Trade in Value - When Ordering or Delivery

[Craigy1D]

Hypothetically, if you were to order a new car, how does the build time affect the trade in value? i.e. If you order today and your trade in is worth £15,000, is that value fixed, or does it decrease as by the time the new car is built, the trade in has done more miles, and is older, etc.

Edited 14 November, 2011 by Craigy1D

[FUBAR]

Most dealers that ive seen tend to give you a price when you do the deal at start youd prob need to give a rough estimate on mileage at time of handing over etc though but its all part of the negotiating when you walk in as the customer make them work hard for your business and always shop around play them off each other

[lamlash]

I was offered a fixed trade-in value for my old car when I ordered my new Skoda. It wasn't particularly favourable and I had expected to sell privately rather than take the trade-in offer but the Skoda took about 6 months longer to arrive than the dealer had estimated and by that time the agreed figure looked pretty good so I was happy to take it to avoid the hassle of a private sale.

The dealer seemed pretty relaxed about it all and mentioned that they don't get assessed on the trade-in margins for individual cars but had to just ensure that in any given sales period they didn't lose money on them as a whole.

[awhitham]

Hypothetically, if you were to order a new car, how does the build time affect the trade in value? i.e. If you order today and your trade in is worth £15,000, is that value fixed, or does it decrease as by the time the new car is built, the trade in has done more miles, and is older, etc.

I had a new Octavia VRS this summer which I ordered last year! I had a fixed trade in price (which my dealer told me before collection they NO LONGER OFFER because of long lead times) I estimated they lost £1500 on the part ex value of my car. The dealer thought closer to £2000.

[kerrbryan]

Ive been given an estimate also and it will get assessed again closer the time. Although I am advertising the car now privately.

[hertsnminds]

I was given a trade in figure on the day I signed the order and a minimum trade in value at the 16 week guesstimated delivery. In the end I waited 22 weeks and was given a completely revised (and much lower than expected) trade in value on the day I went into the dealer to collect the car.

If you cannot get the dealer to agree a trade in figure and stick to it on the day your place the order then you are pretty much guessing what they will give you when the car actually arrives. Not a great situation for the purchaser or the dealer but just one of the side effects of 4 - 6 month lead times.

[Craigy1D]

So, if you can't get them to fix a trade in value, and then on the day of delivery you get offered significantly less for yours, can you legitimately walk away from the deal without incurring any cost or are you contractually obliged to ensure you can cover any shortfall?

[kerrbryan]

Doubt it as you will have signed a contract for the new car to be made.

[Craigy1D]

Doubt it as you will have signed a contract for the new car to be made.

I know the answer will likely be don't buy one then, but that seems a bit unfair, that you need to sign a contract committing to buy a new car for a fixed value, but they'll give you a loose, none committal valuation for your old car that they don't need to honour.

[kerrbryan]

I know the answer will likely be don't buy one then, but that seems a bit unfair, that you need to sign a contract committing to buy a new car for a fixed value, but they'll give you a loose, none committal valuation for your old car that they don't need to honour.

Yeah a bit more in the dealers favour when a customer defo wants to order I say

[Stoofa]

I bought my car in April this year.

When I placed my order they valued my car based on an 8 week wait - so they offered me what they felt the value of the vehicle would be in two months time.

It was a fair price for the vehicle there and then - so I accepted that price. It was all written into the contract so that was always going to be the trade-in price if I had to wait 6 weeks or 20 weeks.

[countryboy]

Surely it says in the small print on the back of the order form that it is a legally binding contract. If you and the dealer agree to a figure for trade-in and cost to change then you are both bound by that. If the dealer decides that they do not like the trade in value they gave you and try to change it then you are legally OK to walk away and get your deposit back.

Ian

[LaceSensor]

Surely it says in the small print on the back of the order form that it is a legally binding contract. If you and the dealer agree to a figure for trade-in and cost to change then you are both bound by that. If the dealer decides that they do not like the trade in value they gave you and try to change it then you are legally OK to walk away and get your deposit back.

Ian

When I last changed cars (58 plate vRS TDi DSG to a new 60 plate one last november) I had about 16 weeks and managed to get a fixed trade in price, so I knew exactly what I was gonna be paying. I would like to think it was still possible to do this. Another local dealer to me wouldnt do this so they lost my business and I went with my preferred dealer in the end (who also supplied the first vRS, Simpsons of Preston).

YMMV

I am considering now getting another change, depends what deals are available. I am on PCP, and previously the cost to change was just the deposit on the new car, and I ended up paying £40 less per month, due to being in positive equity on the current car.

The new interior and wheel options as well as the RAllye Green has perked my interest!

[hertsnminds]

So, if you can't get them to fix a trade in value, and then on the day of delivery you get offered significantly less for yours, can you legitimately walk away from the deal without incurring any cost or are you contractually obliged to ensure you can cover any shortfall?

In my case the figures were based on the car being delivered at 16 weeks as it was not, so the terms of the contract changed.

If you have a 20 week delivery in your contract and you wait longer then the dealer can change things as you are over the 20 weeks in the contract.

The boss at the garage I was dealing with said "You knew what the trade in value was before you came in to collect the car and could have rejected the offer" this was after the car had been delivered. What he wasn't expecting was me to tell him I had not been told a revised trade in value for my car until I was sitting in the showroom with the collection papers in front of me.

I felt I had been messed about by the garage and they in turn were claiming everything was Skoda's fault. To my mind it was up to the garage to sort things out, which they kind of did by reluctantly giving me my first service free but only after several Mr angry phone calls and giving the lowest ratings I could in all the customer satisfaction surveys they sent to me.

Edited 24 November, 2011 by hertsnminds

[g_tee]

I only had an 8 week wait for a new car I bought once, but agreed the trade in there and then.

In fact, I wouldn't sign for the new motor until this was done. If the deal wasn't any good, I'd have walked away.

They'll ring you back soon enough

[cheezemonkhai]

IMHO it has to be an offer that's fixed at the time you sign the deal.

If not then late delivery means you end up paying more as your old car is worth less and also gives less incentive for them to chase a late car.

A dealer will know that you can go elsewhere if they try and put you off that and probably get another car at short notice, so don't let them put you over a barrel.

[Herschel]

I agreed a trade-in based on expected delivery date, and expected mileage of my motor at that time.

It was fixed and agreed in the contract as my remaining payment was fixed.

I didn't take the mickey with the mileage I put on the car (I had told them I'd add about 5,000 miles to it during the wait), and so they didn't mind making the fixed offer.

They also said a few hundred miles over wouldn't be an issue either.