Thought I'd finally bite the bullet and change the Fabia vRSfor an Octavia after 6 very happy years.

Got a bit of a shock at its valuation though.

05, 88k, fsh, clear hpi, no paint ever, full leather plus all the usuals, everything working as it should,running perfectly, looks lovely, gleaming, and then offered £2 to 2,500.

Stood there, thought about it for a few seconds, quickly asked myself WHY I was actually contemplating this, especially as it STILL puts a smile on my face, turned around to the salesman and politely said, no thanks, I've just changed my mind and calmly walked out.

Edited 23 December, 201213 yr by Mr Ree

That must have been dissappointing. Unfortunatly you're being stuffed on a couple of levels here. Firstly as a 7 year old car the dealer would be unlikely to put it on their forecourt, so they'd most likely send it to auction, which is a gamble for them as they won't know for sure what it'll fetch on the day, so they minimise their risk by making you take the hit. Unfortunatly (for the dealers) the profit margins on new cars arn't what they were so they don't have so much room for manouvre with what they can offer you for your part ex. to make the deal look sweeter. Did you research what it was worth beforehand so you could challenge the salesman if he was seriously under valuing your car?

I know it's an imotive subject, especially if you look after your car and not being offered what you thought it was worth hits your pride as well as your wallet and I feel for you.

You could of course sell it private, but you'd have the hassle of doing so.

The other bummer is that you were contemplating buying a bigger car, so there's the price differential associated with that too.

Might be worth your while trying another dealer if you've got 1 local to see if you can get a better deal?

The upside is that with the VAT off Octavias at the mement the cost of a new one has probaly never been lower and if you can get any extras associated with the finance deals those are worth considering too (e.g. 3 years free servicing) so might be worth looking at the whole package in the cold lihght of day after your initial dissappointment as at the end of the day it's the cost to change that's the important thing, not how much they offer you for your present car

Hope this helps

All the best

Ade

If you still enjoy the Fabia then why change and put yourself in a position of having to deal with new car depreciation?

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Thought I'd finally bite the bullet and change the Fabia vRSfor an Octavia after 6 very happy years.

Got a bit of a shock at its valuation though.

05, 88k, fsh, clear hpi, no paint ever, full leather plus all the usuals, everything working as it should,running perfectly, looks lovely, gleaming, and then offered £2 to 2,500.

Stood there, thought about it for a few seconds, quickly asked myself WHY I was actually contemplating this, especially as it STILL puts a smile on my face, turned around to the salesman and politely said, no thanks, I've just changed my mind and calmly walked out.

I'm in the same position as you - '55 plate Fab vRS, 107k and I now really ought to change up for the driving that I do. At the age and mileage of the cars we own any offer from a dealer will be laughable in comparison to a private sale.

And has also been pointed out above, changing up for a larger car would normally have a cost associated with it even if mileage and age were comparable. In essence we'll be paying thrice. Newer, lower mileage, bigger.

As above, I'm not really sure what you were hoping for.

It is unlikely a dealer will put a 7 year old car on their forecourt so it's going to go to auction, somewhere not exactly renowned for high margins.

The only way to get more for your Fabia is to sell it privately. This is where the benefits of it being immaculate will get you extra cash.

The best way to get a cheaper Octavia is without the complcation of a part exchange.

I'm guessing you do want an Octavia or you wouldn't have gone to the dealers to enquire. Now is a good time to buy a MkII, values are dropping and dealers are keen to make way for the MkIII.

If you still enjoy the Fabia then why change and put yourself in a position of having to deal with new car depreciation?

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That's EXACTLY what i asked myself, and acted accordingly.

Private sale p'raps?

Nah. Can't be doing with all the mither with every miniscule mark being picked up on to help drive the price down.

I'm keeping it, end of. Sweet!

I nearly bought a Audi TT for £29k and was offered £1500 for my highly modded Ibiza diesel. The TT was a lovely car but as I've maintained and modded my 125 k mile Ibiza to the highest possible std it feels super fit and would easily be quicker and better handling than the 211ps petrol TT engine but not as posh.

Huge depreciation, slower car,higher running costs ect.

3 years later still have my Ibiza that I've had from new for the last 9 and a bit years which I still love to drive plus I still have a big wedge of cash in my pocket!