The price of 2nd hand cars

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screenman

Legendary Member
How have they made those losses? And how much profit have they made say in total over the last 20 years?

As said, I don't think the OP is considering buying his 3.5k 10 year old 70k Focus from whichever the UK's largest dealership is

I do not think anyone that I have come across in the retail motor trade can knock a £1000 off of a £3500 car and still make any money from it.
 

screenman

Legendary Member
How have they made those losses? And how much profit have they made say in total over the last 20 years?

As said, I don't think the OP is considering buying his 3.5k 10 year old 70k Focus from whichever the UK's largest dealership is


They have got some up for that price. Not a clue how much they made in the last twenty, but I imagine they have spent some of it.
 

Drago

Legendary Member
I do not think anyone that I have come across in the retail motor trade can knock a £1000 off of a £3500 car and still make any money from it.
In the case of our OP, theres no way on Gods green Earth that Fred in a Shed paid 2 large for it, and quite likely not more than 1500 sheets. You know as well as I do if it was a trade in then only minimum book would have been paid, and more likely he got it from the block for even less than that. He could easily drop a grand and still make a profit. If the dealer paid 2.5 large or more for it then he doesn't deserve to be in the trade.
 

screenman

Legendary Member
In the case of our OP, theres no way on Gods green Earth that Fred in a Shed paid 2 large for it, and quite likely not more than 1500 sheets. You know as well as I do if it was a trade in then only minimum book would have been paid, and more likely he got it from the block for even less than that. He could easily drop a grand and still make a profit. If the dealer paid 2.5 large or more for it then he doesn't deserve to be in the trade.

That car at the moment is possible over book in the trade, there are a lot of older cars making a hell of a lot over, then of course there are the auction fee's starting at around a few ton.
 

Pale Rider

Legendary Member
I recently bought my CMax from a Vauxhall dealer.

He told me these days Autotrader effectively fixes prices - they have that big a hold on the market.

I had checked prices on Autotrader's utility before going in to give me an idea.

My high mileage 2012 Meriva Auto was shown at around £2,000 as a part exchange.

Which is what I was offered, or it might have been a hundred or two more.

I saw my car, so scrubbed up I barely recognised it, on their website later for £3,400, giving them a gross margin of about £1,200.

It wasn't on there long, so they've got rid of it somehow.

I suspect they would have taken £3,250 for it, but not a lot less.
 

screenman

Legendary Member
I recently bought my CMax from a Vauxhall dealer.

He told me these days Autotrader effectively fixes prices - they have that big a hold on the market.

I had checked prices on Autotrader's utility before going in to give me an idea.

My high mileage 2012 Meriva Auto was shown at around £2,000 as a part exchange.

Which is what I was offered, or it might have been a hundred or two more.

I saw my car, so scrubbed up I barely recognised it, on their website later for £3,400, giving them a gross margin of about £1,200.

It wasn't on there long, so they've got rid of it somehow.

I suspect they would have taken £3,250 for it, but not a lot less.

Good example, but they did not make £1250 PROFIT. Autotrader is controlling things a tad, but many dealers are not sticking to it, the original seller be it trade or private is doing that, stock for a few reasons is very short at the moment
 

vickster

Legendary Member
Good example, but they did not make £1250 PROFIT. Autotrader is controlling things a tad, but many dealers are not sticking to it, the original seller be it trade or private is doing that, stock for a few reasons is very short at the moment
He never said they did ;). He said GM
 

Drago

Legendary Member
A good example of a model with a scarcer supply. A Foci is one of the most common cars on the roads, and oversupply badly outstrips demand at the arriss end of the market. The Meriva suffers no such issues - a much smaller pool of buyers for sure, but chasing a radically scarcer supply of straight examples. The maths is simple, and a quick glance through Autotraders website bears that out.

So going back to the OPs example, I stand by my previous post.
 

Pale Rider

Legendary Member
but they did not make £1250 PROFIT.

Absolutely, it had been valeted to within an inch of its life which must have cost £200 or so.

It had a broken driver's sun visor - another fifty quid no doubt.

Also offered with a short insurance based warranty, so that's another few quid before you take into account the heat and light in the showroom.

Going back to the OP and 2010 70,000 mile Focuses going for £3,250.

It may be the trade sees Focuses as more desirable than Merivas, and mine, while two years younger, had 95,000 miles on it.

I'm afraid all those who are saying the Focus prices are too high are not being realistic.

Apart from anything else, the OP looked around, he saw lots of Focuses at about that price, not just one.

It's clearly the going rate for a retail sale from an established dealer.

Offer three grand and you'd probably buy one, but not for a lot less.
 

Pale Rider

Legendary Member
A sample autotrader search helps develop the OP's point.

There are about 700 Focuses for £3K-£4K within 200 miles of Durham City.

A quick scan of the results shows many of the lower price ones are 2010, a handful even older.

Lots of 2011s for £3,500, but the few I looked at had 100,000+ miles.

At one time the estate version of a car usually fetched a premium, and there may be an undesirable Focus spec which will be cheaper.

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-search?sort=price-asc&postcode=dh13nj&radius=200&onesearchad=Used&onesearchad=Nearly New&onesearchad=New&make=FORD&model=FOCUS&price-from=3000&price-to=4000&page=4
 

MarkF

Guru
Location
Yorkshire
The UK is the cheapest place in the world to buy a used car, kids and look-at-me's are used to pcp deals and l am not daft, cars are going for peanuts!

Local ad's & Gumtree tell the truth, there are good cars, sub 12 years old, with years of life left that people are struggling to get £500 for. I am looking for a new runabout, my Focus (2002 bought for £800 6 years ago) will go to the scrappers, l could drive it to Bogota, but who will give me ££££'s for it? Can't be arsed trying, it's worthless but has at least 3 years left. I paid £1400 for a "newer" but far worse car in 1985!!

£3.5k for a 10 year old Focus? I'd be looking at a Merc CLK 6 cylinder, low owner, low mileage with FSH for the same price, it'd have to be mint too.

Never bought from a dealer and never had a problem, wouldn't mind a Civic Type S, 08/09 maybe, way better then the Focus but l'd be looking to pay £2.5 tops for a minter.
 
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gbb

Legendary Member
Location
Peterborough
Absolutely, it had been valeted to within an inch of its life which must have cost £200 or so.

It had a broken driver's sun visor - another fifty quid no doubt.

Also offered with a short insurance based warranty, so that's another few quid before you take into account the heat and light in the showroom.

Going back to the OP and 2010 70,000 mile Focuses going for £3,250.

It may be the trade sees Focuses as more desirable than Merivas, and mine, while two years younger, had 95,000 miles on it.

I'm afraid all those who are saying the Focus prices are too high are not being realistic.

Apart from anything else, the OP looked around, he saw lots of Focuses at about that price, not just one.

It's clearly the going rate for a retail sale from an established dealer.

Offer three grand and you'd probably buy one, but not for a lot less.
TBF, my thought that OPs Focus is way overpriced unless its mint may be out of touch. As MarkF states, I see loads of 10 plate cars for £1000 to maybe £2000 on FB pages but what condition etc ?
I traded my 2007 Focus in in 2011 and was mildly surprised how much I got trade in...and even more surprised how much they put in on the forecourt for, valeted and scrubbed up, it sold very quickly at a price that even if the buyer knocked them down a bit, the garage I assume did well.
Perhaps their popu,arity drives the price. Hated mine mind....
 

gbb

Legendary Member
Location
Peterborough
A sample autotrader search helps develop the OP's point.

There are about 700 Focuses for £3K-£4K within 200 miles of Durham City.

A quick scan of the results shows many of the lower price ones are 2010, a handful even older.

Lots of 2011s for £3,500, but the few I looked at had 100,000+ miles.

At one time the estate version of a car usually fetched a premium, and there may be an undesirable Focus spec which will be cheaper.

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-search?sort=price-asc&postcode=dh13nj&radius=200&onesearchad=Used&onesearchad=Nearly New&onesearchad=New&make=FORD&model=FOCUS&price-from=3000&price-to=4000&page=4
IIRC 2010 was pre facelift so probably would be significantly cheaper than 2011 on...
 

Jody

Stubborn git
IIRC 2010 was pre facelift so probably would be significantly cheaper than 2011 on...

The MK2.5 came out 2009 and was replaced by the MK3 in 2012.

The UK is the cheapest place in the world to buy a used car, kids and look-at-me's are used to pcp deals and l am not daft, cars are going for peanuts!

Indeed. There is currently a big market for used cars being bought in the UK and taken to east Europe for dismantling.
 
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