How to sell my '59 S3 privately and safely?

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sje_123

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Hi guys,

I picked up my '59 plate Phanton Black S3 end of October but my circumstances have changed dramatically (expecting first kid!!) and now need to downgrade fast to save some cash :crying:

There is finance outstanding on the car and have been around the various stealers today and all three I went too would offer me enough to just clear the finance, and leave me starting on a clean slate with them.

Looking on autotrader however I think I can get another £2k easily, even pricing for a quick sale, and this would even save the new owner a good £1k-£1.5k on what Audi Garages are charging for the same spec of car.

How do I go about selling the car privately and safely?

The first problem to overcome is the outstanding finance. Would you, the buyer, give me the cash for the car knowing from the advert that there was finance outstanding and be happy for me to clear the finance infront of you over the phone before you took it away?

Secondly, if someone wanted to view the car, would you arrange to meet say in a Tesco carpark just incase they were only enquiring about the car so they could come and see the car and case the house with a view to stealing it at a later date?

What are your guys thoughts, I've never sold a car privately before and it would be easier to just part exchange the car, but losing out on £2k at a time like this seems stupid!!

Any thought or suggestions?

Cheers
 
talk to a private car sale garage to sell for you, they'l probably want a small commision, a few hundred quid is better than losing 2k
 
Pistonheads. Fantastic site for private sales. I have sold all of my cars through there.

I had a MK5 R32 DSG around 18 months ago, sold via Pistonheads to a couple from Northen Ireland. They banked with the same bank as I do, we went to the local branch and did a bank transfer. I picked them up from the airport and drove them to my house to complete the deal.

I sold my Mini GP via Pistonheads around a month ago and I met the buyer in a Sainsburys car park to be safe. He did me a bankers draft and job done!

I find that there is a certain tpoe of buyer/seller on pistonheads, they seem to be true car nuts and not tyre kickers.
 
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Genuine buyers wouldn't be happy meeting in a supermarket car park! I've had that and walked away. Can understand your worries about having the house cased, try selling from a relatives etc but again most genuine buyers prefer everything to look right rather than seeminlgy something being hidden. If you have a garage, at least its out of sight at night!
How would you be able to clear the finance over the phone if the buyer gave you cash? Wouldnt the cash be needed to pay it off otherwise you could pay it off now? I would want to see something in writting from the lender before I parted with my pennies. In the past I ran a HPI but it missed that the car still had outstanding finance, it was under motability, had a tough time 'cos it didnt come to light until I was selling, luckily got sorted but the previous owner got done!!!
 
At the risk of being negative I would sell it to the dealers, clear the finance and start again.

The time it would take to advertise it and agree a sale probably means you will have made aother payment for the car, when you factor in the haggling by the buyer the gap comes down further.

If you sell the car privately other things to consider is a lot of finance companies now wont let private individuals buy via a private sale anymore.

The easiest way to deal with the outstanding finance is let a buyer make the payment over the phone before he collects the car or at the time of collection. I have also collected cars in the past with a draft made out to the finance company and the balance in cash for the seller.
 
Thanks a lot guys for the quick replys.

I'll check out piston heads, seems like it gets recommened quite a bit.

I suppose the buyer cud clear the finance off over the fone with me there and pay the rest in cash or whatever so thats a good idea. I'll have a sleep in it I think and have a think, starting a fresh would be easy, but the thought of actually making some money out of it is tempting!
 
audi upgrades
sje_123 said:
I suppose the buyer cud clear the finance off over the fone with me there and pay the rest in cash or whatever so thats a good idea.
Click to expand...

Would you clear a sellers finance of and then hope to buy the car? I personally wouldnt unless I knew the guy
 
navnayyar said:
Would you clear a sellers finance of and then hope to buy the car? I personally wouldnt unless I knew the guy
Click to expand...

I'm not sure what you mean? If you agreed to buy my car for X amount, would you not be happy to pay Auid finance Y amount and give the rest to me?
 
Purely for a quick sale, I'd advertise for £27000 to get £26000 which I think is a bargain...for a facelift S3 with 3500miles on the clock. This is compared to what it on pistonheads, AT and Audi used cars.
 
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Try speaking to your bank to see if they will give you a personal loan, and then settle the Finance in full with the loan.

You will then own the car outright, enabling a straight forward private sale.


Good luck

Paul
 
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sje_123 said:
Purely for a quick sale, I'd advertise for £27000 to get £26000 which I think is a bargain...for a facelift S3 with 3500miles on the clock.
Click to expand...

Mmmm.....not so sure mate...... 3 yrs ago I paid 25K for mine, 4 months old, 4K miles, from an Independant AUDI specialist. Lots of extras, list price with the extras worked out around 29K.
And I had the reassurance of it coming from an established trader.

Good luck anyway:icon_thumright:

cheers
Paul
 
I was in the same boat as you mate i put mine on autotrader and pistonheads , I got a few fraudster's time waister's and quite a few audi garages phoned me asking to buy my car due to people going to them asking audi to buy it off me so they would get the year warrentee and finance etc ?

I sold mine to audi and had 2500 change for an estate i got a lovely 2002 passat pearl black 1.8 turbo with leather , heated , 6 cd changer , im very happy , thing is i could of been greedy held out got say another 1500 to 2000 but it could of gone tits up as i needed a quick sale .

So i took the deal and im very happy , Debt free money in the bank i own my car , Just waiting for the baba to arrive now ...2 week's left , So id try sell it first and if you get an offer from a garage give them a date you will sell it them if you dont manage to , That's what i did .:icon_thumright:
 
PaulAr said:
Try speaking to your bank to see if they will give you a personal loan, and then settle the Finance in full with the loan.

You will then own the car outright, enabling a straight forward private sale.


Good luck

Paul
Click to expand...

This would be an option if I had to sell the car privately to cover the finance, but it seems as though some guys would be happy to purchase the car privately as long as it was advertised this way and they finance cleared off in front of them......still researching though!
 
10blazin said:
I was in the same boat as you mate i put mine on autotrader and pistonheads , I got a few fraudster's time waister's and quite a few audi garages phoned me asking to buy my car due to people going to them asking audi to buy it off me so they would get the year warrentee and finance etc ?

I sold mine to audi and had 2500 change for an estate i got a lovely 2002 passat pearl black 1.8 turbo with leather , heated , 6 cd changer , im very happy , thing is i could of been greedy held out got say another 1500 to 2000 but it could of gone tits up as i needed a quick sale .

So i took the deal and im very happy , Debt free money in the bank i own my car , Just waiting for the baba to arrive now ...2 week's left , So id try sell it first and if you get an offer from a garage give them a date you will sell it them if you dont manage to , That's what i did .:icon_thumright:
Click to expand...

I suppose I could ring round a few Audi Stealers tomorrow and see what they offer, nothing to lose I suppose!
 
mattdsc said:
Pistonheads. Fantastic site for private sales. I have sold all of my cars through there.

I find that there is a certain tpoe of buyer/seller on pistonheads, they seem to be true car nuts and not tyre kickers.
Click to expand...

He is right about Pistonheads, great site
 
Y444GAR said:
Whats the spec of your car?
Click to expand...

3Dr FaceLift
Phantom Black
BOSE
Symphony Radio - 6CD Changer
Privacy Glass
Interior Light Pack
Luggage Pack
Cruise Control

I think thats it, not forgotten anything, what you guys think is a good price to set to get a decent intrest and quick sale?
 
audi upgrades
I took a bank loan on to pay off the finance (make sure there are no early settlement charges)......sold car within a couple of weeks(on piston heads) then paid off the bank loan.
As PaulAR said its better to own the car outright and will generate alot more interest !
 
Firstly congrats on the new baby coming, i am sure that there has been a flurry over the last few months on here , are Audi putting something in the air con !

Not sure about your prices there , Not knocking the spec at all , but that is the least i would expect + more for that kind of money.

I paid just under £30k from a main Audi dealer , for a brand spanking S3 sportback with S-tronic and some heavy spec.

I got just over 11% discount.

September 1st 2009 I bought the sportback as our first baby was due.

Decided to go bigger and went for a Q5 in December , shopped round for part ex prices with Audi and was offered some shocking quotes.

I also had Audi finance on it , so it was a case of clearing the finance and starting again with new finance on the Q5 so i thought that would work in my favour as Audi would be making on the finance twice , if you get what i mean.

In the end i was lucky as a cancelled Q5 order turned up and they had some one looking for an S3 same spec as mine , the salesman was keen to get the whole deal done.

I guess what i am saying is if Audi are going to part ex a car in and sell a car to you they can juggle the figures around on both cars , throw some finance in and it makes more room for a deal.

But if you are simply selling them your car and walking away , they will offer you bottom dollar , IE : trade.

In my experience part ex is around £700 - £1500 less than private ( depending on dealer and car you are buying back )

Trade is from 2100- 3000 less than private.

webuyyourcar.com , on your car is £2250 , i know low , but be prepared for some low offers from Audi.

I would with out doubt , as you are selling to save some money for the little one , go private as that is where you will get the most and that is the reason for the sale right.

Although there are some idiots out there and scams , you have the forum to run things by , and as always if in doubt just say NO.

I sold my wife's A3 with finance on it and the guy buying it cleared the finance on the phone with me present , i then spoke to the finance company and they faxed me confirmation there and then. Balance in cash

This was audi finance again so it was quite painless , as i am sure there will be a scam now where buyer rings finance company ( his mate ) makes a card payment , hands seller phone, finance company ( his mate ) confirm payment etc.

But i am sure that you have the brains not to fall for that rubbish, and i am sure you are not going to ship in of Spain !

Dealer sale = painless = rip off.

Private sale = small stress (maybe / maybe not ) = lots more money = i am sure you can do the math !

All the best with the baby , life will never be the same again ! , it's better. Mines 16 weeks now and she makes me smile everyday.

You are in for some seriously good times .. oh and sleepless nights !

Just run any moves you make through here and you will get some great advise, i always have.( with the car sale , not the baby )

edit : Actually probably the baby as well !
 
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At the moment dealers are not giving 11%, (unless it is a real old new one sitting on their forecourt for 9 months, though you can get between 9 and 10%. I personally do not think you will get over 25K, if you are offered it be tempted to take it,, I got one on order, Black Ed, met paint, with a few other extras including S tronic, paid £29k, could have got one cheaper than that with other extras, and older new stock, as low as £27650, S tronic.

Good Luck with it, I may have done a deal if you posted a month ago
 
Personally, I'd consider two options:

1. Keep the S3. Lots of people (myself included) find that the A3 / S3 offers them plenty of room for a baby and all their gear. If you are a bit aggressive, you can also fit a Maclaren into the boot without the seats down. Our baby is 3 months old and I really don't think we need a bigger car, although we do have a Sportback.

2. Sell to wewillbuyyourcar.com / webuyanycar.com. You'll get somewhere around what a dealer will offer - often better - and they will settle the finance directly for you. If you are determined to sell, this would be the most straightforward option.

I haven't personally found that having a baby makes life more expensive. There are some things we do less (like eating out) and some things we have to buy now (nappies, clothes etc), but as long as you can get hand-me-downs from friends and family and watch your spending, you'll find that it's not much more expensive than life before baby.
 
I was offered £19,500 for my Exige on webuyanycar.co.uk, dealer offered £23,500, sold on pistonheads for £25,500. (I had it up for £26,500.) That's what you're up against I'm afraid.
 
please also be careful when someone comes to view the car!!!

My friend works at toyota, his colleague picked up a range rover cheap on part ex (think he paid 15k) had it for a few weeks then adcvertised it for 19k last week. Got a call some guy wanted to look at it that night and buy it... anyway they were viewing the car and got to the point of the guy test driving.. he is a car salesman so obv went through all the normalities i,e insurance, bla bla... so agreed to go out.. as they got in the car they guy just stomped the accelerator whilst he was still half out the car! once in he pushed him out the car smashing the door and drove off.. gone!!

looking back on it, he realised this guy had come down to meet him, knocked on his door.. didnt have any car with him or bag or anything that looked like it could hold the 19k... so the writing was on the wall the whole time just didnt think it would happen to him.

so make sure you see him come in a car.. make sure you are fully in the car before a test drive (although if he was in the car it may have been worse e.g guy pulls out a knife or gun and makes u get out car) and preferrably meet mutually with a friend!

hope this helps, and doesnt scare you!
 
I sold my '57 Corsa recently and I didn't like the process.

I met up with the couple, as I was in their town, in a Aldi car park where they agreed the sale, the next day they came round my house and looked over the documents and gave me a deposit. After I received the deposit I got everything in motion, making my own receipts etc with deposit amount and agreed payment.

When I dropped off the car to them, in the Aldi car park the guy was handing over £6500 to me, in cash. I didn't want to even touch it so we agreed to walk over to my bank and for him to hand it to the cashier, and guess what... he was £200 down. He quickly said "Oh, must have left the rest with Jean (his wife)" so I got that in the end, but could have easily been £200 down.

The reason I sold privately is because if I px'd the corsa I would have got £4800, by selling privately I pocketed £1700 cash, all for a £15 advert.

Good luck mate,
 
Thanks for all the helpful replies guys, after doing more research I would be more than happy for £25k for the car, so I will advertise at £26k.

If the dealers I am waiting for don't come back with anything more than the have I will advertise on piston heads and possibly AutoTrader.

I'll let you know how it all goes!

CHeers
 
I bought my previous S3 (8L shape) from a guy from Liverpool. went down to see it - agreed a deal. It had outstanding finance on it so I arranged for him to bring the car up to me in the North East. we put the car in my garage and then we went into his bank (in my home town) and I handed the cashier the cash to settle his finance - confirmed over the phone and followed up by fax from the finance company. The cashier then put the remaining cash straight into his bank account and he handed me the keys and signed over the paperwork to me there and then.

I paid his train fare home - easy painless and relativley risk free.
 
I bought my S3 from a private seller... Little more stress than a main dealer but worth the saving in my view.... Guy brought the car round to my house and parked on drive.... Left 1 key and log book etc with me and we blocked the car in with work Van. Went off down to bank and made transfer and signed docs as soon as money cleared. Hope all goes well....

Also have you tried webuyanycar.com sometimes throws out so really great prices other times are crap...
 
Ben H said:
Personally, I'd consider two options:

I haven't personally found that having a baby makes life more expensive. There are some things we do less (like eating out) and some things we have to buy now (nappies, clothes etc), but as long as you can get hand-me-downs from friends and family and watch your spending, you'll find that it's not much more expensive than life before baby.
Click to expand...


That is very true at 3 months , but lets face it they cant do anything , in my case our daughter will be in nursery at 7 months ( she is 4 months now ) and that is £60 per day.( thats cheap )

So that is £300 per week if she goes full time £15600 per year.

Before any other baby costs.

Granted she may not go full time , but there are weeks she will have to , both mum and I work full time , so no option.

The rule of thumb is a 13k a year for a One year old in nursery , just to scare everyone..

A BBC research was done and the countries national average >

What your baby will cost
It's estimated that it costs £180,000 to raise a child from birth to the age of 21 !

Sorry for the off topic.!
 
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