Swap (buy/sell) T reg A3 for A1

[AndrewMcC]

Hi,

New to this site sorry.

We have a T reg A3 1.8 petrol Auto in pretty good nick but still needs work. My wife would like to update to A1 (1.4) around 2014-5 also auto. We've seen a few on the web and happy to buy but just curious how to handle the older A3. We've had it for over 15 years and so has been a great car. I have Q3 also 2014-5 so we'd like similar cars. 

Just curious as to how best to handle purchase & apparently older A3 is really only good for parts but when you consider the individual bits it's worth a lot in parts to those who need them...e.g. rims & tyres worth more than has been offered by "We buy any car"...because they don't.

Any enthusiasts happy to discuss !? :)

 

[Magnet]

Hello Andrew,

Thanks for joining and posting for advice. 
Very much a personal view:- 

You’ve owned the car for 15 years, so it now doesn’t owe you anything more than its scrap value. 
You are of course absolutely bright in your view that it’s worth far more in its broken down form, but you have to break it and then attempt to sell the individual parts to realise that increase in value. Worth the effort?? 
WBAC are unlikely to value it at anything more than it’s weight in scrap, so you have a choice of:- 

Listing it on eBay where it would have the widest audience, sell it to WBAC or it’s scrap value - whichever is highest - break it yourself and sell the bits, or hope someone on here would pay you more than all other options. 
There would be a school of thought that would suggest, you’ve had your 15 years of service from it, so just let it go to the best eBay bid, and move on to secure the best deal on the best car to replace it. I.e. minimum hassle route. 
Kind regards, 

Gareth. 

[AndrewMcC]

Thanks very much Gareth for your considered reply. Accept the options & so has sort of confirmed our thoughts. Suspect a decent A1 & eBay are good options. Cheers 

[Magnet]

Thanks Andrew,

Just to clarify, my eBay suggestion was in relation to the sale of your A3, rather than the purchase of an A1.

Disadvantages of buying off eBay or any fairly remote-from-home location:- 

Have to travel to view. Potential impracticality of having any guarantee work carried out.

Obviously, buying locally is the ideal, but you might have to wait for the right car to become available. 
Kind regards,

Gareth. 

[AndrewMcC]

No problem thanks Gareth, I thought that’s what you meant. I’ve seen an A1 of interest at a dealer but was hoping to negotiate…

[Magnet]

Thanks Andrew, 

With the prices of used vehicles still rising - albeit at a slower rate - I thing you might find that the ancient art of negotiating on price is indeed getting ancient and redundant! You might be lucky, but…..

Of course, the old question of ‘what is the price for cash?’ is likely to be responded to buy a price increase, as they lose there finance commission.

I would always suggest not buying the ‘best deal’ , but buying the best vehicle. 

Kind regards,

Gareth