Really struggling to sell my car, can anyone tell me why

maynooth_rules

Felt I was getting very very poor deals from garages when I was looking at trade ins. Thought I would have no problem selling my car.
https://www.donedeal.ie/cars-for-sale/2008-seat-leon-1-4-sport-5dr/12841993
Something like 15 2008 Leons for sale on carzone, I have mine at the cheapest. On top of that it has a lower mileage than most.
Is there a particular reason I am getting no interest?

Johngoose

maynooth_rules wrote: »

Felt I was getting very very poor deals from garages when I was looking at trade ins. Thought I would have no problem selling my car.
https://www.donedeal.ie/cars-for-sale/2008-seat-leon-1-4-sport-5dr/12841993
Something like 15 2008 Leons for sale on carzone, I have mine at the cheapest. On top of that it has a lower mileage than most.
Is there a particular reason I am getting no interest?

Probably not the best time to be selling anything for the following reasons:
People are on holidays and offline/out of the country.
People are saving before embarking on their holiday.
For families with children going back to school,it is a more expensive time than Christmas.
People are skint after their holiday abroad.
People with kids off from school have to keep their kids entertained= expensive.
Parents of children in third level face accommodation costs,enrolment fees and the cost of books.

_Kaiser_

I'd suggest some pictures on a brighter day with more interior shots (rear seats/legroom and maybe the boot)

The mileage is probably high-ish for a petrol? Is that actual miles or KM?

Maybe list more of the spec, although it does seem pretty basic aside from the sunroof.

You're also competing against Golf's and the Ford Focus I'd imagine which would be the "go to" in this segment

savagethegoat

Photos are a bit lack lustre I agree. Try turning the wheel a little and photographing from a low level.

I wondered about the mileage thing too. Really needs to show km in this day and age.

Emphasise the NCT expiry date.

corkgsxr

New matts too or clean then up. Looks grubby.

Instead of emphasising Golf gti wheels. Why not just say alloys wheels.

It's a small thing but for some reason it bothers me.

fancy pigeon

Can't sell mine either, very competitively priced for what it is. Think it's the time of year, not overly arsed on selling either only I need the bloody room!!!

vandriver

Not putting the car tax on the ad makes it look like it would be high.

Cheensbo

fancy pigeon wrote: »

Can't sell mine either, very competitively priced for what it is. Think it's the time of year, not overly arsed on selling either only I need the bloody room!!!

What are you flogging sir?

maynooth_rules

Thanks for the replies everyone. NCT is until 2018 so I guess I should have been making a bigger deal of that.
Unfortunatly I am a poor amateur photographer

Seth Brundle

maynooth_rules wrote: »

Felt I was getting very very poor deals from garages when I was looking at trade ins. Thought I would have no problem selling my car.
https://www.donedeal.ie/cars-for-sale/2008-seat-leon-1-4-sport-5dr/12841993
Something like 15 2008 Leons for sale on carzone, I have mine at the cheapest. On top of that it has a lower mileage than most.
Is there a particular reason I am getting no interest?

Maybe I'm a snob but I wouldn't buy a car from done deal!
Secondly, your description is too short. I don't know id there are any other unique features not already mentioned but elaborate on the ones you have.
Tyres replaced - front? Back? All four?
Timing chain replaced - when? Mention how this will save them x hundred quid? Is there a warranty on the chain work?
How much is the motor tax?
Mention that it's four door as many people might think it's a 2 door.
Mention that it's a 6 speed (if this is the case in the 1.4 sport) which helps keep fuel consumption low.
Get more pics and in good weather. Show more pics of the interior and boot. Don't take your pictures beside a graveyard!

Bigus

A professional valet would be a big help before new photos , you don't mention what brand the new tyres are , but if they're budget don't mention, any service history or invoice to be mentioned or photographed ?

m5ex9oqjawdg2i

Johngoose wrote: »

Probably not the best time to be selling anything for the following reasons:
People are on holidays and offline/out of the country.
People are saving before embarking on their holiday.
For families with children going back to school,it is a more expensive time than Christmas.
People are skint after their holiday abroad.
People with kids off from school have to keep their kids entertained= expensive.
Parents of children in third level face accommodation costs,enrolment fees and the cost of books.

It's not exactly a family car, and if you are in the market for purchasing a car, holiday funds and school shouldn't haven't much impact on the purchase. Sold my car this time last year, first person to see it bought it, didn't haggle on price and it was priced fairly (mid range).

Do you have your car up on other sites OP? I'd personally stay away from done deal too myself due to ignorance and stigma.

maynooth_rules

Maren Skinny Showdown wrote: »

It's not exactly a family car, and if you are in the market for purchasing a car, holiday funds and school shouldn't haven't much impact on the purchase. Sold my car this time last year, first person to see it bought it, didn't haggle on price and it was priced fairly (mid range).

Do you have your car up on other sites OP? I'd personally stay away from done deal too myself due to ignorance and stigma.

Yep, have it on Carzone, Adverts and a few facebook buy and sell sites local to the area. Still not getting any luck unfortunately.

fancy pigeon

Cheensbo wrote: »

What are you flogging sir?

A PM your way

mikeecho

Its petrol, people only want diesel now for the great fuel economy, low tax, and endless problems that come with tiny mileage.

Atlantic Dawn

You need to be also pushing the ad to the top of the searches on Donedeal, you should renew the ad at around 10am-12 on Friday mornings to get those shopping for cars at the weekend to spot it.

CiniO

kbannon wrote: »

Maybe I'm a snob but I wouldn't buy a car from done deal!

So genuinely interested, where would you buy a car from if not from done deal?

2forjoy

i have bought on donedeal but mechanic and I have met a few in car parks and didnt like doing this .

_Brian

Car looks fine, photos are just ok.

id take out the "price drop" "priced to sell" stuff, it does nothing but create an air of desperation which could be off putting.

List the features in bullet form rather than as a story.

DD allows 10 photos, I'd recommend.

1 taken facing each corner, that shows clean lines without dints

1 front and rear

NCT and tax cert

Stamped service book showing two keys

1 photo each of front and rear interiors


It could be that it's just too expensive, you may have to drop the price.

SteM

Put a photo of the open boot up. Boot space is important to a lot of people, more important than a photo of the engine tbh.

Seth Brundle

CiniO wrote: »

So genuinely interested, where would you buy a car from if not from done deal?

Dunno. I'd tend to favour the sites where you have to pay a small amount as this raises the trust level slightly, e.g. carzone.
I have this mental block that DD is just full or damaged or crap cars and scammers.
In saying that, I sold my E39 525i (with minor front end damage) recently via DD. About 20 calls within first 3 or 4 hours, 2 serious. Deal closed soon afterwards.

grogi

CiniO wrote: »

So genuinely interested, where would you buy a car from if not from done deal?

It takes some maturity to accept that not all used cars are in perfect condition and you need to view a few to pick the good one. If one wants to choose particular ad in €5k range and just go pick it up - it might hurt...

Comparing with my experiences of buying in different countries, buying on DD is actually pretty painless

kbannon wrote: »

Dunno. I'd tend to favour the sites where you have to pay a small amount as this raises the trust level slightly, e.g. carzone.

I prefer to spend that small money on a mechanic. Carzone turned to be place for dealers to advertise or newish cars, while DD is for cars that are already in school...

kbannon wrote: »

I have this mental block that DD is just full or damaged or crap cars and scammers.

So it is in your head.

In saying that, I sold my E39 525i (with minor front end damage) recently via DD. About 20 calls within first 3 or 4 hours, 2 serious. Deal closed soon afterwards.

You sold it too cheap then

Seth Brundle

grogi wrote: »

So it is in your head

I never said that it wasn't. I'm still entitled to an opinion and opinions aren't wrong!

grogi wrote: »

You sold it too cheap then

No, she was priced to sell. I sold her with a few days to go before my holidays after which the nct would have expired.
I would have had to spend at least another grand to get her fixed up and through the test.
I still may not have made the money back afterwards.

maynooth_rules

_Brian wrote: »

Car looks fine, photos are just ok.

id take out the "price drop" "priced to sell" stuff, it does nothing but create an air of desperation which could be off putting.

List the features in bullet form rather than as a story.

DD allows 10 photos, I'd recommend.

1 taken facing each corner, that shows clean lines without dints

1 front and rear

NCT and tax cert

Stamped service book showing two keys

1 photo each of front and rear interiors


It could be that it's just too expensive, you may have to drop the price.

Thanks for these, very useful tips

The Bishop Basher

I think the ad and pics look good.

It'll sell if it's priced right. Just have some patience and a buyer will turn up.

If you have a receipt for the timing belt it would be worth a mention..

Good luck with the sale

Carson10

I can tell its a genuine car,well priced, low mileage. But I dont know. It just them alloys that would put me off. Thats my personal preference. I like a car to be original.

But best of luck!

maynooth_rules

https://www.donedeal.ie/cars-for-sale/2008-seat-leon-1-4-sport-5dr/12841993

Took some of the advice from this thread and updated the advert. Hopefully it will help

maynooth_rules

maynooth_rules wrote: »

https://www.donedeal.ie/cars-for-sale/2008-seat-leon-1-4-sport-5dr/12841993

Took some of the advice from this thread and updated the advert. Hopefully it will help

Can it be viewed in Dublin? (this opens up your marketplace a bit especially if it's located in Dublin throughout the day-time)

Also, it might just be the photo lighting but front driver seat "looks" grubby and the boot lining looks "grey" as opposed to black- Car actually looks great though

maynooth_rules

Deleted User wrote: »

Can it be viewed in Dublin? (this opens up your marketplace a bit especially if it's located in Dublin throughout the day-time)

Also, it might just be the photo lighting but front driver seat "looks" grubby and the boot lining looks "grey" as opposed to black- Car actually looks great though

Hadn't thought of that but I guess I could put on it that im available to meet in Dublin as I am only an hour away.
Seats are just beginning to show their age a little bit now

rex-x

I would agree with the above, its the alloys that are the biggest factor in it not selling id say, they really don't look right on a Leon and don't even look like genuine vw wheels?

Seth Brundle

Well done. The updated ad is much better.
Best of luck with the sale!

PrettyBoy

kbannon wrote: »

Dunno. I'd tend to favour the sites where you have to pay a small amount as this raises the trust level slightly, e.g. carzone.

DoneDeal and Carzone both charge €5 per ad..

Can't for the life of me understand why anyone buying or selling a €5k car privately wouldn't use DoneDeal - if you're selling then your ad will get more views on there than it will on Carzone or any other site. If you're buying then you'll have a far greater selection to choose from in most cases and, therefore, a better chance of finding a suitable car. You'd have to be stupid not to use it in either case.

Seth Brundle

PrettyBoy wrote: »

DoneDeal and Carzone both charge €5 per ad..

Can't for the life of me understand why anyone buying or selling a €5k car privately wouldn't use DoneDeal - if you're selling then your ad will get more views on there than it will on Carzone or any other site. If you're buying then you'll have a far greater selection to choose from in most cases and, therefore, a better chance of finding a suitable car. You'd have to be stupid not to use it in either case.

I've already said that I sold my damaged repairable through it.
I just don't think the quality there is great. Too much damaged stuff, clocked stuff, etc.
Plus the design of the site itself is not something I've warmed to!
My opinion and I'm happy with it even if you think I'm stupid for not thinking the same as you!

_Brian

maynooth_rules wrote: »

https://www.donedeal.ie/cars-for-sale/2008-seat-leon-1-4-sport-5dr/12841993

Took some of the advice from this thread and updated the advert. Hopefully it will help

Good job on the edit and new snaps, looks more appealing straight off..
Now if it doesnt sell its just overpriced... everything sells "at its price"

Atlantic Dawn

Much better presented now, you should bump the add up again on Donedeal on Friday morning so it's high in the search results for lunchtime that day, helps potential viewings for the weekend. Also don't bring the price down for 2 weeks, then think about it if no viewings or serious enquiries, your ad is right now.