In several different garages I have noticed they have had the same car for sale for a year or more. Is this quite common?
Do they just stick a too high price on the cars and hold out hoping some mug will come along and pay it? Rather than price it at a reasonable price in the first place and sell it quickly?
If you look in auto trader and do a national search on a particular car it is amazing to find big price differences for the same age/spec car.
DING!
A couple of traders I used to know had a 21 day limit on cars on the forecourt. If they weren't sold by then, they went back to the auctions most of them had come from.
This keeps turnover going and avoids having a lemon lying around. It also gees up the punters who see cars disappearing quickly.
Steve
I've also known groups of local traders swap cars beween each other to keep their forecourts looking fresh.
I remember looking at a 146 on a local forecourt - I wasn't desperate to buy, so I decided to give it a month or so to see if it sold, figuring I could go in with a low offer if it hadn't moved..... only the dealer traded it with another local dealer who put 500 quid on the sticker price on his slightly more upmarket forecourt.
That's a common practice, as is a dealer having several sites which they'll use for a limited period of three to six months, changing the trading name each time they move. It gives the impression of a new dealer moving into town with bargains galore. ( Bolton area ).
-- Zozzer
Yes it is common and is a reason that it is difficult to make money selling cars and why so many go bust. The longer they are unsold the less they are worth to sell. On paper, many dealers have overvalued stock which keeps the wolf from the door for a while. The unsold stock of used cars is also why cars lose so much value compared to plant and agricultural machinery. With so many around looking for a good home, no dealer really wants a car standing there owing him more than a couple of grand less than auction price. That is his 'potential' margin after all. If it stands for a while and hits a bad period at the auction, it is common for the dealer to hit a lossmaking situation, let alone giving him some margin to cover costs. It is the easiest thing in the world to sell lots of something and fill ones yard with overpriced part-exchanges. The wise will not be selling cars but will have a few yards of counter selling goods with nothing used coming back into stock.
Huw
I once part exchanged a car with a 'highish' mileage, and the dealer kept it parked for a few months before they did anything with it. I couldn't help feeling that they were sitting on the car for a while until its age caught up with its mileage. In this case it all went wrong because the cam-belt snapped when they started it up for the first time ...
D A Stocks
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