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Devaluation of car because it is a RHD car in France


Kitty
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I can't find a thread or post about this.  I am about to sell a RHD car on LeBonCoin that is too old to go back to the UK for sale.

I'm researching prices.  How much do you think that a RHD car is devalued compared to its LHD equivalents?

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Sorry to hijack, but we are in a quandary about which car to sell (OH now has company car and 2 people do not need 3 cars between them!).

We have a LHD 15 year old Golf diesel and a RHD 8 year old Zafira.  Neither exactly worth mega-bucks, but one needs getting rid of. 

I would prefer to keep the golf - she's just more stable in the winter and I feel safer in her on snowy and icy roads, and obviously much cheaper to fuel, but I have a suspicion I should soldier on with the Zafira, and flog my lovely Gloria.

Boo hoo!

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Put it on an angloinfo site, there are always tons of brits looking to move back to the UK and they may be looking for a RH drive car. Otherwise if you have relatives in the UK, why not put it inthe Autotrader mag and put it on their drive for them to sell for you - we did that with a pickup, sold within 24hrs of appearing in that publication.
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If we are talking about older vehicles whilst they may be considereably devalued compared to the price of a LHD version in France you may be surprised that to the right buyer the vehicle could be worth double the UK value such is the difference in price for older vehicles.

Dave 21478 once posted about a RHD Vauxhall Estate that he sold in France for spares for considereably more than its UK value, the phone rang off the hook and the buyer travelled the length of France to collect it, he said that he would have paid double and was considering not using it as a donor vehicle but registering it as it was in better condition than his own.

Worth a punt if you have the time, you could also put them both up for sale and see which one goes first to resolve your dilemma.

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Many thanks for the suggestions.  They are both French registered, hadn't thought of selling the Zafira for spares - presumably if sold for spares there is no need for a recent CT ??

Would much rather keep Gloria - she's a tatty thing, 455K on the clock, but I love her!

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[quote user="Chancer"]

If we are talking about older vehicles whilst they may be considereably devalued compared to the price of a LHD version in France you may be surprised that to the right buyer the vehicle could be worth double the UK value such is the difference in price for older vehicles.

Dave 21478 once posted about a RHD Vauxhall Estate that he sold in France for spares for considereably more than its UK value, the phone rang off the hook and the buyer travelled the length of France to collect it, he said that he would have paid double and was considering not using it as a donor vehicle but registering it as it was in better condition than his own.

Worth a punt if you have the time, you could also put them both up for sale and see which one goes first to resolve your dilemma.

[/quote]

Yep, it was a V6 Vectra SRi. I bought it in UK to tow big trailer down here, ran about in it for a while, and advertised it on LeBonCoin for something cheeky like nearly double what I paid. The first serious phone call was a chap from near Paris who pleaded and begged me not to sell it to anyone else, he would definately buy it. He turned up on the tain, paid cash and drove it home. He wanted it for the engine as his own had blown up and they are rare to find second hand and very pricey for a re-con unit here. He reckoned he might keep the whole car and break up his own one as mine was in better nick, had air con, cruise control etc. He also said as he left that he would have happily paid significantly more than I advertised it for.

Something like a golf though.....assuming its a run-of-the-mill model with nothing desireable, its unlikely to fetch great money. However, I would say that for spares here in France it might well sell for as much as a running car would in the UK, so always worth a punt. Look online to see how much LHD equivelants go for and also check wanted ads for people looking for parts. Realistically, by the time you factor in fuel, ferry etc, then returning it to UK to sell it will likely leave you with nothing in your pocket, unless you can use the return trip for something else.

My old Uk-spec and registered 406 estate sat unused in Carcassonne airport parking for about a month, and I had left a for-sale ad on it. Some ex-pat called me and paid a decent sum for it for his return to UK.

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I am confused, mainly because of the hijack...  Is everyone saying that there is no devaluation?

I was asking about devaluation from French values of LHD cars not devaluation from UK values of RHD cars.

The car is a 1996 Land Rover Discovery with one owner (me) but it is French registered with 5 months left on the controle technique.  I have been comparing prices on LeBonCoin of similar LHD vehicles and was unsure whether to apply a percentage discount for it being RHD.  I have not compared UK values.

Thanks for the advice about AngloInfo.  That's a good idea.

(Message for Pierre - I cannot find how to pick up my Private Messages.)

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[quote user="Kitty"](Message for Pierre - I cannot find how to pick up my Private Messages.)


[/quote]If you go to the main forum page you should see a line of menu items starting with Active at the left hand end. You will see Personal messages at the right hand end of this list. You will only see this once you are logged in.
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Clearly, all other things being equal and for a given price, 99% of French buyers will go for the LHD car. British buyers are unlikely to be too interested as the same car could probably be got from UK for considerably less so to attract any buyers you would have to pitch in at a significant price reduction, at least 25% I would say.

Re the CT, you do know that when selling a car it should, by law, have a CT less than 6 months old. In practice if both parties agree you can sell without it but if you do then you should be prepared to accept significantly less than the already reduced RHD price [;-)]

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I am sorry if it was me that has confused you but I really dont see it as a hijack, your sentence "I was asking about devaluation from French values of LHD cars not devaluation from UK values of RHD cars" certainly confused me as it reads as if you in fact have a LHD car so I had to check the title and your first posting again.

Unless your car has changed from LHD to RHD it cannot have devalued as a consequence, to compare its value with a LHD model is like comparing apples with oranges, as Idun has said the vast majority of French drivers would have no interest at all in it and hence for all intents and purposes it has no value or to use your phraseology 100% devaluation, however if as Dave 21478 has explained it is a sought after vehicle there will be those that are willing to accept the wheel on the wrong side to be able to drive the car they yearn for for say 30-50% less than they could buy one for in France.

Also to be remembered that any car in reasonable roadworthy condition costs a minimum of €3000 in France, people are always telling me that to buy their first car for their sons/daughters they cannot find anything suitable under €3000, now whilst they dont want a RHD for their kids to learn in or while they are unexperienced drivers these same ados once they want to move up and have decided on a Golf or whatever your other car is would be very tempted by any discount, they would be lucky to get even €10 off from the average French seller, to them having a RHD would be seen as cool, I know this because I am frequently stopped and asked "how can I register a RHD car, i want one".

So if you have an Argus value for the same but LHD vehicle I would advertise it at 20-30% less and make a thing about how much cheaper it is, put the French Argus value in the advert and say that it is à debattre those that are interested wil soon make contact with you. 

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Thank you to one and all.  I shall let you know what happens.  I am hoping to get it onto LeBonCoin and AngloInfo tomorrow.  It sounds as if a 25% devaluation will still be more than the UK.

These days, I am often confused [8-)] so don't worry about the hijack.  I had to read the posts several times before I understood.  Then again, I didn't make it that clear from the outset.  So thank to all of you for being so patient.

I took the photographs tonight in the sunny weather that we are unexpectedly having.  Let us hope that the good weather this week will bring some buyers out of the woodwork...

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Hmmm, not sure why I thought it was a Golf - must be another post in this thread.

A Landrover is actually quite sought-after here, especially for parts. Assuming its in good running order (probably a 300TDi engine?) then the motor alone is potentially worth €2k+

Plus, anyone with a bit of tech savvy and a dead landrover on their driveway could convert yours to LHD with minimal fuss and get themselves a decent car at a cheaper price than the french standrd equivelant.

If you have no luck with a private sale, there are a few specialist Landrover Dismantlers who buy up cars and may offer a reasonable price. Look up places like technoland4x4 and JPLand.

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I have sold my beloved Land Rover on Le Bon Coin after nearly a couple of decades of faithful service.

There was no devaluation on selling my RHD car in France.  As a result of these posts, as I was working out the price, I decided to increase the amount that I wanted by 200 euros and got it.  So thank you, Forum.  [:D]

I was inundated with calls.  People were prepared to come from the length and breadth of France.  The buyer did a 7 hour round trip and pleaded with me to secure it.  He was fluent in English and his wife felt that a RHD car was fun to have.

The car had an oil leak, no power steering, no radio, tired interior (from all my children), a large dent from an accident (not my fault but my OH) that I hadn't bothered to repair, corrosion on the under chassis etc etc.  The advert was honest and any enquirers were sent a document with photographs and script of all these problems.

I did fill up the car tank on the day of the sale (do unto others etc) and the buyers said that was the difference between the Brits and the French.  They said that the French would have drained the tank.

So to anyone wanting to sell a RHD car in France, I would suggest Le Bon Coin and do not devalue it.  Place it on with the LHD price and see what happens.

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I found Le Bon Coin very easy to advertise on.  I had prepared some words offline, using other Land Rover adverts but once online, the advert took 10 minutes.  It is equally easy to modify the advert or to delete it.

A recommended site for selling things.  AND its free ...

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