Selling a Porsche on consignment?

[npvpositive]

Anyone ever sold their Porsche (or another similar car) on consignment?  What do dealers like Duttons, Autohaus and Classic Throttle typically charge as commission for consignment sales?

I assume it's usually a percentage of proceeds?

Thanks!

[FAP911]

I know you can give them a reserve and what they make over and above is theirs! 

[Peter M]

Sold two cars through CTS, both with a flat rate consignment fee.  I would use them again.  Suggest you give them a call and discuss.

[Tips]

My experience with AH is they traditionally work to a percentage of sale price. As Pete said, Give them all a call as it may differ by vehicle and on what the seller wants to achieve.
FYI Dutyons/CTS are one group these days

[NBTBRV8]

Also bear in mind that if in Victoria it is illegal to sell on consignment.   They are the only State that disallow it.

 

I have sold through an official dealer before.

[JLD]

37 minutes ago, NBTBRV8 said:

Also bear in mind that if in Victoria it is illegal to sell on consignment.   They are the only State that disallow it.

 

I have sold through an official dealer before.

I thought this was the case... I wonder how Duttons and Lorbek get around this?

[npvpositive]

7% - 10% seems to be the going rate for consignment.  Painful.  Then again, considering how miserable selling a car can be, it might be money well spent!

 

[1q2w3e4r]

Are you looking to move something on?

[Peter M]

9 hours ago, npvpositive said:

7% - 10% seems to be the going rate for consignment.  Painful.  Then again, considering how miserable selling a car can be, it might be money well spent!

 

Nick,

In my experience they sell at a higher price than what I would have achieved myself on Carsales that more than covers the consignment fees.  Not having to deal with tyre kickers is the icing on the cake.

However looking on Carsales last night for the first time in months surprised me how much the market has slowed, almost to a stop so potential sellers need to be realistic in expectations.

[sleazius]

4 hours ago, Peter M said:

However looking on Carsales last night for the first time in months surprised me how much the market has slowed, almost to a stop so potential sellers need to be realistic in expectations.

Porsche seller - realistic? - hrmmm.

<disclaimer> only applies to the majority, not every P-car seller.

[hugh]

4 hours ago, sleazius said:

Porsche seller - realistic? - hrmmm.

<disclaimer> only applies to the majority, not every P-car seller.

There are as many unrealistic buyers as there are sellers. 

[LeeM]

On 14/02/2020 at 09:46, NBTBRV8 said:

Also bear in mind that if in Victoria it is illegal to sell on consignment.   They are the only State that disallow it.

WTF? 😲 So you're not even allowed to sell a car how you want to sell it? That's ridiculous

[luzzo]

28 minutes ago, LeeM said:

WTF? 😲 So you're not even allowed to sell a car how you want to sell it? That's ridiculous

Just one of the many things this State controls... 

How they got away with the recent increase to MV stamp duty is absurd 

[LeeM]

20 minutes ago, luzzo said:

 

How they got away with the recent increase to MV stamp duty is absurd 

 Minority rules mate. Politicians do whatever the hell they like...They're all scum

[luzzo]

2 minutes ago, LeeM said:

Politicians...

They're all scum

Ohh, stop being so polite..! 

 

[DJM]

On 20/02/2020 at 16:46, hugh said:

There are as many unrealistic buyers as there are sellers. 

I don’t agree. An item is worth what a buyer is prepared to pay for it, irrespective of what a seller (or a forum!) may think it is worth.  Without a willing buyer all you have is a seller with a (sometimes unrealistic) opinion.......

so if a deal is unable to be done, in my experience it’s not that the buyer is unrealistic, he’s just offering what he’s prepared to pay.  Seller is not prepared to accept the market has spoken.

Bottom line, don’t be offended if the guy with cash that you want doesn’t think your car is worth what you think it is.  It’s not personal.......but gee some sellers get cranky and take it is a personal affront if you dare suggest a lower price.  
 

Let’s adopt a no reserve auction for all cars, that’ll separate the sellers from the dreamers.

[NBTBRV8]

53 minutes ago, DJM said:

I don’t agree. An item is worth what a buyer is prepared to pay for it, irrespective of what a seller (or a forum!) may think it is worth.  Without a willing buyer all you have is a seller with a (sometimes unrealistic) opinion.......

so if a deal is unable to be done, in my experience it’s not that the buyer is unrealistic, he’s just offering what he’s prepared to pay.  Seller is not prepared to accept the market has spoken.

Bottom line, don’t be offended if the guy with cash that you want doesn’t think your car is worth what you think it is.  It’s not personal.......but gee some sellers get cranky and take it is a personal affront if you dare suggest a lower price.  
 

Let’s adopt a no reserve auction for all cars, that’ll separate the sellers from the dreamers.

But you also have to remember that that offer is just from that one buyer at that point in time which isn't necessarily representative of the value of what you're trying to sell.  There may be many buyers willing to pay closer to your asking price at a different point in time but they aren't in a position to do so, hence things sit on the market for (extended) periods of time.  I for one find it insulting when people low ball you for tens of thousands less than your asking price when the car is priced in line with comparable cars on the market.

So I think there are both unrealistic buyers and sellers, the goal is to obviously find the central point.

[DJM]

I think we disagree on “value”.  Value is what a buyer is prepared to pay at the time you want to sell.  Value is not what the bloke down the road who would pay if he had more money or in 6 months from now.  Woulda coulda shoulda.  If he can’t buy it then his “valuation” is irrelevant.  The guy with the cash in hand now is the only value that’s real.

dont worry I’ve been on both ends of this deal so I get the frustration, I’ve copped the $50k low bids by text but luckily there have been other buyers in the mix to push value closer to what I wanted.  Don’t get offended just ignore them if you won’t sell for the offered price .  It’s just a reality of life that the seller rarely gets to dictate price.  Buyer dictates price/value but seller need not agree and can keep it if he chooses.   Doesn’t make its value any higher, just says the seller disagrees.

i see it all the time with property development.  We always receive offers below what we think it’s “value” is which might be how a buyer values it or might simply be all the money they can afford.  True value is what a buyer pays for it not what we think it’s worth irrespective of how the buyer arrived at that price.  And if you hold out for “your” price you often find your we’re wrong and months later you wish you took the offer at the time . Bird in the hand........unless you’re simply not prepared to sell below your figure which invariably leads to holding and renting which is a PITA.

[NBTBRV8]

59 minutes ago, DJM said:

I think we disagree on “value”.  Value is what a buyer is prepared to pay at the time you want to sell.  Value is not what the bloke down the road who would pay if he had more money or in 6 months from now.  Woulda coulda shoulda.  If he can’t buy it then his “valuation” is irrelevant.  The guy with the cash in hand now is the only value that’s real.

dont worry I’ve been on both ends of this deal so I get the frustration, I’ve copped the $50k low bids by text but luckily there have been other buyers in the mix to push value closer to what I wanted.  Don’t get offended just ignore them if you won’t sell for the offered price .  It’s just a reality of life that the seller rarely gets to dictate price.  Buyer dictates price/value but seller need not agree and can keep it if he chooses.   Doesn’t make its value any higher, just says the seller disagrees.

i see it all the time with property development.  We always receive offers below what we think it’s “value” is which might be how a buyer values it or might simply be all the money they can afford.  True value is what a buyer pays for it not what we think it’s worth irrespective of how the buyer arrived at that price.  And if you hold out for “your” price you often find your we’re wrong and months later you wish you took the offer at the time . Bird in the hand........unless you’re simply not prepared to sell below your figure which invariably leads to holding and renting which is a PITA.

So if we take your literal view, how do things sell as it would be a race to the bottom for advertised prices (like an auction in reverse) and nobody sees that happening.  Not every buyer is in the market at the same time, so it is the seller prerogative to wait for as long as they see fit.

[hugh]

I guess I don’t necessarily see cars that have been sitting on the market for a while a reflection of a non realistic seller. In some instances, the seller may not be in a desperate need to sell so they set their minimum that it’s worth (to them) in order to sell - if they get it great, if not they will hold onto it. For example, if I can sell mine for ‘X’ then I’ll move into an RS - yes their motivated but not desperate. I’d expect this rational happens a lot with the newer GT cars. If they can only get bottom dollar they may as well trade and make it as easy as possible. 

I totally agree that the market ultimately decides but I just don’t see it being that clear cut in terms of the balance being with the sellers as the unrealistic ones. Nothing wrong with testing the market, sometimes what your selling could be exactly what someone is after and prepared to pay for the opportunity accordingly. 
 

There are obviously clear exceptions of this, the TAS “964 RS” comes to mind as a seller that maybe a tad unrealistic. I guess generally though I think most Porsche owners in particular are pretty informed and it’s only natural that they (like most) would want to ensure they are getting as much as they can for their pride and joy. 
 

Optimistic maybe, but I in my experience I wouldn’t want to generalise it as unrealistic. I have no doubt that there are exceptions though, like anything! 

[npvpositive]

The Aussie Porsche market isn't a totally "efficient" market.  There aren't enough buyers and sellers to ensure that the bids available at a single point in time (say, over a week) represent what buyers might be willing to pay, on average, over the course of a longer period (say, a year).  Sometimes you need to wait until the "average" buyers come along.

[sleazius]

30 minutes ago, hugh said:

I guess I don’t necessarily see cars that have been sitting on the market for a while a reflection of a non realistic seller. In some instances, the seller may not be in a desperate need to sell so they set their minimum that it’s worth (to them) in order to sell - if they get it great, if not they will hold onto it. For example, if I can sell mine for ‘X’ then I’ll move into an RS - yes their motivated but not desperate. I’d expect this rational happens a lot with the newer GT cars. If they can only get bottom dollar they may as well trade and make it as easy as possible. 

Just one thing here, what the dealers offer on trade is a hell of a lot less than you probably think.

Its not uncommon for the differential between what sellers think their car is worth (I’m talking late model GT/RS) and what a dealer is prepared to pay to be close to $100k. Surely at that point sellers as a group have misjudged the market.

An offer is simply that, a price at which the buyer would be prepared to stump up cash and do the deal. There is no need for anyone to be offended, you simply say ‘too low, but I’d consider ‘x’’. Now we’re negotiating and may meet in the middle.

[TwoHeadsTas]

Interesting discussion today on how some Melb luxury car dealers get around the Vic ban on consignment selling with someone who has a car in the system at present.  Apparently the owner signs an agreement to sell the car to the dealer at X price, and the dealer doesn't countersign or enact the agreement until the car is sold to a customer.   Dealer's profit is then the difference between the sale price and the agreed price with the customer , less the GST component obviously.  Presume they must be pretty sure this arrangement gets around the law.  Apparently though the dealer with high end show rooms in different states does own all their cars, but presumably price appropriately when buying...... 

[DJM]

1 hour ago, TwoHeadsTas said:

Interesting discussion today on how some Melb luxury car dealers get around the Vic ban on consignment selling with someone who has a car in the system at present.  Apparently the owner signs an agreement to sell the car to the dealer at X price, and the dealer doesn't countersign or enact the agreement until the car is sold to a customer.   Dealer's profit is then the difference between the sale price and the agreed price with the customer , less the GST component obviously.  Presume they must be pretty sure this arrangement gets around the law.  Apparently though the dealer with high end show rooms in different states does own all their cars, but presumably price appropriately when buying...... 

That’s what Rob at RSR did when he had my 996 GT2.  I signed, he didn’t so I’m effect he was minding it for me until a buyer came along.......🤔. I don’t understand why it’s illegal - if the parties agree on terms, why’s the government care?

3 hours ago, npvpositive said:

The Aussie Porsche market isn't a totally "efficient" market.  There aren't enough buyers and sellers to ensure that the bids available at a single point in time (say, over a week) represent what buyers might be willing to pay, on average, over the course of a longer period (say, a year).  Sometimes you need to wait until the "average" buyers come along.

Quite right our market is smaller so more susceptible to fluctuation depending on who’s about but waiting doesn’t always pay off.......I find often the early offer that you decide to pass up is better than the later offer and typically the early offer is no longer valid when you come to that realisation.

The discretionary nature of these cars works on both ends too - seller may be in no rush and no real need to sell but the buyer is usually the same.  Unless it’s really rare or special there’s little FOMO (fear of missing out) which is what tends to drive prices up.

3 hours ago, sleazius said:

 

An offer is simply that, a price at which the buyer would be prepared to stump up cash and do the deal. There is no need for anyone to be offended, you simply say ‘too low, but I’d consider ‘x’’. Now we’re negotiating and may meet in the middle.

Absolutely......and it’s an offer to buy a car, not your wife 😂

[firstone]

Some may find it more palatable to sell the wifey than the car. 😆