Trade in value

[Frank Mc]

Hi all
Dropped into my local VW dealer in Dublin as they had the new 6.1 Ocean on display in the forecourt.
The salesman valued my own 2017 Ocean which is fully loaded with all the toys.
Bottom line is it cost me €75k new in 2017.
He said he would give me €40k as a trade in against a new one which costs €80k so to take up 3 years would cost me €40k !!!!
I nearly fell off the chair in shock and he was surprised at my shock of such a low value.
I didn’t even both to look at the new mode and walked out in disgust.
Were Cali’s not supposed to hold their value???
Cheers all

 

[T6 CFO]

Hi all
Dropped into my local VW dealer in Dublin as they had the new 6.1 Ocean on display in the forecourt.
The salesman valued my own 2017 Ocean which is fully loaded with all the toys.
Bottom line is it cost me €75k new in 2017.
He said he would give me €40k as a trade in against a new one which costs €80k so to take up 3 years would cost me €40k !!!!
I nearly fell off the chair in shock and he was surprised at my shock of such a low value.
I didn’t even both to look at the new mode and walked out in disgust.
Were Cali’s not supposed to hold their value???
Cheers all

I’ve no interest in selling mine so don’t follow the prices but an offer by a VW dealer as a trade in does not mean much.
They are apparently selling well so a private sale is the way to go if your serious.


Mike

 

[Moakesy]

I’m not surprised you walked out.

Maybe he went in low expecting you to negotiate upwards whilst dropping the value of the T6.1 down.

Equally it may be they don’t want the stock given the current covid situation?

who knows, either way he is well short of it’s real value.

 

[Eber123]

Good afternoon,

I also toyed with the idea to change from T6 to T6.1 beginning of the year. We went to see one of the first T 6.1 Coast in Dublin a few month ago.

Based on the configuration of the new T6.1 Ocean and the trade-in value of my T6 Ocean I calculated I had to spend 30 - 40.000 Euro! That is a lot of money. Even the sales person from VW (where we purchased the Ocean) said that it makes no sense to change to the T6.1.

Based on the VW used car web page, and other web pages, it seems that there are no more than 20 - 25 VW Californias (new on stock or used) on sale in Ireland. Because of this I thought the price for used VW campers would be a bit higher.

It might be me, but negotiations with Irish car dealers is extremely difficult. I barely managed to get a better deal (even in 2012 when we bought 2x cars at the same time). Also I believe that with the heavy losses the car industry made recently they won't be rushing into giving huge discounts.

Maybe selling the camper van privately will get a better price, but this comes with a risk - which I am not willing to take. So the only option I have is to trade-in.

Looking at the available VW Californias in Ireland it seems that the majority are Coasts. I believe there are only 2 or 3 Oceans on offer, at least one new one with a price tag of EUR 81.000! I believe the VW dealers getting the Coasts in stock for not scaring away the customers.

Because of the huge cost of change, the uncertain future of diesel engines and the restriction in travelling for month to come I decided not to change (at least for the moment) and watch the market.

Happy Califnornia,
Eberhard

 

[willwander]

Trade in values too low...or private values too high? You can pick up a brand new ‘nos’ T6 right now for 50 odd thousand.
VW Dealer needs to shift new vans to justify their dealership, will not display a 3yrs old so probably move on to non VW dealer, possibly via an auction house, everyone in chain wants a margin. Once you add up all those margins, you soon reach what it’s actually worth.

 

[reserves]

Hi all
Dropped into my local VW dealer in Dublin as they had the new 6.1 Ocean on display in the forecourt.
The salesman valued my own 2017 Ocean which is fully loaded with all the toys.
Bottom line is it cost me €75k new in 2017.
He said he would give me €40k as a trade in against a new one which costs €80k so to take up 3 years would cost me €40k !!!!
I nearly fell off the chair in shock and he was surprised at my shock of such a low value.
I didn’t even both to look at the new mode and walked out in disgust.
Were Cali’s not supposed to hold their value???
Cheers all

Your Cali is worth way more that €40k, you could sell it privately for way more. Guess the dealer was either playing it very safe, or hoping you had more money than sense!

 

[Georgiegirl]

Dealers will only give you the book value for your Cali. They will normally be the first to admit this isn’t a true reflection of the actual value and suggest you sell privately

 

[oliver100]

I think the problem is most options mean very little when trading in, though you can be dam sure they will charge a premium when reselling. If it was a base spec vehicle the price would probably be a lot closer to the original purchase price. I’m sure you will get a more realistic price selling privately though

 

[soulstyledevon]

I think all car owners over-estimate their vehicles values. No exceptions here...

I also believe Ocean owners have been riding a wave of price increases by Volkswagen. The increase seems to happen every 3 months at present. Which has helped the residual values of used Oceans.
I would question how far this can now go.

My Ocean cost £54k in 2018 and I wrestled wether I really wanted to spend that on a camper van.
The likes of £70k+ for the same vehicle, definitely makes me think twice.
At £70k I may as well look into Sprinter based platforms.

It’s a great van with many advantages, and I know a Sprinter based thing is a different animal altogether, but there becomes a point when spending £70k on a recreation vehicle of this size makes no sense.
Ive seen the Ocean advertised at over £80k. At that I may as well buy a big van with a lot more kit and scope and run a second vehicle.

 

[Michael1985]

Hi all
Dropped into my local VW dealer in Dublin as they had the new 6.1 Ocean on display in the forecourt.
The salesman valued my own 2017 Ocean which is fully loaded with all the toys.
Bottom line is it cost me €75k new in 2017.
He said he would give me €40k as a trade in against a new one which costs €80k so to take up 3 years would cost me €40k !!!!
I nearly fell off the chair in shock and he was surprised at my shock of such a low value.
I didn’t even both to look at the new mode and walked out in disgust.
Were Cali’s not supposed to hold their value???
Cheers all

The salesmen I have dealt with so far have been absolutely diabolical. You are calling them looking to spend upwards of 40k and they act like they aren't bothered. Their knowledge of the product is generally pretty shabby and God forbid you should have any questions. Pretty poor considering the descriptions are very murky in terms of what little is included with the vehicles as standard and the way its lists things as though they have all the mod cons....... 'state of the art coolant heater', ' openable windows', 'tyres' lol.

 

[Borris]

As far as I'm aware, Twas forever thus.

They are in business to make profit so most dealers won't want to give too much away, at least on an initial enquiry. I have often heard that they make more profit on second hand sales than on new cars and if your offer is anything to go by it's not difficult to see why.

Also amongst other reasons, they obviously realise that many people change their vehicles because their current vehicle no longer pleases or has an imminent list forthcoming expenditure or they just want the newest model. Accordingly I suspect a significant percentage of customers are often happy to readily give away their old vehicle for the allure of the shiny new faultless showroom model with that new car smell. PCPs and other psychological trickery assist the sales team to hood wink at least some owners to give up their valuable asset for a new car.

Some dealers are better than others but my view would be don't trade in a Cali unless it's a very last resort.

 

[WelshGas]

Personally I don't think the OP's Dealers part exchange value was too far off the mark. My reasoning is as follows:
2017 Ocean - £75000
VW profit 10%
Dealership profit 15% to take account of any discount or freebies
Depreciation 5% per year so over 3 years 15%.
Total so far 30% giving us £22500 plus Delivery and 1st Registration cost £1000.
So £23500 off £75000 leaves £51500.
The Dealership buying in the vehicle would hope to make 10% minimum profit but may have to carry out some work on the vehicle, service repairs and offer a discount or give freebies such as mats, warranty etc:, so will be looking at purchasing the vehicle at at least a 20% discount approximately £10,300 off thus giving a Part Exchange price of £41200.
My figures are all approximate and calculations on the back of an envelope.

So selling privately with no servicing or warranty etc: a Private seller, hoping to make a small profit, say 10% would advertise the vehicle at say £56000 for a 3 Yr old vehicle.
Doesn't sound too out of the realms of possibility.
This gives an upgrade cost for a Private Seller of about £24000 or £40000 if doing Part Exchange for a new 2020 T6. 1 at £80000.

 

[Duxdeluxe]

Personally I don't think the OP's Dealers part exchange value was too far off the mark. My reasoning is as follows:
2017 Ocean - £75000
VW profit 10%
Dealership profit 15% to take account of any discount or freebies
Depreciation 5% per year so over 3 years 15%.
Total so far 30% giving us £22500 plus Delivery and 1st Registration cost £1000.
So £23500 off £75000 leaves £51500.
The Dealership buying in the vehicle would hope to make 10% minimum profit but may have to carry out some work on the vehicle, service repairs and offer a discount or give freebies such as mats, warranty etc:, so will be looking at purchasing the vehicle at at least a 20% discount approximately £10,300 off thus giving a Part Exchange price of £41200.
My figures are all approximate and calculations on the back of an envelope.

So selling privately with no servicing or warranty etc: a Private seller, hoping to make a small profit, say 10% would advertise the vehicle at say £56000 for a 3 Yr old vehicle.
Doesn't sound too out of the realms of possibility.
This gives an upgrade cost for a Private Seller of about £24000 or £40000 if doing Part Exchange for a new 2020 T6. 1 at £80000.

You also have to remember 20% of that is the dreaded VAT

 

[WelshGas]

You also have to remember 20% of that is the dreaded VAT

Yes, I forgot about that so the Trade in value is?. Can't be bothered to work it out again taking into account Vat but probably better as a %.

 

[reserves]

Personally I don't think the OP's Dealers part exchange value was too far off the mark. My reasoning is as follows:
2017 Ocean - £75000
VW profit 10%
Dealership profit 15% to take account of any discount or freebies
Depreciation 5% per year so over 3 years 15%.
Total so far 30% giving us £22500 plus Delivery and 1st Registration cost £1000.
So £23500 off £75000 leaves £51500.
The Dealership buying in the vehicle would hope to make 10% minimum profit but may have to carry out some work on the vehicle, service repairs and offer a discount or give freebies such as mats, warranty etc:, so will be looking at purchasing the vehicle at at least a 20% discount approximately £10,300 off thus giving a Part Exchange price of £41200.
My figures are all approximate and calculations on the back of an envelope.

So selling privately with no servicing or warranty etc: a Private seller, hoping to make a small profit, say 10% would advertise the vehicle at say £56000 for a 3 Yr old vehicle.
Doesn't sound too out of the realms of possibility.
This gives an upgrade cost for a Private Seller of about £24000 or £40000 if doing Part Exchange for a new 2020 T6. 1 at £80000.

OP was offered €40k (Euros) I believe. Quite a bit below your figure of £41,200.

Anyways, regardless of the amount someone has paid for something it’s about how much someone is willing to pay should the seller go for the open market. Sure some might not losing £1k - £3k to trade in to save the hassle, but £5k-£7k?

As most dealers offer at least 6% off list price, I’d say they should give a good discount or a good trade in price. Otherwise they are winning both ways and the buyer is losing both ways.


I’d pay £40k for a T6 2017 Cali without even seeing it. It’s well below market value in my opinion.

 

[WelshGas]

OP was offered €40k (Euros) I believe. Quite a bit below your figure of £41,200.

Anyways, regardless of the amount someone has paid for something it’s about how much someone is willing to pay should the seller go for the open market. Sure some might not losing £1k - £3k to trade in to save the hassle, but £5k-£7k?

As most dealers offer at least 6% off list price, I’d say they should give a good discount or a good trade in price. Otherwise they are winning both ways and the buyer is losing both ways.


I’d pay £40k for a T6 2017 Cali without even seeing it. It’s well below market value in my opinion.

My calculation was an example. I also used £ for the purchase price.

Not sure where your last comment comes from. Would you pay £56,000 for a 2017 California with no warranty?

Autotrader would disagree.

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[reserves]

My calculation was an example. I also used £ for the purchase price.

Not sure where your last comment comes from. Would you pay £56,000 for a 2017 California with no warranty?

Confused. I said I’d pay £40k. Not £56k?

I was referring to the fact that the OP was offered around £35k for his / her 2017 Cali. Where as I’d buy one for £40k so not worth trading in at such a low value.

 

[WelshGas]

Confused. I said I’d pay £40k. Not £56k?

I was referring to the fact that the OP was offered around £35k for his / her 2017 Cali. Where as I’d buy one for £40k so not worth trading in at such a low value.

But by my quick calculation the garage or private sale would be around £56,000 .
I never mentioned any party selling for £40,000.

Obviously if someone offered a 2017 California for £40,000 it would be snapped up.

My point was, is £40,000 such a ridiculous Trade in Price on a 3 yr old vehicle costing £75,000 new?
Doesn’t matter if it was €75,000 new or £75,000 . It was just a simple illustrative calculation.
Personally I think that many owners value their California’s too highly. Good for them if they can get a buyer.
Maybe it’s not the Dealerships that are ripping buyers off, but Private Owners.

Buy the time I get round to selling mine I’ll sell to the trade . At 6 yrs old and 100k miles it’s paid for itself handsomely already.

 

[Mr T]

Most options or toys you pay for when ordering a brand new Cali are never recouped when selling further down the line. You just have to accept that and if you’re willing to pay to have a fully loaded Cali new that’s your choice, but doesn’t add a massive amount of £ value in the secondhand market.
Sure your vehicle will sell privately for more than you were offered px. I sold my 2015 SE privately last October when buying my 2019 Ocean as the dealers offer was “way too low” for the reasons Welshgas has explained. They need to make money.

 

[reserves]

My point was, is £40,000 such a ridiculous Trade in Price on a 3 yr old vehicle costing £75,000 new?

Maybe it’s not the Dealerships that are ripping buyers off, but Private Owners.

Maybe I misunderstood your post, apologies if so.

It was 40,000 Euros offered, which equates to £35,500, whichever way I look at it seems too low.

 

[Tom]

Keep the one you have. We still have our 2008 T5 with 68k on the clock. It perfect so why spend a fortune changing to a new one to get exactly the same space and fittings. Doesn’t make sense. The only difference will be a newer number plate and in my view it’s not worth 40k.
Tom

 

[Annik]

I went from a 2009 to a 2017 and there is a big difference, my T6 is much more refined to drive and more fuel efficient. I also like all the new extras on the T6

 

[westfalia]

2006 bought new - 2009 had an offer to upgrade.
our van + 30k€. No thanks.
We will keep it for ever, we said.

At VWs rate we've saved 140k€ by not swapping every 3 yrs.

@WelshGas
about 34 now

 

[reserves]

T5 to T5.1 was a fairly big upgrade, in my eyes the T5.1 looks much newer.

I can’t really decide how much of an upgrade a T5.1 to T6, Or T6.1

I understand why people want to upgrade, warranty etc.

 

[westfalia]

T5 to T5.1 was a fairly big upgrade,

Rear lights, front lights and the bonnet.
Not really a big one.