Martha the Takuya

[red_imps_2003]

Sob. Feels like the end of an era. Did you sell her?

[Willpower]

[StevenRB45]

Aye she got sold to a local carbuying outfit.

Last photo before she went:


Rather amusing photo of its spot...if you measure the moss void it'll be exactly Mazda 3 sized.



That's why it went to be honest the faults were not major...but when it's basically a large spider and moss colony spending money on it seemed a bit daft.


Also selling up allowed me to clear the remains of the loan I took out to buy the Citroën and gives a nice chunk towards a deposit if I wanted another car. But currently we're going down to one as I suspect we don't need 2 cars at all.

[red_imps_2003]

Do you mind if I ask whether you feel you got a reasonable price for Martha from that place? I will likely be selling soon too and don't know whether to go private (via Autotrader, probably) or try a trade route (Motorway, Wizzle, independent yards like the one you used). Trade in won't be an option.

To an extent, I still regret selling my last vehicle to We Buy Any Car for an absolute pittance. I did so with my eyes open back then but still feel a tinge of resentment at the absolute bargain they got. This time I would prefer to get a little closer to the car's actual worth but I guess it is still a trade off between potentially a few extra hundred off a private buyer vs avoiding the hassle of a private seller for less return.

No need for specifics or anything, but any insights from your experience (or others' of course) would be welcome. I don't even know if Motorway/Wizzle handle cars as old as mine (12 years) and haven't tried putting any feelers out yet. The main 'faults' that will affect the value - through either sales route - are (a) timing belt needs replacing, (b) the DPF has never been replaced (I was always going to go down the 'DPF Doctor' route if it ever started playing up, but it has been well looked after to date) and the driver's heated seat only warms the lumbar, not the bum (I've not wanted to splash out the £400 it would cost to fix for the sake of a toasty behind when just the warm back suits me fine). The visible bodywork is generally in good nick for its age (usual road rash at the front and a few very visible rust spots on the roof might make private buyers wary) but otherwise dint-free and no significant scratches that wouldn't polish out.

Fixing all three issues above would cost at least as much as I would likely recoup so it is down to which would be most put off by them: private buyers or commercial operators.

[StevenRB45]

Well they offered 2600 for it initially then knocked a bit off when they checked mot history and it had rust advisories basically covering the entire underside. Which to me was fair play given auto trader thinks the car is worth about 2.7 to 3500..

However in selling it they've decided to shoot for the moon..

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202110118378326?colour=White&advertising-location=at_cars&postcode=S66DZ&model=Mazda3&page=1&aggregatedTrim=Takuya&radius=200&make=Mazda&include-delivery-option=on&sort=relevanceevance#202110048115316

They are chancing their arm clearly...not that a clean low miles Takuya isn't worth that. It's just that this one isn't that car..plenty in their kitty for any warranty work though.

They paid more after deductions than WBACs opening high quote so can't complain too hard. Selling price is insane in my eyes but she does present well...as long as you don't look too closely.

Having sold cars privately in the past I didn't think it was worth the agro for another 5 or 600 quid. If you have the patience of a Saint and don't mind the general public coming to your house to tell you that car is crap then it's fine but I did my time in sales and cannot be chewed with them.

[red_imps_2003]

Whoah! That's what mine was worth on the used market when I got it five years ago, aged seven years with just north of 50k on the clock!! I gather used cars are generally going for more lately than they did back then, though, so they may get something close[ish] to that. Good luck to them.

Yep, my general feeling is that the general public is likely to be more concerned about the timing belt/DPF/cold bum than a commercial operation, given the latter can sort them for less outlay than a regular punter. I could potentially get the belt done to improve the appeal but I'm still not sure I would recoup the full outlay of doing so. One to ponder later if I struggle to move it on.

Like you say, it does seem that the hassle and risks involved in a private sale isn't likely to be worth the few hundred extra I might get over an easier sale to a dealer. I think I'll put some wider feelers out to Motorway/wizzle and a couple of local places first. WBAC quote c. £1k on their ready-reckoner but I now they will knock chunks off that when I get through the door. The same model/vintage seems to be on at around £1,600 - £2k on Autotrader. I'm probably aiming for somewhere in-between and, given the large service items outstanding, probably closer to the WBAC initial valuation...

Thanks for the feedback. Appreciated.

[StevenRB45]

Would say...they asked very few questions about the history of the car and didn't pop the bonnet. It has a full history between gardeners and Hodgson and the dsr is up to date as well I was very surprised. But ask no questions and you'll get no lies. So don't even know if they'd ask about timing belts etc, as far as I could see they just checked all 4 doors opened and the boot and took it for a spin up the road, had a look at the docs for servicing then left the rest to hpi.

An old Takuya is probably worth 5k in the current market...but with half the miles and no rust.

Some greatest hits from previous private sales...

*Arrives to view a car that in the Ad has 86k miles on it* "what's the mileage?" "86k" "That's too many" *leaves*

"I've got a valuation from we buy any car and it says this car is only worth 800 quid so I'd like to pay that for it" "Thanks for taking the time to look that up for me..if you people like you keep wasting my time I'll take them up on it"

*Turning up to view a car that if running would be 1500 quid that is advertised for 150 with an ad that starts with the words None-runner needs engine* "Does it run OK?".."well it's extremely quiet...but a bit down on power"

[red_imps_2003]

Chuckle; those did make me laugh. Our neighbour sold his car privately earlier this year and said he had quite a few timewasters too. I think he got less than he had hoped for it too, given how strong the used market is supposed to be at the moment.

Hopefully Martha's gone to a good home. I hope you will continue to frequent this forum too, so others can continue to benefit from the knowledge you have acquired of this brand and model.   

[StevenRB45]

She's still there looking at Autotrader and if anything I see it remaining a fixture for a while.

Not withstanding the fact it's a clear grand over market value at a dealer if not a bit more the advert is terrible. Pictures are nice but otherwise whoever wrote it doesn't seem to work in sales.

It's late October...winter, snow and ice is coming...you've got a car on your lot that not only has heated seats but also has a set of Branded all season tyres with 8mm on the front and 6mm on the rear that would at current prices be a fiver short of 500 quid a set. Turning it into an absolutely perfect winter family hack. Do you mention that at all? No? even though you're charging way over market rate? OK..

The car also has some additional stuff on it as well making it as well equipped as most modern cars...rear park assist...and not only that it has android auto/apple car play and DAB radio..do we mention that given we want well over the market rate? Nah 

If it was PX to clear it would be understandable but christ on a bike. They want all the money and want to put 0 effort in by the look of it. 3s don't seem to shift quickly anyway (most people forget they exist) before they do stuff like this.

I'll be surprised if it's not still up at new year, it's far too expensive and they've put nothing in the Ad to differentiate their car from all the others apart from the words "upgraded stereo".

Having said all that...auto trader ad has gone, though she's still on their website currently so either listing has expired or it's been sold and they've not taken it down off theirs yet.

[StevenRB45]

Now she's actually sold, they dropped the price by a grand at which point it didn't take too long to sell.

If the new owner ever sees this good luck with it and hope it serves you well..also make sure you get the loud whine after a long motorway trip investigated while it's still warrantied.