The Mysterious Glass's Guide

[monVR6 0]

Hi all

 

Bit of a long story here - so apologies in advance :?

 

Anyway - me and the missus have been looking at getting a family truckster - (naturally - the VR will remain as my favourite toy) - so I went to look at a Toyota Corolla Verso today - on a 2002/02 plate. Well - I was pretty impressed and am tempted to go for it. But - the figures the dealer quoted don't seem to stack up. As usual, the Glass's Guide came out and he was happy to show me figures for the car in question - however, he then said "hang on let me check I've got the right model" - and nipped out the back - only to return with the guide showing the retail price at £5425 - he has it up for £3995 :scratch:

 

So - I'm thinking that whilst "nipping out the back" - he perhaps sneakily got out an old Glass's which naturally would have a higher retail price to try and enhance what a cracking deal this was - and at that point I fell for it. But with time to reflect - I started to think - why would a dealer who is in business to make some cash sell a car - (which looked good and tidy) - for 25%ish under book :confused4:

 

So - I checked Parkers - which I know is not the preferred valuation - but this showed the price at about £4100 for a 60K miler - much closer to the asking price.

 

I've therefore started to think that this guy is trying it on a bit - not that it's a bad deal - but that he's treating me like an idiot - (which admittedly I sometimes am) . . . but this all makes me rather sodding angry :mad2:

 

So - couple of questions - what are the general opinions on this sorry state of affairs?? Also - do we have any friendly sales guys out there on the forum who can check the latest guide for me please? The car in question is a T-spirit Corolla Verso in Met. Silver with 70K on a 2002/02 plate - in good condition. If the price is not showing £5425 - is there an older guide that does show this price?

 

I know I am asking a lot here - but perhaps discussing this may help us all if we ever encounter similar situations?? And finally - why are these guides so bloody secret and shrouded in mystery??

 

Cheers all - llok forward to your thoughts . . .

MonVR6

[Sonicriot13 0]

Hey buddy,

 

I'll have a look for you today. We own a Toyota franchise as well so I'll ask them. Everything goes on our forecourt slightly (couple of hundred quid maybe) higher than what Glass's says. Gives us more room to move. It's no secret really. We would never put anything on our forecourt for less than Glass's though, that's for sure.

 

I don't know why Glass's is kept under wraps so much. You can pay for glass's valuations online so the general public do have access to it. I show it to people all the time. If only to emphasize the ridiculous valuations people place on their own cars when they are trying to trade them in.

[Andy665 0]

The two main industry valuation guides are Glass's and CAP. I always prefer CAP (Current Auction Prices) and an increasing number of dealers use CAP as it seems to be generally more accurate, its not uncommon to see valuations for the same car differ by as much as £1.5 - 2k on a £10 - 12k'ish car.

 

At the end of the day both Glass's and CAP are a guide, no more, no less.

 

It does seem as if the dealer you have been to has a stash of old guides - for future reference all copies of Glass's have the current month either on the spine or the front cover

[Walesy 0]

http://www.virtual-showroom.co.uk/scrip ... essionid=0

 

It doesn't always have a value for the car/model you're looking for but give it a try, it looks like if it's a diesel it should be up for around £4k in excellent condition.

 

EDIT - Sonicriot - wtf is a 'car sales executive' ? :scratch: :lol: - do you mean salesman? :wink:

[monVR6 0]

Morning all

 

Thanks very much for the input - so it looks like maybe he's trying to be a bit clever with the pricing he's showing me then!

 

The car is a 1.8VVTi Petrol T-Spirit - so I'm assuming this would be cheaper than a diesel?

 

It's a shame because I like the car - but if this guy is trying to play me - it just makes me doubt integrity etc etc. To a certain extent - even if the car is well-priced - the bully bullsh*t he's come out with worries me - (he also seemed to think my wifes trade-in Punto 1.2 16V was a group 14 insurance car :wave:

 

Is there much difference between a diesel and petrol for Versos?

 

Thanks again

[Walesy 0]

Price wise, according to the guide they appear to have the same value?

[monVR6 0]

Great - thanks - so his asking price of £3995 is pretty much on the mark if he considers it excellent. It is pretty good - couple of minor marks but nothing major. He's an independant dealer by the way - but I suppose that doesn't make any odds?

 

Anyway - it defo looks like he has shown me an old guide (the tinker) - perhaps I should get him to show me the figure again - and then ask him to look up the Punto for a trade-in - if it's an old Glass's version he's using, the Punto should be a higher price - that would piss on his bonfire :)

[Jim 2]

You can go and buy the actual glasses guide in good newsagents (WH Smiths?) - might be worth arming yourself with a copy just to see whats what!

[Walesy 0]

I suppose if you're happy with the car and didn't pay over the odds (which it looks like you haven't) then put it down to experience - unfortunately there are quite alot of 'car sales executives' that like to ham things up and tell you what you want to hear just to get a sale, so you really do need to do your own research and judge the car on it's own merit, rather than get taken in by a sales pitch :)

[monVR6 0]

Well big thanks once again all.

 

I must say - the knowledge and experience on this forum - on so many different subjects is vast - and always really helpful. I salute you all :salute:

 

Unfortunately, it will be difficult for me to ever repay this knowledge - unless anyone ever gets stuck on a particularly challenging Sudoku puzzle . .

[Sonicriot13 0]

EDIT - Sonicriot - wtf is a 'car sales executive' ? :scratch: :lol: - do you mean salesman? :wink:

 

Some car salesmen are women these days, like get with the times man, so we have to be called "executives". :lol:

 

Had a look at Glass's today and that price seems about right. I don't know what he was playing at showing you an old guide.... Some people just seem intent on giving us car sales EXECUTIVES a bad name! :lol:

[scarlet_vr6 0]

Some car salesmen are women these days, like get with the times man, so we have to be called "executives". :lol:

 

I used to sell cars and I'd have preferred 'salesman' - Alfa Romeo Sales Executive made for some unfortunate initials underneath my name on my business cards.....

[Walesy 0]

:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

 

Somewhat ironic tbh :)

[Sonicriot13 0]

It is a bit sad really. It reminds me of The Apprentice. They'll have some guy who's responsible for restocking frozen peas in a major supermarket and he'll describe himself as a global vegetable stock control executive. :lol:

[Andy665 0]

I just don't do the fancy title thing - they can call me anything they like as long as I'm earning the money.

 

My business cards don't have a title on them, I could have chosen one of four but declined them all, I'd prefer to be judged by what I do not what my title says I do

[corozin 0]

Glasses' guide shows the trade price, not the forecourt price. I wouldn't get hung up about the Glasses' book. The reason for the difference you're seeing could be the additional depreciation against the mileage. 70k for a 5 year old car is above average (48k), so you should expect it to book below average for that reason alone. Will also depend on the dealer's interpretation of the A1/good condition situation.

 

I suspect in this case the guy may be desperate to move the Verso - hence the lower price. Times are tough out there right now. You might be able to haggle him down a bit more even

 

Just my 2p.... clink...