Quote:
Originally Posted by ttimbo
Now, project forward to June 202x, when both cars are being sold by their respective owners. Both vehicles will have more or less the same Red Book or Glass's value...but one owner paid $10k less. That owner is ahead — simple.
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Hi ttimbo, if you refer to my original post (section about pre-owned M3 valuation on CarSales), there is indeed a $10k difference between two identical cars, 1-year apart. So if a buyer got a 1-year old demo for $10k less than BTO, all else being equal, the 1-year older demo vehicle will also sell for $10k less when the owner decides to move on to the next car. So in the above fictitious scenario, both the demo buyer and the BTO buyer paid a fair price for what they’ve purchased.
On the other hand, if a 1-year-old demo car was only $3,000 less than the best price of a BTO, that price tag would not impressive me. Sure, the buyer paid $3k less for their vehicle (lower entry price), but they also bought one year older car which will sell for $10k less (much lower exit price). Of course, if the demo car was first registered in Feb 2019 and the BTO was Aug 2019, the story would be different as they are both built in the same year (the resale value would be comparable.
At the end of the day, we all have to weigh up the numbers and decide for ourselves. No wrong decisions here. Some people are cashed up and time-poor, they will walk into a dealer and pay full retail price. Is that wrong? Not for the one with cash. Could they have gotten a better dealer? Sure. Is that important for everyone? Certainly not.
Quote:
Originally Posted by ttimbo
And it's pretty likely no-one buying from that owner will ask (or care) whether it was BTO or bought off the forecourt!
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If the demo car was never registered and lived a life with a trader plate, the buyer would not know. However, if the demo car was registered to the dealer for a year, the new buyer will know that they will be the 3rd owner of the vehicle. That may or may not have an impact on the final selling price. All depends on the buyer and what they value (e.g. built date, number of previous owners, mileage, tracked, etc.,)