No Interest in my Merc!

seabre

Hi All

My Dad is selling his Merc and as I have always used Done Deal to sell my cars with great results I suggested he put an ad on there. I did this for him and he has received exactly No responses! he assures me his price is very keen (not an expert myself) so I'm confused as to why he has no interest. The only reason I can think of is that people who use Done Deal are primarily in the market for cheaper cars (non executive type). If this is the case does anyone know of a good website for advertising these types of cars.

The link to the ad on Done Deal is below - maybe an objective view of the vehicle could throw some light on the issue.

http://cars.donedeal.ie/for-sale/cars/1731605

Thanks for any help in advance!

MarkoC

Recession ?
Drop the price by half and you will be rich

stealthyspeeder

No details.

Northern Reg

VRT?

Would autotrader or usedcarsni not be a better place to sell?

Preset No.3

The 2 main things that jump out at me are the Northern reg, I would have to go to the bother of checking VRT. Why dont you do that, and tell us how much it is. Second, the quality of the pictures are pretty poor, but the main thing for me is the fact that the pictures are 3 years old!! Well at least according to the time stamp. Unless your dad kept it in a garage and never drove it, chances are the car will look different!

djimi

More and better pictures for a start. Bit sparce on the details also. The fact that the pictures are timestamped nearly 4 years ago looks a bit dodgy also!

Its a high price car, which is going to be even more expensive when the VRT is paid. Those kind of cars are not selling to well at the moment anyway and given the uncertainty of the upcoming budget and the time of year I dont think its going to get a huge number of calls.

Add is p1ss poor, put some effort in. It'll take more than a week too, maybe months, patience patience patience.

mikemac

The reg plate, go find out the VRT rate and put in your ad
Your ad needs far more info.
And more and better photos.

A bit of effort for your ad can only help

EPM

Mileage? Service history? Proper spec? Decent pictures? VRT? I would ignore an ad like that tbh

Wheelnut

It's pre-2008 so it's taxed on engine size rather than emissions. No one is going to buy that in the republic, they will go the extra money for a 2008 diesel with lower road tax. (plus the budget is coming!)

Nissan doctor

The main things I would notice are practically no details on the car, and the nothern plates with no mention of vrt etc.

I also recon anyone who is in the market for an E class will likley be looking for e200 models for much cheaper road tax, the road tax on the 2.8 will be 1300 odd euro. Also, the E class sold in spades when all the wannabe execs made a few quid in the boom times, now there are hundreds of them for sale for small money.

NewApproach

While the ad could do with improving OP, it's all about the price.

90% of all the cars you see on Carzone are overpriced, simply because they are still for sale. If they are priced correctly, they sell. Simple as.

Schorpio

I'd also get rid of the time-stamp on the photo. I'm sure that the photos were not taken at midnight on the 1st of Jan 2007 - but it still rings a bell of a not-so-recent photo to me. If it weren't there, then I wouldn't suspect a thing!

bazz26

• Poorly presented advert.
• Still on NI/UK plates.
• Pre 2008 +2.0 litre engine means higher road tax and VRT.
• Premium cars are not in demand in a recession.
• Financial uncertainty before and after tomorrow's budget.

seabre

Thanks for all your input! Photos are recent ( September)but were taken by my dad and he wouldn't know where to start fixing the date on his camera!

The Car is Northern reg and he can't do the VRT as he is in the North( southern address needed to do the VRT)

I have calculated the VRT at 7900 so I will include that in the ad and maybe that will help. That would leave the car costing 23000 - which is cheaper than any of the similar models I've seen so I'll take on board the advice of the posts with regard to photos and details etc.

Thanks again All.

NewApproach

seabre wrote: »

Thanks for all your input! Photos are recent ( September)but were taken by my dad and he wouldn't know where to start fixing the date on his camera!

The Car is Northern reg and he can't do the VRT as he is in the North( southern address needed to do the VRT)

I have calculated the VRT at 7900 so I will include that in the ad and maybe that will help. That would leave the car costing 23000 - which is cheaper than any of the similar models I've seen so I'll take on board the advice of the posts with regard to photos and details etc.

Thanks again All.

€23000 is madness for a soon-to-be 5 year old car with a 3 litre engine.

mikemac

Not a hope of getting 23k for your car.

But anyone, get your better ad together and post it up and reply back so we'll read it again

Stheno

EPM wrote: »

Mileage? Service history? Proper spec? Decent pictures? VRT? I would ignore an ad like that tbh

+1 doesn't even mention the mileage

NewApproach wrote: »

€23000 is madness for a soon-to-be 5 year old car with a 3 litre engine.

And no apparent NCT or service history?

OP the traditional appeal of Northern cars has been the lower cost, but the overall cost of this car will be killing that.

challengemaster

NewApproach wrote: »

€23000 is madness for a soon-to-be 5 year old car with a 3 litre engine.

you forgot 'in a recession'

Yeah, not a hope in hell tbh.

seabre

Ok Thanks all for your replies - I feel like I've just taken a severe verbal bashing and its not even my car!!!:eek:

But I do take on your responses - I suppose you just assume that people in the market for these cars would know the VRT rates etc and its not a fair assumption to make. I'll have a word with Dad see if he has any more pics (these ones are recent but date on camera was never set - don't ask!)

All in all some good advice given - Thanks Again!

Stheno

seabre wrote: »

Ok Thanks all for your replies - I feel like I've just taken a severe verbal bashing and its not even my car!!!:eek:

But I do take on your responses - I suppose you just assume that people in the market for these cars would know the VRT rates etc and its not a fair assumption to make. I'll have a word with Dad see if he has any more pics (these ones are recent but date on camera was never set - don't ask!)

All in all some good advice given - Thanks Again!

Eh, you don't seem to have heard.

He needs to put in:

MOT Status
Service History (verifiable)
Mileage

for a start.

Doesn't come across as a very keen seller at all at the moment.

shabbyalonso

The ad does leave alot to be desired - even after being re-jigged.
Here is why it'll stay un-sold for some time:
http://www.carzone.ie/search/Mercedes-Benz/E-Class/E280-Ele/201048200415448/advert?channel=CARS

http://www.carzone.ie/search/Mercedes-Benz/E-Class/E-SERIES/201047200372392/advert?channel=CARS

http://www.carzone.ie/search/Mercedes-Benz/E-Class/E280/201040199795697/advert?channel=CARS

Your ad doesn't state mileage which is a huge factor in a car purchase. Nothing about service history. While I see that your ad says reasonable offers will be considered (probably should say all queries will be answered), this means work for people. People want to know all the info up-front and don't want the hassle of trying to find out; simple as.
The ads above are from carzone and as previously mentioned, not exactly the cheapest prices in the world.
More pics required, price needs to be dropped considerably and I would probably say that it should be marketed in the North or UK. In the current climate, big cars (unfortunately) are not desirable. I understand selling it in the South as prices are better (if someone's willing to pay it) but the hassle of VRT will only be considered if a bargain can be had.

While I don't like to be the bearer of bad news and it's already been mentioned above, I could easily see this car up for sale in 2 years time, if left as is. Everything sells, recession or no recession, provided it's priced to sell.
All in, E23k for a 2006, 2.9l diesel merc with no mention of mileage or much else for that matter.... - I like big cars but I'm afraid that my view here is that price is way above what anyone is willing to pay and what it's worth.
Best of luck to you and your pop however, with the sale.

Absurdum

I don't see much point advertising it down south tbh, unless the price is a lot lower than that. 06 E Class diesels are advertised at £10k-£15k stg on usedcarsni.com

johndaman66

seabre wrote: »

I have calculated the VRT at 7900 so I will include that in the ad and maybe that will help. That would leave the car costing 23000 - which is cheaper than any of the similar models I've seen.

NewApproach wrote: »

€23000 is madness for a soon-to-be 5 year old car with a 3 litre engine.

Thats what I was thinking too. It seems a lot of loot for a car of the age. The below would seem to undercut you by a fair whack to be fair.

http://cars.donedeal.ie/for-sale/cars/1633357

http://cars.donedeal.ie/for-sale/cars/1726569

http://cars.donedeal.ie/for-sale/cars/1655256

I'd actually also be inclined to double check what the VRT actually is. A work colleage brought over a BMW 520d from UK about 8 months back. When he went to VRT the car he was asked for a fair whack more than the online calculation, reason being they inspected the car and it had extras.

Also, I think your ad is short on detail and too many comments that don't give too much information really. In my mind the likes of will pass any inspection or beautiful car is ultimately a bit pointless and subjective in any case. When I started driving I recall ringing up a guy regarding an Astra van he'd for sale. He told me it was in mint condition but went on to tell me its back window was smashed and needed a few shocks. Now to me mint condition would be as or very near to the way the car left the factory so I don't think Opel would leave an Astra van out of the factory with a smashed window and needing a couple of shocks? Sorry for babbling on but the point Im trying to make is I feel it a bit pointless putting a lot of highly subjective comments in the ad that don't provide any real detail.

Sorry seabre, absolutely nothing personal but just trying to be objective as you requested.

romperstomper

uncle just sold the same car with southern reg & 52K miles on the clock in spotless condition. he got 17,750 cash and nearly bit the guy's arm off.

I personally reckon he was lucky cos the car was in great condition and low mileage. barring a miracle (or a sucker, and there are still a few), you won't get much above 15K for that.

welcome to the real world

Atlantic Dawn

As was said earlier with no mention of mileage or service history I can't see anyone even enquiring about it. If a person was selling a €200 junker they would have more relevant information than is included in your ad.

Voodoomelon

€23,000? Yikes! Sorry OP, you'll never get that in this country. Even if you knocked €5k off I wouldn't expect it to sell quickly unfortunately.

Biglad

Hi Bud, the ad is now 1 hour old and still no mileage. This to me as a potential buyer would mean that it's probably very high and you are trying to disguise it. Start with spelling diesel correct (not deisel) doesn't suit the cars "status" if you know what I mean. What I need as an interested party is an "air" coming of the ad that this car was cared for like no other, fsh, etc. and that there is a genuine reason for selling the car.

Esel

seabre wrote: »

I have calculated the VRT at 7900 so I will include that in the ad...

Ad now says VRT 7000.... And spell 'diesel' correctly.

positron

When I read ads like the one in discussion here, I used to think that the seller is not very good at reading or writing, have zero communication skills, and/or is probably a chancer, jack-the-lad type of person with very little education. But in this case, OP seems to be well articulated, and knows motors sections of boards (internet-aware and hence 'in the know'), and yet the ad is still so poor? So I suppose this can only mean that the person doesn't really care much about the sale, or thinks very little of the car and of the prospective buyer. This is why I wouldn't bother responding to an ad like that even if I were on the market for that model of the car (which I am not).

mullingar

@ OP,

It is a serious contender for boards.ie's prestigious award:

And the winner of dreamer of the year is.....

FoxT

Carzone has 2006 E280s going for about eu18k - 19k.

If somebody wants one, why would they pay eu15k +7k + maybe 1k expenses + assume all the usual risks to do with importing etc - to get one?

Lack of detail and "deisel" and "avantguard" look rather bad. Kind of like a CV with spelling mistakes -> bin.

Your Dad's Merc looks like a nice car, and will sell with a good ad and a realistic price.

MetzgerMeister

A lot of good points here.

Also, something else to consider. To the best of my knowledge, it's now illegal to privately sell an NI/UK reg car. It must be VRT'd before being sold.

Gary ITR

einheisserschre wrote: »

A lot of good points here.

Also, something else to consider. To the best of my knowledge, it's now illegal to privately sell an NI/UK reg car. It must be VRT'd before being sold.

I would assume it's ok for the OP's father to sell the car on UK plates seeing as the car is in Armagh

MetzgerMeister

Onkle wrote: »

I would assume it's ok for the OP's father to sell the car on UK plates seeing as the car is in Armagh

I didn't see that

Wildly Boaring

Pictures.... none of the front or right hand side of the car (few scratches to hide?)

Throw up a pics of rear interior and better one of drivers area

What's the mileage?
When did it pass DOE?

Even though when I search for a car it does my nut; I did get a lot more calls for my passat when I wrote "A4, 320, Golf, Bora....etc in the bottom of the ad" (as I say not a fan but it seems to work)

Here's an E280 on Carzone from a SIMI dealer for €19,900
http://www.carzone.ie/search/Mercedes-Benz/E-Class/E280-Ele/201048200415448/advert?channel=CARS

Why would I bother importing yours myself for €23,000?
When selling privately last month I had to undercut any dealer by €1000 on a €15000 car.

(Oh and it's been said but spell Diesel correctly)

Mr Benevolent

The whole ad is dubious tbh. No detail, no pics, NI reg, no mention of VRT, big engine and high price.

seabre

FoxT wrote: »

Carzone has 2006 E280s going for about eu18k - 19k.

If somebody wants one, why would they pay eu15k +7k + maybe 1k expenses + assume all the usual risks to do with importing etc - to get one?

None of the cars on crzone are the same as this one. This is NOT petrol, New Body type, very specific car not to be compared with those others. And 1 k expenses?????

seabre

Confab wrote: »

The whole ad is dubious tbh. No detail, no pics, NI reg, no mention of VRT, big engine and high price.

Do you know what the word dubious means?

robtri

seabre wrote: »

Do you know what the word dubious means?

i would say he does...

the way the ad is worded, the lack of information, pics ect...
some people might think it seems like a scam

seabre

johndaman66 wrote: »

Thats what I was thinking too. It seems a lot of loot for a car of the age. The below would seem to undercut you by a fair whack to be fair.

http://cars.donedeal.ie/for-sale/cars/1633357

http://cars.donedeal.ie/for-sale/cars/1726569

http://cars.donedeal.ie/for-sale/cars/1655256

I'd actually also be inclined to double check what the VRT actually is. A work colleage brought over a BMW 520d from UK about 8 months back. When he went to VRT the car he was asked for a fair whack more than the online calculation, reason being they inspected the car and it had extras.

Also, I think your ad is short on detail and too many comments that don't give too much information really. In my mind the likes of will pass any inspection or beautiful car is ultimately a bit pointless and subjective in any case. When I started driving I recall ringing up a guy regarding an Astra van he'd for sale. He told me it was in mint condition but went on to tell me its back window was smashed and needed a few shocks. Now to me mint condition would be as or very near to the way the car left the factory so I don't think Opel would leave an Astra van out of the factory with a smashed window and needing a couple of shocks? Sorry for babbling on but the point Im trying to make is I feel it a bit pointless putting a lot of highly subjective comments in the ad that don't provide any real detail.

Sorry seabre, absolutely nothing personal but just trying to be objective as you requested.

Yeah I take on board all of the feedback - but please compare like for like with the cars! All 3 of these cars are the older model E280's with more than twice the mileage!!

-Corkie-

seabre wrote: »

Do you know what the word dubious means?

http://dictionary.weather.net/dictionary/dubious

Seweryn

seabre wrote: »

Yeah I take on board all of the feedback - but please compare like for like with the cars! All 3 of these cars are the older model E280's with more than twice the mileage!!

Sure, but you still didn't learn the lesson...
- Spelling errors - what that "Avantguard" is? There is no such a thing like that.
- Model name - no mention of full model name, like "E280 CDI Avantgarde" or "W211 E280 CDI Avantgarde". I know that is a small detail, but it always puts me off from a car that the seller doesn't know what he is selling :eek:.
- Why didn't you use all 1000 characters available to fully describe the car? That would be a huge benefit over what is in the ad at the moment.
- Photos... Why only 3 (apart from the fact that they are bad the way they are)? You paid for 10 photos to be published :rolleyes:.
- Price, as mentioned many times.

Good Luck with the sale.

Wildly Boaring

scanlone wrote: »

Here's an E280 on Carzone from a SIMI dealer for €19,900
http://www.carzone.ie/search/Mercedes-Benz/E-Class/E280-Ele/201048200415448/advert?channel=CARS

Is this the older model?

And if it is how would I know from the ad that there's a difference. The back looks the same, it's lower mileage and 2/3 grand cheaper (depending on whether you take VRT from ad or here)

Wildly Boaring

scanlone wrote: »

Here's an E280 on Carzone from a SIMI dealer for €19,900
http://www.carzone.ie/search/Mercedes-Benz/E-Class/E280-Ele/201048200415448/advert?channel=CARS

Is this the older model?

And if it is how would I know from the ad that there's a difference. The back looks the same, it's lower mileage and 2/3 grand cheaper (depending on whether you take VRT from ad or here)

shabbyalonso

seabre wrote: »

Yeah I take on board all of the feedback - but please compare like for like with the cars! All 3 of these cars are the older model E280's with more than twice the mileage!!

The ad's/links that I posted up in my post seabre (page 2), bar 1, are the same car - 2.9 litre diesel, same year and many thousands cheaper? so people are comparing like with like.

This post could run and run - the bottom line, from your own point of view (and your Dad's) is that your ad is probably the least appealing car ad I and many others, appear to have seen. An ad put up in this fashion signals a quite laid back attitude on behalf of the seller - this then is picked up by the buyer and as previously said, the more work involved for the buyer, the less appealing the overall deal is.

Bottom line - price it correctly, give all detail and more where possible and the car will sell, eventually. Otherwise, your Pop will be driving it for many years to come and needless to say, it is devaluing by the month.
Again, as previously said, best of luck with the sale nonetheless

Wildly Boaring

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201015356948721/sort/priceasc/usedcars/price-to/16000/maximum-mileage/up_to_60000_miles/maximum-age/up_to_4_years_old/fuel-type/diesel/engine-size-cars/3l_to_3-9l/model/e_class/make/mercedes-benz/page/1/radius/1501/postcode/ox100dd?logcode=p

2007 E280 diesel 60k miles £13000 = €15500

Padraig Mor

Sorry, but the ad just screams 'scam'.

benj

Price too high and engine too big....at least you can adjust the price i suppose

cstaffy26

It could also be that Donedeal have thousands of same spec mercs and they are in the south i.e no VRT, also the volume of ads that go on donedeal means that this your ad will go down the lists very quick.

Why not try place it on a few of the classified site that are free of charge like add.ie or a new one is onandgone.ie

ottostreet

cstaffy26 wrote: »

It could also be that Donedeal have thousands of same spec mercs and they are in the south i.e no VRT, also the volume of ads that go on donedeal means that this your ad will go down the lists very quick.

Why not try place it on a few of the classified site that are free of charge like add.ie or a new one is onandgone.ie

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