Best Way to Advertise

[Roadrunner]

Due to health issues the time has come for me to consider selling my Excel. I am wondering though which avenue would be most appropriate to achieve a best price in a bewildering array of auction houses, online market places and potential private sales sites?

Its '84 car (previously owned by a number forum members and referred to as 'Lola') is in very good order and is unusual in having a full and expensive Lotusbits engine rebuild and major performance upgrade just a few years ago with minimal miles since then. It is now registered 'historic' and will probably appeal most to an enthusiast rather than mainstream.

[Hawaiis0]

Obviously you can post in the sales here. (Free)
Then there is the Facebook sales page. (Free)
thelotusforum also do classifieds. (Free)
The car market is a bit down at the moment so not good for sellers.

The lotusbits engine work will stand you in good stead, but we tend not to fully recoup those type of expenses.

Pictures are a must.

I would post on all the above and just bide your time.

The odd car show also can help advertise

Stu

[supraholic]

In the U.S. at least, more and more, sellers are using online auction sites like Bring-a-Trailer. If you post a couple hundred very detailed photographs, a cold-startup and driving video, and actively monitor the chat and quickly answer all posted questions, you could do pretty well without ever even having to show the car. There are plenty of high-stakes gamblers online, ready and willing to bid on classic cars sight-unseen (I'm not one of them). The auctions typically only last seven days so almost nobody can cancel appointments and meetings, beg off deadlines at work, take off a couple of days and arrange to travel to inspect a car on such short notice. And the chances that a potential bidder is local is usually slim. Thus, the seller unlikely has to deal with joy-riders, tire-kickers, or no-shows. I get it. That's a pain. I occasionally see cars located in Europe posted on BaT, but it does appear to be a mostly US focused auction. I would assume that since BaT (100 to 150 cars per day) and some of its copycats are doing so well here, that it would also be replicated in the UK.

As a buyer tho, I only bid on what I can inspect, and have thus far, all but once, found massive amounts of problems. There are always cosmetic flaws not obvious in the photos (an amateur paint job can look amazing on your laptop screen), not disclosed in the description (if a bidder doesn't ask, then it must not matter) and mechanical problems undetectable in the videos (you can't feel a mushy brake pedal or a sloppy shifter in a video). I managed to win one auction, but it was a local car and I already knew the guy who restored it before it was posted. Generally tho, I get way outbid by the people who are bidding sight-unseen, long-distance and unaware of all the hidden problems. Its frustrating, seeing a car that I would dearly love to own posted on a seven-day auction, 1,000 miles away.

My recommendation tho is to consign it to a classic car dealer. I've both bought and sold classic cars that way and yes, the seller has to pay a commission, but they do all the work . I don't have to show the car. Don't even have to take photos. And I'm basically getting free storage (its in their warehouse leaving me space available immediately for my next toy). Best of all, they generally assume all the risk. Like the one I used, they pay me as soon as they have a contract. Then if the buyer backs out or their check is no good or anything else happens to quash the deal, they eat it. That protects buyers too. I once bought an old Dodge that turned out to have been stolen 38 years earlier and VIN swapped. Police detective didn't want to investigate a crime that old and suggested that I could apply for a bonded title with the corrected VIN but I just didn't want to mess with it. I took it back to the dealer and got a refund. They were very unhappy with their consignor tho and I don't know if they ever got their money back or not, but I couldn't imagine what a nightmare that would have been if I'd bought the car through an internet auction. Dealers also seem to be able to get higher prices than an individual too because of the conveniences and services they offer. For one thing, they have regular hours and people on staff so buyers can come inspect the car just about any time. They have people browsing who just sometimes fall in love with a car that they'd never considered before. And I think its rather dumb to finance a toy, but lots of people do and they offer financing. The online auctions can't offer any of that. So I'm convinced that a consignment dealer is the way to go if you don't want to do it yourself.

[rbgosling]

For the last couple of years I've put together a list of cars for sale, for perusal at the Resto Show at the NEC in March. So I can't tell you where a car will sell best, but I do have an idea of where I mostly see cars for sale.

I probably see more cars on eBay than anywhere else. This is a mixture of maybe 2/3 professional car dealers, 1/3 private sellers. Most are fixed price (or with Best Offer) rather than auction, or are simply Classified Ads that redirect you to the dealers website.

There are a number of other classic car sales websites such as classiccarsforsale.co.uk, mostly what I find are dealer cars that I have also seen on eBay already. www.carandclassic.com/ is probably the best of these for having several cars for sale, some not seen elsewhere.

Pistonheads is good for private sales. I even sold an old diesel Jag X-Type estate on there, despite being far from a sporting model!

Also the Facebook group “Lotus Elite/Eclat/Excel parts and cars for sale” tends to have a few - and that's free, so there's no harm posting there too.

Auctions? There are quite a few out there, Iconic (formerly known as Silverstone) and Anglia Car Auctions may be the biggest ones. There's a page in Practical Classics that lists auctions coming up soon that you could list in. Probably better for getting a guaranteed sale, but may not get such a good price, it's a bit more of a gamble is my impression. Sometimes you can get two people who really want a car and prices go much higher, can go either way.

[MetBlue]

Car & Classics is worth a punt. Basic ads are also free still I believe.
I sold an XK8 in less than a week through it when I saw the light and came back to Lotus.
I think it works best if you have a good low mileage car in VGC. Within 24 hours of posting the Jag, a guy was in email contact asking for detailed photos of many areas. I sensed he was a dealer down in Surrey. Within 3 days we had a deal (he hadn't seen the car in person). A week to the day of posting he came up and collected. No issues or questions.

1 month later it was on his web site for 50% more than he paid me, but I could see he'd done a couple of jobs I told him about before the sale and a new MOT.

Tony

[Roadrunner]

Many thanks to all for all the really helpful advice and direction. It really is appreciated.

[supraholic]

I sold an XK8 in less than a week through it when I saw the light and came back to Lotus.

I really ought to sell my Jaguar sedans (my previous daily drivers) to make room for another classic car on my wish list, but my problem is that I like them too much to let them go for current market value. I don't know what the market is like over there, but here in the states, Jaguar already held at least one land speed record..... for fastest depreciation. Jaguar under Ford was trying to overcome the reputation of the British Leyland years and Tata's management of the brand seems committed to ensuring the record will stand forever.

Even on BaT, similar examples to my 2012 XF 5.0L Portfolio (x250) have been selling for less you'd pay a local used car lot for a Honda Accord of the same age with twice the mileage. I still enjoy the XF, but I won't drive it any farther than my AAA policy will tow it. In 2022I had to stop in a Jaguar dealer to have something checked while on a trip 1,000 miles from home. It was really minor and they got me on my way in a couple of hours, but now my two closest Jaguar dealers plus the one I stopped at on my trip have all closed, unwilling to invest in the upgrades necessary to sell their new, completely bespoke, all-electric models. They probably see the writing on the wall as most dealerships have given up their Jaguar franchise and some closed completely. My nearest Range Rover says they'll still take care of warranty work on late model Jaguars and sell parts, but they're referring older models like mine to an independent shop here in town. That independent shop is making repair appointments a month to two months out (and then they called me a day before to postpone me by a week). If I couldn't fix 85% of it myself, I'd have no choice but to sell (anything with the computer like firmware updates I have to take it in). Buyers who see the Leapers coming down off the dealership marquee signs are right to worry about what would they do if their old Jaguar broke down while on a trip, or how long they'd have to rent a car even if it broke down a block from home. Thus the values have really plummeted.

My 2000 XJ8 4.0L (x308) is now about one of the cheapest used cars on the market despite that contrary to rumor, it was bulletproof for its first 17 years. I still like driving it better than the XF, but its now more than twice the mileage and twice as old. Unfortunately, something splattered on the paint a couple years ago and the repair will cost about 3x what it's worth, so now I'm using it as my foul weather "beater". When you're a gearhead tho, you make irrational decisions like keeping way more old cars than you need and continuing to spend money on insurance, upkeep and storage. Financially I'd be better off to just sell them both for whatever I could get, cut my losses and fill those garage bays with other classic cars that are more likely to appreciate in value. Don't know what made you decide to sell, but I just can't make myself let go.

[bash]

Auctions can throw up some bargains if you are buying but ........ This is coming up for sale at Mathewsons and the estimate looks very low so it will be interesting to see what it goes for. Cars that go through them mostly seem to pull decent money but not Lotus for some reason.

Bash
https://www.mathewsons.co.uk/auction/lo ... 6&pn=9&g=1

[fueltheburn]

Good cars always find decent owners.

I technically owned Lola twice. I have a picture somewhere where she was parked up surrounded by the supercars from a red letter day at my house... Guess which one got the most interest.

This has always been a driven car for most of its ownership which is actually quite an important detail. Shows usability. I did trips from Aberdeenshire to Suffolk in that car without issue.

[TrevorK]

Auctions can throw up some bargains if you are buying but ........ This is coming up for sale at Mathewsons and the estimate looks very low so it will be interesting to see what it goes for. Cars that go through them mostly seem to pull decent money but not Lotus for some reason.

Bash
https://www.mathewsons.co.uk/auction/lo ... 6&pn=9&g=1

Sold for £3,400.

[Lotus-e-Clan]

Auctions can throw up some bargains if you are buying but ........ This is coming up for sale at Mathewsons and the estimate looks very low so it will be interesting to see what it goes for. Cars that go through them mostly seem to pull decent money but not Lotus for some reason.

Bash
https://www.mathewsons.co.uk/auction/lo ... 6&pn=9&g=1

Sold for £3,400.

Bargain!

Value betrayed by a bad respray, droopy headlights, and an engine bay that tells a story?

[bash]

I hope some love is thrown at it because at that price its worth more in parts. Far, far too cheap but a bargain in the right hands. Just goes to show that auctions are a big lottery.

Bash