Buying & selling cars in a recession - Search2Drive
Skip to contentCars Buying and selling in this recession
Here is a guide or at least some help to the deals on how to get the most money from a trade-in and whether it's worth ditching the petrol guzzler to where to find the best value-for-money second-hand vehicle.
Tips on selling a car
This is one of the worst times to sell your car, but it still may be more cost effective to sell and get a smaller more economical vehicle than to keep your big gas guzzler or your old banger, even if you still owe finance on it!
What you need to do is look at the true cost of running your car.
* Remember to include any negative equity.
Take that yearly total and times it by 5 years it will be quite a lot!!! But compare it to a smaller more economical vehicle buying new over 5 years it should be cheaper even with paying off the outstanding finance ! IT NEEDS TO BE CONSIDERED don't you think?
Now look at the cost of a new smaller car, take in what you are paying out a year now try and set what you would like to pay and negotiate with the car sales man.
My little sister had a 4x4 and she still owed £5000 on it but her annual spend taking into consideration all from the above box was £8,000. She downgraded to a small city car with better miles to the gallon and cheaper road tax etc.
The cost of the new car for the first year was £4000 SAVING A MASSIVE £4000 IN THE FIRST YEAR!!! This means even when she has to pay for the service road tax etc after first year she is still saving! Yes the car is smaller and not as affluent but she really does enjoy having money for other things.
Tips on Buying a Car
Today is indisputably one of the best times to buy a new or used car, probably ever since the Second World War. In terms of value- for-money, specification, safety, modernity and technology, I've never seen a market this attractive. Prices of used cars have been reducing over the last twelve months, and there really are some shocking bargains on offer.
At present there is a shortage of second hand cars and to be honest they are not going as cheap as you would think, i am looking for a small car for my girlfriend at the moment and what a job trying to get a good deal on the right kind of car! Persevere as there is always one out there, we are looking at trying to get a car that is decent but for a price as close as possible to £2000 as if we buy a car for £2500 and keep the car a year then buy a new car with the scrap car incentive it will only cost £500 for a year or so driving, it cant be bad!
Scrap car insentive
Motorists buying new cars will get a £2,000 discount if they trade in for cars over 10 years old to be scrapped, the chancellor has announced.
Alistair Darling unveiled the scheme - which will run until March 2010 - to help the struggling car industry.He said he wanted to help the UK's motor industry "which has been one of Britain's success stories". But critics have said the scheme could hit second-hand car prices and will do little to safeguard UK jobs.
To benefit from the scheme, a buyer must have been the registered keeper of the car that is due to be scrapped for at least 12 months. Half the scheme will be paid for by the government, with manufacturers contributing the rest.
The government has set aside £300m to pay for the scheme, which will benefit 300,000 customers.
Have a look at the search 2 drive form to assist you in buying a second hand car
Most people get very concerned about what they're going to get for their old car, so they decide to run it into the ground. In my opinion that's the most expensive option.
Don't get hung up on the value of your part-exchange - what you replace it with may work out significantly cheaper (see above). Running old cars into the ground doesn't pay.
You'll still have to tax, insure and service them, while they carry on depreciating, so you'll be throwing good money over bad. Far better to get out of that big-drinking old barge and downsize into something smaller.
If you know nothing about cars, find somebody who does. Professionals like the RAC and AA will inspect a prospective purchase (we had all the motors on my lot checked over by the RAC), so you can minimise any risk.
Dealers are desperate to deal, so the price on the screen is definitely not what you should pay. Always make an offer, and always haggle.
If you're buying from a dealer, you'll be protected by all the consumer legislation going. Ironically, it's cheaper and safer than buying from a private seller, who might not know how far the market has fallen and be looking for unrealistic money.
Auctions, are probably one of the cheapest places to buy, but you must know what you're doing. If you don't, take someone along who does
- But before you get too excited by all these buying opportunities, remember these vital points.
Never buy a car if the mileage isn't 100% guaranteed by the seller. - Make sure it comes with a service book that's been stamped up from day one.
- Never buy from someone if you don't know where they live, so no meetings in lay-bys or service stations.
- Make sure the name and address on the V5C document are the same as where you're meeting them.
There are a lot of stolen V5Cs in circulation, so ring up the DVLA to check the document number is genuine. Don't even think about paying retail - most motors are changing hands for trade bottom book, and sometimes much less. If the dealer won't soften on price, walk away and find someone who will. It's a buyer's market out there.
The best cars to buy are those that hold their value longest -small, economical city cars. Little motors like the Citroen C1, Mini Diesel and Fiat 500 are fiercely desirable and holding their value much better than most other metal.
If you buy a year-old car, you'll knock a big chunk off new list price, and still get the benefit of two years warranty to protect you from any nasty bills. Nobody knows what's going to happen in the next couple of years, so it makes sense to go for something small and fuel-sipping that'll depreciate as gently as possible.
One final thought. Prices probably won't stay this low for long. The number of part-exchanges coming onto the market is down, because so few new cars were sold towards the end of last year.
Prices may even rise because of a lack of supply. So if you want take advantage of the best used car market conditions for several decades, get your spoon in the gravy now.