Just been talking to my local Seat dealer about a car for my parents. Whilst i was there he noticed my 172 and asked if it was an import(which it is). He informed me that Seat UK have told the dealers that they are only to give 50% of the book price for any imported car. We both thought that was a bit steep. Has anyone traded in their import and got a good price for it?
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Trade in price for Imports
- Thread starter volcano172
- Start date
Just been talking to my local Seat dealer about a car for my parents. Whilst i was there he noticed my 172 and asked if it was an import(which it is). He informed me that Seat UK have told the dealers that they are only to give 50% of the book price for any imported car. We both thought that was a bit steep. Has anyone traded in their import and got a good price for it?
Simon,
What you mean by the import cars have arches that are more rolled?? Is it nicer on the official one or import?
If people are stupid enough to pay over the odds for a import then thats look out.
Ps why should a dealer pay uk reg money for a import ??
We cant sell em for the same price as a uk reg !! Coz people know they where bought cheaper than uk money. So therefore they pay less.
Its a case of yes youll save money at the front end of the purchase, but yes itll be worth less when you sell it !!
As Bob says you cant have your cake and eat it !! Unless you sell it privately and find a mug whos stupid enough to pay over the odds for a import.
I have it on good authority that a certain Renault Main Dealer in the North East has been caught by Renault selling imports as UK cars and will soon be loosing the Franchise. ( and it aint Benfield Motors )
but the used value of a car isnt based on its price new. Surely, a year old Clio with 12k on the clock should be valued according to the fact it is a year old Clio with 12k on the clock - not whether it cost £15.5k when new or £11.5k. Ok, so lets look at this another way:
Lets say chap A was mad enough to spend the total £27k asking price on a new top of the range Peugeot 607 from a dealer. Lets say chap B was smart enough to buy a new top of range Pug 607 from a dealer but they negotiate a big discount. Lets say he got his car for £21k.
Ok, one year on, when both come to trade in (lets say to a non Pug dealer), whether you paid £21k new from a Pug dealer or the book price of £27k new from a Pug dealer, the trade will value a year old 607 at no more than £9k, regardless of what you paid for it when it was new from the Pug dealer. A car dealer isnt going to say well actually sir, as you paid the full £27k when new, Ill offer you £15k, not £9k. If used values are not determined by the new price of a car bought from an authorized dealer, then why should the new price be a determining factor for an imports second hand value?
So why the inconsistency with the value of imports then? Why does my 607 scenario differ from the import value?
g
If people are scared of imports/made scared of imports by the trade, then demand for uk sourced cars will increase, which could lead to limited supply of certain versions of uk sourced cars. And when supply of a commodity is limited, what happens to the prices...and who would profit from this increase? The dealer. Smart move, huh?
g
Astra 1.9cdti XP
Rallye-King - are you sure it wasnt Benfield Motors I was offered an import in there Garage just off the Coast Road.
As for the price on imports there is no reason why imports shouldnt reach the same price as a UK sourced car. They are one and the same!!! I know they dont!!
The main problem with getting an import is the risk/effort etc involved in getting one, once you have it there is no difference. Same car, same warranty.
Dealers have simply got the hump cos they are losing out in sales. The thing you have to bear in mind is the salesmen are full of sh!t, they are paid to do it!
The reason dealers dont want to pay the same for a import as a uk registered car is ! When Mr customer comes to buy a second hand car he will have to be told that its a Imported car. He then knows that the original owner got it cheaper than a uk reg car. So he then says to him self why should i pay the same for a second hand import, as a pukka uk registered car.
So if i had a second hand imported 172 on my site for £9995.00 and a uk registered 172 with the same miles/age for £9995.00.
Which would he choose ?? You decide !!
Therefore I would be left with a imported 172 and no buyer for it. However if the imported 172 was £7995.00 he may decide to buy the import, due to the lower price.
Same as when people buy imports from new coz it may be £3000 cheaper compaired to a uk registered car.
You by buying an Imported car are not supporting the uk market, therefore why would a dealer hurt his own stock by paying uk money for a imported car.
UK dealers should be given a life line from renault and the UK price should be chopped by a few grand, problem solved, surely if the price difference was lower Renault would make more money as people would be more likely to buy the UK car fro maybe £1500 more than the "import", still think its stupid that a car which is by default, and import as they all come over here via ferry from the continent, shoudl be sold at differing prices, just renault being greedy, like all companies are. they want to take as much money as they ca, which in the the same position I would too.
Only thing I can think is that give it 3 years and the prices will be about the same, so, if you are keeping your car for a while dont worry?
Astra 1.9cdti XP
A question to you then. If the UK car had scrubbed wheels and a slight dint in the door and the import was imacculate. Which one would you chose??
You would simply chose the one that was in the best condition!!
Astra 1.9cdti XP
Point im making is some people are stupid and believe what the dealers tell them. Others, like most of the people on this forum can think for themselves and make out own minds up...without all the dealer bullsh!t!!!
"The reason dealers dont want to pay the same for a import as a uk registered car is ! When Mr customer comes to buy a second hand car he will have to be told that its a Imported car. He then knows that the original owner got it cheaper than a uk reg car. So he then says to him self why should i pay the same for a second hand import, as a pukka uk registered car.
So if i had a second hand imported 172 on my site for £9995.00 and a uk registered 172 with the same miles/age for £9995.00.
Which would he choose ?? You decide !!
Therefore I would be left with a imported 172 and no buyer for it. However if the imported 172 was £7995.00 he may decide to buy the import, due to the lower price.
Same as when people buy imports from new coz it may be £3000 cheaper compaired to a uk registered car.
You by buying an Imported car are not supporting the uk market, therefore why would a dealer hurt his own stock by paying uk money for a imported car."
But Leigh, dealers are perpetuating the myth that the import differs from the pukka. If the customer knew that the cars are the same, why does it bother him if the first owner paid £11k or £15k?? This is exactly the point i was making about the Pug 607 - if you went to buy a used one, you wouldnt ask the first owner if he got a huge discount from the dealer or if he paid full price, would you? You would value it for what it is - a used 607, regardless of what it cost the first owner!
g
Astra 1.9cdti XP
Utter crap!
Its people who are prepared to pay over the odds for UK cars rather than looking for the best deal that make this country one of the most expensive to live. I fpeople stopped buying them then the prices would have to fall......problem solved!!!
Shiny red R32
When I first went to a Renault dealer to look for a 172, they said there was a three month waiting list so I then said that I could get an imported 172 the next week if I wanted one. The salesman then turned quite aggressive and told me that imports were inferior compared to UK ones and that they didnt have the same spec.
RUBBISH - I have a Dutch one which has everything on it and the dealer/importer even put a CAT 1 alarm/immobiliser on it so it is IDENTICAL to theirs. I have since found out that the place where I got mine from, have since sold some to Renault dealers! I wonder if these have been sold as imports!!
Ok to put this way !! A dealer has a price that he is charged for the car from Renault !!
He then has a margin that he has to play with in order to do a deal with the customer.
Belive it or not, make you own minds up !! But this is fact. The margin that we have to play with is less than 10 % of the list price. So the dealer then has out of that percentage, to pay the salesman, PDI the car (pay the technition). Put fuel in the car, pay the valetors to clean the car. pay for administration. Oh and then try to make a profit of some sort. YES MAKE PROFIT, after all why would he be in business, if he didnt want to make a profit.
All im saying is dont be suprised whan you buy an import that dealers are not keen to pay uk money for it !!
If you wanna go buy an import then do it !! Im not trying to stop you, all im trying to point out is that a dealer will have to sell the imported car for a lower price. There are very few customers who will pay the same for an second hand import as a uk registered car.
The point about if a customer buys a uk registered car several thousand pounds cheaper than mr blogs who buys the same uk registered car for more. Doesnt make any difference when its second hand coz they are both uk registered. With the import against a uk registered car it does, cause as a customer will not pay the same for an import as a uk registered car.
If you think otherwise then Id gladdly like to see more people like you !!
You can blame Renault/ Dealers / Importers / Customers any one you like but it wont change things. People wont pay uk money for an import.
Unless you keep the car for a good few years then you aint gonna get the same for it !!
Thats my last and final comment on the subject !! Good night.
I agree with both leigh and Scudetto on this one!
In the import Vs Brit car conflict there will always be a difference whilst the car is newish, it will narrow as the car gets older. look at MX5 v Eunos, that illustrates that quite well.
To look at the value argument. I think most people will accept that imported cars are the same as UK sourced ones, they come form the same factory... So it follows that they will depreciate at the same rate. However, as the purchase value was different the curve starts from a different point, so in the first three years of life the UK car will always be more expensive.
Where I agree with Leigh is the value the dealer places on the car. They know what you paid for it!! Why should they give you the same value as somebody who paid more for a UK car and is maybe an existing customer of the dealership?
In the first three years of life the import will be worth less, due to public perception (be that right or wrong) and the depreciation curve so the dealer protects their profit margins, they are in business! If you sell an import privately you have a better chance, you can talk to the buyer direct and if the car is less than three years old youll get more cash privately anyway. Why not sell it direct and call the dealers bluff!
I guess when it comes to it buyers need to decide the long term future of their car. If it is going to be kept long term then an import is sensible, you can ride out the big loss. If you are going to sell the car quickly buy a UK car, or save money at the front end accepting that you are going to loose a bit at the back. This is what I have done. I had some spare cash kicking about and could buy either a UK Cup or an imported 172. I decided that whatever I bought would be a bit of a laugh and I would probably keep 6-9 months before selling on for a better more powerful proper sports car, so .... I bought the Cup - thisin theory should protect a bit of my cash! If I was keeping it a couple of years I would have bought the imported 172 (well... I would not have done cos the cup is better!!!
.In the end nobody should loose money cos the import should have been cheaper at the outset.
Twit
All imports have a 1 cat system and UKs have a 2 cat box.
When MOT dawns Ive been told that imports could fail on emissions and a replacement UK exhust system is £1500.
Before you jump down my throat Ive heard this from a reno dealer when they replaced my faulty system on warranty.
Mine was a UK 172, it goes tommorrow to a new home.
Clio II 1.4 Priveleg
As I said in an earlier post, you cant have your cake and eat it. You either buy an import at a cheaper rate and therefore your PX value will be less or you buy a UK spec car at full price and get a better risidual PX value.
The choice is yours. At the end of the day, they both will probally work out the same on the bottom line.
Just dont expect dealers to give you top money for your car - same or not as UK spec.
As Leigh has said, dealers NEED to make a profit as do all businesses. If Renault Dealers stop being profitable and subsequently close down or swap franchises for a more profitable marque, where are you going to take your import for warranty repairs?
Food for thought.
Bob RTE
There is also a difference with warranty. UK cars have 3yrs/60K. This warranty is available on personal imports providing that 1. they came originally from a European country and 2. that the owner applies in the 1st year. Some imports come from RHD countries outside of the EU - Cyprus, for example. On these there is no extension to the 1 yr warranty offered in that country.
UK cars have a Thatcham Cat 1 alarm, chassis numbers etched into the glass and locking wheel bolts
Its because the 3 year warranty is pan-European. Hard luck to those outside of it
