Trading In Preparations

[paulhelenwilko]

Our ongoing search to upgrade the Motorhome continues. (may take some months yet ...)

What are peoples opinions and experiences of the trade in price they get on their old van ? I can appreciate that to get the best price we should present it as clean and tidy as possible but how far do you go, especially considering we want to continue using it whilst we search.

For example on one of the rear wheel arches we have scratches where someone has scrapped down the side. I have a quote from a Smart repairer for about £200 to fill and respray the wheel arch.

Is it worth us getting it done for the best part exchange price ?

Do people have any other tips on getting the best part exchange ?

Paul

 

[St3v3]

Don't part ex, sell private or you'll get screwed. The scratch - for the sake of 200 quid I would probably get it done.

 

[wildebus]

Don't part ex, sell private or you'll get screwed. The scratch - for the sake of 200 quid I would probably get it done.

I'd agree with the scratch fix. It is not just the cost of the scratch but its presence can put people off the entire vehicle as it can be an indication of how a vehicle is cared for (this is not a comment directed at a specific person, but just a general comment on how something can be regarded)

 

[Haaamster]

Definitely remove all the empty beer bottles Paul, don't want them getting the wrong impression.

 

[paulhelenwilko]

Definitely remove all the empty beer bottles Paul, don't want them getting the wrong impression.

I wasn't going to go that far !

 

[wildebus]

Definitely remove all the empty beer bottles Paul, don't want them getting the wrong impression.

Add a few full beer bottles and say fridge contents included in sale ..... job done

 

[snapster]

If it’s a dealer, take everything out that’s not screwed down and don’t leave any little extras, you won’t get any more cash and the dealer will take it out anyway and try to sell it on to make more profit.
If it’s private, you could leave stuff that you think would clinch a deal that you don’t need or want.

 

[Obanboy666]

I recently traded in my Devon pvc against a new Pilote c class.
Probably went overboard with cleaning inside and out, t cut bodywork and window scratches etc, etc. I was well impressed with the price I was given, £2,000 more than I was expecting. They commented what an excellent condition it was in. Could probably have made more money selling it private but to be honest couldn’t be arsed with the hassle. So for me well worth the couple of days work ensuring it was in as good condition as possible.

 

[Okta]

I phoned a couple of dealers for a trade in prices last year, against an identical new specification. One offered £9,000 more than the other, neither had seen the trade in. No prizes for guessing which one I went ahead with. I subsequently took the exchange in for checking and they confirmed the price. I did not do anything special to cover up the minor window scratches etc. I just cleaned it up enough to make sure it looked properly used and cared for.

It is now on their forecourt, fully valeted, prepared and looking very good. Obviously they have marked the price up, they are taking the risk and the costs of selling it. I think the mark up is perfectly reasonable and am happy for them to make something on it.

What have I learned from this? Firstly only contact dealers with a good reputation. Shop around making no secret that you are getting competitive prices from other dealers. Present the trade in cleaned and tidy but don’t break the bank getting jobs done that they will replicate or can get done cheaper. I could possibly have done better selling privately but I probably wouldn’t buy privately so I suspect you narrow the market down significantly by doing so. Plus I wouldn’t want the hassle and I am prepared to pay for this. However all this could be different at a lower price point, I am lucky and have reached a time in life where spending some of the children’s inheritance seems like a good idea.

 

[alwaysared]

It is now on their forecourt, fully valeted, prepared and looking very good. Obviously they have marked the price up, they are taking the risk and the costs of selling it. I think the mark up is perfectly reasonable and am happy for them to make something on it.

I agree everyone is entitled to earn a living.

Regards,
Del

 

[wildebus]

If you remove any extras, don’t bodge and don’t leave any holes....

Reminds me of when I sold my house in St Albans... took two days to carefully fill holes left from some shelves I took down and repainted wall so there was no evidence. Looked good. Drove past house a week after it was sold and the *******s had only knocked the wall down anyway to make a through lounge/dining room

 

[snapster]

When I sold our last van, a 21 year old coach built , I was more than honest with the condition and pointed out everything I knew about the van including a few “problems”
I put it up for sale cheap ( allowing a substantial discount for the new owner to repair a few patches of dried out damp from historic leaks) and an issue with the engine not turning off occasionally when I took the key out.

It turned out the buyer was a dealer who advertised the van, next day, at over double what he paid me.

No mention of the faults and certainly not enough time to fix anything I had pointed out to him

He subsequently dropped the price a little but still sold it at a 100% profit

Wonder if there was any warranty with it?

I often wonder who bought it and how they are getting on with it.