Difficulties selling car

Colemania

Hi all,

I have a 2003 Opel Astra for sale, 1.4 Petrol. I have it up on DoneDeal and although it has about 60 views, I've had no calls and wondering what I am doing wrong. I've dropped the price by 200 in the last 2 weeks and still nothing.

My questioning of this is as follows. People look for a specific car or a car within a price range and come across my car. They view it and then decide against following up their interest and contacting me. Why is this happening?

I can link the ad or even ad details if someone wants to see what I am doing wrong or are Astras just not selling well now? It's a fine cheap car like so can't understand it myself.

Scortho

Any car will sell, even the biggest rust bucket provided the price is right.
Post a link and some of us will have a look.
At that year it should be in bangernomics territory.

Caliden

With donedeal and more common cars, if it's not in the first 2 pages of results then it might as well not be up there.

How descriptive is your ad? Is the car taxed & nct'd, if so, how much left on each? Might be an idea to add a monetary value for the car tax rather than just saying, "Car taxed for 6 months". I.e. Car taxed for 6 months (€ xxx)

Was it regularly serviced? If so, say so and if you have receipts include that detail also. How old are the tyres? If they're relatively new (< 3 months) then add that cost as a note also.

Things like that will make people think about the current price and they can exclude things like tyres/tax/nct from the equation when buying the car and it makes the car itself more appealing.

djimi

Put up loads of clear picutres in the ad. Make sure that the text is clear, informative and isnt full of useless fluff (ie nobody cares if you have a genuine reason to sell, that the first to see will buy etc). Make use of all the pictures and all the text space that you have!

The biggest reason why you are getting no interest is most likely going to be the price. If its is priced correctly then you will get interest. If nobody is calling then chances are those who view it are seeing it as being too expensive for what it is.

whippet

90% of the time when there isn't any interest is that the asking price is too high and potential buyers will just keep on looking.

Colemania

Here is my ad:

http://cars.donedeal.ie/cars-for-sale/03-opel-astra-taxed-and-tested/5748006

Thank you very much for all the replies so far. Very useful information to know. The ad is 15 days old so ya it's probably far enough down the list now. I put up the ad in a rush one day and then I gradually kept adding details to it. The tax is up at the end of the month alright..... I only tax it every 3 months because there's always a chance i'll sell the car at any time.

I started off at €1900 and judging by the prices other people have up for the same model and year it's a fair price i think. Obviously dealers have it valued way above it's actual value so not going anywhere near that with my valuation.

_rebelkid

I'd say give it a wash and put up new pictures of it clean: people always love a sparkling car.

Maybe add more photos of the interior: the dials, a wider view of the seating, show off the diamond plated floors. Most people don't have a sense for dimensions of cars, so the more they can see the size both inside and out, the better they'll find it.

As far as I can tell, there isn't any scratches or any form of damage, but again, more photos of all angles around the car will put a buyer at ease.

Having the NCT for a while is a major bonus. Your pricing I think is fairly reasonable: maybe drop to €1,600 so people can think "I'll get it for €1,500".

TBH, I think an Astra saloon like that is a hard enough sale: young people want either the three door or the short-end 5 door. I think it's aimed nicely at the young family segment: over 30, maybe 1/2 kids.

I think it's quite a good ad for the car, but people are often slow to call on Donedeal as the lions share of users are U-25's looking for a Civic etc.

It should sell though.

djimi

Put up more (and better) pictures for a start. You dont exactly show a whole lot in what you have there. Theres nothing wrong with the ad per se, but you have really only done the bare minumum with it. Try and make it look a bit more appealling!

knipex

More pictures...

Especially outside.. Also show a picture of the NCT and Tax on screen.. Not sure why but buyers seem to like that..

MetzgerMeister

Just to add a bit of perspective, when I was selling my last car, I had it on DD for over a month. Within that month it got over 4000 views and I got 3 calls. One of which was genuine and the other 2 were lads looking for a chat!

debabyjesus

Wash the car. Take out the dodgy seat covers and mats. Take more pictures. Drop the price.

challengemaster

MetzgerMeister wrote: »

Just to add a bit of perspective, when I was selling my last car, I had it on DD for over a month. Within that month it got over 4000 views and I got 3 calls. One of which was genuine and the other 2 were lads looking for a chat!

I just felt sorry for you :pac:

OP: wash the car, more pics, better pics!

Renegade Mechanic

Dont want to come across as blunt here... The price is ok provided the car is good mechanically and bodywise. As mentioned, the more pics the better. A few other points on selling a car at a higher price:
1: Make it look like its kept to a higher standard. Clean it properly and especially try to use alloy wheel acid on the wheels, brake dust really detracts from the look.
2: Lose the seat covers and those floor mats. Regardless of the owner, people just assume theyre rough when they see things like that.
3: A coat of wax and tyre shine goes a long way.
Basically the price is possible but only after some more effort on your part. Put a day aside and go to town!

CrazyMark

I haven't looked to see what price similar astras are but I sold mine last year it was an 02 but otherwise very similar to yours had it up for a week at 1500 and in the end only got 1200 for it.

furtzy

Description is good but the pics aren't great. Definitely loose the seat covers and floor mats. Car needs a wash especially the wheels. Its a little over priced for the unpopular saloon model. Just doing these few things should help a lot as it looks to be in good condition for the year

ednwireland

front wing looks a different colour as well in that photo might be worth taking a few pics to see if it comes out more even looks like the light bouncing off it (unless it is a different colour)

Colemania

Thanks again for all the feedback. Yes I will clean the car this weekend and put up better pictures :P I work 9-5:30 so don't really get time to take pics of the car and wash it and no point taking pics when it's dark. I take on board the point about the mats and seat covers. They weren't included to make the car look "cool" or anything. They were just for my own benefit to keep the car clean.

I haven't taken a pic of the dash for a reason......the engine light is on but don't worry, the car's fine! I had the ECU replaced not long after I bought it (i may have the name wrong but it was along the same lines as the EGR valve) and i haven't got around to gettting it hooked up to the computer to reset the lights on the dash. The bottom corners of the front bumper are scratch (was there when I bought it) so haven't done any close up shots.

I kinda bought it in a rush to replace my corsa (my first car) and didn't fully realise i boguht the saloon version rather than the slightly smaller hatchback style until i had it bought

So anyway, €1500 is the most ye all seem to think I'll get for it ya? I feared that alright but only bought it in Feb 2013 for €2100 so was hoping to recoup most of it. Oh well.....

DieselPowered

I was in the same situation a year or so back, trying to sell my 10 year old 1.8 petrol car with no NCT or tax and it needed 4 tyres, so my mechanic said it was worth nothing and he wouldn't even take it for free for parts, so to make it sellable it needed at least 6 months tax (€300), service, (€100), 4 newish tyres (€360), NCT (€60?), so value to fix to sell was about €820. This is all my car was really worth, so get your price right, reduce your profit margin, few new pics of a clean car and the response will be different. Better to sell it cheap and it working then continue to have it sitting there incurring further costs going no where.

Colemania

debabyjesus wrote: »

Wash the car. Take out the dodgy seat covers and mats. Take more pictures. Drop the price.

Cheek of you! They cost me a whole 12 euro..... :pac:

advertsfox

Don't lie in your ad first off - "Very clean inside and out" is not true. A good exterior wash, remove the car seat covers and give it a mini valet will make a huge difference.

Take pictures from front, side, back, interior front / rear, boot and NCT / Tax details with a good camera. Also fill in the section for NCT and Road Tax details.

Your price is about right though given it's low mileage and NCT. Best of luck with the sale, it WILL sell but just make it more justified for the buyer to call you.

PS: Remove the email option, you will just get scam after scam messages and if someone really want's to buy the car, they will call or text you.

n1ck

First thing I saw was the seat cover on the driver seat bit fitted properly. If even simple things like that arent kept tidy the buyer may think what else is wrong with the car. Im being picky but any hesitation may cause the buyer to avoid it purely out of chance.

djimi

Colemania wrote: »

I haven't taken a pic of the dash for a reason......the engine light is on but don't worry, the car's fine! I had the ECU replaced not long after I bought it (i may have the name wrong but it was along the same lines as the EGR valve) and i haven't got around to gettting it hooked up to the computer to reset the lights on the dash. The bottom corners of the front bumper are scratch (was there when I bought it) so haven't done any close up shots.

These are things that people need to know about when looking at the car. Theres not much point in lying about them or hiding them in the ad; people will see them when they come to view the car and you will only end up annoying them as the car is not as "very clean inside and out" as the ad claims that it is.

Its a low price car; price it accordingly taking the issues such as the ones above into account and people are not going to mind too much. Get the engine light sorted out and youll be in a better position. Nobody expects a 10 year old sub €2k to be in mint factory condition, but people do expect the seller to be honest about the car that they are selling.

power pants

advertsfox wrote: »

Don't lie in your ad first off - "Very clean inside and out" is not true. A good exterior wash, remove the car seat covers and give it a mini valet will make a huge difference.
.

I don't think the op is lying. I think the use of the word clean inside and out refers to the condition ie not marked, dented or scraped. A wash would certainly give an advantage though

SCOOP 64

Is the engine like still coming on?
If so when a buyer does come to see it,"saying dont worry the cars fine" might not hack it.
Get that seen too, or buyer might walk away or give him a good reason to knock the price down.

advertsfox

power pants wrote: »

I don't think the op is lying. I think the use of the word clean inside and out refers to the condition ie not marked, dented or scraped. A wash would certainly give an advantage though

Maybe lie was the wrong word so contradict might be better - if it really is clean inside and out, he needs to show it off clearly for a buyers prospective

Colemania

The car is mechanically perfect. I get the points about me "lying" in the ad but i wasn't really lying about it being clean, like the guy above said. I've spend enough on the car already, mostly down to bad luck moreso than there being any problems with the car, so little things like getting it valeted, spending 30 or so on the computer to get the light off, tax for 3 months being another €108 and so on I am trying to avoid but if this is really putting off the sale, I guess I'll have to do it.

With all these expenses to get it ready for sale and me possibly getting only €1500 for it, i'll have made a decent enough loss on the car in 8 months

advertsfox

Colemania wrote: »

The car is mechanically perfect. I get the points about me "lying" in the ad but i wasn't really lying about it being clean, like the guy above said. I've spend enough on the car already, mostly down to bad luck moreso than there being any problems with the car, so little things like getting it valeted, spending 30 or so on the computer to get the light off, tax for 3 months being another €108 and so on I am trying to avoid but if this is really putting off the sale, I guess I'll have to do it.

With all these expenses to get it ready for sale and me possibly getting only €1500 for it, i'll have made a decent enough loss on the car in 8 months

It's a tough used car climate, esp. with yours being petrol. I recently sold my Grand Punto for exactly what I paid for it but not before making sure it was serviced, all required parts changed including breaks, tyres, drop links, tyres, bulbs etc. Sucks having to put that few bob in but it's the only way to guarantee it's sale.

furtzy

Engine light on will make the sale extremely difficult. If its an old stored code its easy to clear using any OBD code reader if you knew anyone with one

Colemania

furtzy wrote: »

Engine light on will make the sale extremely difficult. If its an old stored code its easy to clear using any OBD code reader if you knew anyone with one

My uncle next door is a mechanic and he should be able to get the computer to fix it so should be ok. I'll get on to him today about it but as you may tell, with the lack of interest in my car I haven't been too bothered about getting it fixed too quickly..

joujoujou

It's very rare EML goes on for no reason, to be honest.

But the easiest try to get rid of it, is to disconnect a battery for a couple of minutes.

Colemania

joujoujou wrote: »

It's very rare EML goes on for no reason, to be honest.

But the easiest try to get rid of it, is to disconnect a battery for a couple of minutes.

Oh no it's on for a reason alright. It came on when that ECU needed replacing and it was supposed to go straight to a garage after to be hooked up to the machine and reset all the lights on the dash but it never did because i never took the car to a garage as my uncle next door (a mechanic) fitted it

Cee-Jay-Cee

Being brutally honest it's an old mans car, it's not a particularly nice color and they're an ugly 3 box design. The market for such a car is (extremely) limited to people looking for somethibg cheap abd reliable and don't particularly care about color or spec.

Personally I think it's too expensive and if you were to drop your price to €1250 it would be more realistic.

MarkR

If you are around UL any time soon I can try to clear the code with my cheap odb scanner.

dnme

Colemania wrote: »

I've spend enough on the car already, mostly down to bad luck moreso than there being any problems with the car, so little things like getting it valeted, spending 30 or so on the computer to get the light off, tax for 3 months being another €108 and so on I am trying to avoid but if this is really putting off the sale, I guess I'll have to do it.

With all these expenses to get it ready for sale and me possibly getting only €1500 for it, i'll have made a decent enough loss on the car in 8 months

Colemania wrote: »

My uncle next door is a mechanic and he should be able to get the computer to fix it so should be ok. I'll get on to him today about it but as you may tell, with the lack of interest in my car I haven't been too bothered about getting it fixed too quickly..

The car has engine light on, yet you say you have an uncle next door who can sort it ????

Is it lack of sale leading to your lack of interest or your lack of interest leading to lack of sale ????

Colemania wrote: »

Oh no it's on for a reason alright. It came on when that ECU needed replacing and it was supposed to go straight to a garage after to be hooked up to the machine and reset all the lights on the dash but it never did because i never took the car to a garage as my uncle next door (a mechanic) fitted it

There's a strange narrative to your story re - the engine light and the uncle. It's hard to make sense of it. If I were to contact you about that car, and you even mentioned engine light. I'd hang up in anger.

JohnBoy26

As has been said give it a good clean. Replace the mats with standard black ones. They should be cheap enough to buy, around €10 should get you a set.

And finally get the em light turned off.

The mats will be very off putting to anyone that views your ad. Anyone that can see past that and goes to view your car will be put of by the em light.

Colemania

To clarify the story on the engine light. I never did anything about it while it was still on as it doesn't affect the day to day driving of the car and I was just gonna get it fixed before my NCT next year. I had intended to sell it next year, hence get the light fixed, get it passed the NCT and then sell it, but I decided to sell it now instead as Astra's seem to be dropping value by the minute.

With regards my uncle next door, yes he's a mechanic but I'm very busy weekdays and the only time he can look at my car usually is in his working hours........which coincide with my working hours. As soon as i ask him to get the computer to fix the light, he will do it within a few days and it will be fixed but I haven't asked him, as stated in the reasons above.

By the way, i'm under 25 and drive this car and a younger cousin of mine drives an older model so i wouldn't say they're old peoples cars but that's your opinion and that's fine.

Really didn't think this post would generate so much interest so I hope nobody thinks I'm giving out or complaining. I genuinely am grateful for the feedback. To be honest, if i had more time on my hands I would have done some of the things stated by posters like clean the car, fixed the light, took better pictures and so on.

CiniO

Colemania wrote: »

Hi all,

I have a 2003 Opel Astra for sale, 1.4 Petrol. I have it up on DoneDeal and although it has about 60 views, I've had no calls and wondering what I am doing wrong. I've dropped the price by 200 in the last 2 weeks and still nothing.

My questioning of this is as follows. People look for a specific car or a car within a price range and come across my car. They view it and then decide against following up their interest and contacting me. Why is this happening?

I can link the ad or even ad details if someone wants to see what I am doing wrong or are Astras just not selling well now? It's a fine cheap car like so can't understand it myself.

I'd say magical 100k miles border was crossed, which makes lots of potential buyer to skip this one.
If it had 98k, then it would be compeltely different story.

I had a car for sale from February, and it took over 5 months to sell, and I went down with price of about 30% eventually.
Over that 5 months time, I didn't even have a single person to view it. Just few phonecalls - nothing more.
And then suddenly guy came over from opposite side of the country in the bus (something like 10 hours journey), and bought it. We only discussed over the internet - he never even gave me a ring.

So just be patient.

Colemania

CiniO wrote: »

I'd say magical 100k miles border was crossed, which makes lots of potential buyer to skip this one.
If it had 98k, then it would be compeltely different story.

I had a car for sale from February, and it took over 5 months to sell, and I went down with price of about 30% eventually.
Over that 5 months time, I didn't even have a single person to view it. Just few phonecalls - nothing more.
And then suddenly guy came over from opposite side of the country in the bus (something like 10 hours journey), and bought it. We only discussed over the internet - he never even gave me a ring.

So just be patient.

ha that's mad. When i was selling my corsa I had calls and texts as soon as half an hour after putting it up. It was mental. Sold it in less than a week. Some young one was gonna come up from Dublin for it but pulled out then on the day. Never trust people who text before calling you about the car!

Ya i bought it at 96k so it's gone over the 100k mark unfortunately now

corkgsxr

Looking at the add id give it a good clean, get rid of mats and seat covers. There off putting and get the light fixed. And decent picts in decent light of front back and sides.

Few hours and it becomes much more sellable

Cee-Jay-Cee

Why was the ECU changed? If the battery was disconnected while the ECU was being changed the the CEL should have gone out when the new one was in and the battery reconnected. When your uncle changed the ECU did he check what codes were stored? A simple €20 OBD scanner is all that is needed to read and clear the error code. Until you get that sorted I suggest you forget about selling it, no one will buy it with a CEL showing.

georgefalls

Colemania wrote: »

To clarify the story on the engine light. I never did anything about it while it was still on as it doesn't affect the day to day driving of the car and I was just gonna get it fixed before my NCT next year. I had intended to sell it next year, hence get the light fixed, get it passed the NCT and then sell it, but I decided to sell it now instead as Astra's seem to be dropping value by the minute.

With regards my uncle next door, yes he's a mechanic but I'm very busy weekdays and the only time he can look at my car usually is in his working hours........which coincide with my working hours. As soon as i ask him to get the computer to fix the light, he will do it within a few days and it will be fixed but I haven't asked him, as stated in the reasons above.

By the way, i'm under 25 and drive this car and a younger cousin of mine drives an older model so i wouldn't say they're old peoples cars but that's your opinion and that's fine.

Really didn't think this post would generate so much interest so I hope nobody thinks I'm giving out or complaining. I genuinely am grateful for the feedback. To be honest, if i had more time on my hands I would have done some of the things stated by posters like clean the car, fixed the light, took better pictures and so on.

You could get a 15 month NCT, next month.
That would certainly up the ante, and the sale price.
If it sails through, its only €55 of your hard earned.

Colemania

georgefalls wrote: »

You could get a 15 month NCT, next month.
That would certainly up the ante, and the sale price.
If it sails through, its only €55 of your hard earned.

Ya i might do that if it hasn't sold in the next month or so. Depends how much it'll cost to get it up to scratch for the NCT but i wouldn't say it'd be much.

With regards the light on the dash (in reference to the post above) I don't know exactly what he did when putting in the ECU but a guy on here from Limerick kindly offered to hook up his odb scanner to my car to get rid of the light so I'll do it this weekend and get everything up to scratch and then put up a new and much improved ad.

Thanks everyone