looking to buy a used mpv and ive got 5 grand.im gatting a bit annoyed as i cant find any nice used cars from private sellers. the used car dealers ive scene are all getting by back up as they wont take offers or haggle more than about £50 quid.i know my cars and can see worn brakes, tyres etc and can see the money i will need to shell out but im not getting any bargaining joy.
what sort of profit margin are they making on an ex lease high/average milage auction bought car.this guy today told me he had been from london to manchester to but this 2001 mpv so he must be doing allright for that sort of agro in my mind...or am i wrong?
They'd need a £500-£1000 'margin', to stay in business.
I was going through this last year and got an '05 Multipla for my £5k. There was a bit of haggling involved to get it down from nearer £6k.
i dont mind a haggle, but the hard nose, only can take off £50 when i know it need 300 quids for for the next mot and anothe £200 on the body work to make it mint really hacked me off. the excitement of a new car is fast becoming a chore and a pain in the harris!!
If you know about cars, why not just go to the auction yourself? 😕
my van was bought for 2100 - stupid salesman (not dealership owner) left paperwork on his desk in plain view while going to do photocopy - wasnt marked up as purchase price was it was easy to work out ....
he was trying to sell the van for 3995 - he got no where near that.
A car I sold for about £2.5k to a local garage went straight back out at around £4.5k! Remember the VAT though...I guess £700 to £800 of that was VAT they will have to pay
I've bought my last 3 cars at auction. It's a nerve wracking rush, but apart from that, it's never been a problem for me so far. I recon it's easily 20% cheaper. Nice thing is you are normally bidding mostly against dealers, so it's easy to get almost any car you want by just bidding up when they are forced to stop.
@ £5k
Dealer from house/side of road - £500-£1000
Dealer with big windows - £1000 - £1500
Remember the VAT though...I guess £700 to £800 of that was VAT they will have to pay
Errr NO VAT on 2nd hand cars. But there usually is for Vans. Don't let anyone b/s you on this point
It's all to do with whether the original VAT was claimed back on the purchase of the vehicle when new. Basically if a business buys a new car its next to impossible to get the VAT back due to the private use element and other VAT rules.
With a van it's a lot easier to reclaim the VAT as the first owner so VAT gets charged when its sold on.
For the OP - Parkers Guide??? It's not that far off the mark. I've compared to Glass (trade guide) and while they're different they're close enough that Parkers is useful. Oh and decent 5k cars are like rocking horse sh1t. We've been in the same boat for the last month.
£5k is a difficult price-point, you need to spend less or more.
Errr NO VAT on 2nd hand cars. But there usually is for Vans. Don't let anyone b/s you on this point
Are you sure about that? A dealer will need to be vat registered if their turnover is over the threshold, which if they sell a dozen or so cars a year they will be, so the goods and services they offer will all involve VAT. Its just that unlike vans business users can't claim the vat back, so its pointless itemising it in the same way you see with vans
skidartist
Yes I'm right. You only need to be VAT registered if you make taxable supplies over the registration limit. For a dealer this would include:
- New vehicles
- 2nd hand commercials and vehicles where the original owner has originally reclaimed the VAT
- Servicing
- Parts
If you are VAT registered you only charge VAT on taxable supplies not on all supplies.
As for the itemisation point it is a requirement of a valid VAT invoice for any amount over a certain very small limit that the VAT element is separated out.
Why buy from a dealer? You get **** all warranty nowadays. Buy privately and take someone with you who knows mechanics or basically a second set of eyes. When you look round a car you spend half your concentration being polite/making eye contact etc (well the average person does). So a second person can concentrate ON the car.
Edit- hes bought from an auction, why cant you? Have you asked him what comeback you'll have/guarantee or warranty? (cough none?)
Garage dweller you are wrong.
VAT is payable, by the dealer, on the difference between purchase price and sale price.
ie If he/she buys a car for £4000 and then sells for £5000 VAT is payable on the £1000.
BB
£5k is a difficult price-point, you need to spend less or more.
How come? Can you expand on that?
Surely whatever your price point, you can always get more bangernomics value by going lower, or a nicer/newer car by going higher?
What makes 5K special?
BB - apols, ignore me.
VAT is payable, by the dealer
What if the trader isnt a registered Ltd company?
What if the trader isnt a registered Ltd company?
The business status of the trader has nothing to do with VAT. VAT is payable by any trader/business that turns over more than £67,000 p.a. It would be a pretty poor used car dealer who didn't go over that threshold!
Of course some people/traders/business's operate outside the tax law.
Here endeth my lesson in VAT law, it's way too early on a Sunday morning.
BB
VAT is payable by any trader/business that turns over more than £67,000 p.a. It would be a pretty poor used car dealer who didn't go over that threshold!
Even at this early hour I can think of a way round that. Does the Trader have any relative/partners etc 😉
Why don't you bargain with something they can give you but a private seller can't ?? Ask for a 6 month warrantee. If they aren't prepared to do that then the car can't be worth the extra from a dealer, can it ?
Last time I bought a van I did that, they agreed easily enough and saved me £250 when it needed a new seat belt at the next MOT fitness inspection.
(kicked and screamed right enough as the dealership had changed hands but luckily they did the work so I had them)
VAT not applicable on second hand goods [i]if VAT has already been paid[/i] (and something to do with age if it hasn't, not sure how that works) hence adding it to used vans where it will probably have been reclaimed by the VAT registered business which had it first. VAT registration is, as Bianchi-Boy says, to do with turnover, not the type of business.
Anyway, I was looking for used MPV, around £2.5k.
Found one in Leeds, 2002 top of the range Espace 70k miles for £3k. Took it for a drive, dodgy clutch, but otherwise fine. Wouldn't come down on price at all. "People looking for cars on the internet means we have to put our lowest price as the screen price"
Two days later, after I'd bought something else he rang me to say I could have it for £2.8k with a new clutch...
The one I did buy was advertised at £2,995.
I paid £2,800 and got a service, two new tyres and the warrenty up from 3 to 12 months.
Always worth a haggle.
5k a bad price as it seems to be a figure everyone has in mind for a car - i did till i went shopping for one .... either roaches for 5k or sold !
so i bought something with cosmetic issues - few dents where the guys ladder fell off the roof , got 38k on the(diesel) clock on an 06 plate for 3kish - similar milage with mint body work (which people really want it would seem) was going for 5k - ok people might not buy my van when it comes to sell , but i keep cars till the death really - so id say it will probably be in the same condition when i sell it - bet the others with the mint bodys wont be !
Buy a colour or marque that isnt popular. Simples.
Or for 5k buy a 54plate VW Passat TDI estate with one owner and circa 80k miles and full history?