Im buying a mondeo from a trader. Are they asking too much?

Question

Its a 2006 mondeo TDCI LX (130bhp). Its got approx 30,000 miles and apparently was only driven by sales staff. They are asking £8300 for it. That is straight sale, im not trading. He said Glass valuation is £8,900. He showed it to me from the book. However whatcar's online car valuation thingy values it at £7,695. I need finance thats why im buying from a dealer. Another point worth noting is I live in Northern Ireland and there isnt as big a surplus of cars here as in UK mainland so motors usually are a bit more pricey. I'd appreciate your thoughts / advice. Thanks

Answer 1

It's not stupid money, but remember he's also making a tidy sum on the finance as well. Could you not organise a loan yourself from the net or your bank?

I'd try and get him down a bit, if only because I'd never pay the asking price at a dealer. There must be lots of Mondeos around, even in NI, so let him know you're looking at others.

Answer 2

Mondeos are wildly oversupplied  -they DO depreciate badly.

Answer 3

People take Glasses figures as set in stone, but the car market does not work quite like that. This publication was originally intended for Dealers - and originally only available to them! - so all dealers would be working from similar price levels. What car's valuations are a little different as they quote what you SHOULD be able to get a car for with a bit of shopping around and a bit of haggling.

The price the trader is asking for this car is not really over the top. These are good cars, surprisingly expensive new being Fords, and the mileage is so low that the engine will probably not even be completely loosened up yet. There are a lot of people seeking similar cars and my opinion always is, pay what the car is worth to YOU.  A book figure is meaningless if you cannot find one at that price!  If the overall condition of the car reflects its low mileage I personally would go for it.

Mention the What Car figure to him and make him a firm offer of 8 grand flat. He can only say yes or no. Most dealers expect a buyer to try to haggle and build a little in to their stated price. There is a pretty fair chance that he will drop the 300 to get a guaranteed sale. The basis of making a profit as a dealer is to keep the stock moving out of the door - if the car sits in the yard for another couple of months it will have depreciated most of the 300 anyway!

Answer 4

That's quite pricey. Not too bad but I think you should haggle for more. It being a Ford they don't depcreciate much like the import c**p.

Answer 5

I've been trading for years. Look at Auto Trader to get a feel for car prices. What Car and Parkers price Guide are way off current market values.