Good times and bad times to buy and sell cars (esp MINIs)?

[Paul]

Not MINI specific (although there is a MINI involved in this particular case!), are there generally better or worse times to buy and sell cars? For private owners as well as dealers?

We're looking at buying a new (used) car with baby No.2 on the way, and the MINI will probably make way, so looking for advice on good times and methods to buy and sell? Any tips from members of the trade most welcome!

[AprilWhine]

While thinking of selling my GP, I Googled for stats on car sales: Best time to sell is in the spring, March, April and May are when people want to buy new toys. And then Fuzzy went and sold it in November.

[MarkW]

depends what your selling to an extent,

cabbie in the autumn - good for buyers
cabbie in spring - bad for buyers, good if your selling.

and the run up to Christmas is just a bad time for everything

[ALD0]

What April said, anytime from Spring onwards
Folk also hold out for second hand cars around this time and September time as some will be buying new Reg vehicles (here in UK anyway) so thats a good time to sell although the second hand car market is competitive.
Not so good time is now with the dark miserable nights and Christmas coming up, people are cost cutting.
I will be advertising my S new year, which although not ideal, hopefully I may find someone in the market for a High specced S

Congrats on Baby number 2 too

[minicabrio]

I've just sold the MINI, and bought a new (2nd hand) car....

I advertised the MINI on pistonheads after I found the car I was after... It's a great time of year to buy any car at the moment, the market slows over christmas and new year!

I was just fortunate that I managed to sell the MINI as well Mind you, I had no calls for two weeks, then three came along at once.


If you're after something thats in good supply (i.e. always a good one up for sale somewhere) then stick the MINI up for sale, and wait till someone takes the bait before buying. If you don't need the cash for your next purchase, buy your new car now, and advertise the MINI in the spring, when you can sell it easier and stick the price up by £500.

[Randall Raines]

Generally speaking Christmas time starting from around now in the Motor trade can go quiet, Used cars especially, although it can depend from year to year and some traders seem to sell quite a few. (because of those lucky people who get cars for Christmas).

Is the dealer going to try and get all that he can from the ones he sells or let them go at a fair / good price (in the favour of the customer), just to sell some. It depends on the dealer.

You can get good deals second hand, privately because of people selling to get extra cash for Christmas.

Cabriolets are obviously hard to sell in winter and you can get a good deal, the other way around in spring to summer, but in todays climate you have to time it just right, 1st bit of sun or glimmer of hope and cabs can sell like hot cakes wait to long (1 week or 2) and you can miss spring / summer altogether. (buy a cab now at cheap money & sell in the summer and you can normally make a few ££££ just don't get to attached when the sun comes out).

MINIs are generally good news (the more options / warranty the better) .

Other aspects of the trade can vary, auto electrics, garages, body shops can go busy or die due to various factors, poor maintenance break downs, break downs due to weather, people putting off spending money on their cars in favour of Christmas presents, accident due to weather etc... etc...

I can't type fast enough, 2 words a min, with 1-2 fingers & then I have to do a spell check .

[Scrogg]

Quote: Originally Posted by MarkXR (original)

and the run up to Christmas is just a bad time for everything

It's the best time to buy if you don't have a part-exchange.

[Paul]

So I guess it's two questions then really. Good time to sell and good time to buy.

[northandy]

I'd have thought now in the run up to xmas would be a good time to buy, people spending on xmas and not wanting any other big expense... added to the fact its closing on year end and many garages will obviously be more willing to do a deal to get it through the books...

as for selling, I dont honestly think theres ever a good time to sell a second hand car over 10k privately... unless its something cheaper than the rest and popular.... I have always tried to sell my cars privately before trading them in, my last car a Mk4 R32 was a nightmare to shift, even though I advertised it competatively priced and it had 12 months extended VW warranty, in the end it went via ebay . which actually worked out pretty well.

[Martin F]

When I bought our Range Rover, I went into the showroom at this time of year. It was very quiet and I got a very good deal because they were desperate to meet a year end sales target.

[Randall Raines]

Quote: Originally Posted by northandy (original)

as for selling, I dont honestly think theres ever a good time to sell a second hand car over 10k privately... unless its something cheaper than the rest and popular.... I have always tried to sell my cars privately before trading them in, my last car a Mk4 R32 was a nightmare to shift, even though I advertised it competatively priced and it had 12 months extended VW warranty, in the end it went via ebay . which actually worked out pretty well.

Around £6,000 and up ward, people start to need finance which a private seller can't normally offer (and if your bank isn't obliging) so a dealer can be the only option?

"eBay" and other auction sites are very good for selling odd ball, and rarer cars (supply & demand), the run of the mill cars don't tend to do well at all (In my experience). Be very cautious buying cars on auction sites always try & view & inspect them before you bid (genuine sellers won't mind).

After Christmas can pick up in car sales, after the worry of Christmas has gone and people know exactly how much they have to spend.

Some of the male of the species can go and blow the holiday money (or convince the other ½ a car is needed instead) on cars in the spring / summer months .

Same as ALDO said plus, New reg times (In the UK) can also be good to buy second hand as main dealers pass all the part X's off to the Independent dealers and there's a lot about .

Keep your eyes on forecourts and if a car has or seems to have been there for a while, go in and make a bid, the worst they can say is "No" and you may be surprise. The fact it's been there for a while doesn't mean it's a bad car (although I'd check it out thoroughly), it can put some regulars of actually buying them (there must be something wrong with it as been there a while).

[johnlondonw3]

For what its worth every time I go to buy a car theres a shortage and when I sell theres a glut !! ...........work that one out ( and it doesnt seem to seasonal affected !)