Help with valuation on private sale of vehicle

[Chris892]

Hi,
We have a wheelchair adapted vehicle to sell but are having difficulty in putting a value on it. I did advertise it briefly (at 3500) but receieved no reponse so that was clearly too much.
It is a Renault Kangoo Authentigue built by Gowrings in 2003 and registered on a 52 plate. It has about 66,000 miles on it with two owners and it currently has 10 months MoT remaining and has been serviced annually. It is in well cared for condition with a few siupermarket dings.
Any help with value or tips on selling would be extremely welcome........the MoT and tax seem to be ticking away.

Thanks
Chris

[Burgerman]

Where did you advertise?

Finding the right market is very difficult. Normal garages, and newspapers doesent work well. Ebay on the other hand has worked very well for me several times. As for price, it all depends! Who knows. I sold a VW van that was 9 years old for 14.5k a few years ago because it really was as new. And I mean in a showroom with no plate fitted you would not be able to tell it from brand new. But as always its worth what someone will pay, or what they can buy the same thing from somewhere else.

There are many vehicles that get sold on here. So give it a try. GOOD photos, description and price help.

[ex-Gooserider]

Also location - it is best to stick your location in the appropriate spot in the "User Control Panel" but at least mention it in your posts - I'm guessing from context that you are in the UK, but it really helps users on this INTERNATIONAL forum to know where folks are...

ex-Gooserider

[BronwynH]

Have you tried Craig's List? Look at e-Bay to get a feel for the asking price. I have a Heartway PDF-2 (Bolero) scooter for sale on Craig's List at $1100 US. It hasn't had any enquiries yet so I'll lower the price and if doesn't sell in a few weeks lower the price again. Standard practice in the real estate business to get down to market value. Then if it doesn't sell I'll donate it. There are a lot of scooters on the market. My finance advisor suggested that, because I'm in a 5% tax bracket that I give my scooter to one of my children who are in higher tax brackets and let them donate the scooter to a re-hab hospital or similar so they can get the benefits of a tax deduction. One of my daughters is an interpreter for the deaf and works with patients in a re-hab hospital that would accept a donation.

[LROBBINS]

Does Craig's list exist in the UK?

[BronwynH]

Looks like Craigs List is world wide. See http://www.craigslist.org/about/expansion .

[LROBBINS]

Thanks Bronwyn. Though Italy isn't in that list, clicking on the Craigslist button brought me directly to:
http://florence.it.craigslist.it/
So, maybe Italy is joining the 1st world - lately, it's felt more like a banana republic.
Ciao,
Lenny

[ex-Gooserider]

Well maybe it will get better now that you no longer have to worry about what Burlesquoni (sp?) is doing with his banana....

ex-Gooserider

[LROBBINS]

Not for me I'm afraid. Berlusconi himself is only an exaggerated example of how things work here. An example.

I have worked in Italy now for nearly 15 years having accepted a "chiamata diretta per chiara fama". Nearly three years ago I decided that it was time to retire. Taking early retirement, I could then use the incentives offered for early retirement to support a young researcher who would otherwise be without employ given the hiring freeze at Italian universities. "Crisis" ya know.

Well, that requires totalization of U.S. (SSA) and Italian (INPDAP - public employee plan) pensions, regulated by a bilateral treaty. By my count, I had 39+ years out of 40 total required, and would have been willing to pay for that extra 1/2 year, but I needed an offical totalization count to decide. The treaty says only INPS (not INPDAP) can make that calculation so I asked INPS to give me the number. Nothing doing, unless I first requested retirement and transfer of my money from INPDAP to INPS. I was advised to wait a year first, to be sure of having the 40.

During that year, the Berlusconi government passed a law (supposedly for other purposes) that eliminated any possibility of transferring money from INPDAP to INPS. So no totalization possible, period. I was advised to wait yet another year, to meet the 15 years of "contributions" here for a minimum Italian pension without totalization.

Ha, ha. The Berlusconi government resigns, Monti takes over and there's a pension "reform". 15 years minimum becomes 20 years minimum. No chance I can wait for that - I will reach mandatory retirement age before I have 20 years' service.

Now, let's put the icing on the cake. There's another U.S.-Italy treaty re: taxation. It says that I have to pay taxes on all pension income in Italy, taking a credit for that against my U.S. tax liability. The main part of my pension income will be TIAA/CREF (a private U.S. pension for university employees) which, in the Italian system, is a "pensione integrativa" which should have a flat tax rate of 11%. However, a "pensione integrativa" is taxed "at the source" here and there's no way to declare it on a personal tax declaration. It would have to be declared as ordinary income, on which I would pay ca. 35%.

So now, I too, will probably assume the typical, banana republic, Italian attitude - evade, just like Berlusconi and everyone else who can. Declare and pay taxes on my TIAA/CREF pension in the U.S. and simply not tell Italy about its existence. So, if my address in a few years is a jail, rather than my home, you'll know why. DId you ever think of the U.S. as a tax haven - well it is.

BTW Alessio, the young researcher, is now out of genetics and earning a bit as a wedding/event musician/entertainer (he's just as good at that as at doing genetics) and pick-up work as a farm field hand. His PhD thesis work was just published by GENETICS, but it will probably be his last contribution to science.

"chiara fama" -- NO -- "chiara fama di essere fesso"

Ciao,
Lenny