Thoughts on my Mercedes advert

W123-80's

Hi all,
After almost 2 months I have had the sum total of two phonecalls, about 4 daft texts (lowest price nonsense) and 1 viewing.
The guy who viewed it conceded that it was a lovely car but wasn't happy with the body work. He expected less marks and scratches, he did concede the rust wasn't bad!
So I reduced the price to €900 about two weeks ago and nothing!
Tumbleweed.
Is it a case of me being totally unrealistic with the price or is it just a totally undesirable car?
My gut is telling me the price is fair but maybe its not.

https://www.donedeal.ie/cars-for-sale/1996-mercedes-c200/19153079

11wingnut

The car is nice it is the country is f*** Tax and insurance has seen loads of great cars go off the road.. Today i was asked to bring a one family owned Peugeot 406 diesel estate with 6 months nct to be crushed . would be a fine car in most countries. .Things need to change. Good luck with the sale . Maybe Uk sites? or bring to a show up north.

bazz26

Trying to get insurance on a car of that age is getting more and more difficult, it seriously cuts down the number of potential buyers.

W123-80's

Thanks lads
It's depressing
Another 7.5 years until cheap tax too, that's a long time sitting in my shed!

MrCostington

Ad looks good to me - very clear and honest.

Do you know anyone in Dublin that could show the car for you - might improve the catchment area for it.

Sadly agree with the above, too old to insure too young for classic tax .... rock and hard place..

I had a '96 C230K - broke my heart to sell it for €400 a few years back, but could not afford the tax. Am looking for 123 now:)

BTW, you appear to be trying to hide the reg in one pic, but it's in others (and the NCT disk)

tinofapples

The funniest part is all the reduce, re-use and recycle brigade over the years ? Is this not applicable to vehicles as well ?

stanley1989

Sadly most of these cars end up as slab cars used for diffing I see lots of fine cars wrecked in these get togethers .. I'd also agree with the insurance and tax comments made above even the nct is strict so most people arnt bothered .. I often drive through northern Ireland and the amount of older big cars on the road compared to the republic is very noticeable their easier taxed insured and mot isn't as strict .. A fine motor good luck with sale

W123-80's

tinofapples wrote: »

The funniest part is all the reduce, re-use and recycle brigade over the years ? Is this not applicable to vehicles as well ?

Honestly, don't get me started on this one.!
I actually wrote a 3,000 word assignment on the virtues of bangernomics and classic car ownership as part of an environmental masters I completed in NUIG!!
I argued that there were lessons to be learned from this type of ownership that could be transferrable to mainstream motoring.

bazz26

tinofapples wrote: »

The funniest part is all the reduce, re-use and recycle brigade over the years ? Is this not applicable to vehicles as well ?

It's just another case of mass consumerism.

Vehicles are really promoted as disposable goods just like a toaster or kettle. The likes of governments (increased tax revenue) and motor industry (sell more cars) have a vested interest if you are persuaded to part with an old car and replace it with a brand new shiny one which is deemed safer and kinder to the environment. Latest craze is the move to hybrids and EVs now that diesel who they previously promoted, are bad for you.

W123-80's

bazz26 wrote: »

It's just another case of mass consumerism.

Vehicles are really promoted as disposable goods just like a toaster or kettle. The likes of governments (increased tax revenue) and motor industry (sell more cars) have a vested interest if you are persuaded to part with an old car and replace it with a brand new shiny one which is deemed safer and kinder to the environment. Latest craze is the move to hybrids and EVs now that diesel who they previously promoted, are bad for you.

We are entering the era of 'fast auto' or the 'disposable car'.
And by fast auto.. I don't mean speed..!!

road_high

tinofapples wrote: »

The funniest part is all the reduce, re-use and recycle brigade over the years ? Is this not applicable to vehicles as well ?

The waste of perfectly good cars in this country is nothing short of sinful and its gotten worse in recent years with the road tax differential and idiotic insurance companies. Absolutely no leadership or common sense when it comes to motoring here.

ravendude

bazz26 wrote: »

It's just another case of mass consumerism.

Vehicles are really promoted as disposable goods just like a toaster or kettle. The likes of governments (increased tax revenue) and motor industry import business (sell more cars) have a vested interest if you are persuaded to part with an old car and replace it with a brand new shiny one which is deemed safer and kinder to the environment. Latest craze is the move to hybrids and EVs now that diesel who they previously promoted, are bad for you.

Let me fix that for you... . We need to stop calling it an "industry" in this country, - agree with what you are saying though.

Duke O Smiley

I said it before to you, it’s a lovely car and it’s tidier than most out there at this stage. What did the viewer expect for a grand!? I see a scratch on the lower part of the front bumper and a dent below the offside rear lamp. Hardly worth arguing about.

If I was looking at the ad with a view to buying I might be a bit worried that there are no photos of the passenger side, so it might be worth uploading even one just for the sake of conformity.

Put it on the classic section on DoneDeal too, you could get a classic insurance policy all day long on it. Someone might fancy it as a weekend driver, or something to use sparingly until it hits 30.

Unfortunately your location probably isn’t helping things. Hardly anybody travels for a car in this country!

Del2005

I got a 01 Fabia for €200 recently. The paint was a bit rough and it needed a service and some minor work, it's a 17 year old car so to be expected. But it is a solid car and a few years ago it would have been an ideal learners car or cheap runabout, all its good for now is a field car.

Unfortunately your car is even less desirable than the one I bought as it is higher to tax and older.

Del2005

bazz26 wrote: »

It's just another case of mass consumerism.

Vehicles are really promoted as disposable goods just like a toaster or kettle. The likes of governments (increased tax revenue) and motor industry (sell more cars) have a vested interest if you are persuaded to part with an old car and replace it with a brand new shiny one which is deemed safer and kinder to the environment. Latest craze is the move to hybrids and EVs now that diesel who they previously promoted, are bad for you.

The thing is that the new cars reduce our CO2 emissions and so its good. The bad is that the new vehicles require loads of energy to make them but since we are an island this extra emissions won't effect us.

But the issue for the OP is insurance and that's due to our generous judges making crazy awards for injuries, some of which are real.

Diesel should never have been promoted as a clean fuel.

bazz26

ravendude wrote: »

Let me fix that for you... . We need to stop calling it an "industry" in this country, - agree with what you are saying though.

I was actually talking about consumerism and disposable products at a global level rather than the motor trade in the Irish market.

RedorDead

ravendude wrote: »

Let me fix that for you... . We need to stop calling it an "industry" in this country, - agree with what you are saying though.

Can you explain why?

Toyotafanboi

You're in a tough spot with that car IMO. I know we aren't a great country for keeping older vehicles on the road but I don't think the reasons for that are the primary reasons your car isn't selling.

In regards the ad, the pictures are taken too up close and the car looks wet/ damp in the pics. Take better photos further away with the wheels straight to try give a better idea of the cars condition.

To be fair though, most people looking to pick up a "future classic" in the age/ price bracket will be looking for one with tidy bodywork as they aren't really at a place yet where people are happy to buy them and pump money into bodywork etc and to be fair yours is tatty and arch rust on one of those would have me worried tbh.

It does have an interesting back story and it's a shame, seeing as it has a full history and drives nice but the reality is it's not particularly desirable between the above points, the beige, the insurance nightmare and being in Mayo you may have that car for a while to come. I can't think of much to help you sell it bar use better photos showing the bodywork so people know what to expect before they travel and if you truly want it gone drop the price a little more.

W123-80's

Toyotafanboi wrote: »

You're in a tough spot with that car IMO. I know we aren't a great country for keeping older vehicles on the road but I don't think the reasons for that are the primary reasons your car isn't selling.

In regards the ad, the pictures are taken too up close and the car looks wet/ damp in the pics. Take better photos further away with the wheels straight to try give a better idea of the cars condition.

To be fair though, most people looking to pick up a "future classic" in the age/ price bracket will be looking for one with tidy bodywork as they aren't really at a place yet where people are happy to buy them and pump money into bodywork etc and to be fair yours is tatty and arch rust on one of those would have me worried tbh.

It does have an interesting back story and it's a shame, seeing as it has a full history and drives nice but the reality is it's not particularly desirable between the above points, the beige, the insurance nightmare and being in Mayo you may have that car for a while to come. I can't think of much to help you sell it bar use better photos showing the bodywork so people know what to expect before they travel and if you truly want it gone drop the price a little more.

Sums it up really I guess.
Although I disagree with your suggestion that the car is 'tatty'. But I guess tatty is subjective.

Toyotafanboi

Tatty is a bit mean perhaps the interior does look very fresh, but tidy bodywork is a must when trying to shift a car like this and from your ad I can see a scuff on the O/S/F bumper corner, N/S/R bumper corner, dent under the O/S/R tail lamp, the bonnet badge is snapped off, you say yourself the bonnet is stone chipped and the arches are starting to rust and this is with no pictures of the passenger side of the car.

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder and we often overlook these things as the owner of the car we look past them and see what we love about the car, but they are the first thing a prospective new owner sees.

W123-80's

Toyotafanboi wrote: »

Tatty is a bit mean perhaps the interior does look very fresh, but tidy bodywork is a must when trying to shift a car like this and from your ad I can see a scuff on the O/S/F bumper corner, N/S/R bumper corner, dent under the O/S/R tail lamp, the bonnet badge is snapped off, you say yourself the bonnet is stone chipped and the arches are starting to rust and this is with no pictures of the passenger side of the car.

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder and we often overlook these things as the owner of the car we look past them and see what we love about the car, but they are the first thing a prospective new owner sees.

The body work is what is prevents it from being a real head turner alright. Not that a C Class will ever turn to many heads, but all the same, tidier body work would really make it start out for sure.
I just don't have the money at the minute to get those bits done which is why I decided to offload.
Thanks for the thoughts, I reckon ye are spot on in relation to the pics. I'm going to take better ones and see what happens.

Toyotafanboi

There's no sense in repairing the blemishes from your point of view if you are trying to sell for €1k ish which makes it an awkward predicament.

If I were you though I'd get a new bonnet badge from a scrappy or eBay etc, that'd make a huge difference to first impressions IMO without setting you back more than €20 and then a few nice pics on a bright dry day.