Bad Time To Sell Up?

lexuslloyd · September 14, 2011

hi all, its been a while since ive been on here due to bad health.

Im selling my IS200, hoping to get the plates transferred over this Saturday. Im just wondering if this is a bad time to sell up? a couple of my friends were interested, but they cannot get loans from anywhere at the moment - and im wondering if others are having the same problem.

Also where is best to advertise the car? not meaning to sound harsh, but it seems pointless listing it on here. Surely anyone who has a lexus doesnt look at buying more/ another? or is this the wrong way to go about it?

kam05 · September 14, 2011

What model of IS200 do you have? Condition, mileage, spec, mods etc- it hard to say what your car is worth without this info.

There are plenty of IS200's on the market, some good ones and some bad ones- so its a buyers market. Not many people are after a 2.0 litre motor that drinks petrol like a alcoholic, so IS200's aren't holding their value.

I px'd my 10 year old IS200 at the start of the year for a 3 year old Mercedes C220CDI Sport- I only got a £1k for it (it did have 145k on the clock).

kenfoxy · September 14, 2011

My view is that it is a bad to sell. But there are no signs the economy is going to get better, so things will get worse.

lexuslloyd · September 14, 2011

whoops sorry missed all the vitals!

its a 2001 Y Plate Sport in platinum ice - just ticked over to 99,000 on the clock

Full lexus Service history - 11 stamps :) with all the bills since ive had it to prove, work includes cambelt at 72,000 by lexus and a new clutch at 85,000 (the release bearing failed but I just replaced the whole thing)

No mods, except for rear spoiler with LED's , last owner for 3 and a half years (and very proud too) good condition, and my original CD player works perfectly too - no error 3's here ;)

MOT until March next year - and tax until January 2012.

Bad points - needs a new drivers side seatbelt - its fraeyed from daily use (is this hard to replace?)

handbrake light stays on (due to having rear spoiler with LED's fitted - again hard to fix?)

and 2 alloys are kerbed, although I have another set to put on/fix up

I had it valued by Glass's - trade in £1600 provided it was mint and dealer retail was £3295 (as if lol)

so I was thinking £2495 ? what do you think?

wahid hussian · September 14, 2011

that's about right look

Garthy · September 21, 2011

It's a bloody terrible time to sell.

I had mine on eBay for 3 consecutive listings recently, not too dissimilar to yours. 2001 Y plate, Sport, Aero pack, Platinum Ice, 56k, 9 months MOT and a bit of tax with a recent cam belt change. It does have some paint marks and a small bubble on the bonnet that needs sorting though.

I started at 3200 and the best I was offered was 2650. Since then I've reduced the price but now it looks like all anyone wants to pay is 2500, which is probably what I'll let it go for now as I need to sell.

Considering I bought it for 4k a year ago, and have only put 10k on it, I feel a bit miffed to say the least.

Good luck with yours matey.

lexuslloyd · September 21, 2011

It's a bloody terrible time to sell.

I had mine on eBay for 3 consecutive listings recently, not too dissimilar to yours. 2001 Y plate, Sport, Aero pack, Platinum Ice, 56k, 9 months MOT and a bit of tax with a recent cam belt change. It does have some paint marks and a small bubble on the bonnet that needs sorting though.

I started at 3200 and the best I was offered was 2650. Since then I've reduced the price but now it looks like all anyone wants to pay is 2500, which is probably what I'll let it go for now as I need to sell.

Considering I bought it for 4k a year ago, and have only put 10k on it, I feel a bit miffed to say the least.

Good luck with yours matey.

oh no :( your horror story doesn't inspire me with confidence! lol

I can imagine how you feel, that's a fairly big hit to take in a year. I bought mine for 6k about 4 years ago so Im not too bothered. But at the same time I think if it doesn't sell I may just keep her for another year. It would appear that no-one can get credit at the moment either (unless you get a 3000% loan!) several of my friends are still trying to secure funds.

Fingers crossed with your sale, and thanks for your best wishes bud :)

Normski · September 22, 2011

I recently sold the IS200 belonging to the Mrs. Or rather part-ex'd it (for a Merc B Class)...It was a 05 plate SE Auto with Nav in black. 62k-ish on the clock. Full Lexus history. Cambelt needed doing so did the sparks not to mention all 4 discs/pads. The wheels were fooked (corroded and kerbed) and the bonnet had a paint bubble and there were a couple of parking scrapes at the front...

Anyway, initial trade in offer was £3k. I was actually quite pleased with that as I knew it needed some TLC. I got a very good deal on the B Class so my cost-to-change was much better than I at least could have hoped selling privately. It's a shame these motors are going for such little money. I really do miss the car as I loved it! I found it much better fit and finish than the new IS.