Looking at used Vantages lately it seems that both prices (asking prices) and miles on used Vantages are both heading up from when I bought mine last year. Is this my imagination? Has anyone else noticed this? I thought with the new GT, prices would head down. I know listed prices and selling prices are two very different things, but rising asking prices would probably mean selling prices is also up. A year ago it was rare to see a Vantage with 20,000 or 30,000 miles in it, now there is plenty.

 

when I was shopping earlier this year. I initially wanted a low miles car (like less than 10k on an 07) But the more I read, the more it seemed these really low mileage cars tended to have issues that would've been sorted under warranty had they been driven. So I'd much rather have a documented 30k mile 07 than an <10k mile 07.

I'd like to think prices were heading up on Vantages but haven't noticed this, lots and lots of supply in the US of V8 vantages for sale. I do think long term, the manual shift cars will bring more money than the sport shift cars.

Chris

 

Since I'm selling my 09 I've kept an eye on prices and I don't think they've gone up and I don't even think there are more higher mileage cars (even though mine is one). There is, however, a definite delineation between the 2009+ with the 4.7 engine and the new interior vs the 2008 and earlier. Not only because of the improvements but, because of the economic hit in 09, the production volume of Vantages was significantly higher for the 2008 and earlier cars, so there are fewer 09 and newer cars on the market.

But zvez is right, I'd be much more concerned about a a very low mileage car unless you knew it was properly stored. These are modern cars and not only can be driven but are better when they are driven.

With prices, as usual, some people and dealers like to ask for pretty high prices. I don't know whether or not they get them. If I could find my car a good home I'd perfectly willing to give someone a pretty good deal.

 

Based on the experience of selling my V8V, I would say it is not your imagination. Prices are definitely up. Let's just say I have surprised my dealer.

 

did you sell yours Karl? Congrats!

 

Close, but can't celebrate just yet. The deposit has been wired but the I won't consider the deal fully complete until the full balance is paid and the car is shipped. I have received (and continue to receive) many offers though and several have been surprisingly high. The dealer couldn't believe some of the offers I was turning down. I have been pleasantly surprised. So far, eBay and 6-speed have been the most effective as far as visibility. Cars.com was a waste.

 

Interesting. I didn't try ebay but all of the responses I've gotten have been through cars.com. I actually think the searching abilities on the cars.com site are better than a lot of the others.

 

I bought a super low mile 9k mile one owner car that was maticulously maintained and was perfect, so tha theory is definitely not founded at all.

Also, wholesale prices of the astons a re collapsing so it's definitely your imagination. The retail prices are still stable but as more high mileage cars get on the market the retail prices should drop. The new price floor for the older higher mileage cars is around $50k now.

Don't obsess over price or value, just buy it, maintain it, and keep it (trust me). If you sell it you will regret it plain & simple (unless you are upgrading to an even nicer Aston of course).

 

Hmm. Well, it looks like my car is sold!

Here are some of my comparison metrics that may help you out with your sale, Jay. Note that ads on all sites were placed within a few days of each other (around 6/11/14).

eBay
Total individual views: 2,943
Marked as "watched item": 90
Total offers: 10

6speed
Total thread views: 3,115
Messages on thread: 16

Cars.com
Total page views: 160

My own Vantage 4 Sale website
No individual metrics (wish I would've done that in retrospect)

Now here's the most interesting part: The actual buyer was one of the few that originally saw the ad in cars.com Go figure!


Some notes for aspiring sellers

• Many people who saw the ad in any of the first 3 sources followed the link to my website.
• Many people who were interested in the car attributed their interest on the website in general and my photographs in particular.
• You need to do something to make your car stand out from the pack. Think about it, almost all the ads look exactly the same: A few thumbnail pics, make, model, year, mileage, options, new tires, "properly cared-for, garaged, non-smoker, little old lady, only drove it to church on Sundays, yadda, yadda, yadda…" This is why I chose to make my car ad look like a brochure/manufacturer website.
• I made the eBay ad a Buy it Now with a "best offer" feature rather than an auction. This gave me the opportunity to gauge what people were willing to pay or at least what the first lowball offer they hoped I would accept would be.
• I chose not to automatically decline any offers, no matter how low, because I read somewhere that you want to encourage as many offers as possible.
• Each declined offer was replied with a nice polite statement and a counteroffer to encourage further offers. The more lowball their offer, the less I would drop my counteroffer from the original asking price. (two can play that game )
• The longest I could put on ad on eBay for was 21 days, so I had to re-list it last weekend when I was still unsure if it was sold.
• Many indicated they were looking for a manual gearbox.
• I’m actually surprised at how low the prices that dealers are willing to accept are these days and that doesn’t help you as you are in competition with them. I know my dealer was selling newer (but not as nice) cars for less than I was willing to accept for mine and that is why I decided to sell on my own.
• Having my dealership assist with the sale process was an invaluable asset and I think that helped with buyer confidence. They were able to do things that would have been very difficult for me to do. I did pay them a large (but fair) fee for this service.
• Having the option to buy the car with factory warranty was a big draw. However, all the most seriously interested buyers were willing to forgo the warranty (these cars are fairly reliable after all) in order to get the car for less.
• Having nice options included on the car such as clear taillights, N420 sills, and Sport Pack wheels helps sell a car as these are very desirable options to many buyers who have done their research.
• Putting an ad on Pistonheads is probably a waste of time if you are trying to sell a car in the US as it is mostly a UK site and, unlike 6Speed, it costs money to put an ad there.
• The ad on eBay costs $40 for 21 days and there are no additional fees beyond that.
• The ad on Cars was free, but they did call me within 24 hours of creating it to verify its authenticity before the ad could go "live".
• Autotrader and Hemmings also cost money and don't know if they are the proper audience for a modern Aston Martin.
• Unlike some think, you aren't limited to only 5 pictures on your 6Speed ad. Just use a free photo site like Photobucket and paste links to all your images in your ad just like you do on any other thread post. As a bonus, the pictures come up full size and not as some tiny thumbnail that you have to actively click on and only can show one enlarged picture at a time.
• You have to be sincere. If you don’t have passion for the car you are selling, it is difficult to get others to feel that way. Try to picture yourself on the buying-end of a deal and think about the things you would be looking for.
• Be willing to talk on end about your car to strangers and, again, be sincere. They might be parting with a huge chunk of cash, so their confidence in you as a seller is paramount.
• The deal is not complete until you get paid. I had one guy from Mexico string me along for a couple of weeks and then 4 days before the deal was to be completed and he was to fly over to meet me at the dealership, he fell off the radar, never to be heard from again. I tried email, text, phone calls, voice mails and not once did he reply which I think is a bit rude.
• I may have some goodies left over to sell, so check the classifieds or eBay in the near future.

An interesting story
Aston Martin Lagonda in the UK somehow became aware of my website. I don't know how. They actually called AM North America who then called my dealer to track me down. They were very complimentary of the site but had a few concerns with copyright infringement which they wanted me to address. This is the reason that, after the first week, I removed the AM wing logo from the site and changed the "Vantage" logo to something of my own creation. I didn't want to receive a nice Cease & Desist letter from my favorite car company.

In the end, the sales manager at my dealership attributes the success of my sale to the website and its pictures. He told me today that he is afraid to show the dealership owner the ad for fear that he may request that all of their ads are done similarly. I thought that was very flattering.

Feel free to add a link to this post on the FAQ if you think others will find it helpful.

 

Oh, and a little secret…
…the car was never in a studio for this shot.

 

Excellent narrative of your sale. Great photos and strong seller's notes will make a vehicle stand out from the crowd. You proved that rule true. Nicely done!

 

Great writeup Karl.

Over the years I've found sale higher end cars privately to be a total pain in the a**. So glad it worked well for you, but you did put a lot of great effort into selling which worked well for you.

I think the part most frustrating in private sales is all the tire kickers who will spend loads of the seller's time with no real serious plan to buy. I've pretty just traded in mostly now, which is probably what I'll do when I sell the Vantage.

I do think the wrap on your car is spectacular Karl!

 

That was an awesome post!

 

Would like to see the V12V begin to appreciate...

 

A lot of good information there.

Then again, with cars like this, sometimes its just right person right time.