Selling private against dealer trade in

[Mag_Pie]

What’s people experience from trying to sell private instead of taking the dealer part ex price?  The potential for raising more cash sounds appealing but my initial thoughts are towards non genuine buyers coming to scope out your house.

[Adam T7]

Done both over the years, tbh the hassle of a private sale isn’t worth it if you haggle hard with the dealer - IMO.

[mistac]

or as an alternative (and perhaps is the middle ground) try wbac, wizzle etc

[Guzzle]

I would try something like motorway.co.uk before committing to either personally.

Selling privately should get you more money but it can be lots of hassle with tyre kickers, time wasters, people without insurance wanting test drives etc. The last time I sold a car privately I touted it around people I knew first and ended up selling it to a work colleague of a close friend. That way I had a bit more trust in them, and them in me rather than selling to a complete stranger.

[SRGTD]

With one exception, I’ve always p/ex’d my outgoing car against the new one as I like the convenience of getting out of my old car and straight into the new one.

I personally wouldn’t want the potential hassle of the time wasters and tyre kickers that you might get with a  private sale. And as you’ve said, do non genuine buyers just have an ulterior motive for finding out where you live? Also, if you don’t get much interest in your for sale ad, you may find you have to drop the price, so could end up not getting much more than you would if trading in.

Good examples of in-demand cars were holding up value-wise exceptionally well three months ago when I traded my car in so you may be pleasantly surprised by what a dealer would offer for your car. You may find you have the upper hand. Always do your research though so the dealer doesn’t give you a load of BS.

[Yusee]

Depends on the value left in the car.
A lowish mileage few owner car i’d definitely sell privately.
I think you just have to work out how much you’d lose by trading in, then decide.

[atlasgrey]

All down to personal preference and tolerance of the idiot public I guess. I find it enough hassle selling low value items like wheels and tyres etc, people messaging ‘wots ur best price m8’ etc

The likes of wbac & motorway are handy to get an idea of value. As perspective, my tcr price with wbac dropped £2k between mid September and late November. If the vehicle is in good spec, low miles etc then often specialist dealers will pay you more than wbac and co. Main Dealer trade ins have always seemed harsh but that’s from limited quotes for me.

A mate of mine changes cars regularly and has privately sold lotus exige, cayman gts and hasn’t had issues. I wonder whether there’s a value point that attracts more div buyers to irritate and waste your time?

[Ryan90GTI]

I've sold every car I've had privately. It's simple, no insurance no test drive. And "I'm fully comp mate" doesn't count.

I've never had any test pilots, the first person to view has always bought the car because I'm extremely honest with my adverts and the condition of my cars are always better than what you'd get from a dealer anyway.

I don't understand why you'd trade it in at a dealer and lose out on thousands for "less hassle". I'd swim through shark infested waters with a sirloin steak wedged between my arse for a couple of grand - so selling a car privately is no bother to me.

[Yusee]

I agree with ryan. It’s actually quite easy to spot a serious buyer from a tyre kicker, and the whole deal should be done and dusted by telephone.
The conversation goes along the lines of “ if the car is as described, we agree £x for the car “
If you don’t have that kind of conversation, don’t entertain them.

[clarky92]

I've sold every car I've had privately. It's simple, no insurance no test drive. And "I'm fully comp mate" doesn't count.

I've never had any test pilots, the first person to view has always bought the car because I'm extremely honest with my adverts and the condition of my cars are always better than what you'd get from a dealer anyway.

I don't understand why you'd trade it in at a dealer and lose out on thousands for "less hassle". I'd swim through shark infested waters with a sirloin steak wedged between my arse for a couple of grand - so selling a car privately is no bother to me.

Thanks for this - you've installed confidence.

I've always traded in at the dealer for ease and being 'scared' of selling private. But after the low ball offer I've just had by the dealer I think private is the way I'm going now.