Best time to sell

beaker

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OK, before I start I'm not thinking of selling, I love the A3 and have only had it for 6 months. Just wondering what people here think is the best time to sell to get the best return on the car's value.

Mine was 6 months old when I got it so it had already taken a hefty hit on depreciation. I was thinking of keeping it till the end of the warranty then trading in for a newer one, maybe brand new, maybe 6 months or so again.

I do a lot of miles so the car will probably be on about 55-60k miles by then.

Would like to know your thoughts. I would change every year if I thought it was the most cost effective.
 
I generally keep my cars for the 3 years that they are covered by the warranty and then trade-in for another new one. I now do a little less miles so I've done 18,000 in 14 months whereas I used to to 20-25,000 a year.

With nealy all of my Audis I've been offered around 55-60% of the original list price as a trade-in value. Mileage does not seem to be as important to the dealer as a clean and tidy car in the right colour that has been serviced by them from new and is close to a standard model, but with plenty of the standard 'goodies'. Seems these always sell well. My last few A3s have always been provisionally sold by the dealer even before my new one has arrived which means they have never appeared on their forecourt or in their ads so I have no idea what they sold them for.
 
With an Audi you generally loose 30% in the first year and then another 10% in the following 2 years, that should answer your question.

If you are going to do 60k miles, you may want to add 5-7% to the first year and another 2-3% for the 2nd and 3rd years.
You may be better to sell after the 3rd year, however if you want to sell it privately you may be best to sell it when it is 2 years old, a years worth of warranty and 20k miles left before the warranty runs out is very reassuring for a private buyer.
 
I have just PX'd mine back to dealer. 11 Months old 3.2Q S LIne DSG with Abt AS3 bodykit and all extras except Sat Nav.

He gave me £22k for it against a new A4 cab.

That's 33% of the original invoice value gone.

Steve
 
You loose more in depreciation in the first 12 months than at any other time. My last few trade-ins of A3s have been when the car is nearly 3 years old and the trade-in price in each case has been around 55% of the original purchase price.

If you don't want to loose so much you will have to keep your cars a little longer, unless of course money is no object.