Trade in same model with more miles

mranderson · 27 Apr 2013 at 21:20

Is this possible? Thinking of trading in my nearly 100k mile car for another that has around 60k miles. Same model, accessories etc. How much do you think I would have to pay on top?

Minstadave · 27 Apr 2013 at 21:27

Well that depends entirely on the car doesn't it?

You're going to loose a wodge of cash though come what may, and a 60k car is unlikely to be more reliable than a 100k car, especially if the 100k car is yours and you've looked after it properly.

mranderson · 27 Apr 2013 at 21:33

Thinking about service costs tbh and depreciation. I am the third owner and although the car is fine I am sure it will start to need more cash for services which will get more expensive once you have to change timing belts etc.

Minstadave · 27 Apr 2013 at 21:35

A 100k car will depreciate less than a 60k car surely?

You're not going to save money by trading in your old car and handing a dealer a healthy profit.

mranderson · 27 Apr 2013 at 21:46

Well I bought my car at a very discounted price - around a third less of what dealers were asking - so don't think I will be losing much.
I am not sure about depreciation as I think for most buyers the 100k mark seems to be more important than 80k for example.

Firestar_3x · 27 Apr 2013 at 22:01

£7.63 and not a penny more.

mranderson · 27 Apr 2013 at 22:05

I was thinking a bit more but it seems that selling privately is better after checking some national market reports.

Firestar_3x · 27 Apr 2013 at 22:07

mranderson said:
I was thinking a bit more but it seems that selling privately may be better?

Perhaps a better starting point would be to tell us which car.

Other than that's no one can really help you, we don't know how much yiur car cost, nor how much the one your looking at will cost.

mranderson · 27 Apr 2013 at 22:11

C5 2008
It seems that dealers work with a 10%-20% profit margin (difference between trade in prices and selling prices).

-westy- · 27 Apr 2013 at 23:15

Trading in for a car with less miles on but otherwise identical would be a false economy - the money you'd pay out for said car would probably more than pay for the (perhaps) extra servicing and maintenance that a car with more miles on would. FYI a car with 60k on would be right in the territory for a timing belt change (or thereabouts), the one thing that you're trying to avoid.

To be honest, cars cost money to run, you can't avoid maintenance costs forever.

mranderson · 27 Apr 2013 at 23:22

Timing belt is at 100k (108k-160k) plus the 100k service which I will have to pay for. Also tyres should be for change around the same time. Overall cost around 1k which I can save by buying the car with less miles (will have a service from the citroen dealer, plus a 1 year warranty and no need for new tyres).
So if I had to pay 1k more I would not even think about it.

scratch · 27 Apr 2013 at 23:26

Seems pretty pointless to me. If your current car has been reliable up until now then stick with it rather than spend money to replace it with another. The total cost to change is bound to exceed the cost of any upcoming routine maintenance required on your current car.

Also remember lower mileage doesn't automatically mean more reliable or that it's in better mechanical condition..at least you know where you stand with your current car.

-westy- · 27 Apr 2013 at 23:26

And how much would you have to pay for the exchange? Bearing in mind that the new car you get may also have issues, and also the timing belt, service and tyres will need changing at some point. False economy IMO

mranderson · 27 Apr 2013 at 23:29

scratch said:
Seems pretty pointless to me. If your current car has been reliable up until now then stick with it rather than spend money to replace it with another. The total cost to change is bound to exceed the cost of any upcoming routine maintenance required on your current car.

Also remember lower mileage doesn't automatically mean more reliable or that it's in better mechanical condition..at least you know where you stand with your current car.

As I said if I had to pay 1k more I would end up with the same car with 40k less miles and a Citroen dealer warranty for a year.

mranderson · 27 Apr 2013 at 23:30

-westy- said:
And how much would you have to pay for the exchange?

Don't know yet, so wanted to gauge what to expect.

jellybeard999 · 27 Apr 2013 at 23:38

mranderson said:
As I said if I had to pay 1k more I would end up with the same car with 40k less miles and a Citroen dealer warranty for a year.

If your car needs £1K on it, why would a dealer give you a newer car for a £1k part ex?

IMO keeping your car would be significantly cheaper statistically - there's always a chance of a major breakdown, but 40k extra mileage wont make much odds if well maintained.

4T5 · 27 Apr 2013 at 23:41

Depreciation is terrible on Citroens which kind of sways me to think you should get rid of the high miler.
I don't really know what I am talking about when it comes to new cars though.

-westy- · 28 Apr 2013 at 00:01

4T5 said:
Depreciation is terrible on Citroens which kind of sways me to think you should get rid of the high miler.
I don't really know what I am talking about when it comes to new cars though.

But then he'll be paying £1k (assuming that that's the price differential between the two), to lose it again.

Hades · 28 Apr 2013 at 00:37

Personally I wouldn't change. If the car you have is good and the history is known then why change simply because of a number? If it's to get into a newer or facelifted car then it may make sense but otherwise you're just spending money up front to save s similar, or lesser, amount later on.

I've always bought cars with low mileage on them until I bought the one in my sig and realised it really isn't as important as history, condition and pro-active maintenance. MIleage in itself isn't that important. In fact high mileage on a well maintained car will often get a bargain.

HangTime · 28 Apr 2013 at 01:03

4T5 said:
Depreciation is terrible on Citroens which kind of sways me to think you should get rid of the high miler.
I don't really know what I am talking about when it comes to new cars though.

He's talking about replacing it with a newer Citroen though, which will depreciate quicker (in nominal terms) than his current one.

My guess is, if the current car needs £1k of maintenance/servicing it will cost a lot more than £1k to trade it in for a newer one. Yes the cost of maintenance/servicing to the dealer will likely be a lot less than £1k but even so if one could just trade in your car for a newer/lower mileage version for just £1k including warranty etc loads of people would probably be doing it every year.