Tomo3090 Posted October 4, 2007 Share Posted October 4, 2007 Seen an advert today for Marquis vans asking for used/nearly new vans wantws and top prices paid. Has anyone followed this up and if so how good a deal did they offer? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BGD Posted October 5, 2007 Share Posted October 5, 2007 Hi Tomo - In answer to your specific question, no. But generally, and certainly in the used car and motorcycle trade, dealers who advertise in the same sort of way generally offer WAY below what you might be able to achieve by selling privately. Think about it for a sec: what does "top prices paid" actually mean? Utterly nothing./ It's simply a throwaway advertising line. They don't have to justify or prove that legally - which is why so many dealers say the same thing. But unless they all offered you EXACTLY the same amount of money for your van, it isn't true in practice. Reason: c'os they sell on, and their selling price is what the market can stand, not their buying price. The difference of course is their margin, and that's why they are in business. The only advantage would be if you were really desperate for cash, right now. By all means approach them for a price, but I would commend you to think carefully about trying to sell privately (if indeed you want to sell), and do get real prices from other dealers too. Cheers, Bruce. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tomo3090 Posted October 5, 2007 Author Share Posted October 5, 2007 Cheers Bruce, I don't really want to sell, but we have seen our "perfect" van and now we want one! I could afford one in a year or two when we get our endowment money, but WE WANT IT NOW!!! Their advert says they lost a lot of stock in the floods and need to get more, that's why they are buying used vans. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mel E Posted October 5, 2007 Share Posted October 5, 2007 Marquis have lots of sites and, as far as I know, only one was affected. So it's a come on. Marquis is owned by the Italian SEA Group who also own Elnagh, Mobilvetta, Joint, Arca, and several others. Apart from having the insurance cover to restore their position after the floods they have a blooming big group. The last thing I'd be doing in that position is scrabbling around looking for individual purchases. I'd probably thank the floods for getting rid of those items of stock that weren't moving. If you really must have a new 'van now, try part exchange with the dealer you'd buy from, or sell privately (an MMM Classified works best) and put up with the delay. Better still, stick with what you've got and invest your endowment proceeds in some decent Unit Trusts/OEICs and, in 5 year's time, you'll be able to afford something even better AND have change. And, by the time you have the proceeds, the market should have crashed nicely and be on another recovery path. (In case they try to feel my collar, this is a suggestion and NOT financial advice!). Mel E ==== Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest caraprof Posted October 5, 2007 Share Posted October 5, 2007 Mel E - 2007-10-05 9:13 AM Better still, stick with what you've got and invest your endowment proceeds in some decent Unit Trusts/OEICs and, in 5 year's time, you'll be able to afford something even better AND have change. And, by the time you have the proceeds, the market should have crashed nicely and be on another recovery path. (In case they try to feel my collar, this is a suggestion and NOT financial advice!). Mel E ==== Not the advice I would give. Personally, I called the top of the market three months ago and pulled out all of my investments in equity-based funds. There is a very good chance that we are heading for one of the cyclical downturns, such as when the FTSE, which had peaked at 7000, went down to 4000 (it's currently around 6500).If you invest your nest egg for five years and the markets still perform moderately the motorhome that you want to buy will also have gone up in price considerably and you'll have lost five years' enjoyment of it!My advice would be to buy the new M/H, as long as you can afford it comfortably, and enjoy it for as long as you can.You're a long time dead! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RonB Posted October 5, 2007 Share Posted October 5, 2007 I'm glad that you called the top of the market Frank, like a lot of savvy investors, but you should have also have called the bottom (sell high-buy low) and you would now be sitting on a 13% gain in two and a bit months. However, I agree that investing in the markets on a set time scale is not the way to fund the purchase of a motorhome as there can be far too many short term variables present. Treat a hobby as just that, spend the money and enjoy it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LordThornber Posted October 5, 2007 Share Posted October 5, 2007 As former Secretary of an investment club, I speak with authority, (yeh right). Finding bottoms is a filthy habit :D :D Martyn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LordThornber Posted October 5, 2007 Share Posted October 5, 2007 May I ask to whom you called the market to Frank? Martyn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
howie Posted October 5, 2007 Share Posted October 5, 2007 That "perfect" van you mention sounds familier Tomo. We usually come across this rare species every time we visit a show or dealer, but whenever we are seriously tempted we stand back and consider the van we already have. Only three or four years ago we considered this our perfect van so whats changed. Absolutely nothing, and unless you are in the habit of updating old for new, which is understandable, then you are entering a race where there,s only one winner. Sit on that money for now and enjoy the van you now own. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tomo3090 Posted October 5, 2007 Author Share Posted October 5, 2007 To be honest Howie, we have reached that stage too a few times now! We think we can manage with a few extras for a hundred quid, as opposed to a few thousand! Then we see one again and the yarning starts again! This is a bad habit We've aquired, trouble is we are hooked! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
armstrongpiper Posted October 5, 2007 Share Posted October 5, 2007 Erm, back to the thread...... I have phoned Marquis twice to try and get their price for my 'van. Each time a sweet voice said "the man to speak to is on the other line, leave your number and he will call back". I hadn't told anyone what my 'van actually is, and of course I am still waiting for that call. Waste of time, they are too busy couinting the cash from all their insurance claims. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RonB Posted October 5, 2007 Share Posted October 5, 2007 No their not - just totally incompetent and unprofessional. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cattwg Posted October 5, 2007 Share Posted October 5, 2007 Hi Tomo, We recenty received a letter from Marquis saying that we had a very saleable 'van and that they need stock after the floods. Strange to say we had a very similar letter from them last year! Both ended up in the (re-cycling) bin. Regards Cattwg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest starspirit Posted October 6, 2007 Share Posted October 6, 2007 That's funny - I heard a rumour, which I obviously disregarded as untrue, that Marquis shipped a load of vans in to Tewkesbury just before the flood because their used stock was too high? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tomo3090 Posted October 7, 2007 Author Share Posted October 7, 2007 They're ringing me back on Monday to speak to me then as they were too busy yesterday, so they must have had a queue of people selling them vans! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tomo3090 Posted October 8, 2007 Author Share Posted October 8, 2007 Answer to the question! No it isn't! Offered two grand+ less than Brownhills for my van. So I will have to be patient after all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest starspirit Posted October 9, 2007 Share Posted October 9, 2007 I've never known Marquis ever offer me a good price in any of their branches although Plymouth used to be better than most. These days they are all computer linked so if you get a bad price at one branch and then go to a second branch they can type in your details and see what deal was offered before. I don't know whether each branch has the authority to trade as it sees fit or whether they are governed by a central pricing policy, but I suspect the latter. In my experience the mid sized and smaller family run dealerships tend to give better service and VFM, although it must be said that changing a van can seriously damage your wealth. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
malc d Posted October 9, 2007 Share Posted October 9, 2007 I think in most cases, the bigger the firm the more staff they've got to pay,the more advertising they do,the bigger their overheads all round, the worse their prices. Often true of garages if / when you get your car fixed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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