General 500x Sellers advice

[AndyRKett]

Well your kinda correct. I'll tell you the story.

Introduced in 2021 as petrol and petrol phev, the former was dropped from the range in mid 2022 as no interest in the market. Just the hybrid's remain now, priced at £56k-£74k list.

I started noticing them a couple of months back on autotrader, what I found out last week is the petrol versions were part of a large deal and the customer for whatever reason didn't want them. So the lease company was stuck with them. Then I don't know what happened for the next 9 months or so.

They are all white as far as I can see but there are 2 versions of white, one is a pearl metallic....proper white, and the other is probably best described as champagne, but it can look grey depending on the light. After jumping through a few hoops I managed to get a 24hr test drive via DS last weekend.... it was the champagne colour but a hybrid. See pic below.

I loved it, real old school feel in quality and just liked the fashion over ergonomics feel. Infotainment reviews are poor but i found it ok. I like the revolving clock out of the dash, retractable door handles, solid door closing feel. Rides like a dream, double glazing, like a limo in the rear.......apart from headroom for those over 6ft. There is so much to love about it.

The version I drove was the e tense 250, which is the 225hp petrol mated to a battery developing 250hp. The issue is that weighs 1870kg and the petrol 1540kg. So you add about 11% more power, but at the same time add 21% more weight...... unnecessary. The performance stats are all but identical, 8.1 to 60 and 27.7 vs 28.2 standing kilometre.

if you look around there are some 22 reg with very low miles and priced very well from £26k+, the one I bought this morning (champagne) had 77 miles on the clock. The spec is called performance line+ which isnt really sporty, like sticking an M badge on a bmw 320 or similar. But what it has is an Alacantara interior which looks very nice.... and a few badges dotted around.

Mine will be almost identical to the car in the pic apart from a few exterior badges and slighly different wheels.

It's arriving in about a week.

Very nice and very good deal by the sounds of it, what happed to the 500x?

I do like a big French barge they make some amazingly luxurious cars, even the top gear crew acknowledged that the French make the most comfy and luxurious cars, the only issue is big French cars just don’t sell in the uk for what ever reason. Hence you gettting such a good discount.

I travel to France a lot and get about quite often in taxis, and there are no end of super comfy very luxurious Citroens, and Peugeots driven by the French especially around Paris. You know you’re always going to get a decent car turn up.

 

[cowabunga]

Very nice and very good deal by the sounds of it, what happed to the 500x?

I do like a big French barge they make some amazingly luxurious cars, even the top gear crew acknowledged that the French make the most comfy and luxurious cars, the only issue is big French cars just don’t sell in the uk for what ever reason. Hence you gettting such a good discount.

I travel to France a lot and get about quite often in taxis, and there are no end of super comfy very luxurious Citroens, and Peugeots driven by the French especially around Paris. You know you’re always going to get a decent car turn up.

After taking advice on here I think I'll do motorway.co.uk. Gonna give it a clean and take it to the carwash tomorrow, take some pics and then it's on.

Big French saloons have an awful reputation in recent years and rightly so. They have been dross...Peugeot 607 anyone? This is different.

I went to Paris in April for 5 days, was surprised at how many Toyota Camry taxi's there were. The ds9 is a similar kind of thing with more bling.

What's weird is the pics and vid's dont do it justice, it looks a real beast in the flesh. I'd advise anyone remotely interested to take a 24hr test drive if they can get one.

The reviews are lukewarm in general, I think much of the time because it's so different, and the cabin's unfamiliar, but long term reviews are more positive once people get accustomed to the foibles. In the first of the below the guy did a lot of driving in France all the way down to the Alps.

DS 9 (2023) Long Term Test | Parkers

Parkers' experts used and tested the DS 9 for a long period. Get some real insights into what owning this car really feels like.

www.parkers.co.uk

DS 9 - long term review 2023 | Top Gear

To find out, we’re living with a DS 9 – does it deserve the DS name?

www.topgear.com

 

[cowabunga]

....and if i decided to buy a new decent spec 500x the cost wouldn't have been much different. It's also a similar price to a 1.0l DSG Skoda Octavia.

Ok, I get hit with road tax, the insurance goes up a bit, the mpg I'm hoping should be similar. But I don't feel its extravagent even though it may appear so.

I'm gonna miss this place, people have always been nice to me on here, I've learn't a lot, and it's a good community.

 

[porta]

You can always go in ‘non fiats’ bit

 

[Ralf S.]

I would buy myself a 500 EV/hybrid doodah as a run-around and if I needed to visit relatives in Scotland etc. then there's Hertz.

They even have (or had) 500X Sports on their fleet. You'll save a fortune compared to having a barely used, depreciation-queen or PPP costing you a bomb, on the driveway and unused for 300 days of the year.


Ralf S.

 

[cowabunga]

I would buy myself a 500 EV/hybrid doodah as a run-around and if I needed to visit relatives in Scotland etc. then there's Hertz.

They even have (or had) 500X Sports on their fleet. You'll save a fortune compared to having a barely used, depreciation-queen or PPP costing you a bomb, on the driveway and unused for 300 days of the year.


Ralf S.

That's kinda what we had from 2010-2017 with a 500 1.3 MJD. Then wanted a car for all purposes and the 500x kinda fitted the bill.

I can see the town/ mway angle but I will say something. I got the DS9 specifically as a mway car. In town one may think it's hopeless.

I'll hold my hands up regarding size, for town driving it does get a bit of getting used to. I managed to acclimatise quickly to the size of it but there no way it's gonna be able to nip into the small gaps our last 2 cars could. Parking is also going to be more of a chellenge.

But then it's not all bad, in fact there's a lot of good. The ride is very compliant, far better than our car on 17 inch wheels. The steering is ultra light at low speeds, just take a look at the carwow review and he's steering with finger and thumb. What's also excellent is the turning circle at 11m, again see carwow review. Comparatively I have just had a quick google search and it seems the 500x is 11m+ depending on where you look. Then there is refinement, we test drove a hybrid and I genuinely couldnt tell most of the time when the engine was running. At idle I ended up putting it in sport mode (engine activates), and it's almost silent. Note: this is with double glazed windows suppressing other background noise. At idle If there is any noise in the car whatsoever from the aircon or radio you cannot hear the engine. I thought at above half fan the aircon sounded like a hairdryer but that's because everything else is so damn quiet.....it's all relative.

So everything considered the size in town is an issue, as is parking. But there are positives.

 

[porta]

You pays your money, you makes your choice…everything is relative and everything is a compromise. For me, there isn’t a perfect car as it would be a Panda 4x4 with the loading and towing capacity of my iveco 4x4 that doesn’t involve a panda being any bigger than it is, so certainly not as big as the Iveco!

 

[cowabunga]

I'd just like to hear people's feelings a bit more regarding the selling process. All comments appreciated in advance.

I tried the motorway site, did all the description and the pics and reached a temporary impasse. They originally quoted £8,700 for our car which I expected would be for an average condition car for the year and mileage. Well that would make sense to me.

Then I spoke to motorway and they were generally good, I took all the pics and was honest with the description there are 2 very minor paintwork marks picked up this year (car park doors banging i suspect) which I'm sure a bodyshop would sort in 30 mins, they really are small. Then I scuffed one wheel a little in the early days of getting it. The 17 inch rims generally also look like they could do with a little refresh or professional clean.

Servicing was fine, always been Stoneacre serviced, normally gold or platinum services and we're the types to go up a level even when a lower service would suffice. All stamps in the book. From the last service the original tyres have 4.5-5.5mm on them, the front brakes are 10% worn, rear's 20%. It's been very well looked after for sure. I'm a chartered accountant and my other half is a senior finance professional.....both getting on a bit. We're sensible.

Then the motorway person put the details into "the algorithm" and dropped it to £8,400 and something as a reserve price (I thought it would have risen). Then she said she needed confirmation that I was happy to sell at the price. I honestly told her I'm not. What I anticipated was an average condition for year quote seemed to in fact be a pristine condition quote. Whilst it isn't quite pristine and would need a bit spending on it (a few hundred quid perhaps?) to get to that level, it is almost at that level imho.

Now I know £8,400 ish isn't necessarily what it would sell for. With their access to over 6,000 dealers I expect it would rise somewhat from that. But in all honesty I needed to the truthful to her about would I be prepared to sell at £8,400 ish. I said no.

Autotrader has a few on at the moment. I know that I can't expect these prices but here are some examples. Ours is a 66 reg, 18.5k miles.

Black Cross plus 16 reg with 4 previous owners 18.4k miles - £12,299
Black Cross plus 67 reg with 2 previous owners 17.8k miles - £14,299
Red Cross plus 65 reg 27k miles - £11,500

I haven't had a detailed look at condition of the above but I'd be surprised if any are as good as ours. Furthermore our car imo is ideal spec vs these, rather than it being a cross plus on 18 inch rims (which i test drove and wouldn't buy), ours is a cross riding on 17 inch rims but specced up (see earlier post). I think for somebody who knows their stuff they'd probably conclude our car spec is superior to a cross plus....... well I certaintly thought so.

So at the moment I'm in a pickle about where to go. Do I go via the ebay route? specialist website? list it on here under the classifieds? i just won't accept £8,400.

I'm in no immediate rush to sell, if it happened tomorrow or in a month it'd make little difference.

 

[porta]

I think, as the market has changed again, that they’ve all turned back into used car dealers, with the sharp intake of breath. The shortage of new and used motors has largely dissipated and, coupled with the cost of living, used prices are beginning to sink or plateau.
There’s a couple of used car dealers, round here, that will sell your car for you. They assesses the car, agree a price and their cut but not an unreasonable one

 

[Ralf S.]

This is classic We buy your Car Inc. "chipper" tactics.

They give you a low price to get you used to the idea that your car is worth half as much as you think it is, then they try to persuade you that they're your best mate, and to send them the details and they'll try really hard to sell your scrap iron jalopy for a bit more money, because they're nice/doing you a favour and they've put a lot of effort in already, so it's really no problem if they can only sell it on for less than they paid you.

By the time you have complied with the washing-polishing-photographing requests, only to find out that "sadly" (sic) it's not actually worth even the derisory offer you received from your best mate;

a) You're now used to the idea that your car is worth marginally less than a one-owner recovered submersible
b) You've already put a lot of washing-polishing-photographing into it and won't want to start all over again,
c) You're psychologically committed to selling your car, come what may, and
d) Your best mate has set up a web page and everything, and rung around 600 dealers already so you don't want to pull out of the sale and disappoint them by being a "time-waster".

Instead, remember that;
a) Whatever they offered you in the first place is about 30% less than it will sell for. They'll stretch that to 35% if they can, then take their missus/bloke out for a curry on the extra commission they'll make.
b) You can use the same photos in any other listing, so you only have to throw a bucket of water over it again once someone wants to come to see it.
c) The objective is not just to get shot of the car. You need decent money for it too.
d) They haven't put any effort into it at all... just looked in the trade book and tapped "... -30%" into their calculator. They won't remember who you are by tomorrow, even if you sell your car to them. They're not your best mate.


I'd stick the car on fleabay (Classifieds, not Auction) for something like £11,900 (using your examples.. I have no idea what the Parkers Guide/Blue Book would value it at) and see what response you get. If nobody wants to know, then leave it until the end of August and have another go at £11,800 once everyone is back from holiday and is looking for a car before winter.

Obviously, you may need to keep going down in price until you get a number of nibbles and someone buys it... which will feel shitty.. but you're trying to find the buyer who will pay the most for it, and the bar is way low at £8500, so even £10,000 from a stranger would be better than selling it to your WBYC Inc. "mate"


Ralf S.

 

[cowabunga]

This is classic We buy your Car Inc. "chipper" tactics.

They give you a low price to get you used to the idea that your car is worth half as much as you think it is, then they try to persuade you that they're your best mate, and to send them the details and they'll try really hard to sell your scrap iron jalopy for a bit more money, because they're nice/doing you a favour and they've put a lot of effort in already, so it's really no problem if they can only sell it on for less than they paid you.

By the time you have complied with the washing-polishing-photographing requests, only to find out that "sadly" (sic) it's not actually worth even the derisory offer you received from your best mate;

a) You're now used to the idea that your car is worth marginally less than a one-owner recovered submersible
b) You've already put a lot of washing-polishing-photographing into it and won't want to start all over again,
c) You're psychologically committed to selling your car, come what may, and
d) Your best mate has set up a web page and everything, and rung around 600 dealers already so you don't want to pull out of the sale and disappoint them by being a "time-waster".

Instead, remember that;
a) Whatever they offered you in the first place is about 30% less than it will sell for. They'll stretch that to 35% if they can, then take their missus/bloke out for a curry on the extra commission they'll make.
b) You can use the same photos in any other listing, so you only have to throw a bucket of water over it again once someone wants to come to see it.
c) The objective is not just to get shot of the car. You need decent money for it too.
d) They haven't put any effort into it at all... just looked in the trade book and tapped "... -30%" into their calculator. They won't remember who you are by tomorrow, even if you sell your car to them. They're not your best mate.


I'd stick the car on fleabay (Classifieds, not Auction) for something like £11,900 (using your examples.. I have no idea what the Parkers Guide/Blue Book would value it at) and see what response you get. If nobody wants to know, then leave it until the end of August and have another go at £11,800 once everyone is back from holiday and is looking for a car before winter.

Obviously, you may need to keep going down in price until you get a number of nibbles and someone buys it... which will feel shitty.. but you're trying to find the buyer who will pay the most for it, and the bar is way low at £8500, so even £10,000 from a stranger would be better than selling it to your WBYC Inc. "mate"


Ralf S.

Thanks Ralf. That kinda feels like the process I went through. I'll follow your suggestion and list it in fleabay classifieds. Like I say I am in no immediate rush but just realised the tax runs out on 1st August. Even if I added another 6 months it's no dealbreaker.

I don't feel at any stage I'm super aggressive getting the absolute best price but I'm not going to give it away. I'll decide when I list shortly, Thinking perhaps £11,750 for a start. At that price it's clearly cheaper than the examples I listed.

In a way the timing isn't quite ideal. A 4wd car would be in greater demand in a couple of months time.

 

[cowabunga]

Just doing the 500x on the classified.

I'm putting it on at £11,750 to help it move a bit quicker.

I have another 2 options....."minimum offer", and "auto accept". What should i do with these? leave blank?

I just feel if i put a minimum offer in then whoever is interested will have this price in their mind when they negotiate.

Should "auto accept" be the same or higher?

 

[porta]

Never used those functions on adverts, usually put £### ovno and deposit required

 

[cowabunga]

Never used those functions on adverts, usually put £### ovno and deposit required

Thanks. That's what I did.

It's live. Took me all bloody morning!

Fiat 500x 2.0MjD 4*4 - Passione Red - 66reg 18.6k miles | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Fiat 500x 2.0MjD 4*4 - Passione Red - 66reg 18.6k miles at the best online prices at eBay! Free delivery for many products.

www.ebay.co.uk

 

[porta]

Looks good…
Yeah, eBay has got gradually worse

 

[cowabunga]

I'm wondering what to do next. I might even take it off fleabay. £20 to list and then will be charged £45 sellers fee.

Is it just better to advrtise on autotrader? Their best package is only £85 and I think it'll get far more visibility.

In the 5 days it's been on I've only had tentative interest so far. Maybe potential buyers are waiting for a price drop?

 

[porta]

It’s a difficult one, I think these days, eBay gets more traffic…only time I go on autotrader is to see what folk and dealers are trying to fleece buyers with the highest prices!

 

[Bonefish Blues]

It's the price. It's always the price, that's just the way it is, especially in a falling market

 

[AndyRKett]

It's the price. It's always the price, that's just the way it is, especially in a falling market

I’m inclined to agree with this. I know there are other cars out there priced in a similar range but they’re still forsale too.

Prices have been dropping fast and dealers who may have spent a lot buying stock earlier in the year might not be so keen to drop the price at the moment and take the loss. Doesn’t mean at some point they won’t have to sucking it up and take the hit.

It’s a very low mile car and very nice spec, the price would probably be fair IF it was on a dealers forecourt.

As it’s a private sale that’s a lot of money for someone to spend with no comeback should it break down a week later, and so anyone willing to spend that money would just buy one for the same sort of money from a dealer. With a warranty. Even if that warranty isn’t worth the paper it’s written on the buyer still has some comeback with the dealership

 

[cowabunga]

Thanks for the comments folks, and I appreciate the point of view.

Potential buyers need a bit of encouragement because like you say there is less comeback if things go wrong.

I'll speak to the missus later and think about dropping it £250 for starters.