FOR SALE - 1997 Volvo S90 3litre 204bhp auto

[capt jack]

Originally Posted by RollingThunder

I go away for a week and miss all this! Wow, he doesn't mess around does he?! I'd assumed the ebay advert was placed by our very own CaptJack! Hope you were happy with what you got for it CJ - if it had been a different colour I'd have been very interested as you know.

Sorry that you missed out on that green 960 - I do think that colour suits the car very well.

As for my old S90, by a friend "in the trade" I was warned off Ebay as the place to sell, and advised to try Gumtree and Car And Classic instead. I got enquiries via both channels, but it was sold via Gumtree. Ebay would involve listing fees and a commission, but selling for cash via Gumtree meant that I keep every penny of the price paid. I'm led to believe that Ebay attracts people who see bidding as the means to start messing you about.

Although arguably it would have been a bit of fun to run an Ebay auction, to be honest I just wanted the car gone as painlessly as possible. With five cars on the driveway, the front of our house resembled Arnold Clark's. And with the S90 gone I can reclaim some road tax and cancel the insurance. It also meant that we could order the long-promised new carpet for our stairs and landing!

Car And Classic do a secure payment facility, which is 5% of the sale value, plus VAT, subject to a minimum of £120 (inc Vat). For lower value transactions that's a pretty steep advertising cost. Alternatively selling for cash is totally free.

As for the chap who bought my car, it's his now, and if he can turn a profit then good luck to him. I think he'll struggle - as much as anything else I'd personally be very suspicious of buying a car privately that the seller had owned for a matter of days. But hey, I belong to an older generation, where car buying is something to approached with caution and an abundance of time and careful thought.

Jack

[360beast]

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/125954136...mis&media=COPY

Still only one bid, I doubt it will go above £1500, I have found when there is a reserve people don't bid as freely.

[baggy798]

Originally Posted by capt jack

Bit harsh there! It's not a showroom model for sure, but it's not that bad!

Jack

Am kidding! Just thought it funny how everyone is wishing doom and justice on the new seller, so I adjusted my evaluation to suit.😂

[irishcarfan]

I will admit I was looking at this thread from here in Dublin wondering if I could justify a flight, the boat home, the VRT (which was the crippling factor c. €1400), which basically would have turned it into a 5 grand car for me. I was even asking siblings if I could park a car at their property but alas no was the answer - no room at the inn, so I just couldn't. But that's a reflection of how well you presented and maintained the car.

Now, as bad is it seems that this chap is flipping it, at least he didn't buy it from you, promptly lose the only key it had, offer to sell it back to you minus said key.. only to then have it scrapped. All within a couple of weeks. That's what happened to our lovely 1 previous owner 99 S40 2.0 that we owned for over a decade. Wanted for nothing and even had new Bridgestone Potenzas on it...!

Some people...

[capt jack]

Thanks - I'm rather chuffed that you were thinking of exporting my car to Ireland. If I'd have known I'd have offered a part-ex deal involving a serious quantity of proper Guinness!

To be fair, I don't mind that the new owner is aiming to make a quick profit - it's his car now and up to him what he does with it. I do think that if you're looking to buy and sell quickly for a profit, a 27-year-old 3-litre Volvo possibly isn't the optimum candidate. I'd have thought that a smaller more economical modern car, a petrol automatic for example, would be a smarter buy. Or if it's to be a classic, then something like a VW Golf, or maybe an older Escort or Cortina, would be more likely to turn out to be a winner. Or if you want to go with a Volvo, then a good 240 estate, ideally with the 2.3 litre redblock engine.

Big old RWD Volvo saloons are great but they will only appeal to a relatively small potential market, whereas a Golf for example would attract a bigger audience.

As it is, my feeling would be there's a fair chance that at best the new vendor will break even, but I guess that's a chance any car "flipper" has to take. He may prove me wrong, and if so good luck to him.

My take on all this is that the S90 gave me 5 faithful years and 50,000 miles of trouble-free motoring, in some style, at pretty much zero depreciation, and I can't complain at that!

Jack

[baggy798]

Oops, I accidentally bid £12600.😐

[Othen]

Originally Posted by baggy798

Oops, I accidentally bid £12600.😐

¿Qué? Are we saying there is some shill bidding going on?



Addendum: There may be some shill bidding going on with this seller. I can see they sold a MX5 that had been through the wringer 3 times (and perhaps will appear again?). It looks like the seller's tactic is to start auctions low and set a reserve at what is really required to show a profit, but it looks like they are not agin a bit of shill assistance to help the bidding along.

I know, I should get out more...

[360beast]

Originally Posted by Othen

¿Qué? Are we saying there is some shill bidding going on?



Addendum: There may be some shill bidding going on with this seller. I can see they sold a MX5 that had been through the wringer 3 times (and perhaps will appear again?). It looks like the seller's tactic is to start auctions low and set a reserve at what is really required to show a profit, but it looks like they are not agin a bit of shill assistance to help the bidding along.

I know, I should get out more...

Baggy bid that much to see what the reserve is which is £2200 and then asked for his bid to be retracted as it is back down to £1240 now

So the seller is hoping to make a few hundred at the most on it, which is quite a small profit considering the amount of hassle he is going to have trying to sell it.

[Othen]

Originally Posted by 360beast

Baggy bid that much to see what the reserve is which is £2200 and then asked for his bid to be retracted as it is back down to £1240 now

So the seller is hoping to make a few hundred at the most on it, which is quite a small profit considering the amount of hassle he is going to have trying to sell it.

Oh I see Luke. I'm not sure how bidding £1260 helps find out the reserve is £2,200 - but that doesn't matter. I'd agree that it must hardly be worth going to all the effort and expense of buying and collecting the motor car, insuring it and advertising it to make £450. I noticed with the MX5 it had been through the eBay wringer 3 times before eventually selling for 2 grand (which it would seem was the reserve).

Alan

[360beast]

Originally Posted by Othen

Oh I see Luke. I'm not sure how bidding £1260 helps find out the reserve is £2,200 - but that doesn't matter. I'd agree that it must hardly be worth going to all the effort and expense of buying and collecting the motor car, insuring it and advertising it to make £450. I noticed with the MX5 it had been through the eBay wringer 3 times before eventually selling for 2 grand (which it would seem was the reserve).

Alan

He bid £12600 not £1260.

I assume he is hoping to get a lot more than £2200 but that would probably be the max a 960 would go for.