The Credit Crunch and car sales

**spiderlover** · 04-12-2008,12:49 PM

It seems that the current woeful state of the economy has it's good points as well....

I've just traded my verable old Golf in against a 55 plate Passat S 2.0TDI DSG with 20k miles on the clock. I was going to buy it 2 weeks ago at £10,500 but had a call from the guy at the dealers. The dealership (main VW dealer) had too many cars in stock - over 140 of them and needed some liquid capital in the business and they were going to sell all of the cars at cost!

So overnight the asking price of the car dropped from £10,000 to £9,300!!!

They even gave me top book price for the golf and I got a £350 cashback cheque this morning from the finance company who did the finance deal!

I was somehwat surprised that the guy called me as I'm sure there must have been more commission in the deal if he sold it to me at the original price but it seems sales numbers are more important than margins at the moment.

Needless to say I signed on the dotted line......

Has anyone else benefited from the credit crunch????

**Martin Burnard** · 04-12-2008,12:56 PM

I have a selection of VAG cars on site that six months ago I could not have bought for the price I am retailing them at now.

In the range I deal in (Upto £6000 generally) it's hard to see how prices could drop any further.

Passat diesels for Polo money. I now get customers looking and getting confused...... come out to buy a polo see the Passat at the same price and go

.

Extra cost to run per week....... didly squat. Some buy the bigger car some stick to the smaller car.

I would say currently small cars are over valued,larger cars are under valued....... but I will happily sell them which ever car they want!

**spiderlover** · 04-12-2008,01:18 PM

I didn't mean to gloat by the way.

I know that times are hard for car dealers and I hope you get through it intact.

**Crasher** · 04-12-2008,02:16 PM

A lot of that was also the VAT reduction on Monday.

**auroan** · 04-12-2008,05:46 PM

How ????? VAT isn't charged on second hand cars.

**Crasher** · 05-12-2008,11:46 AM

Yes VAT is charged on second hand cars, it is calculated on the dealers margin but I didn’t know it was a used car, I thought it was new. The VAT would not have been so much of a percentage as I thought.

**lard44** · 06-12-2008,10:02 PM

Well I just bought my Audi Coupe for a pittance - a third of what the last owner paid 18 months ago.

The market for larger, thirstier car has absolutely plummeted even though fuel costs between petrol and diesel kinda cancel each other out atm.

So the credit crunch works for me!

**sooty** · 19-12-2008,03:35 AM

I have seen a lot of Passat's now the same spec as mine was last year for HONESTLY about half of what I paid!

I am looking for a tasty A4 TDi Convertable... I have seen them for about 3-5k less than 6 months ago!
Being a cheap skate Indian I think I am going to wait longer and see if the market gets any worse!

**Crasher** · 19-12-2008,11:47 AM

Originally Posted by sooty2k

I think I am going to wait longer and see if the market gets any worse!

Our glorious leaders have told us that if people do that (not just over used cars), that it will cause deflation and economic disaster.

**sooty** · 19-12-2008,12:06 PM

Originally Posted by Crasher

Our glorious leaders have told us that if people do that (not just over used cars), that it will cause deflation and economic disaster.

One man's loss is another man's gain.

I am sorry but the "economy boom" had left young people not even able to afford to get onto the property ladder. I mean what did the country come to when Police Officers, Nurse's, Teachers could not even afford to buy their own house.

I think this has given everyone and good old reality check and if our glorious leaders are so right then why are we in this fine mess in the first place!? They can try and blame it all on the American finance system but at the end of the day we all jumped on the ban wagon.

Thats my frustration out for the day! lol