Have we done second...
 

  You don't need to be an 'investor' to invest in Singletrack: 6 days left: 95% of target - Find out more

[Closed] Have we done second-hand car prices?

55 Posts
43 Users
0 Reactions
226 Views
Posts: 0
Free Member
Topic starter
 

Mainstream media now covering the rising market for used motors. I'm looking to buy next year and I've seen up to 10% increases in the last few months. Hoping things will settle down in a few months' time. Who's on the right or wrong side at the moment?

 
Posted : 15/07/2021 7:41 pm
Posts: 15907
Free Member
 

The only way to win is to have a used car and buy new.

My car has gone from being worth £12,700 to £15,000 in the last 6 months.

The car I want to buy has gone up stupidly from approx £32k to £42k in the same period

 
Posted : 15/07/2021 7:54 pm
Posts: 39449
Free Member
 

The only way to win is to have a used car and buy new.

My car has gone from being worth £12,700 to £15,000 in the last 6 months.

The car I want to buy has gone up stupidly from approx £32k to £42k in the same period

In what way is that winning at anything ?

 
Posted : 15/07/2021 8:04 pm
Posts: 15907
Free Member
 

In what way is that winning at anything ?

It’s not that’s why I said you need to buy new. The car I want is 2nd hand and shot up in price

 
Posted : 15/07/2021 8:06 pm
 grum
Posts: 4531
Free Member
 

Is there anything that people want that isn't getting significantly more expensive?

 
Posted : 15/07/2021 8:47 pm
Posts: 2350
Full Member
 

Too death.

 
Posted : 15/07/2021 8:55 pm
Posts: 2582
Free Member
 

Two months ago I bought a Z4 BMW for 3k, cracking buy as everything works good other than the alarm but now sorted for a £30 replacement sensor. I'm now tempted to look out for a 3.0 six cylinder one but that will be a few quid more
A 15 year old car for the cost of a good bike

 
Posted : 15/07/2021 9:21 pm
Posts: 10225
Full Member
 

Glad I bought my Jag XF Sportbrake when I did. I’d been watching them for months and wasn’t quite ready to buy (waiting for company car to go back at the time), but noticed sensibly priced stock of them dwindling on Autotrader so just got the bullet and bought earlier than I needed. To get what I’ve got now would cost £23k by the looks of things. I paid £18k just a month or 2 ago 🤷‍♂️

 
Posted : 15/07/2021 9:23 pm
Posts: 5909
Free Member
 

Need to stick my hand up and admit how wrong I was about this - at the start of Covid I was arguing on here that used car prices were going to plummet. Oops... 😀

 
Posted : 15/07/2021 9:43 pm
Posts: 65918
Full Member
 

Mine's a bit of a special case since it's an import, and the normally steady stream of new-used imports has been slowed a lot by covid, but I paid £4200 for it 3 years ago and thought that maybe a little over the odds... to get the same condition and mileage today would be about £7500.

 
Posted : 15/07/2021 9:51 pm
Posts: 20561
Free Member
 

So how much is my 14 yr old banger worth? Anyone want a very low mileage (60k), one owner from new Mazda 3 2.0l Sport. Offers over £5,000 😹

 
Posted : 15/07/2021 10:21 pm
 mboy
Posts: 12533
Free Member
 

Bought my BMW M2 3 months ago for £28.5k (bought cos house prices had gone up stupidly, and the money I'd saved to go towards a house move, I decided to use it on something I could enjoy for a couple of years until house prices come back down) from a dealer... I could now sell it for £2k more than I paid for it!

Car prices have gone bonkers yes, but they will come back down to earth relatively quickly sooner than later...

 
Posted : 15/07/2021 10:46 pm
Posts: 7751
Free Member
 

This thread prompted me to get a quick online valuation - almost the same as I paid 2 years ago; 4.2ltr v8 diesel so not exactly flavour of the month.

 
Posted : 15/07/2021 11:02 pm
Posts: 5164
Free Member
 

Yeah, noticed secondhand prices were going a bit mad, quite a lot of optimists out there as well.

Worst one is vans, it's the new trend, 10-20 years ago it was buy a house and renovate, now it's buy a van and turn it into a camper, not seen many things go down in price over the last year or two though.

 
Posted : 15/07/2021 11:07 pm
Posts: 0
Free Member
 

Nah it's project fear, won't happen.

 
Posted : 15/07/2021 11:12 pm
Posts: 6513
Full Member
 

I've rebuilt our old tired Volvo during Covid as prices have gone mental for the price range we would be looking at for its replacement. I also bought a great little £400 Mk4 Golf GT TDI.

 
Posted : 15/07/2021 11:33 pm
Posts: 3136
Full Member
 

My car is worth 1k more than I paid for it a year ago !

 
Posted : 16/07/2021 7:24 am
Posts: 27603
Full Member
 

Like every one else…. There’s a 320d in the classifieds similar to mine which I thought was overpriced, until I valued mine which was 2k more than I paid for it in 2017.

 
Posted : 16/07/2021 7:40 am
Posts: 4132
Full Member
 

Vans are where the real madness is. A pal of mine has been offered five grand for his van that hasn't been built yet. So that's five grand cash just for his place in the queue, he doesn't have to do anything!

Another friend has been offered FIFTEEN grand more than he paid for his nine month old van.

Both offers from national dealers, they're screaming out for stock.

 
Posted : 16/07/2021 7:55 am
Posts: 6575
Full Member
 

I realised prices were going daft when the dealer we bought our car (new) from kept sending us messages asking if we wanted to trade it in. Even going as far as to say we could change to another new one for the same monthly price. Our car is 18 months from the end of a 4 year PCP so would it would normally cost us to change.

 
Posted : 16/07/2021 8:12 am
Posts: 191
Free Member
 

my 20 year old T4 failed it's MOT the other week, load of welding new discs and calipers amongst other things. Not a camper, just a couple of seats in the back, sold it for £1500... I thought it would be easy enough to get another van, Vivaro, Trafic or similar. £2k doesn't get you very far these days! Luckily I managed to pick up a 15 year old Clio for £350 for work duties, not very useful with a Rocket Max though!

Having to re-think the vehicle situation now.

 
Posted : 16/07/2021 8:30 am
Posts: 0
Free Member
 

Will be interesting to see how used car prices for fossil fuelled cars go as we approach the 2030 deadline. Nobody I know actually wants an EV. They might have one as a second car, but to have one as a main car they wouldn't touch them with a sh1tty stick so everyone is talking about keeping hold of their fossil fuelled cars as long as they can. I got a fossil fuelled car last year and was thinking about ditching it, but now thinking about keeping it looking at how much its actually gone up in value and I suspect it will hold its value well through the 2020's. Maybe wont sell at a profit, but will probably get a good few years of zero depreciation motoring out of it...and with it being a limited edition model and likely to be sought after in several years time might very well start to appreciate. My brother bought a 2013 911 a few years ago...worth 10k more than what he bought it for. Thats a keeper for him for sure.

I suspect the next 10 years or so is going to be a bit chaotic and bonkers in the car market. The price of alot of the mined materials batteries require is only going up..copper, lithium etc. as these are in limited availability and expensive to get at and process and in demand from other industries, so Battery EV's are not likely to see the same level of price drop with volume as there is more take up with people buying them. Suspect hydrogen will be the winning tech in the end.

 
Posted : 16/07/2021 8:32 am
Posts: 10539
Full Member
 

In stark contrast to wobbliscott- everyone I know would chose to have an EV if they could afford one.

Every two years I say I’m going to keep my car for another two years and see what’s what. Just another two years and we’ll see…

 
Posted : 16/07/2021 8:43 am
Posts: 34376
Full Member
 

I could now sell it for £2k more than I paid for it!

I regularly get emails from the dealer I bought mine from last year, offering to buy it back.

 
Posted : 16/07/2021 8:47 am
Posts: 5055
Free Member
 

In stark contrast to wobbliscott- everyone I know would chose to have an EV if they could afford one.

Every two years I say I’m going to keep my car for another two years and see what’s what. Just another two years and we’ll see…

+1

I'm currently in this mode, plus as I'm also looking at (early) retirement in a a couple of years not really sure what car I want/need, so just sitting on it. Luckily it's a decent car (high-spec 2018 320d) with loads of life in it.

 
Posted : 16/07/2021 8:51 am
 5lab
Posts: 7921
Free Member
 

so Battery EV’s are not likely to see the same level of price drop

Industry experts are suggesting price parity in under 5 years, and that's before taking the price of fuel into account.

It'll be a while before i buy a bev but mostly cos I only spend minimal amounts on cars. Late last year that was a 5 year old, 50k mile zafira for £4500

 
Posted : 16/07/2021 8:52 am
Posts: 923
Full Member
 

I sold an 11 year old Citroen C1 a couple of months ago, for £1100. I'd paid £5k for it 9 years earlier. Not bad depreciation at all

 
Posted : 16/07/2021 8:54 am
Posts: 40225
Free Member
 

Why are prices shooting up anyway?

People not having holidays / going out so much, so spending on cars instead?

Limited supply of new vehicles?

And when will demand for vans be satisfied? Are there enough delivery vehicles out there yet? Will demand for "lifestyle" vans stabilise once foreign holidays are easier again? Have manufacturers adjusted their output for the "new normal"?

So many questions.

 
Posted : 16/07/2021 9:20 am
Posts: 8904
Free Member
 

My first few cars were 9yrs old (£200), 11yrs old (£500) and 9yrs old (£750), a Persona, 306 and Mondeo respectively 15-12 years ago
.
My sister has just bought a 10yr old Mini for £4,500!
Even old stuff is silly expensive
.
.
.
I've got a nearly finished Mk7 Transit camper conversion, paid £4.5k a couple of years ago, about £4k on bits since for the conversion. Half tempted to sell it to cash in on the bubble, maybe get £12k for it. Should I while prices are high and while people still seem to want diesel vans and chuck a load at the mortgage? But then what could I get that's half decent for a couple of grand?

 
Posted : 16/07/2021 9:27 am
Posts: 66
Free Member
 

I am caught up in this at the moment. I put a deposit down on a new car a few months ago, at the time I managed to a great price through an online broker. Originally the car was due this week, but due to delays blamed on chip shortages delivery has been pushed back several times, it is now due at some point in September - although I am not holding my breath on that. At the time the dealer I am buying from gave me an indicative trade in price for the car I want to PX, but wouldn't commit to it until closer to the time my car was ready. Since then my current car has increased in value by about £2k, so if 2nd hand car prices stay high I have done well from the deal, but there is no certainty over when the new car will arrive. Normally I change cars every 3 years and buy a low mileage ex-demo, but looking around lots of those are being sold at near to new prices due to a lack of new cars coming through.

Chip shortages on new cars seem to be blamed as the main cause of a lack of new stock coming through which is then pushing the price of 2nd hand cars up. Also the likes of WBAC seem to trying to change the balance in the 2nd hand market by buying up lots of stock.

 
Posted : 16/07/2021 9:43 am
Posts: 0
Free Member
 

I've had my car for 6 months, it'll cost me £6k more to purchase the same car again now.

Big estate car.

Some cars are going up in value more than others, with people doing more staycations there's more demand for the bigger SUVs/estates, well that's the only rationale I can see.

They'll sink again once the new car production backlog is sorted but that won't be for a while. As said selling now and buying new if you can wait is a winner scenario.

 
Posted : 16/07/2021 9:43 am
Posts: 10333
Full Member
 

Shouldn't need a car for a staycation!

Bloody annoying, as I've been wanting a van for a few years and am now in the position to buy one!

 
Posted : 16/07/2021 10:11 am
Posts: 8750
Full Member
 

We just bought a 6 year old Skoda Yeti as a new family wagon. Dealers want sky high prices and I travelled to a few only to be very disappointed by how rough they were. We got one through the owners club which has been ran from new by an enthusiast and has an impeccable service history. It's a 170bhp Monte Carlo version and was at least 5 grand cheaper than an equivalent car from a dealer.

So yes, you can still find nice cars for a fair price but you have to go digging. Just walking onto a forecourt and browsing around is asking to be fleeced.

Rest in Peace to my dreams of buying a 2 door Impreza STi for less than 10 grand though.

Bloody annoying, as I’ve been wanting a van for a few years and am now in the position to buy one!

We originally wanted a crew cab van to replace our 2 seater Connect and we've spent the last year watching the prices climb ever skyward.

 
Posted : 16/07/2021 10:42 am
Posts: 9093
Full Member
 

I'll hold onto my 19 year old Nissan a bit longer then. Carries 4 trail bikes on the roof no problem.

 
Posted : 16/07/2021 10:50 am
Posts: 8904
Free Member
 

We just bought a 6 year old Skoda Yeti

. We got one through the owners club which has been ran from new by an enthusiast

Things I never even suspected might exist🤣

 
Posted : 16/07/2021 11:24 am
Posts: 960
Full Member
 

I i was thinking about a bigger car, but it looks like I'll be keeping hold of my '02 plate Golf for a while longer.

 
Posted : 16/07/2021 11:28 am
Posts: 4267
Full Member
 

We were always planning on upgrading our camper for a newer one this year or next... prices for a base van to convert have gone nuts though.:-(

What I thought should have been £20-£25k now seems to be £30-£35k 😬

 
Posted : 16/07/2021 12:14 pm
Posts: 8750
Full Member
 

Things I never even suspected might exist🤣

There's a following for everything. Facebook groups are a good place to look if you know what you want.

 
Posted : 16/07/2021 12:17 pm
Posts: 4899
Full Member
 

I bought a six year old Peugeot van for £12000, much more than I wanted to pay but only has 29000 miles on it. Plus you can fit bikes in it no problem. Plan is to enjoy it for 5 years and then....

 
Posted : 16/07/2021 1:12 pm
Posts: 2737
Free Member
 

Another friend has been offered FIFTEEN grand more than he paid for his nine month old van

Christ . What sort of van is it ?

 
Posted : 16/07/2021 4:12 pm
Posts: 7915
Free Member
 

In stark contrast to wobbliscott- everyone I know would chose to have an EV if they could afford one.

Same here.

Even my climate change denying father said to me this week ' I wouldn't mind an EV'.

I nearly fell of my chair!

 
Posted : 16/07/2021 4:55 pm
Posts: 4132
Full Member
 

Christ . What sort of van is it ?

you can guess...👀

 
Posted : 16/07/2021 8:38 pm
Posts: 41642
Free Member
 

I paid £650 for my Berlingo, I recon that includes at least a 50% Covid tax!

There’s a following for everything. Facebook groups are a good place to look if you know what you want.

The Berlingo one is surprisingly useful, although there are some weirdos that post every time one of the original ones get's broken for spares as if they're some sort of classic 🤣

In stark contrast to wobbliscott- everyone I know would chose to have an EV if they could afford one.

+1

I think the interesting thing about EV's will be the 2nd hand market. I'm convinced that now that <100mile ranges are a thing of the past that the batteries are realistically going to last longer than the cars because most are just going to cycle between 100% and 70%* on the daily commute, not 100% to flat every day.

So seeing as the batteries are the biggest cost in a mid market car, are cars going to end up lasting a lot longer? Will people be quite happily rebuilding the suspension and brakes on 20 year old Teslas because that's the new bangernomics?

*assumes around 250 miles Vs 70 in a 1st gen Leaf.

 
Posted : 17/07/2021 6:36 pm
Posts: 39449
Free Member
 

So seeing as the batteries are the biggest cost in a mid market car, are cars going to end up lasting a lot longer? Will people be quite happily rebuilding the suspension and brakes on 20 year old Teslas because that’s the new bangernomics?

Rust is rust. Or more accurately for modern vehicles. Corrosion is corrosion.

 
Posted : 17/07/2021 7:05 pm
Posts: 41642
Free Member
 

Rust is rust. Or more accurately for modern vehicles. Corrosion is corrosion.

True, but then how many cars die of rust these days?

The rear axle of my 16yr old Berlingo looks horrible, but the monocoque itself is like it left the factory. Same with the OHs 17yr old Fiesta, there's the odd flake on suspension bits but the shell is still perfect.

£350 for a recon axle might kill the Berlingo, but it wouldn't kill it if it had several grands worth of batteries in it. Might depend on how the recycling industry turns out, that in itself might kill old cars if they're worth significant amounts as scrap.

 
Posted : 17/07/2021 8:46 pm
Posts: 39449
Free Member
 

True, but then how many cars die of rust these days?

Depends where you live. Around here....those that are not crashed generally die of rust about 12-14 yo.

 
Posted : 17/07/2021 10:42 pm
Posts: 8904
Free Member
 

True, but then how many cars die of rust these days?

My old Transit.
But then it's, well, a Transit

 
Posted : 18/07/2021 1:17 am
Posts: 65918
Full Member
 

Every MX5, and every Impreza that avoids being wrapped round a lamppost or turned into a garage queen, dies of rust...

But it's not just that simple really, corrosion makes everything else worse. Like, I have 2 Subaru Legacies, one is a rust free JDM import, the other is a scabby UK car. Jobs that are easy and quick on the JDM one, because things still come apart and bolts come undone rather than everything being fused together, can become a nightmare on the UK car.

I blew up the transmission on the JDM car, fine, it all just came apart. I'll be pulling the gearbox out of the UK car and there will be whole new swear words invented, and everything'll be gas axe, reciptrocating saw, air chisel or dynamite to get it apart. If it had to go back together it'd be much worse- it'd need lots more replacement parts, I wouldn't be able to just snap bolts off, the exhaust definitely won't come apart and go back together without welding... but most of all it'd eat a mechanic's time. That can easily make a repair noneconomic.

 
Posted : 18/07/2021 1:45 am
Posts: 41642
Free Member
 

Ok, but for the mainstream, the Ford Mondeo's owned by the Southern 90% of the UK population? Not convertible sportscars and JDM imports in Scotland.

those that are not crashed

Raises an interesting point about all the driver aids, are manufacturers going to have to support older models for much longer as they get harder to crash into each other.

 
Posted : 18/07/2021 10:53 am
Posts: 8904
Free Member
 

I see far more older cars in Italy and Spain than in the UK.
Theories:
A) Better weather/less salt, they dont rust away
B ) Are their MOTs less strict and the older stuff is road legal there but not here
C) The UK is a richer country and we can afford more new cars
D) The Btits just like to show off their new cars and the Spanish simply dont care about having an older one, less keeping up with the Gomezes
E) Somethkng else I've missed

 
Posted : 18/07/2021 2:40 pm
Posts: 41642
Free Member
 

E) Somethkng else I’ve missed

2nd hand cars are a lot more expensive in Western Europe too because they're easily exported to the poorer countries. A bit like older (90's, 2000's) motorbikes are ££££ even in the UK because after the Berlin wall came down there was a ready market for 2nd hand machines so there aren't as many left.

Which possibly makes them better maintained and longer-lived because it's worth it.

 
Posted : 18/07/2021 5:28 pm
Posts: 727
Free Member
 

A) Better weather/less salt, they dont rust away
B ) Are their MOTs less strict and the older stuff is road legal there but not here
C) The UK is a richer country and we can afford more new cars
D) The Btits just like to show off their new cars and the Spanish simply dont care about having an older one, less keeping up with the Gomezes
E) Somethkng else I’ve missed

2x Italian family here.

A- They have FAR, far deeper winters in Italy. Can't comment on whether they salt the roads though or if they all just use snow tyres.

C/D - They don't really give a shit, from my experience. People in England seem to really strangely care about 'what care they're seen in'. Especially if you live near a city. You'd realistically expect your car to be bumped a few times each visit, especially if you parallel park. Not uncommon for Italians to have a city car for bumping about in.

Can't comment on Spain. I imagine it's similar affair.

 
Posted : 18/07/2021 6:30 pm
Posts: 65918
Full Member
 

thisisnotaspoon
Full Member

Not convertible sportscars and JDM imports in Scotland.

Think you missed the point- the UK car (a pretty common, practical car) is the rusty one. It hasn't- and won't- rust to death, but the rust is the biggest part of why it's dead. The JDM's just the counterexample of the same car without the rust, which still has a long life ahead of it for that reason.

But, the same thing was fast happening to my mondeo.

 
Posted : 18/07/2021 7:05 pm
Posts: 1879
Free Member
 

Just looked on Autotrader out of curiosity. My car is worth at least 1.5K more than I paid for it last February 2020. There are only 2 cars for sale nationwide for that year and model. World has gone mad. It’s a bit like house prices it only helps you if you decide to sell and use public transport or cycle.

 
Posted : 18/07/2021 7:19 pm
Posts: 995
Full Member
 

Well it’s not the same as what I’ve read here. I bought my Astra CDTI 165bhp Vxline for £6.6k 2 years ago, part-ex value is now £2.2k and they’re selling for probably about £4K! Is it just my car was too cheap to see a value increase...

 
Posted : 18/07/2021 9:51 pm
Posts: 33325
Full Member
 

although there are some weirdos that post every time one of the original ones get’s broken for spares

Those are words that bring a little gladness to my heart!
Secondhand car prices in the States are the same - it’s the shortage of chips for the modern car systems that they rely on that’s the problem, people are having to wait for months for a new car, or accept a compromise on colour, style and extras, so they’re opting for a secondhand replacement. My mate has a work colleague who’s now expecting, so she’s having to get rid of her Mustang, I think she’s been offered £10k more than she paid for it! Which will go a long way to make the replacement Kuga cheaper to buy.
Still, the demand for secondhand cars is keeping us very busy, 24-hour working in the workshops, and they’re setting up an MOT department and a facility for re-finishing diamond-cut alloys, so we don’t have to keep sending cars off-site.
There’s another thing that’s affecting sales, people coming to the end of a lease who need a car are pushing things up, and those who’ve had a car written off and who desperately need a replacement as well.

 
Posted : 18/07/2021 10:37 pm

6 DAYS LEFT
We are currently at 95% of our target!