Another "Why isn't anyone interested in my car" thread

NIMAN

Re: my car for sale in my signature link.

Anyone care to offer any advice as to why I'm not getting any phone calls about it. Been for sale on DoneDeal and CarZone for couple of months now.

I think its reasonably priced as its a very well looked after car, full main dealer service history, never thrashed or crashed, looks nice, nice year for those looking for a reliable 2nd hand car.

On DD its the 6th cheapest 1.6 TDCi 2010 Focus, 5th in fact if you add the VRT on to the cheapest listed. Its been viewed 620 times!
On CarZone its the cheapest if you ignore 4 x "POA" adverts.

I have also checked out NI cars. The cheapest 2010 with similar mileage is £6950, so by time you convert to Euro and pay VRT, it works out slightly more expensive than mine.

I would ave thought a car like a Ford Focus would be very popular among buyers, but alas no.

Any tips or thoughts? Why are none of the 620 people interested enough to call or contact?

djimi

Two things come to mind;

- €10k+ is a lot of money to spend on a private sale, and if Im spending that sort of money on a car then I want a warranty and the backing of the law if something goes wrong. A lot of people will feel the same.

- Your location might not be helping either; its a long way for most of the country to travel to view a car.

There is not much that you can do about either of these unfortunately. The ad seems fine to me and if you say its up there with the cheapest advertised online then there isnt much more that you can do other than wait it out or drop the price further if you are really keen to sell.

Nino Brown

NIMAN wrote: »

I would ave thought a car like a Ford Focus would be very popular among buyers, but alas no.

They are very popular, but there's also a massive supply to satisfy the demand. I sold my focus last year, they were listed for 5-5.5K on carzone, but carzone is mostly dreamers, so you're probably best knocking at least a few grand off what you see on there.
I listed mine for 3700 sold it for 3400, and it was gone in 3 days, but that's the kind of discount over carzone asking prices you need to offer to shift a car quickly.

NIMAN

Thanks so far, appreciate that my location is ruling out a lot of the country.

Shame that a private sale for €10k is such a risk for people but I suppose I would understand that myself. OK so I know that I have owned this car from new, I have had it main dealer serviced and never horsed it, but others don't know that. You have to take people at their word but when spending €10k its a risk for sure.

Its a shame cos this would be a great buy for someone.

Kopparberg Strawberry and Lime

it may have the 1.6tdci everybody loves but its the style model.

very basic, windy windows in rear, no heated windscreen etc.

it is a reasonable price but not for private sale...

Aint Eazy Being Cheezy

I agree with the €10k private sale point. At that price range I'd only deal with a reputable garage, and not a portacabin in a gravel carpark either.

colm_mcm

Its not obvious from the ad that you've owned it from new.

NIMAN

colm_mcm wrote: »

Its not obvious from the ad that you've owned it from new.

Thanks, must update that.

Looks like might have to lower price a little more so?

I might be better trading it in to a dealer. One told me he would give me €10,500, but of course he was adding it on at the other end.

wonski

Quick question - is it an import?

You say you own it from new, but it looks like there are miles on the clocks.

Unless you bough it new in the UK, some people may think it has 2 owners, actually.

NIMAN

Yes it was imported, I bought it from Desmond Motors in Derry, one of the biggest Ford dealers in Ireland.

It was a demo car of theirs, it was a few months old when I bought it. I am the only owner of it on the logbook.

Not sure what you mean by miles on the clock?

wonski

NIMAN wrote: »

Yes it was imported, I bought it from Desmond Motors in Derry, one of the biggest Ford dealers in Ireland.

It was a demo car of theirs, it was a few months old when I bought it. I am the only owner of it on the logbook.

Not sure what you mean by miles on the clock?

That's how I noticed it was imported - miles instead of km's on the speedo;)

Not a big deal if you bought it straight from the dealer yourself.

I would say that trading it in might be your best bet, unless you are prepared to lower the price. You can't compare it to dealer prices, as these normally include some form of a warranty.

Murt10

I wouldn't want to buy a UK ford for the simple reason that the Speedo is calibrated in mph rather than kph.

With the speed cameras everywhere and going to be in more places over time, the last thing I want, is not to be able to tell at a glance exactly what speed I am doing.

I has an imported escort tears ago and while it was possible to see the kph some of the time, at dusk etc it wasn't that easy.

Onthe other hand, some cars with a digital Speedo can be changed from mph to kph at the touch of a button.

djimi

Murt10 wrote: »

I wouldn't want to buy a UK ford for the simple reason that the Speedo is calibrated in mph rather than kph.

With the speed cameras everywhere and going to be in more places over time, the last thing I want, is not to be able to tell at a glance exactly what speed I am doing.

I has an imported escort tears ago and while it was possible to see the kph some of the time, at dusk etc it wasn't that easy.

Onthe other hand, some cars with a digital Speedo can be changed from mph to kph at the touch of a button.

I doubt this would bother many people; it would take about two days before your eyes instinctively convert the speed without you even thinking about it. My car is km/h only and I still convert back to mph subconsciously :pac:

NIMAN

That might annoy some people, but the KM/H is printed on the dash as well, just have to get into the habit of looking at the lighter coloured KM/H and not the main MPH ones.
I drive in NI and RoI equally, so it sort of suits me to have both!

wonski

It is very easy to do the conversion as you go, takes a day or 2 to get used to it (most Irish people I know use miles more often than kilometers, anyway).

Same with an mpg being more popular than l/100 km.

rocky

DL reg would put people off, best bet is to sell it locally, so very limited market, or have you tried back to the north?

Noccy_Mondy

Drop the price to €9,999 or something around that, looks cheaper to a perspective buyer. The main problem is that supply meets demand throughout the country, just have to wait for the right person - more than likely someone local.

Henry Ford III

Private sales aren't limited to €10k or less. I've sold nearly new cars privately for up to €30k.

The attraction is they were cheaper than a dealer and still had plenty of manufacturers warranty remaining.

bazz26

Another problem is that Irish spec Style models were actually better equipped back in 2010. They came with front fogs, Bluetooth and heated front windscreen.

I'd also suggest either giving it a good polish yourself or have it valeted and then take better photos on a sunny day. Those dull photos do nothing for a black car.

Aint Eazy Being Cheezy

Henry Ford III wrote: »

Private sales aren't limited to €10k or less. I've sold nearly new cars privately for up to €30k.

The attraction is they were cheaper than a dealer and still had plenty of manufacturers warranty remaining.

I don't think anybody is saying private sales are limited to 10 grand or less. It's just in this day and age of dodgy bank drafts, stolen nct certs and meaningless dealer warranties that you can never be too careful who you're dealing with, and with large sums of money buyer's prefer main dealer's. Just my 2c.

NIMAN

rocky wrote: »

DL reg would put people off, best bet is to sell it locally, so very limited market, or have you tried back to the north?

I know many will say this but for me its nonsensical.
To judge an entire county's drivers based on your preconception of some of them is just crazy.

I am mid 40s, family man with young kids, look after my cars and service them properly, yet I am judged based on the fact that idiotic Donegal lads horse the odd Toyota twincam about. Like every county in Ireland hasn't got its share of sh1t drivers. I've been around the country and they can be all as bad as each other.

rocky

I'm in Galway and have 2 cars, a KY and a MN...

djimi

NIMAN wrote: »

I know many will say this but for me its nonsensical.
To judge an entire county's drivers based on your preconception of some of them is just crazy.

I am mid 40s, family man with young kids, look after my cars and service them properly, yet I am judged based on the fact that idiotic Donegal lads horse the odd Toyota twincam about. Like every county in Ireland hasn't got its share of sh1t drivers. I've been around the country and they can be all as bad as each other.

I agree that it is absolutely nonsensical, however like it or not the stigma exists. I dont know how much it would put someone off the right car, but you will always get people who wouldnt touch a DL reg car even if it was mint and going for a fiver.

That said, stigmas like this exists in other areas also; I have heard of people from Dublin who wouldnt buy non-D reg cars because they have been driving on country roads that might have potholes etc. Utter drivel of course (like every D reg car has spent its life driving around the city, which in itself would not necessarily be a good thing), but such is life!

I wouldnt worry about it too much though; for every one person who wouldnt touch a DL reg car, there are people countless folk who couldnt give a toss either way what the reg plate says.