gingertoss
Member
Yes I ment to come back and update the thread.
I sold it to Zach 2 weeks ago
I sold it to Zach 2 weeks ago
For Sale 2009 Z4 3.0i sDrive manual £7800
- Thread starter gingertoss
- Start date
gingertoss said:
I get why professionally run dealers who offer warranties can get top money for ordinary and fairly new, second hand cars.
I don't understand how a relatively niche product - a 15 year old sports car - is the same. I would have thought that people looking for such cars would be more interested in the lowest price and willing to take a bit of a chance with a private sale.
I'm not criticizing him, just surprised his business model works.
Z450 said:
I just don't get who the buyers are. People who want a 15 year old sports car, but don't want to do anything at all themselves, instead they are happy to pay very toppy money for a car which - at the end of the day - is probably not much more of a car than a well looked after private sale one plus a pro valet / detailing, with a bit of insurance. Insurance, but it's not like it protects you from something unpredictable and catastrophic a year down the line or the costs of maintenance.
I get ordinary car buyers wanting those things, but buyers of 15 year old sports cars? Not so much.
Good luck to Zach!
Devon
At the summit of the picturesque fens
All about the perceived 'peace of mind' of buying from a dealer. It is mostly perceived, as apart from the consumer rights, there are no advantages of buying an older car from a dealer (or any car IME). Most offer finance (which you can get cheaper from your bank with a personal loan), they will offer an RAC (dealer only issue at £20 cost to them) warranty which excludes absolutely everything so is not worth the paper it's written on. And many will offer a PX on your existing car at minimum trade less £1,000.MikeyH said:
But buying from a dealer is not so bad nowadays, as the average private seller seems to price their cars at, or above, full retail prices anyway. It's a new phenomenon since covid IME.
The car market has re-adjusted back to pre-covid rules; people need to get to grips with the fact that cars lose money and motoring is expensive again.
Porthcawl
I had never bought a car privately in my 35 years odd of being able to do so. Until last year that is, when I got my E89 from a forum member. Even when I was looking for a Z3 for a couple of grand a few years ago I felt comfort in buying it from a local garage, even with no warranty. It is psychological for me and not being trusting as well as being impulsive! The idea of travelling around the country to look at a car privately and returning without it is a complete waste of my time and I don't know enough about cars to spot a bad one. So I have always bought relatively local and from dealers etc. If I was spending big buks then I dont think I could buy privately as would always be looking for faults and 'why are they selling' etc. Even though obviously the garage has bought the car of someone- but there is a level of separation.
Comparing OPs photos with Zachs photos maybe a big part of it is truly simply - a very well photographed car looks 20% more valuable than a car that has been photographed to a reasonable standard.
Interesting to see where this car ended up.
Earlier in this thread I mentioned a dealer with a low mileage car but with very low options, It was a blue manual car from Zak Luke he was asking £10 K and it has now sold. I did consider visiting this specialist dealer at one stage, but in the end bought a private car from an owner who had bought it from this dealer. I made a good saving buying privately.
Earlier in this thread I mentioned a dealer with a low mileage car but with very low options, It was a blue manual car from Zak Luke he was asking £10 K and it has now sold. I did consider visiting this specialist dealer at one stage, but in the end bought a private car from an owner who had bought it from this dealer. I made a good saving buying privately.
Pondrew said:If you really think any dealer 'preps' cars for resale in 2024, you are sadly deluded.Z450 said:
Bucket of water and a £3,000 hike in price is the only prep done nowadays.
Pretty much.
Dealers sell on cars with minimum preparation and hope the new buyer doesn't find faults.
I do think £10k is too pricey for the spec of the car. Zak does get premium prices for his cars.
Buying that car privately would have saved a few grand to improve or deal with any potential issues.
That someone is me!.....I've a budget of around £3500 - £4000 plus a lovely Lexus GS. I've tried selling that previously and have cash as i recognise buying from a forum member is better in many ways. But had very little interest as they're lovely big barges but the right discerning buyer never showed. But now there's a chance of owning this nice Z4 through a part ex.....yep I know I'll shelve out more. I'll get a bit of a warranty and 'rights' which hopefully I wont need but it's the part ex that I do need.....could i have gone to WeBuy....hate them... Anyhow, just getting a price of p/ex from Zach. And yes photos on here are better.... 
Happy to discuss this more of course and I'll let you know how i get on..May at last be an owner after weeks of looking and pondering.
Happy to discuss this more of course and I'll let you know how i get on..May at last be an owner after weeks of looking and pondering.offered 6k on my p/ex. So cash will be 4000. Motorway/Autotrader suggested 6500 on advert and if I was patient and with right buyer then perhaps I'd get 7300. If I'd gone to WeBuy - what? 5300 at a stretch? If I had used WeBuy then my cash outlay would have been less......doh! lots of 'ifs and buts' I know...
dado5 said:
£10k is far too much for this Z4.
When you come to sell you'll have the same issues as Gingertoss. This car was on sale for a very long time and he couldn't sell it.
AutoTrader think you could get £6900 for this Z4.
CAP value the car at £5900-6300 for a private sale. £6800-7300 for a dealer. £4100-4400 as a trade in.
WBAC offer £3135.
It sounds like your Lexus is similar in value, if not more, than the Z4, yet you're trading it in and adding an additional £4000.
It's your money, but it doesn't sound like a good deal to me.
It’s all good suggesting what Cap says a car is valued at and WBAC auto trader etc but they are guides and that is all they are. I have not seen a private sale manual Z4 E89 with 55,000 miles sell for £6000. The previous op may have struggled due to being in Scotland not everyone wants to travel for a car.
Z450 said:
There has been numerous low spec 30i up for very reasonable money. Quite a few dipping into the £6000 range. This car was advertised at £7800 and couldn't sell.
Some people aren't willing to travel. However, people in Scotland buy cars too. I've bought most of my cars from England as there is no suitable availability up here. If you're wanting something specific like a BMW Z4 3.0 you have to travel. It's not a Ford Fiesta where there will be numerous cars local. The car was in Glasgow which is a very easy city to travel to.
The reason it didn't sell was because it's an undesirable spec other than the engine and the price was already too high for it.
CAP is one of the most respected valuation tools. I'm lost that so many people choose to ignore their valuations when the car industry, insurance companies, and the insurance ombudsman, will use CAP for finding a realistic valuation.
When ALL valuation guides and tools are giving similar valuations, where are some people finding these high valuations?
People are complaining the car market is dead and they can't sell their car. They complain that dealers and car services are offering terrible money for their car. They aren't. They are offering what is deemed the market value and too many owners have unrealistic estimations what their car it worth.
Any car priced correctly sells.
