ok i seriously need some HELP!!!!

[italmum]

Thanks for all your advice people. will take some time out to think
Cindy

[NigelC]

Good luck!  Just so you know you're not alone, I have advertised my car (2006 Alfa 159 2.2 jts) on Drive and Carsales as well as here and on another Alfa site.  In three months I have had only two enquiries and neither of them were serious buyers.  It just takes time.

[TONYM]

Looks like a nice car.
My suggestion is to look at your asking price compared to what carsales value this model, or about 20% above trade-in value.

[Shire_GTV]

You have to remember the old saying "something is only worth whatever someone is prepared to pay for it. Obviously at this moment no one is prepared to pay whatever you are asking. Also you either NEED the car gone and will be flexible with the price or you DON'T need it gone and can wait until the right person comes along and is prepared to pay the asking price, no matter how long it takes. Plain and simple.

I recently sold my Mazda MX5. It took nearly 5 months to sell. I had ads on carsales, tradingpost, the mx5 owners club website and a piece of paper in the window. I got most interest from the paper in the window from passers by who could actually see the car. I only got car consignment companies hawking their services on carsales. The eventual buyer saw it in the trading post. By the way, he was the only person to come and view the car and he bought it without even starring the engine or driving it. The MX5 in question had probably 50% more km's on the clock than similar ones but the bodywork and interior and engine bay were like new. From my initial ad I dropped the price nearly 4k to what it was last advertised at and then I accepted a price 2k lower than that again simply because by that time I simply NEEDED the car gone and the money from it. Quite frankly, the cars condition wast better than nearly all MX5's on the market, it had full dealer and specialist service history and the price difference would have paid for 2 complete engine rebuilds if the km's were an issue (which they weren't). Plain and simply, the purchaser got a bargin and I got the money I NEEDED as opposed to WANTED. I've since seen worse cats go for more money but hey, I NEEDED the capital then couldn't have waited until now.

Rethink your priorities. You either NEED to sell it or you would LIKE to sell it.

I know this probably reads quite aggressive and harsh but it is simply reality. 

[Andrew156]

My observation from having recently done the search and bought a 156 is that there are an awful lot for sale across all price ranges so a buyer is spoilt for choice. I bought a wagon, unfortunately slim pickings, but not the case for sedans.

I passed on a blue 2002 manual with sunroof, 68,000kms and $12.5K asking price. As it turned out 2nd person who looked at it paid the full price. Might give you some price relativity to your own.

No doubt yours is as good as it sounds. But depends on your urgency of sale. Unfortunately I beleive it to be a buyers market and being a second hand Alfa, may carry some negative stigma.

Good Luck, and you may need to do a bit of soul searching unfortunately.

PM me with the cars details and price. My sister is looking at a BMW she can't afford but this may be of interest.

Andrew

[shiny_car]

If it MUST be sold, have you approached the Alfa dealership that services the car? If it's in top condition, they may be wanting to on-sell it themselves in their Used Car section (as opposed to selling it to a wholesaler).

You'll probably just be getting 'trade in' pricing, but so what, you'll sell it.

[MD]

Quick tip :

Never put a for sale sign in your car without a price as well. It's a complete waste of time.

If you don't know what price to put on it, you haven't done your homework and frankly you are not ready to sell.

Price is everything. Just ask the Chinese.

[wankski]

I know this doesn't help, but if you're still looking for a buyer in Aug-Oct, I may be able to help.


I'm in the market for a 156 in red... the main issue i see for you is the price. I totally get that it's low mileage, but that in itself means little in an alfa... in fact, can be a bad sign...

from my perspective i'm seeing similar year/equipment for around $10k, FSH, like others said, buyers are spoilt for choice... i'm seeing the exact color combos i'm after every week on eBay....

keep in mind a legit buyer, even in a perfect car is looking at around $1.5k  in transfer, rego and insurance costs in VIC, and even with the low miles, about another $1k in cam belt work unless it was done in the last year or so by a well known alfa mechanic.

[Davidm1600]

Hey Cindy, I hadn't wanted to butt in on this thread but perhaps some more encouragement may help keep the moral up.

I have a 1 owner from new (i am the 2nd owner), '03 JTS Sportwagon.  I bought it in Nov '07 with 89,500km on the clock.  It now has 104,500km.  I paid $20K for my car, plus then had to factor in the transfer of ownership, rego/insurance costs.  Recently I put new tyres on my car ($900).  A little prior to putting the new tyres on my car, I was seriously thinking of selling my car. I had previously tried the advert route and got no-where with it. Luckily for me, given mine is the wagon, and a manual one, it is a little more uncommon than the sedan but the best offer I received which was genuine was $15K.  A little less than what I wanted for it, but on reflecting on what the market for 156's was I accepted it was the best I could hope to receive.

In the end I decided (well my wife did for me) to keep the car, as it is somewhat rather practical and suits our needs.  Which was the reason in the first place for getting it.  I know, that even if I maintain the car in top condition that regrettably some time in the future when I do need to sell the car I am going to get a lot less than the $15K I could have got.  Ouch, but I guess that is the reality of buying a 'modern' car.

A mate of mine, bought an '03 JTS manual sedan, with about 90,000km on the clock about a year ago and paid $12K for it.  At the time I thought he got a bargain, but the truth is that perhaps he just paid a fair price.

My father had a '97 Citroen C5 wagon with 45,000km on the clock (he doesn't drive very far) and all he could get as a trade in on a brand new Skoda (loaded to the hills) was $9k. 

My point being, if you hang on to long, trying to hold out for the top dollar price you will probably only be left further behind and it will become more difficult and frustrating to sell. I agree you don't want to give it away, and I know just how frustrating it is to watch it sit with no buyers coming forward.

So hopefully, the possible buyer you mentioned might get back to you with a serious offer.  If he does great, but if not, don't give up hope. I certainly would continue with the For Sale sign in the car, and as others have commented on, make sure the price and best contact no is clearly indicated. 

I don't know if people park their cars on the edge of main roads anywhere in Melbourne. That could be another way of trying to get exposure.  You see plenty of people trying to sell their cars this way down here in Hobart.  All the best with it, for there will be a buyer for your car.  Regards Dave

[TONYM]

Cindy,

Let me give you my view (from a potential buyer's perspective).

You referred to the buyer that came to look at your Alfa, that was me and my son, who had his heart set on buying an Alfa (sounds like we were the only ones to come to see the car).
I thought the car was in very good condition (not prestine....I am particularly fussy). At that time your husband (a really nice guy) was asking $18k. I did ask what was a more realistic price he would accept but was not prepared to drop. At that point my thinking was to allow about $3k for timing belt, service, transfer fees, insurance (only known costs...nothing unexpected). This would bring the car up to $21k for a 8 year old Alfa 156 (with no warranty). My assessment was that the value of the car to me was somewhere between $10 to $12k (then, five months ago). I did not even try at this price given my assessment of the the seller's expectation. My son wasn't too disappointed, I was perhaps keener for him to buy an Alfa more than he was.

My son has since taken delivery of a new VW Golf Diesel (with a bunch of accessories that he wanted and three years warranty)  considerably more expensive than the Alfa, but brand new and diesel.
That's life.
I hope my explaination gives you a better (positive) perspective of how a potential buyer of a used Alfa thinks.
Tony

[Evan Bottcher]

Tony FYI you can edit your own posts to correct things like that (there's a button called 'modify'). 

[pasey25]

italmum - looking at your sig  - are you saying the 156 isn't suitable for baby capsules/seats?

My partner drives our 156 and is due for our first baby in July. we haven't bought a baby seat yet but were expecting that the 156 would be fine for this purpose.

[italmum]

Pasey,

I have 3 children ages 4, 2 and 1 you can fit 2 babyseats in them fine...but definately not a third.
We would have been ok except the new rule as of last november, which has pissed me off...says that little kids cant be in those tiny boosters..

so i have 1 compaq deluxe and 2 maxi riders...with enough room for another maxi rider.

You should be fine BUT from personal experience...go out and get a safe n sound compaq deluxe , its designed for smaller cars like the 156 good luck!!

[dehne]

the only prob with the carseats in the 156 ie safe'n'sound top or range is when it is in rear faceing it needs to be on passanger side and front seat right forward but all i dealt with it and im 6'1 and when you turn it round theres no probs at all fits anywhere