The price of 2nd hand cars

[Gunk]

Service, valet, mot, dents, paint, trim etc, it is the trade average at the moment with main dealers having even higher recon costs, not forgetting warranty to take out later maybe.

My friend is a dealer and they give every car an oil service as a minimum, usually all four wheels need refurbishment and front bumper needs repainting. So most used cars from a dealer will have had this work done.

If you are buying privately refurbishment of four alloy wheels and repainting a scratched bumper will set you back around £400. Oil service £150 so buying privately is not always cheaper.

 

[Jody]

If you are buying privately refurbishment of four alloy wheels and repainting a scratched bumper will set you back around £400. Oil service £150 so buying privately is not always cheaper.

And if the clutch breaks or the bottom end drops out of it on the way home you usually have some cover having bought from the trade.

 

[Deleted member 26715]

Oil service £150

Seriously? Does he use oil with gold flecks in it?

 

[fossyant]

Seriously? Does he use oil with gold flecks in it?

More like £25 with filter.

 

[Deleted member 26715]

And if the clutch breaks or the bottom end drops out of it on the way home you usually have some cover having bought from the trade.

You have more than some, although you may have to push to get your legal rights, not always, despite their reputation there are some good honest 2nd hand car dealers out there, yes I did type it with a straight face.

 

[rogerzilla]

I noticed prices are much higher in Devon and Cornwall, possibly because lower incomes mean more people buy used. There must be some arbitrage possible if you buy in the SE and re-sell in the far SW.

 

[Jody]

I noticed prices are much higher in Devon and Cornwall, possibly because lower incomes mean more people buy used. There must be some arbitrage possible if you buy in the SE and re-sell in the far SW.

Most car dealers I have worked for buy their cars from large auctions in the south east. A lot cheaper down that corner.

 

[MarkF]

I know cars are super cheap because I've been looking for weeks, to put perspective on the opening post, l looked at a mint 2009 Mini One (with decent spec) in Huddersfield, 62k, 1 owner, FSH, the sort of size/age/history/mileage l am looking at. He wanted £1500 ono!

A Mini, Volvo C30, Civic or Megane coupe will arrive soon, it'll be mint, low owner, fsh, sub 90k miles and it'll definitely be sub £2.5k. And it'll do me 5+ years.

Talking to many, some sellers just can't wait and have already bought newer replacements, there is a definite imbalance of good used cars and possible buyers.

 

[Deleted member 26715]

They are definitely cheaper up North, when I used to tinker they were sub £1500, but still had people coming up from the South coast as it was worth the fuel to save money on the car.

 

[Balyintegra]

Buy private, save yourself at least £500, do research on the car your buying ie mileage and items that need replacing then use the following link to see the cars mot, advisory history over several years, plus get an indication of annuall mileage job done

https://cartaxcheck.co.uk/mot-check/

 

[Levo-Lon]

The bit that you get with a dealer buy is hpi protection.
Yes you can do a private hpi check but crooks are clever.. If you do buy a bargain Ringer it soon ends in tears.
Car crime is rife on used cars and buying from the kerb side is their golden egg

 

[screenman]

I owned car sites in the Twickenham area and seldom found much difference in price around the country when buy, all I did get to see though was more cars, which of course is very important when I needed 500 a year. City cars lower mileage, Lincolnshire cars higher mileage, does not take much guessing why. I did not tinker I had eight familes depending on the business making money.

 

[pclay]

Well, I've spent all weekend looking at cars. I've been to several traders, looked on car lots and been trawling eBay, Facebook and Autotrader.

My conclusion is:

10 year old Ford Focus (titanium spec), good cond, 70000 miles is £3.5k.

I looked at one place, and yes they had £1500 10 years old cars, but they were either high mileage (100k plus) or had dented bodywork.

Gone are the days of £1500 10 years old cars. The good cond 70000 milers for £1500 are now 13 years old.

Chatting to one trader, he said that no-one is selling their cars at the moment, and there is less used stock out there. I guess I'm going to have to pay £3.5k, but on the basis it lasts 9 years, then its not too bad.

 

[Hugh Manatee]

My brother ended up driving to the Midlands from Devon. He indeed got the 2010 Focus estate from a dealer for less than £2.5K

He's happy so far. He enjoyed the 60 mpg on the way home!

 

[fossyant]

Have you thought about a Mondeo - fair bit cheaper.