used car market gone bad? just vr4's? or just me?

[Mart]

Has the market gone rubbish in general or is it just me?

i've had my vr4 for sale since may and dropped the price loads compared to what's for sale on autotrader or ebay, but I still haven't had a single person come to look at it. what's going on?

the only good thing is that the car i'm buying next are also struggling in the market, so much so that they've pretty much stopped importing them cos its not cost effective compared to buying the used ones here!

cheers,

Martin

[Kieran]

It just seems to be one of those things. Unfortunatley, as a nation we seem to be moving the same way as Japan - That is, once a car is 5 years old it's percieved my the general public as being worthless.

The other snag is with Legnums/Galants themselves, particularly the VR-4. People who are aware of them but don't actually know that much about them (like the guy I got my GLS from) seem to hear the bad stuff - That being the silly fuel consumption and the vulnerable gearboxes.

In fact, one of our members (funkstar?) recently visited an importer to buy a car but didn't want his VR-4 in part ex - Too much hassle to sell apparently!!

[Mart]

yeah, i've found 2 cars I want to buy, n both garages have declined mine as a px, just cos they don't know what price to put on it, and the car i'm looking at Buying is a hilux surf import anyway!

just sooo frustrating. when does it become more economical to break it for spares?

martin

[ANTHONY]

oh well its just us lot then

[Beastlee]

I think the problem is how people percieve the fact that it's normally £3-5K for a 10 year old car. You cannot get warranties on them at that age and the cost of servicing is high. I know other cars are even more expensive and oldr but there's a lot more coverage and spares, etc for them.

I spent a lot of time selling my last car with only one person coming to see it (and buying I might add) leaving me wondering if the price was too high. Looking at what was available when I subsequently wanted a replacement I was amazed at the high prices expected for older cars without history of any kind, If had priced it to match it should have been another £1000 more.

I considered yours as you know but the fact the alternator wasn't working and the lack of recent pictures put me off initially. Timing was bad on getting it sorted which isn't your fault but IMHO you haven't really put in enough effort to make it appeal to people given how fast you want to sell it.

Looking on e-bay most people are only willing to pay about £2500-2800 even for a fresh import and that means the second hand market is going to be lower. One guy failed to get any bids after re-listing it and he's probably regretting not taking my offer when I went to see it as it was still higher than was bid the first time round.

[ANTHONY]

theses cars of ours are becoming something proberly only a few people will want and as good examples become harder to obtain hopfuly the price will level out

[MPBVr4]

theses cars of ours are becoming something proberly only a few people will want and as good examples become harder to obtain hopfuly the price will level out

Probably true. We have a Mitsi 3000GT (98) bought it about 6 years ago when prices were tumbling and continued to do so for a couple of years. They have now flattened out and nice ones are actually going up in price.

[thecustomer]

... there seem to be a lot (by VR 4 standards) of 10 year old cars at importers - more than there were a year ago - I guess because now they don't need to be SVA'd.

And that high level of availability seems to have pushed the sticker price down by maybe £1000-£1500 on top-notch cars, and a bit more on less-good ones.

You'd have thought that some UK history, and a warranty, would make a difference over a fresh import. maybe it will in a few months, but not now.

Will

[Roberto]

RUN THEM TILL THEY DIE, its the only way...

[pitslayer]

i think its because car dealers have no idea what the galants are.
i took my galant to one car dealer, said what it was, how much would you give me for it. they didnt want it, engine was to big and wouldnt know how to sell it, only a standard 2.5 24v....yet 2 days later they had an FTO in there for sale???? and FTO`s are harder to sell, theres one for sale by me, thats been for sale, for well over a year now

[fredfour4]

I think as VR4's have become an enthusiasts car and alot of enthusiasts have trouble with the reality of what is is worth. When your heart rules your head you think it worth shed loads, so when it comes to sell the same applies. Then we say I spent this, this and this on it so value must be sky high.

When I advertised my VR4 Legnum on ebay as a classified ad, of course I put in it I had spent X on it and had reciepts and what a nice car it is because you need to find a buyer.

I looked all VR4 ads as a guide for my car. I priced it what I thought was a proper price a realistic price. I put in the ad that the price shown was the price I wanted and if you even thought about swapping, PX, haggling you will be told to leave and I will not sell the car to you.

Beastlee came, saw and bought with in those guidelines. A proper buyer with no messing.

I am sure Beastlee got what he wanted and I did as well.
I got my cash back apart from running costs (A LOT) as that is what they are running costs not a price hiker for your car.

If you buy a car and it breaks and cost a fortune to run, You already knew this before you bought it. So let not kid ourselves that spending a sack of cash on your car will make it be worth any more.

So come on you unrealists as you know who you are - GET REAL

[Rambaud]

i think its because car dealers have no idea what the galants are.
i took my galant to one car dealer, said what it was, how much would you give me for it. they didnt want it, engine was to big and wouldnt know how to sell it, only a standard 2.5 24v....yet 2 days later they had an FTO in there for sale???? and FTO`s are harder to sell, theres one for sale by me, thats been for sale, for well over a year now

The FTO might have been a commission only deal?

[pitslayer]

When I advertised my VR4 Legnum on ebay as a classified ad, of course I put in it I had spent X on it and had reciepts and what a nice car it is because you need to find a buyer.


I got my cash back apart from running costs (A LOT) as that is what they are running costs not a price hiker for your car.


So let not kid ourselves that spending a sack of cash on your car will make it be worth any more.



So come on you unrealists as you know who you are - GET REAL

, so you got all the money back you had ploughed into the car, bar running costs, petrol insurance etc. then you say you wont get your money back on your car, and to be realistic? bit contradicatary isnt it


the FTO i dont know what its on, he does 4k for it, and its not worth it

[Beastlee]

I think Kevin means that he got the money back he paid for it which is the most anyone can ask. He accepted that servicing costs will, at best, help to maintain the value of the car but certainly won't increase it.
I looked at a few cars and in all cases, including Kevin's, there were things that I felt needed to be done for me to be happy with the respective cars. I wouldn't have expectd anyone to drop their prices further but the sales fell through because I did not want to spend the extra money, nor did I have the time, to get the servicing/repairs done before I went to Germany. Kevin's car had a great history to it and was priced right I was actually worried someone else would come along and buy it before we got back to it.
I was lucky in so much as I actually made a (small) profit on mine because I bought shrewdly and spent a condsiderable amount of money sorting out the items I had managed to reduce the price on. Again the critical selling point was service history, on an old car I think it is essential to have, a good service history means that even a 500,000 mile car is as good as a 50,000 mile car. VR4s are certainly part of this rule, we al know how much the servicing costs are and if someone has scripmed on that then you can expect that other bits won't have been done properly either.
Something I always look at on a car I am buying is the tyres. Are they good quality, not just name brand, and do they have good tread? If the answer to either of these is no then check everyhing else carefully. Tyres are your most important item and are relatively cheap to buy so on a high performance car cost cutting there is a bad sign.

Sorry to get fired up on this thread but people just expect too much fom buyers these days.

[KiwiTT]

This is one of the reasons why I have decided to keep my VR-4 for as long as possible.

It is a far better value car, then anything you can replace it with and if you service it well, it will last the distance. Since 2003 I have serviced mine well (see my signature for details), some may say excessively. But it is still cheaper than the alternative, i.e. a newer car and the depreciation hit I would take.

[ANTHONY]

i was just reading about a 10 year old car and not being able to get a warranty. well i had a policy with warranty direct on my 2.0 sport and because I'm an existing customer they are willing to cover my 11 year old legnum for £45.00 per month. i just need to pay off the other policy and i may consider it. and that is with full dealer option

[Rambaud]

i was just reading about a 10 year old car and not being able to get a warranty. well i had a policy with warranty direct on my 2.0 sport and because I'm an existing customer they are willing to cover my 11 year old legnum for £45.00 per month. i just need to pay off the other policy and i may consider it. and that is with full dealer option

There is usually a mileage (100,000) limit as well as a time limit. Or has your Legnum exceeded that too?

[Beastlee]

It's a shame really as we all know that the Jap imports are normally in much better condition than a 3-4 year old car from the UK.

[Rambaud]

Another point to consider is the declining UK property market, Northern Rock debacle etc.

A lot of people have got less spare dosh with the increase in mortgage rates, and the "feel good" factor, which can influence the purchase of less boring cars, is evaporating quickly.

[fredfour4]

It is only contradictory if you do not read it properly. Running costs are what you spend on the car during ownership. Insurance, fuel, parts etc.