my dad got a phone call from benfield asking if we had got there leaflets about there 'offers' they have on there cars. nothing with there logo on the envelope has dropped through the letter box. anyhow we've got an appointment with them on saturday at 10am.

so curious about there 'offers' i had a look at there website, no mention of any offers. anyone else had any experience with what they have possibly have to offer us. bear in mind that my mum is a registered disabled but carnt have motability car, but we do get out car tax free.

A lot of dealerships will send out VIP invites to some of their more valued customers, others send to anyone who has bought a car from them in the last 10 years. This is why very rarely do you see these things advertised on the website, as they are trying to make their recurring customers feel welcome and appreciated. :)

or it could be a coincidence that its month end and on sunday its 1st september.

the last time we bought a car from a main ford dealer was when we bought our 'L' reg fiesta in 95, and that was when it was hartwell ford. we have taken focus 1 and 2 to benfield for health checks and plug in's but no ACTUAL work or servicing.

well the meeting went well up untill the point of the valuation of my mums 2006/55 1.6 petrol focus saloon with 52,000 miles on the clock with full service history. this is what the sales man said 'we've put your reg in to our system and its come up with a value of £1800'

just had a look on auto trader and there are 2006/06 plates with similar or less miles for well over £2000. bit !Removed! off but we didnt go there with the intention to sign on the dotted line straight away.

I bought my Focus as an ex-demo from Benfield Ford in Leeds and was very impressed with them, and I live in Cambridgeshire so shows how pleased I was! I found them very reasonable and I saved about £2000 compared to my local dealers just by shopping around. Can't fault Benfield at all (except that the V5 they originally sent me was for a Mondeo...)

With regards to your valuation, it does sound low but we naturally think our car is worth more than it actually is. It's also worth mentioning that while they may only offer you £1800, they may then service it, MOT it, put tyres on etc as necessary and stick it on their forecourt for under £3k which means they would make barely anything on it.

A fair expectation would be to try a price comparison site like Parkers (http://www.parkers.co.uk/cars/prices/used/ford/focus/hatchback-2005/29231/?yearplate=80), which will give you a guide on what you would expect for trade in. You may also get a couple of hundred more if you sold privately.

Hope that helps :)