Do people buy cars privately anymore? - Page 5 - Porsche General - PistonHeads UK

Do people buy cars privately anymore? I have always considered private sales preferable, you get to see the car cleaned but not beautified and you can see if the owner is an enthusiast plus you have the bonus they don’t have a slick sales patter. But am I out of step? I have one for sale at the moment so far the responders have been; 1 knowledgeable person who sounded genuine wanted to leave a deposit then went all quiet on me (was he just after my bank details). 1 decent trader who is clearly very knowledgeable A number of other traders emailing me with brokerage options or what look like 2 line ramsom demands - accept this and I will pick it up tomorrow... Am I just out of step with what people do now? Cheers Ed

Yeah, I bought my 981 GT4 privately and it was a great smooth deal. I still keep in touch with the seller as well I feel we both got a good deal as he got more form me than dealer and I paid about 7-8K less than at a dealer

Many people are still not prepared to travel looking at cars. Next month I'm sure it'll all come alive and private buyers will be out and about again.

Yes good on you. I bought my Spyder several years ago now, I also say Hi to the seller every now and then and it was deal we were both happy with, no dealer mark up. I mean how much does hoovering stripes in the carpet really add? maybe I need to have a go.

Trevor555 said: Many people are still not prepared to travel looking at cars. Next month I'm sure it'll all come alive and private buyers will be out and about again. Yes good point. I thought the sun, a bank holiday weekend and a bit of vaccine confidence might bring people out.

I always do but have noticed Porsche etc seems to scare some people off buying privately. I don't understand as a good PPI can really settle most of the unknowns. These are generally solid cars. What's the car?

Andyoz said: I always do but have noticed Porsche etc seems to scare some people off buying privately. I don't understand as a good PPI can really settle most of the unknowns. These are generally solid cars. What's the car? Hi Andy It’s a 987.2 Boxster Spyder, immaculate just serviced and MOTed.

LemonTart said: Trevor555 said: Many people are still not prepared to travel looking at cars. Next month I'm sure it'll all come alive and private buyers will be out and about again. Yes good point. I thought the sun, a bank holiday weekend and a bit of vaccine confidence might bring people out. Yes, I think it's starting. The dealers I do a bit for are now almost out of stock even before the opening on April 12th. I can forsee a rise in used car values again for a bit. Some main dealers are predicting a stampede of buyers in two weeks time. Edit, one week away,, 12th April It's going to be an interesting couple of months for prices.

LemonTart said: Hi Andy It’s a 987.2 Boxster Spyder, immaculate just serviced and MOTed. Remove the message seller feature from your Autotrader advert as you will only likely get scammers and (time)wasters emailing you. Any genuine interest that can't pick up the phone isn't going to buy it unless you are prepared to give in to their "ransom" demands. That being said I do think buyers of Porsches are more willing to pay dealer mark ups for their peace of mind.

The other element surely has to be finance? In spite of the weird thing PH seems to have about finance, it wouldn’t surprise me if a lot of cars of that ilk sold via dealers are done via PCP. Selling privately you’re limited to people with/able to raise the cash without a dealer involved.

Is it a fairly new listing. I think 987 Spyder values might have got a bit ahead of themselves (just my opinion). It's a very small potential buyers pool remember.

Depends on the car. Something really special like an '80s Italian supercar - buy privately from within an enthusiast circle or owners' club, or from an independent specialist. Pay for a comprehensive inspection. Something modern for daily driving purposes - buy from a decent dealer with a warranty and comeback if anything goes wrong.

Thanks for all the responses, really helpful. I sounds like I just need to be more patient than I am naturally inclined to be. Yes it’s a small pool of potential buyers and those that do want one will probably want the three things I wanted, Manual gbox, Carbon buckets and the Spyder alloys I also don’t like cars needing a service or short MOT so I have done those so I suppose it’s as desirable as it is. It’s been up since last Friday so the weekend before and over this weekend and when I renew the advert people will be free to travel more and I think I will take the email link off. Thanks for the comments guys. Cheers Ed

Absolutely, yes. I’ve only bought privately. I purchased my Cayman privately - the dealer prices were some 7-8k higher. It was thoroughly pleasant throughout. A little background knowledge sets you off on the right track. After that, I had 2 cars PPI’d and the third (that I bought) had a recent 111-point done and 21 months of extended warranty. This adds a lot of piece of mind. For 180 quid or so, a PPI is well-worth doing. A good one will give you a good overview of, and chat about, the car. Lastly, I like private buying because it actually lets you engage with the previous owner a bit. Usually you can get an inkling about them - and whether they’re petrol heads/enthusiasts, and those are usually always pleasant to chat cars with and more open and transparent, because we all know that cars have niggles and issues.. As a seller, I’d advise being candid and transparent. Good buyers aren’t going to nickel and dime about trivia. Also, allow a PPI if asked. I’d be (and have been) put off immediately if there were any quibbles over that. Again, little things aren’t going to deter the type of buyer you want to deal with. All my very humble opinion, of course.

EvoSid said: Yeah, I bought my 981 GT4 privately and it was a great smooth deal. I still keep in touch with the seller as well I feel we both got a good deal as he got more form me than dealer and I paid about 7-8K less than at a dealer I paid about 7-8K less than at a dealer Afraid this is normally the answer. If it is the one on AT then I would also suggest the price might be the wrong side of a max price setting for some searches.

Private sales can work, but it needs a bit of effort to give buyers confidence: - The car needs to be properly prepared - First class valet/detailing - Recent Service and MOT and 111 point check - Rectification of any defects - Settlement of any Finance, if possible - Full and neatly presented Service History - All documentation, keys, tools, accessories etc - A really well worded and presented advert - Lots (at least 10) high quality photos in a nice location - Sensible pricing!!! And, an important one for me is the Extended Porsche Warranty. That gives both buyer and seller some security, and adds much of its cost in value. Just my thoughts wrt to Porsches I have bought or sold privately.

As with anything for sale - it's all about price. People are going to pay a lot less than from a dealer in order to take any risk from a private sale. If it's the one on AT I'd also think people paying that kind of money for a 11 year old car, that will know about rev ranges etc etc will want original - not a fan of the aftermarket stereo - even though I'm sure it works much better.

esuuv said: As with anything for sale - it's all about price. People are going to pay a lot less than from a dealer in order to take any risk from a private sale. If it's the one on AT I'd also think people paying that kind of money for a 11 year old car, that will know about rev ranges etc etc will want original - not a fan of the aftermarket stereo - even though I'm sure it works much better. Thanks I am sure I can sell it at a low price very quickly, had a few offers lower than I would prefer already. I think I have priced it about right with compared to others. The top priced one at £4700 more than mine doesn’t have the Spyder wheels but the Carrera S wheels but in fairness it does have some other nice bits mine doesn’t have. The car came with the cubby hole rather than PCM, I guess i could revert back to that to be fully original but the unit is ok and at least you can link your phone to it so I have left it as is. It was quite expensive and the bill is in the file but it’s not a quiet car to listen to music in... I guess I will have to be patient and have an offer from a knowledgeable trader to fall back on, or just keep it. Thanks for your views.

Lack of PSE and aftermarket stereo are factors here. I'd redo the photos at better location and not in direct sunlight Edited by Andyoz on Monday 5th April 15:09

I am the previous owner of the car, and have owned another 987 spyder since. Both took a bit of selling tbh, they are a niche car within a niche but I managed to sell both privately eventually after discounting my original asking prices. The aftermarket stereo did seem to put some people off which I thought odd as surely this is preferable to a cubby hole, and if not, could either be returned to a cubby hole or a cheap second hand porsche unit (non pcm2) could be installed for the oem look if required. Hope you get a sale soon!! Edited by jimmy p on Monday 5th April 17:58

I'd much rather buy privately if I can

Sold my last 2 Porsches privately no problem at firm prices and currently in the market for another and have been looking for a long time and would happily buy private! Good cars do sell quickly if priced well even in these uncertain times, recently saw a private advert that caught my eye for a one owner manual 981gts with x73 option it didnt hang around long as well priced. Some private sellers are a bit over optimistic on what their car is worth though, the market dictates the price, amount of time for sale vs price.so if its priced well it should only take a week/10days to sell if not could be along wait.

Sold my 981GTS privately - very straight forward priced between retail and trade in so we both won. Looking for 992 now happily go private as will have a warranty ... although private prices seem to be the same as retail so a bit hopeful .. shame really as it can work for both if neither are greedy.

LemonTart said: Do people buy cars privately anymore? I have always considered private sales preferable, you get to see the car cleaned but not beautified and you can see if the owner is an enthusiast plus you have the bonus they don’t have a slick sales patter. But am I out of step? I have one for sale at the moment so far the responders have been; 1 knowledgeable person who sounded genuine wanted to leave a deposit then went all quiet on me (was he just after my bank details). 1 decent trader who is clearly very knowledgeable A number of other traders emailing me with brokerage options or what look like 2 line ramsom demands - accept this and I will pick it up tomorrow... Am I just out of step with what people do now? Cheers Ed bought both my cars through a Private sale both with full inspections no issues. i now due to a crippling illness prepping my 996 C4s to sell. I know the car is very healthy and can sell with confidence. I hope to reach out for a sale through the TIPEC club and Pistonheads good luck with the Sale

As per the thread title, private sales are still popular but the private Buyers decide the price.

Collecting Cars does alright and from what I can see that's a riskier proposition that buying private! Have never had issues selling as long as the price is right to entice buyers. Have sold up to £40k and my cars would ALWAYS be better than a dealer offering overall. Same buying private. Do you diligence and you can get a great car for a decent price. My struggle was finding a private seller. Many prefer to trade in these days! There are good dealers and traders out there but as with most things, doing it yourself is much cheaper and you'll often get a better job.

I’ve bought and sold a couple of Porsches privately and would definitely do so again. I really don’t understand why more people don’t at least try to sell their cars privately before part exchanging, especially if they change cars with any frequency. It must cost them a small fortune over the years. I’ve never had any issues with timewasters or fraudsters. Even if somebody asks a bunch of questions and then disappears it’s just one of those things. If you’ve got photos and all the answers to the questions you’re likely going to be asked it’s not a hardship cut n paste to email/WhatsApp answers to queries. There are also those that do try to sell privately and I wonder why they don’t make more of an effort with description, photos and responses to enquiries.

jimmy p said: I am the previous owner of the car, and have owned another 987 spyder since. Both took a bit of selling tbh, they are a niche car within a niche but I managed to sell both privately eventually after discounting my original asking prices. The aftermarket stereo did seem to put some people off which I thought odd as surely this is preferable to a cubby hole, and if not, could either be returned to a cubby hole or a cheap second hand porsche unit (non pcm2) could be installed for the oem look if required. Hope you get a sale soon!! Edited by jimmy p on Monday 5th April 17:58 Hi Jimmyp, hope all is good with you. Yes I bought it from you all those years ago, picking it up 1st Jan. Good to see you are still around on the Porsche threads, maybe bump into you at Chatsworth if it’s being run this year. Cheers Ed

Must say a big thank you to all that have replied, I never expected so many helpful responses. Cheers all Ed

LemonTart said: Hi Jimmyp, hope all is good with you. Yes I bought it from you all those years ago, picking it up 1st Jan. Good to see you are still around on the Porsche threads, maybe bump into you at Chatsworth if it’s being run this year. Cheers Ed Would be nice, hoping to get another Porsche soon after being Porsche-less for the past 11 months, not entirely sure what I want but need to sell a BMW M240i first, having same issues as you at the moment!!

worldwidewebs said: I'd much rather buy privately if I can Me too, provided I can satisfy myself that the car will be accepted by Porsche for an extended warranty before buying.

For me 4 owners would be too many. If I buy it I’m #5 and when I sell it it’ll be to #6. I know folk on here say to ‘buy on condition’ etc but I think too many owners does put people off. We’re all searching for the one careful owner car truth be told......

mondie said: worldwidewebs said: I'd much rather buy privately if I can Me too, provided I can satisfy myself that the car will be accepted by Porsche for an extended warranty before buying. I generally don't care about having a warranty but I do appreciate that many do - so I'll be renewing mine ready for selling the car later in the year. Other than being cheaper than buying from a dealer, I'm not sure what the difference would be. (I also do far better coffee!)

Yes, I’d buy privately if it was the car that I wanted. You’d hopefully see it at the seller’s home which would be the address on the V5. You’d get an idea of how he/she had looked after it. You might get remarks made about it from family members. You can still get a professional inspection done and the seller should not have a problem with that.

I always buy privately if I can - if a car is rare then I buy from whoever. gts.981 said: For me 4 owners would be too many. If I buy it I’m #5 and when I sell it it’ll be to #6. I know folk on here say to ‘buy on condition’ etc but I think too many owners does put people off. We’re all searching for the one careful owner car truth be told...... Not me - and I never understood the above. Each time a 'desirable' (whatever that means) car is sold/bought, money is lavished upon it, and it is treated as new. So that would be 5x refurbish/improvement in your example above vs one careful owner. Single owner car could also easily mean a gradual decline of maintenance and care.

gts.981 said: We’re all searching for the one careful owner car truth be told...... f k that! Same owner for 10 years or so? You may be lucky and get someone who spends loads every single year and still happy to spend £1000s on it in year 10 just before they move it on, but it is a rare thing.

My 2 cents. Advertised my Cayman S. Got something like 2000 views and 25 saves. But almost 0 conversions. Ashgood bought it off me and sold it straight away. Bottom line is people want and physical store and security when spending that kind of money (my opinion).

I bought my 987.2 privately last September for all the reasons already stated. The owner was a very nice bloke and had clearly loved the car during his tenure. I don’t mind travelling to see the right car either, this was 2 hours away and as it was exactly what I was after, I was more than happy to put the effort in to go and see it.

MPorsche said: My 2 cents. Advertised my Cayman S. Got something like 2000 views and 25 saves. But almost 0 conversions. Ashgood bought it off me and sold it straight away. Bottom line is people want and physical store and security when spending that kind of money (my opinion). Curious to know what was the difference in price you advertised it for compared to the price you sold to Ashgood, and then the price Ashgood sold at ?

I have bought and sold a number of fairly expensive cars privately and never had a problem. The issue is always price, I am looking for a 718 Boxster and the half decent private ones currently are only c£2k less than OPC (who give 2 year warranty) so not interested even in having a chat at that price. I did see one on Autotrader in Scotland a few months ago that was well specced and priced correctly and needless to say it sold quickly. Most serious buyers will have a quick look at WBAC to get a benchmark, look what dealers are asking and then be looking to pay somewhere below the middle of the spread. Obviously this is a bit different for a niche car as less easy to price, but works for most "normal" cars.

Wilmslowboy said: Curious to know what was the difference in price you advertised it for compared to the price you sold to Ashgood, and then the price Ashgood sold at ? Couple of thousand. I wish I had initially bought from Ashgood, mega slick outfit. They spent ~ 2 hours checking the car before buying it. They bid me nearly 7k more than one OPC. Rather than sitting on stock for months they are happy to move cars on faster with lower margins

I've currently got my 997.1 Turbo for sale on here and it's the first decent car i've bothered to sell privately. The interest is definitely there from private buyers, if anything I have more people interested in the car than I can manage, and so far this would suggest that there is certainly a decent private sale market. There is a lovely middle ground of buying/selling private where both parties get the best deal. Buying through the trade benefits only one side financially, but gives the buyer added peace of mind I guess.

I prefer to buy and sell privately if possible. Obviously exercising a great deal of caution, especially as the cars grow increasingly expensive. I would also tend to have the car inspected if buying.

MPorsche said: Couple of thousand. I wish I had initially bought from Ashgood, mega slick outfit. They spent ~ 2 hours checking the car before buying it. They bid me nearly 7k more than one OPC . Rather than sitting on stock for months they are happy to move cars on faster with lower margins Thanks, goes to show not all trade bids are equal.

I also like buying and selling privately if I can. As always it comes down to the car, the conversation I have with the other party is very important in terms of the history of the car and our empathy --- but to be fair fellow enthusiasts rarely have a problem with this ! Price ... is generally more than a dealer would pay but less than a dealer would sell at ... and part of a fair negotiation. My experience is that it's better to price slightly low and have a lot of interest than it is to price high and have only one or two interested purchasers. And finally, the car must be good. With the advantage that if a Porsche with extended warranty, a private sale carries the balance of this with it and the opportunity to extend it without a 111 point check. The only downside is OPC servicing which is more expensive and can be impersonal by comparison to your favourite specialist. It goes without saying that a well written advertisement with good photos of a well prepared car adds value.

Agree with the above, I prefer to buy privately but it obviously depends what is available at the time. Pricing is key and can be tricky to get right. I have just bought a 17 plate (2018 MY) 718 Boxster from Porsche Kendal, paid £38,250 but it has just had the 4 year major service, has 2 years warranty and they gave a years road tax & mot, hence over £3k of real cost which I would most likely have incurred buying privately (assuming I added Porsche warranty, which I probably would have done given how many times I used it with my 911....). So a similar private car would have had to be under £35k to give the same value. And that is without factoring in the reduced risk of buying from a main dealer.

You definitely scooped up the thick end of 3.5k in ‘benefits’ with that. I prefer private buying but there must be a decent gulf in price. That gap was 6-8k for 981 Caymans when I was shopping. That gap seems to be closing up now - and 718s seem at first glance to be very close. Have you collected yours yet? Great timing for the summer, that’s for sure.

A rare thread where the general consensus is the same! 😀 I always sell private. Have flirted with px a couple of times but always had a last minute “I wonder if I can get an extra £1000+ In a quick sale”. I prep my cars as I’d want them to be and always honest in the advert. Sold both within a week. I’d usually buy private too. My 981BS belonged to a retired guy, it was mint and after our test drive he insisted on cleaning the wheels before it went back under a cover. Came with warranty too and I called the OPC to understand what history it had on the network. I thought that’d be a safe bet 😀 Recently picked up a 981CGTS from an OPC, but similar to @philcray above, got a lot of prep included in the deal. Front and rear bumpers, side panels and bonnet all resprayed. 2x tyres. Front discs and pads all round. v Minor interior issues fixed plus 2.5yrs warranty and great service. With that attention to detail, prep and great aftercare I’d buy from an OPC again. But at the end of the day it just happened to be the exact spec I was after.

Ed, I like the updated photos on the advert, much improved and shows the car off. Hope it does the trick! Managed to sell my car privately although to a trader but at a price I was happy with and there was zero tyre kicking!!

jimmy p said: Ed, I like the updated photos on the advert, much improved and shows the car off. Hope it does the trick! Managed to sell my car privately although to a trader but at a price I was happy with and there was zero tyre kicking!! Thanks Jimmyp, I took the advice on this thread and did some photos not in full on sunshine and also put a few of the car with the roof on and the cat audio too. I have renewed the ad for a couple of weeks so let’s see what happens. Cheers Ed

This might go some way to demonstrate the spread on used Porsche prices between ‘private’ and dealer retail. There was a used 911 on CC over the last week, 135 photos, long wordy details, able to ask questions, all details of services and invoices posted up, not quite a private sale, but close (in terms of engagement and protection). Money for seller achieved was £38,000, Total price paid by the buyer £40,280 Now up for sale (as within 24 hours of the sale) at a specialist dealer for £48,000 In this example, the ‘private sale’ was at 15% below retail values, a level so low that a dealer bought it (I.e. it was trade value).

Wilmslowboy said: This might go some way to demonstrate the spread on used Porsche prices between ‘private’ and dealer retail. There was a used 911 on CC over the last week, 135 photos, long wordy details, able to ask questions, all details of services and invoices posted up, not quite a private sale, but close (in terms of engagement and protection). Money for seller achieved was £38,000, Total price paid by the buyer £40,280 Now up for sale (as within 24 hours of the sale) at a specialist dealer for £48,000 In this example, the ‘private sale’ was at 15% below retail values, a level so low that a dealer bought it (I.e. it was trade value). It looks worse than it is, though. 7.7k ‘mark up’ is rapidly eroded by a bit of remedial work - some pads/disks/paint correction etc, plus overheads etc. Everyone’s a winner here, because the dealer didn’t low-ball anyone; they won an open auction. If they think they can sell on for a worthwhile profit, good on them.

Cant help but feel the seller would of got at least 40-42k on a genuine private sale through an Autotrader advert though, especially for that car.

Wilmslowboy said: This might go some way to demonstrate the spread on used Porsche prices between ‘private’ and dealer retail. There was a used 911 on CC over the last week, 135 photos, long wordy details, able to ask questions, all details of services and invoices posted up, not quite a private sale, but close (in terms of engagement and protection). Money for seller achieved was £38,000, Total price paid by the buyer £40,280 Now up for sale (as within 24 hours of the sale) at a specialist dealer for £48,000 In this example, the ‘private sale’ was at 15% below retail values, a level so low that a dealer bought it (I.e. it was trade value). Agreed, and per my post last week.... Jefferson Steelflex said: I've currently got my 997.1 Turbo for sale on here and it's the first decent car i've bothered to sell privately. The interest is definitely there from private buyers, if anything I have more people interested in the car than I can manage, and so far this would suggest that there is certainly a decent private sale market. There is a lovely middle ground of buying/selling private where both parties get the best deal. Buying through the trade benefits only one side financially, but gives the buyer added peace of mind I guess. I sold my car within 48 hours for full asking price. The only effort on my part was giving it a bloody good clean, then borowing someone else's private driveway for the photos and writing what I thought was a decent ad. I could have sold the car 4 or 5 times over, the level of interest was off the scale. To put it into numbers, I sold the car for the £53k asking price without any quibbles, yet was offered £43k p/ex the day before (I wanted to get an idea of the spread). I was historically against private sales, but having been burnt on Collecting Cars last year, I'm glad I went private sale this time. Hardly any effort and far more cash in my pocket.

Royal Jelly said: It looks worse than it is, though. 7.7k ‘mark up’ is rapidly eroded by a bit of remedial work - some pads/disks/paint correction etc, plus overheads etc. Seriously? You think that 18% mark-up would be eroded by trade price costs on brakes and a half-day mop, if they were done at all? (EFClarity) Edited by Orangecurry on Friday 16th April 11:16

Jefferson Steelflex said: I was historically against private sales, but having been burnt on Collecting Cars last year, I'm glad I went private sale this time. Hardly any effort and far more cash in my pocket. Do you mind sharing what went wrong, if we are allowed to say anything negative about CC? As I have just suggested to a friend he puts his 996 C2 to sell via that platform.

Orangecurry said: Seriously? You think that 18% mark-up would be eroded by trade prices on brakes and a half-day mop, if they were done at all? No, obviously not, because that would put them out of business. Trade prices for some bits and pieces, rent, wages, etc will erode some of it. It’s a red herring, anyway. They got it for cheap, and are selling it for market. Anyone could’ve come and bid more if they wanted. The seller on CC has undersold it.

Just for interest. Ashgood have a lovely 997.2 GT3 RS for sale, it seems to be the same one as on Collecting Cars a week or two ago, hammer price there was £144.5k plus fees it was on Ashgood’s site for £170k on Wednesday night and £175k now. Gives you a measure of mark up on what looked to be an immaculate car.

LemonTart said: Just for interest. Ashgood have a lovely 997.2 GT3 RS for sale, it seems to be the same one as on Collecting Cars a week or two ago, hammer price there was £144.5k plus fees it was on Ashgood’s site for £170k on Wednesday night and £175k now. Gives you a measure of mark up on what looked to be an immaculate car. I also notice that. The £25k differential in price would buy you a nice Boxster, a car you'd actually drive a bit, so I'd buy both. Or the £25k buys more than half a new Mezger engine I think.

LemonTart said: Thanks Jimmyp, I took the advice on this thread and did some photos not in full on sunshine and also put a few of the car with the roof on and the cat audio too. I have renewed the ad for a couple of weeks so let’s see what happens. Cheers Ed I sold my 987 Spyder to a dealer in about a day a couple of weeks back and got a good price as it was very competitive. I think I still have the details of a private buyer who was interested in mine, if you send me your advert or car details by PM/DM I will text him in case yours is of any interest. The most response that I have was on the Facebook page "Porsche for Sale UK" - was really surprised but when I put it up on the Saturday got 5 or 6 enquiries straight off and then sold it on the Sunday. George

Orangecurry said: Jefferson Steelflex said: I was historically against private sales, but having been burnt on Collecting Cars last year, I'm glad I went private sale this time. Hardly any effort and far more cash in my pocket. Do you mind sharing what went wrong, if we are allowed to say anything negative about CC? As I have just suggested to a friend he puts his 996 C2 to sell via that platform. I think it's a great service, just in my example they told me there was pent-up demand for my car with some serious buyers lined up (I guess they could tell by the views and watchers or something) and that I should remove my reserve price to encourage more bids on the final day. I did that, and didn't get any more bids and therefore gave my car away for £3k below the reserve I had set. I'm a big boy and understood the risk, but nonetheless I was less than happy.

Thanks for that honesty

douglasgdmw said: I sold my 987 Spyder to a dealer in about a day a couple of weeks back and got a good price as it was very competitive. I think I still have the details of a private buyer who was interested in mine, if you send me your advert or car details by PM/DM I will text him in case yours is of any interest. The most response that I have was on the Facebook page "Porsche for Sale UK" - was really surprised but when I put it up on the Saturday got 5 or 6 enquiries straight off and then sold it on the Sunday. George 100% agree about FB forums and FB marketplace in general. Something appearing on a persons FB feed is different to someone going to look for it. These can be emotive buys and FB feeds into that. I got my R that way.

Jefferson Steelflex said: I think it's a great service, just in my example they told me there was pent-up demand for my car with some serious buyers lined up (I guess they could tell by the views and watchers or something) and that I should remove my reserve price to encourage more bids on the final day. I did that, and didn't get any more bids and therefore gave my car away for £3k below the reserve I had set. I'm a big boy and understood the risk, but nonetheless I was less than happy. Yes, that's a bit invasive of them isn't it. Which car was it out of interest? Cool if you don't want to share.

Andyoz said: Jefferson Steelflex said: I think it's a great service, just in my example they told me there was pent-up demand for my car with some serious buyers lined up (I guess they could tell by the views and watchers or something) and that I should remove my reserve price to encourage more bids on the final day. I did that, and didn't get any more bids and therefore gave my car away for £3k below the reserve I had set. I'm a big boy and understood the risk, but nonetheless I was less than happy. Yes, that's a bit invasive of them isn't it. Which car was it out of interest? Cool if you don't want to share. It was early days on the platform, and I think there were good intentions. Car was a 991.2 Carrera. The point is that selling on CC is probably the easiest way to sell a car these days, but they are not a barometer of realistic prices because you're generally getting close to trade bids on a retail platform. Only truly rare stuff seems to go for a premium.

Well I am pleased to confirm people do, ace chap got in touch last week, clearly very knowledgeable and paid a deposit Friday and came up from Surrey to pick it up today.

LemonTart said: Well I am pleased to confirm people do, ace chap got in touch last week, clearly very knowledgeable and paid a deposit Friday and came up from Surrey to pick it up today. Well done

LemonTart said: Well I am pleased to confirm people do, ace chap got in touch last week, clearly very knowledgeable and paid a deposit Friday and came up from Surrey to pick it up today. Yep, me too.. just sold my Cayman R in less than 36 hours of the advert going live to a chap who paid in full even before he collected the car. He bought it unseen and didn't even request an inspection.

Does anyone know why private sellers price their vehicles close to the retail trade-in price? I see a lot more of this across the range but am unsure why would sellers put up with the hassle of selling their car privately than selling to Trade for almost the same price?

SV_WDC said: Does anyone know why private sellers price their vehicles close to the retail trade-in price? I see a lot more of this across the range but am unsure why would sellers put up with the hassle of selling their car privately than selling to Trade for almost the same price? Possibly because a lot of people don't like dealing with people whose job it is to hammer people on price. Also, some cars get heavily discounted over time by private owners who need them gone. To answer the original question, I've sold 3 cars privately in the last 4 months. No problems at all with the buyers - all of them were straight up people and polite. 2 via ebay and 1 via FB.

KPB1973 said: Possibly because a lot of people don't like dealing with people whose job it is to hammer people on price. Also, some cars get heavily discounted over time by private owners who need them gone. To answer the original question, I've sold 3 cars privately in the last 4 months. No problems at all with the buyers - all of them were straight up people and polite. 2 via ebay and 1 via FB. But if you don't mind me asking what sort of value were they?

Almost always buy private.

I like to buy private if its worth while. For a private sale I expect the sale price to be somewhere between trade and retail so both parties win, I just struggle when private sellers expect retail price's with no warranty. I also always sell my cars private even if its often traders who end up buying them, as long as I'm happy with the price there's no issue Edited by jimmy p on Thursday 13th October 20:26

LemonTart said: Do people buy cars privately anymore? Considering 41,107 private sales exist on AT, surely that reflects that the platform works and people use it. Admittedly it is 10% of the market, not huge, but yes, people buy cars privately.

diffstar said: KPB1973 said: Possibly because a lot of people don't like dealing with people whose job it is to hammer people on price. Also, some cars get heavily discounted over time by private owners who need them gone. To answer the original question, I've sold 3 cars privately in the last 4 months. No problems at all with the buyers - all of them were straight up people and polite. 2 via ebay and 1 via FB. But if you don't mind me asking what sort of value were they? £20k, £9k and £7k. I've sold a few £20k-region cars privately in the last few years.

Sold 50k Porsche privately, dealers were difficult, chap came to see agreed price, turned up two days later. Sat in my kitchen whilst transferred cash, saw it in my account off he went. Easier than dealer and both won I got a bit more he paid a bit less. Neither of us were greedy.

I sold my 987 Spyder about a year ago now. A few phone calls and photos exchanged, met half way at a service station as he was @ 80 miles away and he paid me online over next week and picked it up a week later. I got pretty much dealer price (did have Porsche warranty) but he got the best car available. Dealer bids were >£5k less, all “well Spyders arent as strong as they were, blah, blah, blah” total BS but hey they’re looking for the margin. So yes, cars still sell/buy privately I certainly wouldn’t rule out buying privately, imo it’s pretty instant if the situation feels good, how long the cars been owned service history etc. And Oracle Finance offer PCP on private cars now so that last bastion of dealer buying has just gone…

I have just sold my 996.1 GT3 K400 Manthey via PH in 5 days; I paid for a professional photographer, spent a fair while writing a decent advert and was fortunate that it attract a genuine buyer who didn’t mess me around and was a genuine pleasure to sell to.

I have bought privately as well as from dealers ... sometimes finding the right car is the most important where numbers are limited ... Condition and history is really important to me, so buying from a long term owner is a real plus. A dealer has the potential to tell you what you want to hear ... an owner may fib but with a good paper trail it would be easy to ask testing questions and a knowledgeable owner carries a lot of credibility ... It's my experience that some dealers hide behind GDPR ... ditching previous paperwork can hide the good and the bad ... good dealers tend not to be shy about paperwork which is a very important part of the provenance of the car ... IMHO. When selling I have often sold privately gradually reducing a well researched price to the point where, sometimes, a dealers agent has bought the car or even a dealer has bought the car "for himself".

The GDPR bit is an excuse to cover up gremlins, in my opinion. I don’t care as much about stamps as I do about invoices. No problem (in fact I prefer) buying privately. You get a sense of the situation and ‘feeling in your water’ about the seller quite quickly. My last purchase in the U.K. was initially sharing general info via email and as it progressed, he shared with me the service history documentation which is where I think the comfort factor kicks in, particularly when the seller was candid from the get-go. Couple of phone chats later (we’d agreed the price subject to it all being as expected on viewing - which it was) and we did a preliminary cash transfer of a couple of quid so we were all set for game day. A thoroughly nice chap who was accommodating to me (I was flying in from Hong Kong to buy) and a serious petrol head. Certainly the most pleasant buying experience I’ve had. Most recent purchase was my Macan in Dubai. Dealer, but GDPR isn’t a thing so I could see some invoices etc.. No real advantages other than a 3rd party warranty, but out here the world of private sales is the Wild West! I still made a point of disregarding the service schedule and booking it into a specialist for a major service, where a few things were also replaced at my request - tensioners, plugs, belt etc..

I bought the E63 privately, good saving compared to dealer prices. I like to meet and assess the vendor. Risk was minimised because he had bought it from a dealer so still has balance of RAC platinum warranty and they did all the hpi checks. The cloned 1M thread was an eye opener and a healthy reminder it is big boy rules when buying privately. My old man was a fleet manager so I have been around used cars, auctions, etc most of my life but still have been caught out with a few wrong'uns when my heart took over...

Bought my gt4 private. Not sure why more people don't car had opc warranty still. Had a good look around the thing to check for any issues same as buying the car from a dealer really just saved a chunk of cash missing their margin.