S3 Valuation Please

[S3 NIK]

I no longer use my car to the extent its worth keeping so i'm looking to replace it with something cheaper and more practical.
Description as follows:
November 2000 X Facelift S3
Ming Blue.
37k miles with service history.
Cam belt & pump changed 12 months or so ago.
Good tyres.
Standard Recaro seats.
Good alround condition.

Cheers
Nik.

p.s. I'm in no rush to sell so don't mind holding out for a decent price.

 

[S3 NIK]

Ok, does 7.5K sound reasonable?

 

[leecs3]

Ok, does 7.5K sound reasonable?

does for a private sale. Trade in price will make you cry!

 

[1animal1]

id have said its realistic...although there are a few 5-6k'ers knocking around with 10-20k more miles on which wont help.....luckily prefacelift from what ive seen...

personally id go for 8k if your in no rush...... give it a number of weeks and try less if no interest

 

[simch]

Price it competitively if you decide to sell. Holding out for a higher price rarely works.....your car will depreciate 150 quid a month just sat on the drive not even turning a wheel. SAd fact but true.

Set a realistic asking price and stick close to it, rather than try it on with an extra 500 nicker asking price that will just put people off even looking at it. Decide what you will let it go for and stick 250 quid on it and get it advertised.
You need people to be motivated to come and see it, to sell it! Its a tough market for these cars at present.

 

[Ian W]

Looks nice but a bit on the high side IMO

Had mine up now for nearly a month at 6.6k, more miles than yours but its had plenty spent on it, i've had 1 person show interest and thats from Pistonheads and Autotrader (web and mag).

Given up selling it now tbh, gutted becuase as much as I like it I don't really want a pricey car to run anymore and its now sat on the drive doing nothing as I have a cheap runaround to use.

 

[1animal1]

didnt know you were selling up mate

 

[JonnyG2606]

£7.5k sounds a pretty decent price to me - paid £9k from a dealer for my 2001 S3 with 67k on the clock back in March.

Although it seems pretty hefty on fuel i can't complain about insurance etc. - I was paying about a grand a year for insurance on my last car ('99 Impreza Turbo) and pay about £370 on the S3. Knowing a technician from the local dealers helps with costs too tho!

 

[MikeA3]

37k is a low milage for a 2000 plate car, I think £7500 is very reasonable (maybe even a little on the low side).

Just remember it'll be in the cheaper tax bracket soon & it's a facelift & that combination will appeal to buyers

Mike

 

[1animal1]

two things, first he will only get what the market is paying...... second, the market has moved a lot since March...i bought mine in Jan and dare not look at the loss ive made

 

[S3 NIK]

One other thing, the car is on private plates so can i sell the car with them on and claim them back or do i have to take them off and put them on retention before i put it up for sale.
Nik.
p.s. I think i will try my luck with 7.5k reducing to 7ish

 

[alijames]

I would get the plates changed over asap, as I got bored waiting after 3 weeks when I agrred to buy one, so went off and bought another one. Sods law, the V5 turned up the day after I pulled out...

Bought the better car I think in the end, a year younger, 20k less miles and only £500 more, plus more extras!!

Cheers,

 

[1animal1]

One other thing, the car is on private plates so can i sell the car with them on and claim them back or do i have to take them off and put them on retention before i put it up for sale.
Nik.
p.s. I think i will try my luck with 7.5k reducing to 7ish

just hope they dont look in this forum for help, i'll have it for 7k pleeeease

 

[jedwa115]

Price it competitively if you decide to sell. Holding out for a higher price rarely works.....your car will depreciate 150 quid a month just sat on the drive not even turning a wheel. SAd fact but true.

Set a realistic asking price and stick close to it, rather than try it on with an extra 500 nicker asking price that will just put people off even looking at it. Decide what you will let it go for and stick 250 quid on it and get it advertised.
You need people to be motivated to come and see it, to sell it! Its a tough market for these cars at present.

100% agree. The hardest and most important thing in selling car is getting folk to come see it. Once they are there, selling is easy. If you are willing to take 7, advertise at 7 and a can of beer and you may hook a buyer. There are so many S3's for sale that it's totally a buyers market. Don't make life hard for yourself by dreaming of the foolish buyer that may just turn up and give you a silly high price for no good reason. It just doesn't happen!

 

[S3 NIK]

I would be very happy with 7k

just hope they dont look in this forum for help, i'll have it for 7k pleeeease

 

[MintyS3]

So much scaremongering on this site. Half of the problem is the sellers lowering the prices too drastically and therefor lowering the bar.

 

[1animal1]

very true.... there is a bar set by existing sale cars which will range from a higher price to a lower price...... i believe that iof you arent in a rush then you may aswell price towards the higher...... for obvious reasons but also understand the risks ie the devaluation....going over this mark is the stupid point which you enter dream land....

agree with Minty though, the cars have dropped very fast this past 6 months.... albeit the whole market not just S3's..... not all driven by stupid sellers.... trade is more to blame IMO - they will then point the finger to the current climate, car tax and new car prices.... etc etc

 

[jojo]

I wonder if I'll get £8k for my car?

 

[simch]

I'll sell mine for £25k! I am in no rush to sell it..........................


(good job too!!)

Fact is, cars depreciate, they never appreciate in value, it is just the rate at which they go down that changes.
every car has an intrinsic value and that value goes down every month.

People go on about exotic cars that people buy and sell at a premium, but this is near impossible to achieve nowadays and well away from the world of S3s!!

Anyone who asks on the forum about values would seem to genuinely not knwo how much a car is worth. For people wishing to sell, pricing it should be easy.
First, ignore auto trader, this just shows advertised selling prices, it never shows sales prices, so is almost irrelevant! Bottom line is a trade price, glass's guide is the standard and each car has a price which changes each month. A delaer will check for you and give you a trade price or a cost to change to a new motor. Thsi will always be your bottom line, but it will decrease as time passes.
Anything you can get over trade price is pretty much profit! But for the sake of 5-10% premium on a trade in price, selling privately is not worth it IMO, too many nutters and timewasters!!
If you got a trade in price of the s3 at 5k, you know you can sell it for 6k and still be making money ovee the "bottom line" price. If you get offered 5500 for it, I'd be inclined to let it go to thr trade as it is far less grief and hassle! !
I think at 6500 you would sell quite quickly, I would advertise at 6995 if I were you and try to take close offers. Better to do this than put it at 7500 and have no interest!

 

[steve1975l]

I sold mine for 8.2k last year which had more miles but a very good spec. So I would agree with simch 7k is about right but as you are in no hurry try 7.5k but there are plenty of tyre kickers out there.

 

[Essflee]

i think it's a very good price considering the mileage, theirs plenty of S3's on 01/02 plates for £9000+ with a lot more miles on the clock, given the choice i'd rather have a slightly older car with lower mileage.........

 

[1animal1]

i agree with simch totally.....alhough this isnt a case of needing to get rid of the car and think that as long as you understand the risks....why not try a couple of weeks at the higher price....... obviously not 25k as i said earlier....this is dream land

autotrader is good if you cant get your hands on a glasses/cap guide as you get to see what most S3's are going for and allows you to place your market within the private sector....agree you should also consider tade but again 'if your in no rush'!!

 

[Ian W]

I sold mine for 8.2k last year which had more miles but a very good spec. So I would agree with simch 7k is about right but as you are in no hurry try 7.5k but there are plenty of tyre kickers out there.

Last year when I was looking to buy there where no S3's under 8k and I was looking for a good few months, now there are plenty between 6k - 7k and a good few under 6k !

The market is dead and its not a good time to sell.

As people have said if your in no rush then try and hold out for a higher price but IMO you will be lucky, its a shame as there are a lot of nice cars for sale which should be worth a lot more than they are now

 

[S3 NIK]

Advertised the S3 tonight and decided to try her at £7200.
Sods law the computer now displays service required in 800 miles, great timing! Only three for sale within my area, mine being the cheapest and lowest mileage by a mile, no punn intended.

Nik.