Advice required for Newbie se re trading in an Abarth. Is dealer being fair??

[Ryan595]

Hi, newbie here. I bought an Abarth 500 back in 2015 and have loved every minute of ownership.  It was a pre reg car, first reg Jan 2015 on a 64 plate.  I bought it from Arnold Clark in July 2015 and was the second owner after the garage.  The car had 15 miles on the clock and was essentially brand new.  The car is the stunning 'legends blue' colour (which is like a cross between baby blue and the Porsche Miami Blue) with dark smoke grey wheels, I think it's a gorgeous combination and have never seen another with the same combo.  Anyway, the car has now done 25500 miles and I've decided to trade up to a pre reg 68 plate Competizione.  Toecap I'm trading in has a full service history, legal tyres, MOT due on 31 Jan, but no concerns whatsoever, both keys, no scrapes on Alloys but does have a very small ding and scrape on drivers door, which will cost about £40 to fix an like I say 25,500 miles, which  will be more like 26000 when it gets traded.  When washed, it looks like a brand new car, ding is hard to even see, but I've been told £40 by one of those dent fixing firms. I was kind of shocked when I got the trade in figure from Arnold Clark, they have quoted me £6,250!  I went back to the sales guy and showed him what similar age/mileageexamples were advertised for, but he just came back with the old " just because they're advertised for that, doesn't mean they're selling for that line".  You guys will have a lot more  experience than me with prices than me, is £6,250 a fair price for a 2015 '64  plate Abarth 500 135 with FSH, scrape free wheels, with  perfect interior and exterior (apart from ding previously mentioned)?  If not, what would you say I should be looking to get?  Part of me thinks maybe for easiness sake, I should just accept the £6,250, as I really don't want to lose the car I hope to buy. Lastly, if I was to try and sell privately, how much should I be asking for a quick sale?

Any advice you guys can offer would be much appreciated.

Ryan

[137699]

Did you really need to post this 4 times in 4 separate forums?

BTW yes £6250 is a very fair P/X price for that but in reality they can give you £1 P/X if they're going to knock £7000 off the price of the one you're buying.
Don't get hung up on PX price -it's the "cost to change" you should be interested in. Trading cars is all numbers - they could offer you £10k in p/x but if the one you're buying is £4k overpriced,  then you're still not getting value.

So the question is, is the one you're buying actually good value? We recently purchased a brand new 595C Turismo (factory order to our spec - not pre-reg) and managed to negotiate £4500 discount off the £24.5k list price (with options).  As you're buying a pre-reg, then you should be aiming to pay at least 20% less than the list price. Then take your £6250 off that and work out if it's good value or not.
So say for arguments sake, your new comp is option free and the list price is £21430, then you should be aiming to get minimum 20% off (though I'd push for more personally) and pay at most £17150. Then take your £6250 off that and £10900 is the most you should be paying to swap.

Rarity and spec/colour count very little in the used car game.  As a 64 reg the car is borderline whether the dealer would actually stock it or simply pass it on through auction. Given it's got damage too, that won't help. If it's really just a £40 repair, why don't you just shell out the £40 and repair it yourself and take away that excuse.

If you sell it privately you might get £7k for it - though just after xmas its the wrong time of year to be trying to sell a car.

[Richard H]

Agree with the above.

Don't get hung up with the PX price, as above, its the cost of change and selling privately is a pain, and its the wrong time of the year....

The dealer has to prepare it and put a warranty on it and run his garage and make a profit, In reality an Abarth dealer is more likely to pass it on through the trade or auction, so their margin will be small.

Sorry to say this, but the 135 version is the least desirable one, the later 140/595 versions (which came in in early 2015) have much improved suspension and a TFT digital dashboard and most people want 17" wheels, so those things are to be considered as well.

The mileage is ok, most Abarths are second cars,  so generally have low mileage, also, I think, the cambelt will need changing in the next twelve months, which for some reason scares people (not as scary as not changing it!)

I think Legends Blue is a great colour, our first two Abarths were that colour, but it is a "Marmite" colour, those that like it Love it! But those that don't really don't want one that colour. When we changed to a Podium (Dark) blue one a lot of people said they preferred it so whoever sells it on may have it on their forecourt for a while.

Most people think their cars are worth more than they are, which is why in Autotrader private sellers tend to overprice them.

I always say to myself that there is always a smartarse somewhere who says they got a better deal, but there are a lot of liars too!

Without knowing the detail, and that's your business, it seems like a reasonable deal

If you're happy with the deal, go for it, if not walk away, you're not being forced in to it