Buy or not to buy

[johnmor]

Hi All

 

I have a leased Superb 2.0tdi 170 4x4 elegance

 

Its been a great car, done 60,000 in the last three years, its in good overall condition and fully serviced etc

 

As my lease comes to an end I enquired about buying the car and have received a quote of £13500 to buy at the end of the lease, as the lease includes tyres and maintainemce I can ensure the car has newish boots and full service prior to lease end.

 

Is this a reasonable offer, i feel it is but i'm  a little unsure, I havent spent that sort of money on a car before but I like the car and it hasn't had a single fault from new.

 

 

any thoughts please

 

John

[Bristolf2b]

There is a 2011 (May) 170 4x4 on Skoda's website for 13750 with 59000 miles. The offer you have perhaps is a little high as that is a retail value BUT there is a lot of value in having a car you are familiar with and know it's history intimately. If you are pleased with it and trust it If it were me I would take yours rather than an unknown second hand quantity. However, the second part of the question really only you can decide if you want to spend the money.....

[johnmor]

Thanks

 

I have been looking around, its hard to find an equivalnt vehicle for the money, I could makethe lease company  on offer and see what happens!!

 

The car has a few extras, Park assist, KESSY, heated windscreen etc , was looking at an a6 quatrro but a lot older for the same money and no where near spec

[Bristolf2b]

Oops, just checked again and that vehicle was £13450. The extras you have would not make a lot of difference to the secondhand value tbh, although they are desirable and may make the car easier to sell on.

As for equivalent vehicles, yes it is difficult to fault the value of a Superb 4x4. The A6 Quattro is not as big inside, at least for the rear seat passengers, the A4 Quattro is a lot smaller (although only 140mm shorter, I know, I use to have one)

[JakeBlade]

That £13450 is a good price. OP should print-screen the link and email it to the finance company. A £12-12.5k bid to them for yours wouldn't be too cheeky, as they are unable to offer the "usual dealer facilities": low-rate finance and approved used warranty. Someone will snap up that other car quickly, and then you'd lose your evidence. Similar cars are higher priced on autotrader.

[johnmor]

Thansk

 

I havve saved the image and will use to see if I can get a bit off

 

thanks

[Stupotpat]

Hi johnmor,

If I'm honest, I find your quote expensive, compared to the car I bought a few months ago. Mine is a 59 reg (2010 apparently) CR 170 twin door Elegance. It has park assist as an added extra and when I bought it, the car had 74k on the clock. The seller also had it on lease and must have bought it from the lease company for less than he sold it to me for - and I paid under £9k. I must stress I had been looking for this spec for a few months, and most of the cars I looked at were around the same mileage, or more, but were over £10k (incidentally, most are still for sale). I don't know how much of a premium a 4x4 has over a 2 wheel drive, but it can't be that much. A 4x4, a year younger and 14k less on the clock is not worth an extra £4.5k+ in my opinion.

 

I think there would be better value in the open market. If I were you I wouldn't offer more than £11k, for your car. If they don't accept, the chances are the Finance Company will sell via auction. If you  sign up with ADT Auctions you can then search for a Superb AND they give you the Reg plate. Provided you have the time, you might be able to buy your own car back from an auction at a lot less than £13.5k

 

Good Luck

[johnmor]

I think the car is probaly worth arond the 11500/12000  mark, i need the 4x4 , live in the North East Scotland and im on call 24/7.

 

The CR 170 4x4 estate is about as good (expensive) as it gets so its worth a few quid. The lease company have said they will give me the Auction location and date of sale , but its going to be 200miles away, im  trying to weigh up all the pros and cons.

 

My lease has  maintainance included so I will get new tyres on the car about a month before the lease is up it will also have fresh road tax and a service at has just been completed.

 

There is also the convinience aspect (im sure the lease company know that as well), no hassles just drive home and its mine.

 

Ive got a month or so to make up my mind, thanks for the advice

 

John

[stevehg]

I don't know how much of a premium a 4x4 has over a 2 wheel drive, but it can't be that much. A 4x4, a year younger and 14k less on the clock is not worth an extra £4.5k+ in my opinion.

Not saying its worth 4.5K difference but it will be worth more. It's an 170 4x4 estate, has good spec and less miles than yours. The 170 4x4 estate is not that common and tend to be more in demand that twin door.

The will need to pay auctions fees and get ~ trade prices there.

Given that you want the car, I would offer £12,750 and see if they agree. Good luck with the negotiation.

Cheers

Steve

Edited 13 January, 2014 by stevehg

[milesunder]

Not too sure who the leasing company is but you could mention in the negotiation their costs to dispose of the car. Ie the auction fee, transportation and preparation cost...

Might help in the negotiations

[Brockysuperb]

Try for a reduction (12750?) but do the deal.

 

First you also have to factor in what you do if this deal doesn't happen - searching for another car, paying for transport interim, finding one, it may, may not be more expensive, getting it to your home.

 

Then factor in if you do get another (and assuming it's pre-owned)...who owned it, how was it driven, can you trust the narrative, will it have new tyres (doubtful), will it not just have FSH but recently serviced (doubtful, even if it's got the stamp in the book as dealers routinely do this for their forecourt). 

 

Bird in the hand... esp if you can get something extra off...

[Yearofthegoat]

Reading between the lines, it seems you want the car but the price is a bit too high, so try out the suggestions.  If they don't get you anywhere - and hopefully they will - you (and only you) will have to weigh up how much the peace of mind you get from keeping your car is worth.  Personally (I have kids to transport about) I paid a premium for something I was satisfied hadn't been abused / crashed etc.  I bought mine used approved from Skoda in Worthing and it undoubtedly cost me more than hunting around, but I think it was worth it.

[A1287210]

Would be interested to know how much you have spent over the last 3 yrs and the offer you have.

Damo

Sent from iPhone

[johnmor]

Hi Damo

I have a business lease, (fire service) , i contribute to the cost and use my millage allowance to pay 80% of the costs

I think the monthy cost is around £510 / month based around 20,000 / year lease, this includes maintainence (tyres, servicing etc)

I have had a responsec to my offer and they have reduced the buying cost to 12000

Starting to look atractive now!

[Skoda4x4man]

No brainer now surely ?

[stevehg]

I have had a responsec to my offer and they have reduced the buying cost to 12000

Starting to look atractive now!

Glad to hear, and glad you didn't take my advice on price to offer ;)

Edited 14 January, 2014 by stevehg

[mannyo]

For 12K, I'd be doing the deal. You get a car you have known from day one, with good history, new tyres etc. If you leave this one, then you'll be buying an unknown quantity.

[James I]

We have tried to buy a few cars back at the end of the lease term, prices are always top book average miles, advice we got from a guy at the lease company was to follow it to the auction, he gave us the details and what date it was being sold etc.

 

 Car was a 320D M sport, 98,000 miles, full service etc.  The asking price was 9,500 from the lease company, we actually bought the car at auction for 6250, so quite a saving (this was 2004 car bought in 2007) 

 

 So, a bit of a gamble but well worth looking at.

[Jules Tohpipi]

We have tried to buy a few cars back at the end of the lease term, prices are always top book average miles, advice we got from a guy at the lease company was to follow it to the auction, he gave us the details and what date it was being sold etc.

 

 Car was a 320D M sport, 98,000 miles, full service etc.  The asking price was 9,500 from the lease company, we actually bought the car at auction for 6250, so quite a saving (this was 2004 car bought in 2007) 

 

 So, a bit of a gamble but well worth looking at.

That's some great advice. Thanks for posting.

[JakeBlade]

Sounds like you're done at £12k then?

[johnmor]

Yeah

 

I need to wait till closer to the end of the lease but I think my mind is now made up, just need to make sure I dont break it over the next few weeks!!

[JakeBlade]

Don't forget the brake fluid change when you get your service done. And make sure they change all filters incl air and fuel - not just inspect them. And an air-con service if you've never had one done (air-con refresh if you have), and maybe the haldex 4x4 is also due a service.