New vehicle purchase

[Joe Garra]

Hi all, I'm deciding whether to get a new Giulietta. I've been to one dealer and was disappointed with the trade in on our 159 wagon (below red book figures). As there are less than a handful of local dealers (Zagame , Lance Dixon, and Kings in Ballarat), how useful have people found the hassle of shopping around? or should I just try and sell the 159 privately?
Thanks in anticipation for any advice.

[dehne]

i would sell the 159 privatly if you can afford to do so you will get 1000's more, but appart from that i would do almost anything to get one on the new gullies

[TFJ100]

how much is a 159 wagon worth?

[Joe Garra]

retail mid 20s, trade in mid teens 

[pep105]

Jeepers

[Joe Garra]

forgot to add, our wagon is Oct 06, 89,000 km

[TFJ100]

How badly do you want a Giulietta?

I drove one last weekend and I thought it was...ok.

Here is my opinion:

It has nice balance, and looks good. But the interior is a little bit naff (what is that slab on the dash all about - couldn't they have just made it like a Brera/159 dash?). The engine is zippy when the turbo is on boost, but you have to change gears often to make sure you are in the zone. The fuel economy seems good on paper, I wonder what real life economy is? The engine has a nice sound...but it is still only a 4...

I think I would miss my V6 too much.

Good luck with finding what you are after!

Torben

[Joe Garra]

It's for Mrs, not for me. I'm happy driving my Q. Robyn really liked it, but haven't sold the 159 yet.

[shiny_car]

If trading a car, it's all about 'change over price', rather than what you get for your trade-in. So, will you get a discount on the G?

To sell privately, you usually do get more money, but weigh this up against the cons:
*cost of an ad (small)
*creating an ad: are you good at writing and taking quality photos to sell a product?
*time: making time for people to view, waiting for someone to be interested; time to wait until you buy the G (eg: if there's a 3 month waiting period to sell the 159, then that should be enough)
*people: dealing with tyre kickers and all sorts, but also genuine people
*price: be realistic; pricing it towards the higher end of what's on the market usually makes for a slow sale; not to say you need to make it the cheapest either; or at least, be prepared to negotiate and drop $3-5K during negotiations, for example
*roadworthy: how much do you have to spend to make it roadworthy? do you have the time to organise and have it assessed, then arrange for any issues to be sorted? You may be surprised what they pick on
*spend $500-1000 to have it fully detailed professionally (unless you do it properly as a hobby/profession yourself (ie: wash/clay/machine polish/cleanse/final stage product, interior, engine bay, wheels/tyres, etc)

There is a lot of convenience when it comes to trading-in a car. You don't have to worry about the RWC, or finding a potential buyer and making time to accommodate buyers and running around preparing the car for sale.

Everyone is different in what they're prepared and can do. So you have to make that decision yourself. If it's to have an extra $2K from the sale, some people may not think it's worth it. $7K probably would be worth it to most people.

[TFJ100]

Your approach sounds understandable - you'll get the best of both worlds...a 6 for yourself and a Giulietta for back-up!

Torben