Having never done a part exchange before , can someone summarise how it works?

 

Once you test drive and sit down with the dealer, you agree on a price, deposit, valuation, etc what happens when you have to wait 12 weeks for a factory order? Can you drive your car and exchange it on the day of pick up? What happens to the part exchange valuation?

You agree a price that the dealer will pay at the point /time of exchange. You usually have to give an estimated mileage use of the car for those 12 weeks.The car is still yours to use as you normally would. On exchange day the car is checked over for damage etc and as long as the agreed approx mileage is within bounds the dealer takes the car at the price agreed 12 weeks before. You might also need to clarify with the dealer what happens to that agreed price if they fail to deliver within the 12 weeks. Some might say it will adjusted down others will play fair and guarantee the P/Ex price in those circumstances.

The dealer obviously discounts the price they will pay to take into account as those 12 weeks will reduce the value of your car. That is your cost, not theirs.

Edited 5 April, 20188 yr by Sagalout
added sentence

Some basic rules, Tony, which I’m sure Briskodians will add to.

 

1) Know roughly what the vehicle you’re part-exchanging is worth before you do the deal. You can go on websites like Parkers to get an estimate, but dealers will probably offer below that - the market is awash with used cars, so they won’t offer top dollar for yet more stock. Bear in mind, too, that the level of their offer will also depend on what you’re buying - new cars which are harder to sell usually result in better part-ex deals.

 

2) You’re agreeing the part-ex offer at the time you agree to buy the new car. Unless you put thousands more miles on it or damage it, it shouldn’t change.

 

3) Used cars with full service histories, long MoTs, good tyres and average mileage are easier to sell than poorly maintained high-milers. You’ll lose points too if the paintwork/interior of your part-ex are chipped/marked/faded/stained.

 

The way the deal is put together can vary according to the nature of the deals the manufacturer/dealer is offering at any one time (they usually change quarterly) and dealers can structure the deal in a variety of ways to make their internal sums add up (i.e., list price, discount, part-ex offer can be varied according to requirements). All you need to watch is whether what you’re signing up to is affordable. That’s the only number that really matters.

Edited 5 April, 20188 yr by MorrisOx

One important thing to remember, do not get too hung up on the PX valuation you are given. The things that really matter are:

 

If you are paying cash the difference in £££££'S to swap

 

If you are having it on finance ensure the deposit is the same than its the lowest monthly payment.

 

PCP's are a little more complicated but manufacturer ones are normally the same at all dealers. Like finance its the lowest monthly payment.

 

Many years ago I worked with an old chap who would only ever buy form the garage that gave him the highest PX valuation, he could not understand how a lower PX with a huge discount could be better value.

Some good advice here. Particularly the one on cash difference / how much is it actually costing you. If buying / leasing new you will have a good idea of cost and spec (use a broker to understand the level of discount from list you can expect. Check out Autotrader / Parkers etc to see what yours is roughly worth. Then it is a question of how you finance the balance. Agreed PCP / PCH is more complex and I've never done that so can't comment.

 

Dealers are pretty astute IME - they know the values of second hand cars. I bought my "new" (6 month old) one and got the dealer to agree a price for my old one sight-unseen based on some photos and me telling them how many miles it would have on it when I brought it to them approx. 1 month later. My old one was also a Superb which had FSSH which may have made it easier for them. I was getting what I regarded as a good deal on the new one, so didn't fight too stupidly on the trade-in. Both parties were happy with the deal (how much car for how much cash) so it was incredibly smooth. Dealer's test drive of my old one was as far as the first roundabout and back. Papers signed and I was on my way in the new L&K.

Cracking answers everyone. Thanks. My main point was really at what stage you agree the finance and PX values. So you’veanswered that. So as long as the mileage and condition is approx the same it should be honoured

I had a 2008 Alfa Romeo Brera to PX. The dealer didn't trade in that brand, so he put the car on some kind of auction network and within fifteen minutes he had an offer from a private vendor for £1K more than the Alfa Romeo dealership offered me. Armed with prices from CarWow, I offered him £20K and my car. He said £20.5 and we had a deal.

 

I drove on egg shells for the two weeks I had to wait before he could release his demonstrator, but everything went without a hitch. The trickiest bit was doing the electronic transfer in three separate tranches.

 

Sidebar: the guy who bought my Brera had it on the market for £2.5K more than he paid for it and sold it in three weeks. So, everybody was happy.

Edited 5 April, 20188 yr by freelunch

15 hours ago, freelunch said:

I drove on egg shells for the two weeks I had to wait before he could release his demonstrator

 

+1. This was the most stressful bit of all. Especially since during the 4 weeks between order and pick-up a runway excursion closed Bristol Airport, which meant mine spent an unplanned week in a Heathrow outdoor car park after a mad dash up the M4! Luckily nothing happened to it, but it wasn't the happiest week of my life I can tell you.