Buying from UK: Stung when re-selling??

neglectarino

Hi All,

I can see the obvious cost benefits of buying particular cars in the UK, but would much of the cost saving be eaten into once you go to sell it on?? Do most private buyers not want a "genuine irish" car and view Eng imports suspiciously? Also, would a dealer give you a lower trade in for your import?

Cheers

-Chris-

neglectarino wrote: »

Also, would a dealer give you a lower trade in for your import?

Nearly definitely, yes.

bazz26

neglectarino wrote: »

Hi All,

I can see the obvious cost benefits of buying particular cars in the UK, but would much of the cost saving be eaten into once you go to sell it on?? Do most private buyers not want a "genuine irish" car and view Eng imports suspiciously? Also, would a dealer give you a lower trade in for your import?

Cheers

Well if you saved money when buying it over an Irish car you cannot really expect to get the same money as an Irish car when you go to sell it. What will get you the best price is the superior spec imo.

If the car has a fully documented and stamped service history with receipts, from the UK then a potential buyer who does the necessary background checks should have nothing to worry about. Alot of Irish cars have patchy service histories at best.

Tipsy Mac

bazz26 wrote: »

If the car has a fully documented and stamped service history with receipts, from the UK then a potential buyer who does the necessary background checks should have nothing to worry about. Alot of Irish cars have patchy service histories at best.

Exactly, if you have the service history and hpi check etc, people will be more likely to buy. There's a load of UK cars in garages here that are less than 3 years old with their service history in the sea somewhere off Holyhead, these are the cars that people have to steer clear of.

Robertr

neglectarino wrote: »

a "genuine irish" car

Afraid there this is no such thing. They all come out of the same factory. Only difference is that the UK once have a better spec and its easier to verify the history.

While car dealers would probably try to give you a lower price I would not let them get away with it. They won't sell it for any cheaper and half their current used stock would probably be made up of cars that were from the UK anyway and yours will be a better spec then the typical Irish car.

Barr

If a UK import has the same service history as its Irish equivelant I cant see it being worth less tbh

tweaf

Add in MPH speedo and heavily salted roads, I can understand why dealers don't give similar trade in value to Irish cars!

-Chris-

MPH speedo will immediately get the new owner asking questions. They'll ask for additional proof that the car is squeaky clean, they'll be more suspicious about it.

As a dealer you'll probably have to either reflect that in the price or do the extra work and put together a package of information that removes all doubt about the providence of the car - extra work costs money.

Therefore you'll get offered less unless you've got the squeaky clean paperwork already!

NedKelly

tweaf wrote: »

Add in MPH speedo and heavily salted roads, I can understand why dealers don't give similar trade in value to Irish cars!

"Salting" of roads using sugar based compounds
no salt used whatsoever FACT

mcwhirter

neglectarino wrote: »

Hi All,

I can see the obvious cost benefits of buying particular cars in the UK, but would much of the cost saving be eaten into once you go to sell it on?? Do most private buyers not want a "genuine irish" car and view Eng imports suspiciously? Also, would a dealer give you a lower trade in for your import?

Cheers

If you look at a lot of the high end car garages in Ireland , the cars are uk reg anyway, so who is ripping off who?
Is it a CARTEL?

minxie

been trying the last few days to sell my own
(uk import) paid nearly 14,000 and have only been offered 8,000/9,000....
am totally in shock:mad:

craichoe

minxie1 wrote: »

been trying the last few days to sell my own
(uk import) paid nearly 14,000 and have only been offered 8,000/9,000....
am totally in shock:mad:

With the current economic climate and the new VRT system its going to be hard to sell a car as it is.

minxie

craichoe wrote: »

With the current economic climate and the new VRT system its going to be hard to sell a car as it is.

i suppose.... but hell its a hard lesson ive learnt here...:o

enda1

NedKelly wrote: »

"Salting" of roads using sugar based compounds
no salt used whatsoever FACT

Source

What do you treat the roads with?

We use small granules of crushed rock salt. This melts and helps stop roads freezing over.

FACT

And I'm sure they're not the only county.

alias no.9

minxie1 wrote: »

been trying the last few days to sell my own
(uk import) paid nearly 14,000 and have only been offered 8,000/9,000....
am totally in shock:mad:

When did you pay 14k for the car? We've just been through one of the worst periods of depreciation for cars ever seen in this country, driven by a combination of weak sterling, VRT f#ckwittery, and economic turbulance.
If you bought it more than a year ago, then there's nothing unusual in what you've lost given the circumstances. If you bought it more recently, why are you selling it so quickly?
Cars are depreciating assets. Yes you can buy a car cheaper than retail and cheaper even than irish private sales by sourcing it in the UK, but turning a quick buck on these cars is not all that easy. The reason for this is that at the kind of money you'll need to spend to make a worthwhile enough saving to even consider going to the UK, the demand for private sales is pretty low. At those price points people either want the full backup that a dealer provides or else they want in on the action from the UK. On top of all that, every chancer in the country is out there in competition with you trying to make a quick buck selling on UK imports over here.

tred

minxie1 wrote: »

been trying the last few days to sell my own
(uk import) paid nearly 14,000 and have only been offered 8,000/9,000....
am totally in shock:mad:

if you bought the same car here for 3 grand more, ud still be offered the same trade in. the forecourts are flooded. they dont want second hand cars, they have no where to put them. with value of sterling you cant beat importing, and driving it for a few years and starting again.
to consider a car as an asset is plain crazy.

voxpop

Depends on the car I would say. I have a uk golf tdi, which I think is more desirable because of the better spec than its irish counterpart. I think if you have a HPI check - which you should have done before buying the car - and a load of receipts since you've owned the car, there should be no problems.

Redsoxfan

Somewhat related, since importing from the UK back in February, I have noticed that insurers seem to quote (online) on the basis that the car is NOT imported and you have to call them directly if it is.

Dunno if this has always been the case, but anyway, do they apply a loading to UK imports?

listermint

Redsoxfan wrote: »

Somewhat related, since importing from the UK back in February, I have noticed that insurers seem to quote (online) on the basis that the car is NOT imported and you have to call them directly if it is.

Dunno if this has always been the case, but anyway, do they apply a loading to UK imports?

I wouldnt assume they do, I got a great deal from AXA and they insured it on the UK reg for six weeks. No problems for me. Its probably to do with background info so they can check the cars history themselves.

daveharnett

OP, all other things being equal, provided all the paperwork, sh etc is in order, I would rather buy an imported car.

Better specs
Better roads - fewer shock/steering problems from pot holes, fewer scratches from bushes, motorway miles easier on engine etc.
Better maintenance - I'm open to challenge on this one, but I reckon the brits look after their cars better.

galwaytt

minxie1 wrote: »

been trying the last few days to sell my own
(uk import) paid nearly 14,000 and have only been offered 8,000/9,000....
am totally in shock:mad:

yes, yes, all very well.........but over what period? Have you had the car a month/year/decade? The numbers don't mean anything without context.

In general, imho, a car costs (i.e. down the drain), 4.5k a year, end of story. If you can't hack that, get the bus. Car's ain't assets.......just ask banks and finance co's repo dept's...........

On the upside - hell of a time to be able to buy !!

Me, if I could sell my 06 Saab 1.9 TiD, I'd buy this in the morning - http://www.carzone.ie/used-cars/Saab/9-5/Arc-VentHeat/1013454/

RobAMerc

minxie1 wrote: »

been trying the last few days to sell my own
(uk import) paid nearly 14,000 and have only been offered 8,000/9,000....
am totally in shock:mad:

Try paying 38k for a car and then being offered 18k for it from the dealer 20 months, 1 service, 2 new tyres, and 11k miles later !

As for Uk import - Dealers use everything they can to make use as a big stick across your back. If you were trading against a UK car they would use it as a positive and the fact yours is not ex UK as a big stick to beat you with.

rabbitinlights

tweaf wrote: »

heavily salted roads,

Please don't try and make out that a car driving on UK roads is worse off than Irish roads..... :rolleyes:

alias no.9

rabbitinlights wrote: »

Please don't try and make out that a car driving on UK roads is worse off than Irish roads..... :rolleyes:

The level of rust on fairly recent UK cars is much worse than equivalent Irish cars. It all comes down to the salt they use on the roads. That's not to say that the Irish car doesn't suffer more knocks and bumps from uneven road surfaces and potholes.

yop

rabbitinlights wrote: »

Please don't try and make out that a car driving on UK roads is worse off than Irish roads..... :rolleyes:

So a salted roads during winter are worse than the continous line of potholes, humps and bumps we have to endure day in day out, ya buy an Irish car, it is better quality than a UK one!! :rolleyes:

yop

alias no.9 wrote: »

The level of rust on fairly recent UK cars is much worse than equivalent Irish cars. It all comes down to the salt they use on the roads. That's not to say that the Irish car doesn't suffer more knocks and bumps from uneven road surfaces and potholes.

And what do they use on Irish roads to get rid of the frost? Under road heating or something?

And what source gives you information about UK cars been worse than Irish with regards salting?

rabbitinlights

I've lived in both the Uk and Ireland and 50,000 miles in the UK is alot kinder to a car than 50,000 miles in Ireland, Hands down.

The road salt issue is like saying "How about the huge coastal population in Ireland and the sea salt issue"

blastman

Redsoxfan wrote: »

Somewhat related, since importing from the UK back in February, I have noticed that insurers seem to quote (online) on the basis that the car is NOT imported and you have to call them directly if it is.

Dunno if this has always been the case, but anyway, do they apply a loading to UK imports?

At least one company that I contacted last renewal time counted my car as an import (I'm presuming this meant it went in the special section for Japanese imports) even though I told them it was a UK import. The logic of this escapes me but then insurance companies know sweet FA about cars, as we know.

voxpop

surely any half recent car has a decent amount of underseal and wont rush no matter what is used on the roads

yop

blastman wrote: »

At least one company that I contacted last renewal time counted my car as an import (I'm presuming this meant it went in the special section for Japanese imports) even though I told them it was a UK import. The logic of this escapes me but then insurance companies know sweet FA about cars, as we know.

Why would it make a difference? Do they think that cut and shuts are more common in the UK than here or that cars are ringed over there and not here? A little naive. :rolleyes:

-Chris-

yop wrote: »

Why would it make a difference? Do they think that cut and shuts are more common in the UK than here or that cars are ringed over there and not here? A little naive. :rolleyes:

I'd say that the percentage of cars ringed or cut&shut is the same for here and there, but when you nick a car and ring it, you'll often immediately export it as it's less likely to be traced once it's out of the jurisdiction.
If all our ringed/stolen cars were sent to the UK and all their ringed/stolen cars were sent here, we'd be flooded with them.

On top of the cars that are clocked or insurance written-off before getting here, it's not unreasonable to be a little more suspicious of UK cars until they check out as clean.

yop

AudiChris wrote: »

I'd say that the percentage of cars ringed or cut&shut is the same for here and there, but when you nick a car and ring it, you'll often immediately export it as it's less likely to be traced once it's out of the jurisdiction.
If all our ringed/stolen cars were sent to the UK and all their ringed/stolen cars were sent here, we'd be flooded with them.

On top of the cars that are clocked or insurance written-off before getting here, it's not unreasonable to be a little more suspicious of UK cars until they check out as clean.

That does make sense Chris, but then that is up to the buyer to check the car. But the checks in the UK are, I THINK, a lot more thorough than here?

There a loads of UK plated cars in courtyards here in Mayo, I wonder how much checking they do.

NedKelly

the "salt" is made from sugar beet!!:D

SOURCE
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/coventry_warwickshire/4460100.stm

yop

NedKelly wrote: »

the "salt" is made from sugar beet!!:D

SOURCE
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/coventry_warwickshire/4460100.stm

LOL, nice to see it was been licked off the road

minxie

galwaytt wrote: »

yes, yes, all very well.........but over what period? Have you had the car a month/year/decade? The numbers don't mean anything without context.

In general, imho, a car costs (i.e. down the drain), 4.5k a year, end of story. If you can't hack that, get the bus. Car's ain't assets.......just ask banks and finance co's repo dept's...........

On the upside - hell of a time to be able to buy !!

Me, if I could sell my 06 Saab 1.9 TiD, I'd buy this in the morning - http://www.carzone.ie/used-cars/Saab/9-5/Arc-VentHeat/1013454/

have car since 17 nov 2007, not long at all,
am being fleeced here

yop

minxie1 wrote: »

have car since 17 nov 2007, not long at all,
am being fleeced here

Wow, that is a big fall in the space of time!!!

minxie

yop wrote: »

Wow, that is a big fall in the space of time!!!

yeah tell me about it, paid maybe a grand too much at the start but thought id get at least 11,000/12,000 ...
whats the story here like.

Zube

minxie1 wrote: »

whats the story here like.

How much would it cost to buy and import a similar car (same model/age) from the UK now?

minxie

Zube wrote: »

How much would it cost to buy and import a similar car (same model/age) from the UK now?

not sure but have been looking online and 02/03 mk 4 golfs like mine are going for between 12,000/13,000.

Stephen

Also, the Euro vs Sterling exchange rate has changed dramatically since then (in favour of the euro), which will put another dent in the price of your car vs the cost of importing the same car again today.

minxie

Stephen wrote: »

Also, the Euro vs Sterling exchange rate has changed dramatically since then (in favour of the euro), which will put another dent in the price of your car vs the cost of importing the same car again today.

true.... but christ its a major loss on my part i feel like crying

blastman

AudiChris wrote: »

On top of the cars that are clocked or insurance written-off before getting here, it's not unreasonable to be a little more suspicious of UK cars until they check out as clean.

I don't really see why, the system for checking cars is more thorough in the UK, in my opinion, and we share a language and a border with them so it's not that difficult to get the information if required. A car coming directly from Japan is a completely different kettle of sushi.

RobAMerc

blastman wrote: »

I don't really see why, the system for checking cars is more thorough in the UK, in my opinion, and we share a language and a border with them so it's not that difficult to get the information if required. A car coming directly from Japan is a completely different kettle of sushi.

+1 - I think a car with a clean UK history is better than a car here - which will have practically none bar the service manual and the worthless NCT cert.

-Chris-

But if you check the reg and VIN and it comes up clean, that doesn't mean the car's clean. It just means the VIN that's been attached to the flood-damaged car is the same as one that's clean.

But, as I say, if you have squeaky clean paperwork and you've taken the time to make sure people know your car is legit, you should get better money for it when selling it.