/finance/warranty. 30% sounds a lot though, any examples?

Herzlos

kinger101 said:

It's normal to advertise a used car for more than it is worth.  A bit of negotiation is expected.

Not anymore. Since everyone buys online now and sorts price low -> high, if the car isn't competitively priced no-one will even ask.

By all means ask but you're unlikely to get anywhere.

As for Parkers being out, it may be that there isn't enough recent sale data, or it could be skewed a bit by location. For example, the same car is worth more in London than Glasgow, to the extent one of my last cars sold to a dealer who flew up and drove it home.

sheslookinhot

Put the registration number into WBAC or Motorway, then you can decide how much more you want to pay. Don’t buy a car for the asking price.

UKSBD

Thanks for all the replies all, and apologies for not responding earlier.

I'm only looking within 10 miles of me, and are probably in an expensive area which may be swaying things.

Here is a typical example though - 
Car on sale on autotrader for £1,995 (private seller)
Parkers value at between £660 and £1125 - WBAC value at £740

I've looked at 2 or 3 now on Autotrader that have been similar to this

force_ten1

UKSBD said:

Thanks for all the replies all, and apologies for not responding earlier.

I'm only looking within 10 miles of me, and are probably in an expensive area which may be swaying things.

Here is a typical example though - 
Car on sale on autotrader for £1,995 (private seller)
Parkers value at between £660 and £1125 - WBAC value at £740

I've looked at 2 or 3 now on Autotrader that have been similar to this

if the prices are so good on parkers and WBAC then why don't you buy a car from them ?

what cars do WBAC have in stock that have taken your fancy ? 

facade

force_ten1 said:

if the prices are so good on parkers and WBAC then why don't you buy a car from them ?

what cars do WBAC have in stock that have taken your fancy ? 

On the off chance that anyone doesn't know:

Parkers aggregate prices over a large area and time period, sudden upturns in the market take a while to show up, and if you are restricted to local cars you may be in an area that has higher prices.

WBAC only sell the nearly new grade A cars via Cinch, everything else is punted out to auction (Cinch & WBAC are part of BCA)

BCA hope that the cars fetch more than WBAC paid for them, and also sting you with "Auction fees" which are high for private buyers.

force_ten1

facade said:

force_ten1 said:

if the prices are so good on parkers and WBAC then why don't you buy a car from them ?

what cars do WBAC have in stock that have taken your fancy ? 

On the off chance that anyone doesn't know:

Parkers aggregate prices over a large area and time period, sudden upturns in the market take a while to show up, and if you are restricted to local cars you may be in an area that has higher prices.

WBAC only sell the nearly new grade A cars via Cinch, everything else is punted out to auction (Cinch & WBAC are part of BCA)

BCA hope that the cars fetch more than WBAC paid for them, and also sting you with "Auction fees" which are high for private buyers.

Do you have to be a dealer to buy from BCA?

BCA is for dealers to buy from. Cinch is the regular consumer retail arm of BCA.

BCA are trade sales only so no private buyers but you could by from G3 or Aston Barclay that do allow private buyers at some sales 

Car_54

force_ten1 said:

facade said:

force_ten1 said:

if the prices are so good on parkers and WBAC then why don't you buy a car from them ?

what cars do WBAC have in stock that have taken your fancy ? 

On the off chance that anyone doesn't know:

Parkers aggregate prices over a large area and time period, sudden upturns in the market take a while to show up, and if you are restricted to local cars you may be in an area that has higher prices.

WBAC only sell the nearly new grade A cars via Cinch, everything else is punted out to auction (Cinch & WBAC are part of BCA)

BCA hope that the cars fetch more than WBAC paid for them, and also sting you with "Auction fees" which are high for private buyers.

Do you have to be a dealer to buy from BCA?

BCA is for dealers to buy from. Cinch is the regular consumer retail arm of BCA.

Buyers must be businesses, but not necessarily dealers. If you own a corner shop you can register, but the fee is higher than for motor trade businesses.

Mildly_Miffed

You really aren't comparing apples with apples.

Parkers don't sell cars.
They simply publish theoretical tables of values that they say they've produced from multiple industry sources.

Autotrader don't sell cars. They simply list ads from dealers.

Those dealers DO sell cars... and they advertise the price for THAT car.
If you think THAT price for THAT car is too high, don't buy it - buy one cheaper elsewhere.
If you can't, then perhaps that's the right price and your other information is wrong.