Fair price guide

[Toyboy]

I know supply and demand dictate prices to a large extent, but where's a good place to find out how much you should really buy or sell a MB (or any other car) for ?

e.g. (in no order of preference)

AA
Parkers
What Car
Wisebuys
Auto Trader
Exchange and Mart
Private minus whatever
Dealer minus 10% or whatever
Undercut whatever's out there
Somewhere in between dealer and private

Junior.

 

[jberks]

I use Autotrader and Parkers to get a guide what the 'official' price is and what people (the competition) are asking. Compare the two and you know the state of the market. When you think about it, Autotrader IS the market price. At the end of the day it only gives you an idea what to ask - you'll get what they are prepared to pay. Its the old story, take your time and find the right face, you'll get a good price. Need to sell in a hurry and you'll get bugger all. (like I did).
There is a guy selling a 99 E240 on ebay and asking 12k - he can ask but its been advertised for weeks and no bids so far. Having just traded in a 00 one for 8k I don't fancy his chances but then you only need the one punter!

 

[maddog]

The problem with autotrader is that the price shown is the advertsied price NOT the price the car actually sold for.

 

[jberks]

The problem with autotrader is that the price shown is the advertsied price NOT the price the car actually sold for.

True, but it does give a starting asking price. Parkers can only give a range too. At least with Autotrader you can look at a motor and say mine is better/worse than that so I need to adjust my price up or down accordingly. At the end of the day, a fair bit depends on the day, how good a negotiator you/they are and desparation to buy/sell. If the buyer has sold their car already, they will be in more of a hurry and may pay a little more. If your model / spec is rare that month, it may be more desirable and they may pay more. If they're not bothered they'll pay less. Basic supply and demand, but you have to start somewhere. Plus what you / parkers think its worth is irrelevant if a trader is advertising an identical one for £500 less. Basically you have to undercut the trader, whatever he's asking. The more you want to sell, the more you undercut.