Ask an expert

has the market become tougher for selling cars privately?been trying to sell my 2004 civic done 105,000kms, 4spd auto for $7300 ono but had nothing but offers from dealers for $5500. For the year and the kms its the cheapest on trademe. I even got an AA check done on but can't find a buyer its been 4 weeks. any suggestions??????

There goes the theory we were hearing from some dealers late last year when the import emission rule was about to change, telling us that used car prices were about to experience a sharp rise!!
Unfortunately, the economy is still not great and everyone seems to be looking for a bargain.
One theory we've heard from some sellers is that listing a car with a $1 reserve works for them, as people will bid on something that already has a lot of bids, but you run the risk of it not achieving a price you're happy with.
You could try listing it on AA Carfair website - it's free for AA Members.
http://www.aacarfair.co.nz/
Otherwise, I guess you just need to be patient.

so finally after 6 weeks i managed to sell my beloved civvie for $1k less than i wanted for it. looks like its a real buyers market out there even for japanese cars. This was a real difference selling the car from when i was buying it 2 years back when i thought i had to buy it straight away otherwise someone else would have got it - which is what the seller made me believe :)

my advice to buyers is to shop around because most cars dont attract that many bids and its amazing how much sellers will drop their price due to lack of interest-there are so many cars on the market

anyway im off on my big OE next month and hope cars are cheaper when I get back in 2 years haha!

Pleased to hear that you finally sold your Civic. It sounds like it will be a nice little car for someone.
You are quite correct - it is a buyers market.
At least you can now enjoy your OE. Maybe you'll make millions while you're away so buying a car won't be a problem for you on your return. Bon Voyage. :)