Not a shady advert I promise.

Basically had my old car for sale since before christmas and can count on one hand how much interest I’ve had (one phonecall, one text). Put it on local Facebook groups, Gumtree, works classifieds and here. Now I realise the price might be a bit much but it’s not ridiculous and fairly consistent with what you get on fleabay so would at least expect someone to negotiate.

The only thing I can think of is that I’ve been too honest and people think I’m offering a shed when in fact it’s not any more used than any other car of it’s age.

Thoughts?

http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/2003-honda-civic-17-cdti-diesel-995

it’s worth £350-£500

not a grand

I was just going to post what nickc said.

^ What he said.

I’ve a similar Focus in year/mileage. Pristine it would fetch £1,000 but, like yours has high mileage and a few scratches/chips.

I’d be lucky to get £500.

A friend of mine sells all his cars spare or repairs even when they run fine. He reckons he gets much more interest and the same or better price. I don’t think the issues put people off, just the price. The advert is pretty verbose, though. All of that could be said in a lot less words and your method of describing things is a bit unusual.

Now I realise the price might be a bit much but it’s not ridiculous and fairly consistent with what you get on fleabay so would at least expect someone to negotiate.

Put it on eBay then?

No one cares about mist in the fog light or the abs sensor you are going to fix. I’d say price wise £1k is far too much.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/honda-civic-1-7-cdti-/262288926330
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Honda-Civic-CDTI-1-7-/141881681145
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Honda-Civic-1-7-cdti-3-door-2003-/272085177272
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2005-Honda-Civic-1-7-ICTDi-/131682680425
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2004-04-Honda-Civic-1-7-CDTi-SE-Diesel-over-63-Mpg-/322000844702

Put it on eBay

Good advice. Its a great platform for selling cheap cars. You’ll get a few time wasters but it will sell if correctly priced.

Definitely no such thing as being too honest. I have never found that mentioning all of a vehicle’s quirks stood me in bad stead.

The price on the other hand…

As above, you’re writing stuff of no interest to people.

No one cares at 166k miles that there may not be a receipt for an oil filter but you’re going to have a look for it.

I got £1k for an 03 civic, 3 years ago with 103k miles. Slightly tatty bodywork, but other than that- fairly sound. Think £500 for yours is about right.

Really sounds like you’re trying to not sell it. Drop the price a bit and reduce the waffle. 13 years and 150k+ tells people most of what you said anyway..

Why would I buy that heap of crap when I could get this and have £150 change?

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2004-BMW-320d-6spd-manual-13months-MOT-/172111803896?hash=item2812a9b5f8:g:ZTcAAOSwe7BWzDje

am I being too honest 😉

Last car I sold, the advert went into no detail – just ‘good condition for age and mileage’ kind of thing. When people turned up I showed them the small scratches & dents and bulbs gone on the dash etc. But once they were on the drive – they were already interested – that was the time to be honest. We haggled and settled on a fair price and my conscience was intact

I did an essay on my last car ad, as an “extra stuff you probably don’t care about” stuck at the end of the real ad, I doubt most people bothered to read it but the guy who bought it (for too much money) said it was all that detail that made him choose the car. Not so much because it was relevant but because it gave him good feels. And for a lot of people, feels are important when buying a car.

As above; too much money and too much “blah blah blah” in the advert.

You don’t buy a 13 year old car and not expect there to be issues. Likewise, you don’t pay that much money for one either.

I bought an 03 Civic last year with 30k on the clock. It was £350 IIRC. The gear box was ****, but father sorted that…..

I think you’re asking too much.

FWIW, I sold my 2003 Ibiza 1.9TDi on ebay a couple of weeks ago.

It had 271k miles on it & I got £399, so while I’d say the price is perhaps a little optimistic I wouldn’t say it’s massively over-priced.
It’s not exactly a looker though, so perhaps getting passed by??

A similar age Ibiza to mine with 95k miles on sold for £990 the week before so I was quite pleased with £400.

You could always be brave & stick it on ebay with a 99p asking price. That’s what I did.

For comparison, here’s my advert on ebay:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/151976622493?ssPageName=STRK:MESOX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1559.l2649

click on ‘see original listing’ next to the title to see the whole thing.

As already mentioned, too much waffle in the advert, and probably asking for double what it’s worth.

I did a similarly detailed ad when I sold our beloved Land Rover. The eventual buyer was suspicious that it had had its oil changed 3 times a year (was being used for very short trips) and he even asked a mechanic who said “some people are fussy like that”. When he took it away, displaying zero mechanical sympathy, he told me he just wanted something to run into the ground. Judging from the most recent MOT reports online, that’s exactly what he’s doing. Heart breaking.

Fair enough, I reckoned £800 was a fair price given more than a few at that point had sold about that figure, yes £1000 is a bit much but I thought people would at least negotiate.

All of that could be said in a lot less words and your method of describing things is a bit unusual.

Care to elaborate?

I bought an 03 Civic last year with 30k on the clock. It was £350 IIRC. The gear box was ****, but father sorted that…..

Yeah but the difference between reconditioning a gearbox at commercial prices and my expected price is? (A: about the difference between your car and mine).

Why would I buy that heap of crap when I could get this and have £150 change?

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2004-BMW-320d-6spd-manual-13months-MOT-/172111803896?hash=item2812a9b5f8:g:ZTcAAOSwe7BWzDje

am I being too honest

*sigh* No, just an arse. Someone had to I suppose.

I don’t think he’s being an arse. It’s just demonstrating that there are any numbers of cars “like” yours (a banger) for less money. It doesn’t matter what you think the car’s worth, it’s what the buyer thinks. There are thousands of cars for sale at a grand that are better than what you’re offering. A quick scan of autotrader can give me the choice of newer cars with half the mileage of yours.

you’ll get haggling at £500, you’ll flog it for £400 if you’re lucky.

dave , ive read your advert twice … its still not clear to me if it has an mot and for how long……

That should jump out , its the first thing i look for when i buy old cars.

how much mot.

then how much milage.

Id be interested to know if you have the old MOTs and that its a bit rough around the edges…

that would be enough to get me over the door to form my own opinion.

+1 for listing as spares repairs – when i sell cars its always when i deem them beyond economical repair…. ive always got more than expected…. i got 400 quid for a scrap frontera with a bent chassis FFS

I reckoned £800 was a fair price

Doesn’t matter what you think; as proven by the fact it hasn’t sold in over 3mths.

Yeah but the difference between reconditioning a gearbox at commercial prices and my expected price is? (A: about the difference between your car and mine).

You’re neglecting the small matter of 130k miles as well.

*sigh* No, just an arse. Someone had to I suppose

You’re overlooking the list that hexamstu posted:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/honda-civic-1-7-cdti-/262288926330
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Honda-Civic-CDTI-1-7-/141881681145
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Honda-Civic-1-7-cdti-3-door-2003-/272085177272
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2005-Honda-Civic-1-7-ICTDi-/131682680425
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2004-04-Honda-Civic-1-7-CDTi-SE-Diesel-over-63-Mpg-/322000844702

all similar or far less miles than yours.

The crux of it is, £1000 on a car with 166,000miles is too much for someone to gamble on…especially when:
– it’s only a Civic
– the MOT expires in 3mths time
– it has a long list of advisories from the last MOT.
– intermittently ends up in limp mode

Your advert should read something like:

2003 Honda Civic – 1.7 CDTi Diesel
MOT expires 27/05/2016
~55mpg
166,000 miles
£550

“some service item reciepts have gone astray, I’ll see if I can find them“

You’ve either got them or you haven’t, that kind of line always smacks of disingenuity to me. Like when people list a fault then say “only costs £10 to fix”. It clearly doesn’t because if it did you’d have already done it and wouldn’t need to mention it !

There is one outside a garage on the estate my Office is on, 127,000 miles quite tidy on the outside, 12 month MOT for £795, if you get a ticket on it you could get similar if the right buyer comes along. It does look a bit scruffy though.

The words “heap of crap” would suggest being an arse. No need.

TR – duly noted, it is in there, somewhere…

dooosuk – 4 cars at the complete other end of the country and a CAT C are hardly representative. And as I said I already checked what things were selling for when I initially put it on sale.

(and I can cherry pick results too: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Honda-Civic-CDTI-1-7-/301856499190?hash=item46480ca5f6:g:mmwAAOSwGotWpUsR#ht_162wt_1222)

I accept though that right now it’s far too high amd £600 would probably see it gone.

Sundayjumper – I wrote that with the intent of updating it, as it stands they are missing which isn’t a big deal in the grand scheme of things.

Okay – with all that in mind:

2003 Honda Civic 1.7 CDTi,
166,000 miles
MOT till 27/05/16

I’ve had this car for the last six and a half years and it’s been as reliable as you would expect any car to be in that time period. During this time the car has been properly maintained either by myself (servicing) or by Performacetek in Glasgow with all major receipts present.

Everything is structurally sound with no rust issues, the cabin is in good condition for its age with no worn seats, both keys and a remote fob present. Bombproof Isuzu engine with no DPF to worry about regularly getting 54mpg (actual, not computer calculated), with regular longer runs you can easily get over 56mpg. Has towbar fitted for small trailers or bike racks (800kg towing limit).

There is an intermittent fault connected to the turbo actuators which has been present throughout my ownership and is a common problem with these cars but is easily reset. There is an intermittent ABS sensor fault, I have a replacement part and this will be fixed before the car is sold. The aircon system doesn’t work and exterior cosmetic condition is as expected for age and milage.

Available to view by arrangement. Test drives are available provided you can prove you have the appropriate third party cover on your OWN insurance. No insurance, no test drive. No timewasters or tyre kickers. I’ve listed this as honestly as possible so have priced it appropriately.

If the car goes for the asking price I’ll throw in a full set of Type-S alloys (need a refurb), the Haynes manual and some other bits and pieces I have.

Reads a lot better IMO. Been a while.

advert too long, I can’t be arsed to read it all. tow bar puts me off. Test drives are available, wtf? I should hope so too, I wouldn’t waste time viewing a car if I knew I couldn’t have a drive of it.

my version of the advert >
2003 Honda Civic 1.7 CDTi, 166k miles

xx months MOT
xx months TAX

owned by me since 2010
reliable good runner
well maintained /list of parts available
av. condition, clean interior
economic @54mpg

£750 ono

asking price includes an additional full set of Type-S alloys and other spares

call xxx xxxx for more detailed information.

There is an intermittent ABS sensor fault, I have a replacement part and this will be fixed before the car is sold.

Fix it then and leave this out the advert.

You also might get more interest on here if you make it clearer where it’s located – in the title preferably. No-one’s going to travel far to buy a car like that, so you need to attract people who might be interested but can’t be arsed reading a 2000-word essay to find out whether it’s at the other end of the country or not.

Test drives are available, wtf?

Test drives are available provided you can prove you have the appropriate third party cover on your OWN insurance

I can’t be arsed to read it all.

Clearly. (not supposed to be as bitchy as it comes across as)

xx months TAX

That’s an obvious one. No tax.

Thing is, your version tells me nothing. Am I wasting my day going to see it? Is it a heap? What’s wrong if anything? I usually avoid adverts that are sparse on any details as they are usually hiding something.

ABS yeah, yeah, I know*… 🙄 😉

Will add location, again, probably buried if it is there.

*in my defence it’s SORN at the moment which is still a crap excuse but better than none.

Keva’s advert says the same as yours but in far fewer words.

2003 Honda Civic 1.7 CDTi
166,000 miles
MOT till 27/05/16
Located in Largs

Average condition, no rust and well maintained with all major receipts present. Typically averages 54mpg

Towbar fitted for small trailers or bike racks (800kg towing limit).

Available to view by arrangement. Test drives are available provided you can prove you have the appropriate third party cover on your OWN insurance.

Set of Type-S alloys, Haynes manual and other spares included in asking price.

There is an intermittent ABS sensor fault, I have a replacement part and this will be fixed before the car is sold

3 months and it’s still not done? An instant MOT failure that will put off most of the bangernomics crowd. I would suspect it will still be glowing bright when you come to pick it up.

It’s like when the aircon doesn’t work and they say ‘it’s just a regas’ If it was it’d be done.

Aye 3 months and not done, as I said it’s SORN and tbh I’ve had better things to do up till now.

If it’s SORN how can anyone test drive it?

Put it on eBay

Good advice. Its a great platform for selling cheap cars. You’ll get a few time wasters but it will sell if correctly priced.

Ive now sold six cars on Ebay over the years, all for 99p start no reserve, not advertised elsewhere etc. An XC90, a Cooper S amongst others….and Ive always got what I wanted for them. Put in all the info and photos, so no one has any reason to withdraw the offer. You’ll definitely get what its worth.

Some good advice there for you OP, something like Keevas version is what will help.
When I sold my old Focus last Nov it went in Gumtree with a similar add –
Year, Mileage, MOT left, Sevice history. Took an offer from the first guy who came to see it and sodds law had 4 more people call up and I could have got more for it….. 🙂

You don’t buy a 13 year old car and not expect there to be issues.

Unless you’re one of that shower at webuyanycar!

If it’s SORN how can anyone test drive it?

Because it takes 2 mins to tax it online. But for various reasons I couldn’t be arsed wasting a months tax (plus insuring it) for the sake of a few hours driving it up to the garage and back.

Put in all the info and photos, so no one has any reason to withdraw the offer.

That was my initial thoughts. Yes, overly wordy but I can’t be accused of not being honest.

Sorry to come across arsey,

I’ve sold a number of cars for a higher value than that through WBAC or ebay, just because of the hassle of marketing the damn things. I am not as loss averse as some though and I auctioned a golf GTI starting at 99p that I sold for £2650 and sent a 330i to WBAC for £4,900 that ended up on a forecout for £5,800 a few weeks later.

Both channels are, in my opinion much quicker and easier than marketing for a higher amount through places like here where the number of people viewing is probably tiny.