Not selling - why?

Buford T Justice

Guys and dolls

I'm trying to sell the below car for my mother in law, and I spent a few quid getting it cleaned up. Trouble is, its not moving and I'm not getting any interest in it. Can someone tell me why they think this is?

I don't think its overly priced at all.

I think I might be missing something here. Thanks

http://cars.donedeal.ie/for-sale/cars/2158757

Absurdum

to be brutally honest, the pics don't make it look like you spent anything cleaning it up, and it's overpriced by a good €500 considering the mileage, in my opinion.

delly

Doesn't look too clean tbh, the pics aren't the best, no mention of spec and its past the 150k barrier which would put people off i'd imagine. Oh, and overpriced.

.Longshanks.

Price, price and price

Between myself and the other half, we managed to shift two cars in the space of a week. One was a bit of a unique car, the other was a wee petrol 'city-car' that had higher miles than yours. If the price is right it will move

Melion

Fella on here yesterday sold a Passat with higher mileage within a few hours of putting it on donedeal. Sold for €2100 IIRC

BronsonTB

It has a red 'DI' badge but only 100bhp?? Thaught the red 'DI' had more?

Other than that it does look ok, plenty of pics...Not sure if it's a little pricy with that mileage....

Looks scruffy around the back bumper/tobar...Has it been used to pull heavy trailers?

professore

I have been trying to sell a motorbike for months, it finally sold, but way below what I had it advertised for. It was mint and had everything done to it.

I also bought another one, I was watching a particular model of bike, I had loads to choose from and bought one with everything done to it at what would have been an unbelievable price 2 years ago (i.e. more than a grand less !) . So in the end it worked out well for me, since the difference in price between the 2 bikes was smaller than I expected.

It's a buyers market at the moment. I also bought a 05 Ford Focus Diesel estate with 90K miles and full NCT for € 4900. Someone offered me a 01 diesel passat with 150K miles on it for €1,000 at the same time. So I think you'll have to drop a grand off at least to get any interest.

anthony4335

Again I would agree with most and say that the price is the problem. I would only give around 1200 to 1400 for this. Also why do people go to the bother of cleaning a car, which you appear to have done ,and stick back in the dirty mats. They are the easiest thing to clean, otherwise leave them out.

You should see €2500 for that car, I would have thought you'd be at least getting calls, price drop to €2800 and you should see more interest. It looks a clean and well looked after car from an honest seller

langdang

Too expensive. Metallic beige won't appeal to 'felters, so that's reducing your target market too...

Buford T Justice

Absurdum wrote: »

to be brutally honest, the pics don't make it look like you spent anything cleaning it up, and it's overpriced by a good €500 considering the mileage, in my opinion.

delly wrote: »

Doesn't look too clean tbh, the pics aren't the best, no mention of spec and its past the 150k barrier which would put people off i'd imagine. Oh, and overpriced.

Fair points I guess. I didn't think it was overpriced tho. I had a scout about what was already on donedeal and they were all around 3.5 - 4k. Then again they could well have been overpriced too.

Its as clean as it can get I'd say. I spent cash on having a proper valet done on it so all the muddy footprints are gone etc.....

Buford T Justice

langdang wrote: »

Too expensive. Metallic beige won't appeal to 'felters, so that's reducing your target market too...

The who's who with the what now?

langdang

http://www.octane.ie/news/article.php?id=587

A know a fella bought a 01, 130bhp with less mileage for 2100 months ago. Fair play if other fellas are getting 3.5k for em now!

TestTransmission

Change the mats and take fresh photos,would put me off straight away tbh.

All the cars/vans in the background don't help aswell

YouTookMyName

If it was grey,blue,black or sliver and 130BHP it'd go for that price ur asking.

Gold,100BHP and steel wheels isn't too sought after.

Which makes no sense i know, but the way how stupid the market has gone.

neilboard

Selling cars is all in the pictures you take and the right price. Sold a couple recently on day of advertisement for asking price!

Moggsie

Put it on Gumtree, drop the price to 2850, and add a link to carzone to show what other cars are going for. Got rid of an 02 Laguna in 2 days a little while back. Ur pictures have to be better though...no mucky floor mats and a close up of a tyre.

......... no offence OP but the car being in Sligo may not be helping, when I lived in Galway some parts of Sligo were still a good spin away. I'd say that might be a big factor.

no1beemerfan

TestTransmission wrote: »

Change the mats and take fresh photos,would put me off straight away tbh.

All the cars/vans in the background don't help aswell

This is exactly what I was going to say. The mats are horrible....are they ones that can be cut to fit? If so do that! Also drive it somewhere nice with a nice background and it'll look a lot better.

Oh and drop the price a bit...at the moment its a crazy price for a high milage car! Even if its the infamous tdi

Eric Cartman

considering the colour, the fact its basic spec, no tax and the mileage id knock it down to 2200-2300 euro , with tax id say 2500 would be fair

Buford T Justice

I accept the thing about the price, but I need to broach that with the mother in law, since its her car.... She told me what she wanted for it.

Funnily enough, there's actually no mats in the car. Since it was valeted I stuck one in that was in the shed just to keep the muddy footprints out of it and it was in it when i took the pictures. May need to re-take them

Also OP, it takes a while to sell a car sometimes, anything less than a month wouldn't bother me unless I was looking for a quick sale. Dirtcheap and it will sell quickly though.

Buford T Justice

RoverJames wrote: »

Also OP, it takes a while to sell a car sometimes, anything less than a month wouldn't bother me unless I was looking for a quick sale. Dirtcheap and it will sell quickly though.

Second time its been on donedeal though, its about a month now. Its on adverts and carzone as well

flyingsnail

Its all in the pictures, they are the first thing people will look at before reading the ad. Try to take them again without the vans and stuff in the background. Also put up a picture of the nct disk.

Buford T Justice

Stupid question, but what difference does the vans in the background make?

TestTransmission

Fingers McGee wrote: »

Stupid question, but what difference does the vans in the background make?

Moggsie

LOL

r3nu4l

Let's get the silly things out of the way first.

Personally I would only every buy a Passat with 140 bhp. That's personal, plenty will buy the 1.9 TDI though.

The colour is awful and believe it or not, that matters to a lot of people.

Now let's say that didn't matter to me. Would I buy this car?

No.

Why?

You say the car is as clean as it can get. Look at the rear seats again. They look stained to me (seat nearest to the front of the picture, just in front of the seatbelt buckle).

The drivers footwell looks rank too. That mat is disgustingly dirty.

It's an 02 Passat with 150k miles on it. I'm not so sure how long that engine will last without causing problems. Especially as it has a dirty great towbar on it. That brings me back to the 100bhp engine. What has that been used to tow? That engine is not suitable for towing without straining imo, especially on hills!

The pictures are taken in direct sunlight, making the seat cloth look faded. That makes the car look seriously old.

The vans in the background make it look like this car has been used as a workhorse, perhaps it's even been on building sites or dog-rough roads?

It's obviously a low spec car.

Price is way too high.


How can these problems be fixed?
New photos, preferably when the sun isn't shining directly on the cloth, remove the drivers mat, clean that stain/item off the back seat, go somewhere with a nice background for external shots, not somewhere with a hose and vans in the background. It looks like it's on a halting site right now, that's not going to sell.

I know that sounds incredibly harsh but if it prompts you to take new photos then it will be worth it. This is from my perspective as if I were a potential buyer. I'm not intending that you answer my questions about what it has been used to tow but for me looking at these photos, these are the questions I would ask myself. These photos would not prompt me to even lift the phone, never mind haggle on price.

Buford T Justice

r3nu4l wrote: »

You say the car is as clean as it can get. Look at the rear seats again. They look stained to me (seat nearest to the front of the picture, just in front of the seatbelt buckle).

The drivers footwell looks rank too. That mat is disgustingly dirty.

Didn't spot that with the back seat. Will look at that again. Drivers mat - out!

r3nu4l wrote: »

It's an 02 Passat with 150k miles on it. I'm not so sure how long that engine will last without causing problems. Especially as it has a dirty great towbar on it. That brings me back to the 100bhp engine. What has that been used to tow? That engine is not suitable for towing without straining imo, especially on hills!

Would the car be more saleable without the towbar?

r3nu4l wrote: »

The pictures are taken in direct sunlight, making the seat cloth look faded. That makes the car look seriously old.

The vans in the background make it look like this car has been used as a workhorse, perhaps it's even been on building sites or dog-rough roads?

It's obviously a low spec car.

Price is way too high.

Fair points. I'm not going to argue with whats being said to me, thats why I asked for advice.

r3nu4l wrote: »

How can these problems be fixed?
New photos, preferably when the sun isn't shining directly on the cloth, remove the drivers mat, clean that stain/item off the back seat, go somewhere with a nice background for external shots, not somewhere with a hose and vans in the background. It looks like it's on a halting site right now, that's not going to sell.

I know that sounds incredibly harsh but if it prompts you to take new photos then it will be worth it. This is from my perspective as if I were a potential buyer. I'm not intending that you answer my questions about what it has been used to tow but for me looking at these photos, these are the questions I would ask myself. These photos would not prompt me to even lift the phone, never mind haggle on price.

New photos in new location it is so.
Cheers.

Idbatterim

I agree about the mat, either take it out or wash it. 2. location, doesnt help probably, but not much you can do about that. 3. the fact it has a towbar would personally put me off. 4. maybe bring the price down to just under 3k?

Statistician

Fingers McGee wrote: »

The who's who with the what now?

What's a felter?

Buford T Justice

Statistician wrote: »

What's a felter?

langdang wrote: »

http://www.octane.ie/news/article.php?id=587

A know a fella bought a 01, 130bhp with less mileage for 2100 months ago. Fair play if other fellas are getting 3.5k for em now!

FYP