Skoda Octavia 1.4 2001 advice please

Clanc

Hi,

I've got a 2001 Octavia 1.4, bought 2 yrs ago with 16,000 miles, now at 46,000.

At the time I paid €8500 with a trade-in of €3000, so say €11500.

Does the low mileage on my car really make much difference to the resale value?
5 yr old car with under 50000 miles?

I was enquiring at a Skoda dealer lately re trading up to an Octavia Estate.

He was offering me max. €7000 trade-in for mine, which I think seems very little.

Or is the dealer just trying it on?

Cheers
Clanc

mike65

I'd say 7000 grand was decent myself (bearing in mind garages are flooded with used metal right now).

If you want the best price (but the most hassle) sell privatly.

Mike.

colm_mcm

That doesn't sound unreasonable to me. While Skodas are a lot better built than the Skodas of old, resale values on them still aren't massive. Given that the Octavia wasn't very expensive even when new, €7,000 after 5 years on a car that originally cost around €18000 isn't bad.

Clanc

Hi guys,

thanks for the tips. Would you say that the mileage makes much difference to a dealer? Or is this more likely to be only of interest in a private sale?

colm_mcm

the low mileage means the dealer can put the car on the forecourt and potentially make money on it. a 60/70k car may have to be sold on to a trader. a higher mileage Octavia should be worth about €1,000 less.

optiplexgx270

Seems ok: http://carzone.ie/usedcars/index.cfm?fuseaction=search&sortby=PriceAsc&maxrows=100&Make=Skoda&MakeID=28&Model=Octavia&ModelID=248&Year=2001&GroupID=738

mike65

Don't forget a high miler has more scope for clocking!

Mike.

maidhc

colm_mcm wrote:

the low mileage means the dealer can put the car on the forecourt and potentially make money on it. a 60/70k car may have to be sold on to a trader. a higher mileage Octavia should be worth about €1,000 less.

Is 60k the sort of figure that causes franchised dealers to sell on the trade?

unkel

€7k is about right. It is quite a bit more than you'd get in a private sale, so another way of putting it is that it represents a discount off the price of the car you are buying

colm_mcm

maidhc wrote:

Is 60k the sort of figure that causes franchised dealers to sell on the trade?

Most people treat 60 as the cut off, although it depends on the car. I'd have a cut off of 30 for most French stuff. and 65-70 for Jap diesel stuff.

unkel

colm_mcm wrote:

Most people treat 60 as the cut off

Isn't age considered to be much more important than mileage by main dealers? Or does that apply to executive brands only? Not many >5 year old cars to be seen on Merc/Beamer forecourts, unless they are special (cabrio, etc.)

bazz26

Clanc wrote:

Hi,

I've got a 2001 Octavia 1.4, bought 2 yrs ago with 16,000 miles, now at 46,000.

At the time I paid €8500 with a trade-in of €3000, so say €11500.

Does the low mileage on my car really make much difference to the resale value?
5 yr old car with under 50000 miles?

I was enquiring at a Skoda dealer lately re trading up to an Octavia Estate.

He was offering me max. €7000 trade-in for mine, which I think seems very little.

Or is the dealer just trying it on?

Cheers
Clanc

You paid around €11,500 for it 2 years ago and now it is worth €7k. That is €4,500 over 2 years and 30,000 miles. That is not bad imo, most cars of that size loose about €3k a year in depreciation.

Regarding low mileage, well i'd image a low mileage car looks more attractive on the forecourt to alot of people. Personally I think condition and service history are more important when buying a used car.

Clanc

Ah, yes, I forgot about service history!! Basically I brought it for the first service after having it about 6 mths.
When giving me back the keys, the guy in garage said, "we couldn't find the service book to stamp it".
I went through the service history before buying the car (from Skoda Dealer), but never looked for it again until the garage missed it. By then the place I bought it wasn't interested in hearing about it, they said it was definitely with the car.

Long story short - I am sure of the mileage before I got it, but have no service book.

How much is that likely to hurt when selling? Also, better then to go with the dealer, or private?

colm_mcm

We only sell cars under 5 years old and usually low mileage, leads to less warranty claims.

Dilbert75

You need to consider not the value of the trade in or the sale price but the difference between the two. For example, if you get a €7000 trade in that's €1000 above book value but you end up paying say €14000 for the replacement that's €2000 above value, then you've been fleeced by €1000. On the other hand if your car is actually worth €7000 and the car you're buying is actually worth €14500, then you've actually done well.

The upshot is that a trader has to make money on every transaction. If you sell the car privately, and that's very possible, you will save that money for yourself. Its just a matter of having the time and the inclination to do it.

colm_mcm

Put it this way. If you walked in off the street and wanted an Octavia Estate, you'll be getting at least €1,600 off. so if you reckon you can get any more than
€5,400 privately for your 2001 Octavia, then you're better off selling prvately and not trading in. Ring around a few garages and see who's giving the best discount.

Dilbert75

I'd suspect that you should easily get €7k for a private sale on a well kept 01 Octavia. Take that and haggle a good cash discount on the estate.

Bung it on Adverts.ie, Buyandsell.ie, maybe a free ad on CBG, if you really want to try spend €30 on carzone. There are 00's selling for nearly €6k with much higher mileage - worth a whirl. If it sells, bonus. If not, nothing ventured nothing gained.

unkel

Dilbert75 wrote:

I'd suspect that you should easily get €7k for a private sale on a well kept 01 Octavia

I very much doubt that tbh

Clanc

Thanks everyone. I really appreciate the advice.

Do you think the lack of proof of service history will be a big hindrance?