Advice on sale- private or dealer?

Unfortunately, my circumstances have changed and now need to sell my 2006 Duetto (55K miles) and I'm not in a position to part ex for another model. The question from me to others who have gone through this is should I sell via a dealer or is there enough interest from interested buyers to make a private purchase?

Clearly the advantage over a private sale as opposed to selling to a dealer is a better price but I expect some hassle would come with that. Is there a big enough private sale premium to justify the hassle? Do people buy Duetto's (or suchlike) privately or would they rather go to a dealer?

I am hating having to do this as we've had a brilliant year of travelling and touring.

Dealer, every time, private buyer may not pay, may be on your back next time a lightbulb fails or other such trivia
My last sale was a dealer, no messing about, came, looked, agreed that we had been honest with him, arranged bank transfer, ensured it was there...........left.
Good Luck with your one

Sorry that circumstances have changed for you to have to part with your van. Obviously you need to ascertain what your van might be worth in both circumstances. If you can find a dealer for a cash offer only, it is likely to be astonishingly very little as to your expectations. However you can use that as a bench mark to up the price for a private sale but be prepared to entertain third party comments and a lot of haggling. If you are not in a hurry to sell, this could be the  initial option to take. Hopefully other forum members will provide you with more exact information and help. Regards.

I'd give a private a go first.  This is the time of year when spring is approaching that people start thinking about buying.

Duetto's are still quite sought after in good condition and a private buyer may come along and give you a decent offer.

Just ignore the tyre kickers or people who want to do strange money transactions.  Have the money transferred into your bank account and then arrange them to pick up once the money's cleared.

It's a sought after van, try private sale first ,dealers are looking for far to much of a margin .5/6 K in some instances .
Good luck
Boaby

I have sold via both methods, such a popular van and in a sought after price range, you will always get more money selling privately.. There are two ways to sell via a dealer, outright sale ( the dealer buys it outright) or sale or return and they take a cut from the achieved price. Either way there has to be a profit in it for them.
It all depends how much you value cash against convenience.

I'd definitely go private. As one or two have said, it's a very popular model type van so no shortage of customers and the 'right' period to market is approaching. The obvious plus for you is you will get a higher price but the plus for the buyer, something i value greatly, is they're buying from the owner who knows the vehicle history where a dealer won't. Dealers just shift 'boxes on wheels'.

Decide on the minimum you will accept, then add £500 to that expecting to be knocked down by any buyer. But stay firm on your minimum...don't budge an inch below your minimum. If you've priced fairly and right, it will go.

Insist on a deposit....no genuine buyer will refuse that, then arrange on final payment. Bank transfer is best, costs nothing to do and is secure.

I sold my last van privately and seemed to be lucky. First that saw bought. They left a £500 deposit. The rest was a bank transfer which is easy check either by phone or mobile. I was also worried that something would happen as they drove the van home even though there was nothing wrong with it. It's still going strong. If you genuinely believe in your van go private. If not go to a dealer.

Hi
    It is quite a late van and Duetto's are popular. The problem is will a private buyer have that amount of cash. I agree if you can sell privately you will get more money, It is coming up to best time to sell but the longer it takes to sell the more money it will cost you with things like the MOT running out (£50) will it be due for a service, is a habitation check due ? are you still paying insurance. Get a valuation from a dealer, but bewarned he will go over it with a fine tooth comb and find any defects. I sold my last motorhome to a dealer on brokerage and it took 6 months to sell and in the end I had to take a reduced price.
  Alan

gemdeco wrote:Hi
    It is quite a late van and Duetto's are popular. The problem is will a private buyer have that amount of cash. I agree if you can sell privately you will get more money, It is coming up to best time to sell but the longer it takes to sell the more money it will cost you with things like the MOT running out (£50) will it be due for a service, is a habitation check due ? are you still paying insurance. Get a valuation from a dealer, but bewarned he will go over it with a fine tooth comb and find any defects. I sold my last motorhome to a dealer on brokerage and it took 6 months to sell and in the end I had to take a reduced price.

Alan.....regards your first question, private buyers either have the ready cash in savings or access to, ie via finance. A working couple on average income will easily qualify for a loan if they haven't already got a considerable amount in savings.

Try to get your van MOT'd just before advertising so you have a full mot on it but if it's got 7 or 8 months running on it, leave it at that. You can always advertise as "any inspection welcome" meaning you're open to potential buyers to have a professional inspection which shows you are being honest in your description.

You will need insurance though any outstanding VED can be reclaimed back from DVLA.

Bottom line is....are you prepared to take a hit on the price? If so, then drive into a dealer but be prepared for the tissues when you see what they sell it at! A guy i used to work with p/x'd his old but mint condition car. The dealer gave him £200 and stuck it on the forecourt at £1000 where it sold after just three days!

I have never managed to sell previous motorhomes or caravans privately. Lots of time wasters and they expect you to practically give it away. I agree that a dealer may knock you back on price but at least it will be gone and not languishing and losing money.

I’ve sold a few vans on eBay, listed as classified ads, not auctions or buy it now. A classified ad is a fixed fee, about £15.

I’ve been paid in cash or direct bank transfer on the spot. Always gone well and no repercussions. 

Nora

Dbvwt wrote:

Traficlady wrote:I’ve sold a few vans on eBay, listed as classified ads, not auctions or buy it now. A classified ad is a fixed fee, about £15.

I’ve been paid in cash or direct bank transfer on the spot. Always gone well and no repercussions. 

Nora

Just sold my Eriba caravan this way, £14.99 for a months entry has got to be worth a shot before taking the big hit with a dealer however convenient that obviously is.
The buyers transferred the money before they left home to collect the van.

I hear the argument about time wasters but generally people have to travel many miles to find the right van and time wasters are unlikely to travel far. I’ve sold cars in the past and time wasters were plenty, the 3 leisure vehicles I’ve sold didn’t seem to attract them anywhere near as much.

That's very true (bib). When i was searching for my van i'd spent months traveling hundreds of miles. Went to Brighton to view one, exc condition apart from two wheel arches needing replacement and the owner wouldn't budge an inch off his asking price so i walked away....450 miles round trip. Another i looked at was in Folkestone 490 mile round trip. My eventual buy was just outside Reading....a mere 340 mile round trip 'jaunt'!

The last car i sold was an old Focus i put on Gumtree which is free to advertise. I marked it up at £450 and within minutes of the advert going on, the phone was ringing off the hook. First caller was the first who turned up and he bought it. He was quick off the mark too as he'd come from 30 miles away.

Thanks to all for your advice. I'll let you know how I go on

Thanks to all for your advice. Have reluctantly now sold the van privately via Gumtree. It has gone to a lovely chap who I know will look after it and he has the added benefits of buying it knowing the vans quirks but also having bought it for an awful lot less then he would have paid from a dealer. Equally I got a much better price than offered by the dealer also.

Well done. Everyone's happy.  
Boaby