"It's only a Falcon".

[2011G6E]

"It's only a Falcon"...

Anyone tried lately to trade in a Falcon of any sort, from lowest model to G6E's? You'll hear those words a lot. We've been looking around car yards at new four wheel drives, and when the crunch comes and we want a rough idea of the trade in value of our immaculate 50th Anniversary G6E purchased two years ago next month, we get ludicrously low trade in values...down around the $20,000 mark. Even, according to valuation websites and advertisements I've checked out online, if we sold it privately, we could only expect maybe $25,000 to possibly...just...$30,000, on a car which, with it's options, was worth $54,000 when we bought it.

The problem as I see it is brand perception by the public...since Ford stupidly did away with the proper names for the higher models (Fairmont, Fairmont Ghia), they're all now "just Falcons" in the eyes of buyers and dealers, and that gives them an advantage come sale or trade in time.
Try and negotiate a higher price, or say it has to be worth more, and you will get scoffed at and hear words more or less along the lines of "Come on mate...it's only a Falcon".

Gets a bit annoying...but what do you do? They're right...top of the line or bare bones base model...they're all "just Falcons" now...well done, Ford...by trying to be trendy and doing away with instantly recognisable name plates that immediately brand a model and let you know it's place in the line up, you've buggered people when it comes to resale time.

Anyone else heard those words from a salesman or private buyer...?

[gtxb67]

my fairmont coupe would have had "it's only a falcon" said about it until the last 10 years
the basic car is a falcon, hence the line

to me and many others, the monaro is just a commode dore with it's rear doors welded shut - and it used the fandangled history rich name

[LeadFoot81]

You'd be in the same position even if the car came with Fairmont Ghia badges. The badge isn't the problem, its the fact that sedans just aren't very popular anymore.

[The Yeti]

I think your on to somthing there

the average meat heat sees them as a falcon doesnt matter if its a hose out taxi pack or fully loaded like yours, in the old days (like 4 or 5 years ago) you have as you said the falcon, futura, fairmont, & Fairmont ghia, names and designations that had been arround for generations

now to be honust I souldnt tell you what designation ment what except for XR6, XR8 & G6E any thing else I havent got a clue

ford have effectivly cheapend the brand by doing this, same with the Terriroty now you had the TX, TS and Ghia, now what the hell is a Titanium atleast they still have the TX & TS

[The Yeti]

That said in the last 20 years Ive had one falcon everything else has been Fairlane, of Fairmont giha and joe public always refered to them as falcons

[prydey]

so, you're trying to trade a car in and you are annoyed at the low ball offers the dealer throws at you?

am i missing something here?


(oh yeah, another excuse to throw more rocks at ford)

[302 XC]

Originally Posted by 2011G6E

I've checked out online, if we sold it privately, we could only expect maybe $25,000 to possibly...just...$30,000, on a car which, with it's options, was worth $54,000 when we bought it.

54 K is what you paid ,it was worth that to you because thats what you paid
20 K is what its worth to the yard because thats what they will pay
It irrelevant of a falcon,commondoor, 4x4,commercial ute,luxo barge,the first 3-5 years the value drops rapidly
The car your looking at buying will be worth what your willing to pay now and in a few years time itll be worth nothin ,same as the falcon is now at a few years young
Been that way since moses made the boat ...
With the new car dealers offering great interest deals , they wont offer good coin on 2nd hand if they cant sell new

[flappist]

Originally Posted by 2011G6E

"It's only a Falcon"...

Anyone tried lately to trade in ..........

The last part is the key not the first part.

Its only a commodore/toyota/nissan/whatever....... you want them to BUY it, they are better at playing car sales than you.

If it were a Porsche or Aston or what ever the story would be, "Oh mate nice car but really hard to move".

If/when the sales man says "Its only a Falcon" the reply is "Oh , I see your point. Lucky you said that as I was just about to buy your <insert car here> but it's only a <insert car here>.
I think I will sell mine privately and then buy something else in another dealership. Thanks for that, I nearly got caught".

Then watch the back pedalling.

In saying this, your precious is worth no more than any other of the same and as we have the governmet auctions dumping basically brand new cars for a pittance you will be hammered every time.

The party tricks for a better price on your Falcon:
1) manual transmission, all the govco and rentals are auto.
2) make sure the engine type or transmission is not about to be supersceded (just ask 5.4 owners about what coyote did to their resale or to a lessor extent BA/F F6 owners about FG and BA auto vs BF ZF.
3) options that cannot be retro fitted without extreme difficulty.
4) popular colours, there reason why you pink GT with orange stripes and red leather is rare is because most think it is ugly which make it harder to sell and therefore worth much less as a trade.

My current car is a blue manual FG turbo ute with factory leather. It cost $2k less than the same thing in auto yet if you look at 3 year old similar cars the manuals are $2-5k dearer and the most popular color is.......blue.

[Ford_The_Win]

I remember a similar thread from a few months back. As I said then, all the people that aspired to own a Fairmont/Fairlane or associate it with any kind of prestige, they're all dead, or handed in their licences and moved to a nursing home. My 75 year old Nan would be impressed with a Fairmont, but the Fairmont name means nothing to anyone under 30, so 'being trendy' is what Ford needs to do to attract new, younger buyers to the Falcon range. The average Falcon buyer has been around for just as long as the Falcon has and this is one of the reasons why the Falcon has lost relevance in the market.

[4stanger]

Originally Posted by 2011G6E

"It's only a Falcon"...

Anyone tried lately to trade in a Falcon of any sort, from lowest model to G6E's? You'll hear those words a lot. We've been looking around car yards at new four wheel drives, and when the crunch comes and we want a rough idea of the trade in value of our immaculate 50th Anniversary G6E purchased two years ago next month, we get ludicrously low trade in values...down around the $20,000 mark. Even, according to valuation websites and advertisements I've checked out online, if we sold it privately, we could only expect maybe $25,000 to possibly...just...$30,000, on a car which, with it's options, was worth $54,000 when we bought it.

The problem as I see it is brand perception by the public...since Ford stupidly did away with the proper names for the higher models (Fairmont, Fairmont Ghia), they're all now "just Falcons" in the eyes of buyers and dealers, and that gives them an advantage come sale or trade in time.
Try and negotiate a higher price, or say it has to be worth more, and you will get scoffed at and hear words more or less along the lines of "Come on mate...it's only a Falcon".

Gets a bit annoying...but what do you do? They're right...top of the line or bare bones base model...they're all "just Falcons" now...well done, Ford...by trying to be trendy and doing away with instantly recognisable name plates that immediately brand a model and let you know it's place in the line up, you've buggered people when it comes to resale time.

Anyone else heard those words from a salesman or private buyer...?

The salesman will say Its only a Falcon when its time to trade.
The salesman will say It is The 50th ANNIVERSERY G6E when its time for them to sell it.

[xisled]

End of the day you are trying to sell/trade the car at a price most people spend on a new car. I think you are just upset that your less than 2 year old car is only worth half what it was when you got it.

[Joe5619]

NO ONE gives a stuff about Fairmont, Fairmont Ghia names.. Seriously old men, build a bridge!! The are just Falcons.

[flooded one]

and they'll give you $20,000 and try too sell it for $27,000

[XP6]

At the end of the day... its a shopping trolley.

Sadly thats the way most non car enthusiast's think, they are for one thing and thats A to B just like my FGXR6!

[flappist]

Originally Posted by Joe5619

NO ONE gives a stuff about Fairmont, Fairmont Ghia names.. Seriously old men, build a bridge!! The are just Falcons.

You mean like GTs and GTHOs are just falcons?

[MITCHAY]

Well they got to add theirs on top plus take the risk it might stay on the lot for a long time.

I'm pretty sure the car sales person is well aware what type of car and it's got nothing to do with the badge even though it is a stupid one.

[flappist]

Originally Posted by MITCHAY

Well they got to add theirs on top plus take the risk it might stay on the lot for a long time.

I'm pretty sure the car sales person is well aware what type of car and it's got nothing to do with the badge even though it is a stupid one.

Well you might think it is a stupid badge but there are LOTS more FG G6E/Ts about than BF Fairmont Ghias despite the general down turn in Falcon sales........

[Franco Cozzo]

Originally Posted by flappist

The party tricks for a better price on your Falcon:
1) manual transmission, all the govco and rentals are auto.

Before I got m first car, the WS Fiesta in 2009, I went around searching high and low for a manual BA XR6 Falcon, my cousin picked up an auto orange one for $11,000.

I was looking around on car sales too, I couldn't find anything under $18,000.

I didn't find one manual Falcon, except for a base model XT at Sunbury Ford. Any dealership I went to, and that was all of them at Essendon Fields, and City Ford/Toyota/Lexus/Peugeot, everyone had an auto one, but no manual ones.

[AussieCJ7]

The simple economics of a trade in always means you are going to get well below market value. The dealer is going to make money on the deal either in the margin on the car sold to you or in a lower trade-in value.

It is you Vs the dealers negotiation skills as to how big that gap is and how rapped you feel at the end of the process

Doesnt matter the make or model of the traded in car they will take the same approach. Saying it is "only a falcon" is just a tactic If you had a BMW they would say 2nd hand euro cars need higher maint cost so they depreciate more.... Or an old classic car that parts are hard to get. There is a million excuses for a lower trade in value, but the dealers motivation is the same.

Choices are pay the premium of a trade in or take the hassle of selling privately and pocket the money the dealer would have taken

[XBROO]

Mate if you think you can get more private sale then do that, don't let them make money on your car.

[Franco Cozzo]

Problem is with a private sale is dealing with people, with a trade in you get less money but they take your car off you at the end of the day.

I'll either trade in the Focus on another car, or just hand it down to Dad, the latter is more likely.

They probably won't take my car with the HIDs, driving lights and it being lowered. If you take off the mounting bar for the driving lights you'll see two holes in the front grille.

[2011G6E]

Originally Posted by flappist

You mean like GTs and GTHOs are just falcons?

Well, no...according to someone I know who owns a BA GT, he was not told "it's just a Falcon"...he was told "Oooo...a V8...they're not worth as much you know...harder to sell, got to sit on the lot longer...", and so on.

Might be justified in Queensland where it's over a grand to register a V8.

I knew we'd get a low offer as a trade in...it's just that when we traded a Commodore Lumina on a Landcruiser, they appreciated the fact it was a Lumina with the extra equipment and said it would be worth more. When we traded the Landcruiser on the Falcon they liked the fact it was a GXL and was a nice colour instead of boring white or something. Bit odd that something that's a higher spec model can be put down so easily because the badge is the same as a base model..."they're all Falcons". Must be a newish tactic.

[prydey]

Originally Posted by 2011G6E

I knew we'd get a low offer as a trade in...it's just that when we traded a Commodore Lumina on a Landcruiser, they appreciated the fact it was a Lumina with the extra equipment and said it would be worth more. When we traded the Landcruiser on the Falcon they liked the fact it was a GXL and was a nice colour instead of boring white or something. Bit odd that something that's a higher spec model can be put down so easily because the badge is the same as a base model..."they're all Falcons". Must be a newish tactic.

no mate, you are simply looking for things that aren't there. if you went to trade a commodore lumina (or equivalent) today, the comment would be the same. what was the year when you traded the commodore? what year did you trade the landcruiser? its not to do with the fact its a falcon, its the fact that the dealer knows he's going to have to pretty much give it away as large cars are not in fashion at the moment. its a much smaller market now.

[dimka100]

Mate not selling the car by yourself privately is just being effing lazy! Seriously even on a cheap car the difference between a trade in and a private sale is in the thousands ...

Wash and clean your car inside and out, take lots of pictures of the exterior and the interior, post a good detailed add on carsales, and take it from there ...

Originally Posted by 2011G6E

"It's only a Falcon"...

Anyone tried lately to trade in a Falcon of any sort, from lowest model to G6E's? You'll hear those words a lot. We've been looking around car yards at new four wheel drives, and when the crunch comes and we want a rough idea of the trade in value of our immaculate 50th Anniversary G6E purchased two years ago next month, we get ludicrously low trade in values...down around the $20,000 mark. Even, according to valuation websites and advertisements I've checked out online, if we sold it privately, we could only expect maybe $25,000 to possibly...just...$30,000, on a car which, with it's options, was worth $54,000 when we bought it.

The problem as I see it is brand perception by the public...since Ford stupidly did away with the proper names for the higher models (Fairmont, Fairmont Ghia), they're all now "just Falcons" in the eyes of buyers and dealers, and that gives them an advantage come sale or trade in time.
Try and negotiate a higher price, or say it has to be worth more, and you will get scoffed at and hear words more or less along the lines of "Come on mate...it's only a Falcon".

Gets a bit annoying...but what do you do? They're right...top of the line or bare bones base model...they're all "just Falcons" now...well done, Ford...by trying to be trendy and doing away with instantly recognisable name plates that immediately brand a model and let you know it's place in the line up, you've buggered people when it comes to resale time.

Anyone else heard those words from a salesman or private buyer...?

[falconnut]

i know that feel op in just 2 years my car dropped from 5k to 3k and probably 2k-1k next year.

Such is life, and with such a fast moving brand like ford this is basically expected.

Next time buy used and save a bit of money eh?

[SS_01]

Something people dont always think about, the dealer very rarely holds onto your car, usually they call a handful of wholesalers and get a few prices, first offering you the lowest price they were given, allowing them room to move when you complain how hard done by you are.

Cars depreciate, and they do the hardest depreciating within the first 3 years. If you don't want this to happen, buy a 3 year old car thats already depreciated.

At the end of the day, if you have taken all the margin out of the car you are looking at purchasing, and then introduced the trade, they are going to rape you with the trade in order to make the books work and not get slammed by the owner of the business. We should all remember they are a business in the end, and to function they need to make money.

I always did find it funny that the happiest customers were always the ones you made money from...I wonder why that is?? Karma maybe??

[blackf6]

Originally Posted by 302 XC

Been that way since moses made the boat ..

Hang on a minute. Didn't Noah build the boat?

[BENT_8]

I've heard all these lines used over the years, i always say, 'yeah, but yours is only a...'

The one i love the most is 'I can buy these for $x amount from the auctions'
I always say 'yeah, but if you buy one from the auctions for $x amount, you wouldnt be selling the car im buying today.'
Always met with a blank look.

The key to trading in your car is not the values of either car, but the cash changeover between the two.
If your happy with that you have a deal, if not bargain.
If your still not happy, look elsewhere.

It is a buyers market at the moment and dealers need to know they can onsell your car quickly to keep cash flow.
It may be a G6E to you, but its next weeks overheads to them.

[Nikked]

Its only a Camry...

Its only a Corolla

Its only a Commodore

Its only a Accord

Etc...

[302 XC]

Originally Posted by dimka100

Mate not selling the car by yourself privately is just being effing lazy! Seriously even on a cheap car the difference between a trade in and a private sale is in the thousands ...

Wash and clean your car inside and out, take lots of pictures of the exterior and the interior, post a good detailed add on carsales, and take it from there ...

Two sides to that ,how long does it realistically take to sell private ???
How much is it gunna depreciate while it doesnt sell ???
Most people dont care about a few grand less trade, or what the driveaway costs,its the payments and wether they can pay them or not
Most of the time,dealers sort out all the balance of finance,tho easy to do,but many people get cagy when you ask stuff like that,and if theres more money owning than the asking price, fianance companies wont release the car till the loan is cleared fully, so doin it private can become a nightmare
Usually IF the trade is less than the loan the yards add it into the new car somehow,move numbers to make it look good
I bet theres not many who paid 50 K for a car 3 years ago ,and have paid of the 20-25 grand its depreciated