Depreciation

[ARSEY4]

Problem is the dealers have now set a level for these cars as most pex their cars at main dealers. It is they who, imho are the culprits for such a rapid drop in values. Its the same with r8s and rs6s, the cheapest are at main dealers. If you look at the other indy sites they are still trying to sell at near list for these cars. I still cant beleive that the white rs4 avant is still up for what must be over list at 56k??

[scoobyc]

i sold my RS4 today to trade after having a huge amount of timewasters and just grade A kn0bs basically! I never got a great price but it was above what i said was my minimum and before anyone says it i didn't have to sell it, just found another car i thought was more suited to me (and fulfills a dream!) and the price to change was worth it to me at this moment. I contacted lots of dealers/buyers and specialists too and there is next to nobody buying stock at the moment (7 out of 10 not interested but nearly all commented that 6-9 months ago they'd have snapped it up). That leaves you with accepting the trade bids that did come in, with a 4k swing between 2 of the offers, or private sale. I had a fair bit of interest in private sales from here, ph and autotrader and had 3 agreed purchasers but not one came through with the cash. One failed to mention right up until hpi checkpoint that he had a px (he said his sale fell through, seems a common thing just now), one failed to show completely and another agreed terms and then next day changed his offer but was promptly told where to get off. The silly offer brigade also sent a few emails ( £27k anyone) and there was the i'll give you "x" cash tomorrow lot who when i did say yes to one came back to say no sorry was too high a mileage for that price although all my ads had mileages in them So private sale never worked for me but might work for others. My humble opinion is that no matter how good a car is its a very limited market for people to buy privately a car at the £30k+ market with no trade in and especially in the times we find ourselves in just now, limited trade sales, credit being harder to get etc. So thats my 2p worth and i have it today that glasses guide will show 1500-2000 drop on all rs4's in november which if nothing else dealers will use as their price for you p/xing but if you see the car as a longer term thing this won't affect you much hopefully.
i'll do a wee write up of the car this week too once i get home, for those that are interested (if any!).

[boysey]

FWIW, the write up that ScoobyC has posted more or less exactly defines what I just went through selling my Avant ...

Some genuine sounding buyers that runaway at the last minute ..

Plenty of complete chancers offering £ks less than trade bids ..

Trade bids all over the place and 70% not interested at all ...

And in the end, I sold to a Audi dealer ...

The final twist in the story was that after trying to sell for 3 months dropping the price almost weekly, the dealer sold it within a couple of weeks .. not sure what they got for it but they advertised it for more than I started asking for it 3 months ago?

It's a strange old world out there but I guess there are still a handful of buyers out there as it did sell for a preium through the dealer?

[scoobyc]

if i could have sold my car SOR through a reputable dealer i would have, i had faith that any genuine buyer looking at it and seeing its condition would buy it, but as good/limited as rs4's are there's not a SOR market for them (yet?).
ps it was an audi dealer that bought mine too although for another dealer in their franchise.

[pippyrips]

The two post above combined with a spirited drive tonight on open roads have just reaffirmed my belief in holding on to the RS for a while yet.

I just love cars so would find it almost impossible to downgrade from the 4 to something more run of the mill. With that in mind you still can't get anything which ticks as many boxes as the RS without spending another 20 grand+ and even if you did go spending, the new motor will lose money quicker that the RS will.

With the market the way it is currently it's time for me to stick

[scoobyc]

pippyrips - i agree with a lot you say the rs4 ticks lots of boxes that very few others can match but one of the important points for ME is that i don't need more than 2 seats at the moment and that opens up a huge market of very nice cars that don't cost 20+ grand to change to and not too sure some of them will lose as much as an rs over the next few years as they're further down the depreciation curve (but my guess is the same as anybody elses just now!) and i'm pretty sure most people won't see it as a downgrade

[pippyrips]

pippyrips - i agree with a lot you say the rs4 ticks lots of boxes that very few others can match but one of the important points for ME is that i don't need more than 2 seats at the moment and that opens up a huge market of very nice cars that don't cost 20+ grand to change to and not too sure some of them will lose as much as an rs over the next few years as they're further down the depreciation curve (but my guess is the same as anybody elses just now!) and i'm pretty sure most people won't see it as a downgrade

point taken - I do need the extra seats to help with the family so its horses for courses. As for downgrade comment, I wasn’t referring to you as we still don't know what you've got!(though i have my suspicions!) My point was more aimed at myself - unless I throw 20k at another like for like car (5 seats etc) it probably will be step backwards.

[Andyuk911]

Ferrari F430 ... like this one ...?

[scoobyc]

nah too much money to be lost in 430's just now lol! But very close
ps for those interested glasses guide for november shows a £1650 drop in rs4 avants

[GBrownlow]

[quote="scoobyc"]nah too much money to be lost in 430Exactly, unfortunately the Audi was dropping too fast for me too and like you are decided to get out as the gap to some supercars and their price has come down so much.
You're not going back to a 996 TT are you. They are very reasonably priced, hold their value well, drive and look awesome and a 997 Turbo doesn't warrant another £25k.

Only other possibility I can think of is a Lamborghini Gallardo as the AM V8 didn't do it for me ?

[SR71]

By all means, swap when you want, but the logic here doesn't stack up for me unless you think we're already at the bottom of the trough...

If RS4's are still dropping in price, then more expensive cars are still dropping even more, so the gap is ever decreasing.

To my mind, this means you've lost out until we hit the bottom of the market.

I do understand the exception to the above, namely judging relative depreciation, but I have a hunch this is mostly wishful thinking...

The market ain't behaving particularly rationally at the moment...

[scoobyc]

By all means, swap when you want, but the logic here doesn't stack up for me unless you think we're already at the bottom of the trough...

If RS4's are still dropping in price, then more expensive cars are still dropping even more, so the gap is ever decreasing.

To my mind, this means you've lost out until we hit the bottom of the market.

I do understand the exception to the above, namely judging relative depreciation, but I have a hunch this is mostly wishful thinking...

The market ain't behaving particularly rationally at the moment...

Again i agree with what your saying but i've never bought a car to be rational or to save money (and pretty sure everyone in here is the same unless a 94 escort 1.4lx owner is in here dreaming!), i usually do it purely for enjoyment while hopefully not losing too much money, by carefully buying and at no point have i mentioned i was selling the car to get the most money back because i thought the market was doomed (not accusing anyone of this just stating a fact). Cars have come into my range that weren't there 12 months ago and due to health issues (not serious just lifestyle changing, although it feels pretty bloody serious!) my own circumstances have changed slightly. I've put a deposit on a car (ferrari 360) that i feel is right for me next and again your probably right, it will lose some money, but i'm hoping the experience and enjoyment of it will greatly offset it. I was fully prepared that if the car wasn't up to scratch then i would have sat on the cash until spring and then looked again but this car was night and day to others i've seen so worth the chance for me now at what i thought the car was worth.

[SR71]

I have to concur with your comment that a large proportion buy with their heart not their head! Me included!

Fantastic choice...after Andy made the 430 comment I figured it might have been a 360! If you can't enjoy motoring in a Ferrari, well....

Can't be many of them that far North...

How do they go in the snow?

[chemical-ali]

Depeciation - don't think about it. It will only upset you all.

I have been looking at other motors too. 997 TT was one, but they are sinking like a stone. I saw one that was 5 months old, had 1800 miles on the clock and originally cost 108k. Now being offered at 80k Thats horrific! Also saw a 2 year old gallardo at a dealers that had under 6 on the clock on the forecourt for 65k Thats half price!

I know mine's taken a nosedive in value, but they are holding up better than some other motors.

Also, another thing I found is the difference in what different audi dealers would offer. I was offered 33 by swansea audi and 30 by cardiff audi on the same day! So if you are selling to a dealer, shop around.

[scoobyc]

how do they go in the snow - sideways i'd imagine
Hopefully be the only one up here, theres a 308 gts but a bit old fashioned for me! Seriously though it was the using the audi everyday to do everything that probably made me want to change. Because of the familiarity of it i just missed the "extra" special feeling that the porsche gave and made it more of an event and now hopefully that will bring that back although i appreciate i'll use it less and i'd imagine thats what lots of people bought the rs4 for (do everything - well), including me but we're all allowed to change our minds!
Regards dealer bids - i know what you mean mine had a £4k swing from high to low just from audi dealers, and the 997tt will be a bargain in 18 months if i have to go back to a sensible car with 4 seats