James Ruppert
Handy advice for bargain hunters
If you’re selling a car, always advertise what you’ve spent on it
The thing about buying a used car is that ideally you should sell the really old one first. That’s the way it’s supposed to work anyway. But flogging old cars is a huge faff. Here’s the proof from reader Gerry, who got in touch.
“I am now seeking to dispose of my 2004 black Lexus IS 300 Sportcross. It has a full service history and has completed 123,000 miles. I tried to dispose of it as a part-exchange when I bought a new car, but the garage would not touch it and advised me to sell it privately.”
They are correct, of course, if you can be faffed. To me, it sounds like the perfect no-brainer practical buy, with a luxury twist. We’re all interested in that, surely. The thing is, these sorts of cars are all around us: you just have to keep looking. Gerry simply has to put his Lexus in the right place, wherever that is. Actually, it is as many places as possible.
If you want something cheap and local, then it has to be the regional freebies. With, say, £500, what runaround could I get with a year’s MOT? I narrowed it down to a straightforward Ford Fiesta and found a 2005 1.4 at £425 with 120,000 miles, almost a year’s ticket and what seemed to be an honest, few-owner specimen. Some of the social media sites have cars like these but the descriptions are often terrible, although at least it makes you go and see the vehicles. Moving up to something a bit larger and dependable that could lap up a long journey, let’s spend £5000 on a Mazda 6. I like those. Indeed, a 2010 2.2D Sport with 75,000 miles had at least been pre-repaired because some big jobs had been done, which is one approach to buying wisely. Look for the big bills, and if you are selling, always advertise what you’ve spent. In this case, clutch, flywheel, timing chain, so at least it should do another 100,000 miles with only consumables to worry about. The asking price was £4000.
When it comes to something a lot more interesting , you can get lucky with a private seller. However, the ratio of private ads in the paidfor ads is falling off exponentially, which is a shame. You can find so many owners who have fabulously well-documented cars like an Alfa Romeo 159 2.0 JTDM with 91,000 miles of full service history and two enthusiast owners. That was up for £5000 and the signs were that this was a proper Alfisti with more than one in the stable. That’s the perfect car and seller.
Great used cars, especially private ones, are out there – provided the pricing is realistic and allows for the fact that you may have to spend £500 on an independent warranty. If Gerry still wants to sell, get in touch.