Freeper Advice for Selling My Car (Vanity)

My Fast and Furious Fingers | 06/02/2016 | Jagermonster

[Jagermonster]

I'm assuming that there's problems with the vehicle, hence why you're not hitting up your social media to sell it to a friend for their kids to have as a first car. If that's not the case, why not do that first? Or check with the mechanic who has been servicing the car - see if they know someone who's interested in buying it. Your own social media is likely the quickest and safest method to sell a reliable vehicle.

Thanks Kingu.

Nothing wrong with it, but I hadn't really thought about selling over social network. That might work, although, at my age, most of my friends' kids are looking at Little Tykes Cozy Coupes rather than Honda Accord Coupes.

[kingu]

In that age group, there are many siblings, friends and even parents looking to buy a reliable car. If you belong to a church, that’s another social network, and you could ask around to see if someone’s interested. A couple casual questions could make it a whole lot easier to sell it.

[Jagermonster]

My dad was an auto body man who paid for private schooling by purchasing salvaged titles (cars the insurance company couldn't afford to fix), salvaged parts, fixed and resold them with a clear title. Since it was my schooling he was paying for, I had to spend hours detailing cars with professional quality products until they looked like showroom. Dad got a high price as a result. How clean it has to be depends on how much money you want to get out of it and how much time you have to clean it.

Thanks neefer.

I can take the time to clean it well. Any tricks of the detailing trade you'd care to share?

[PAR35]

Two fairly non-responsive answers -

If you go Craigslist, meet potential purchasers in the police department parking lot.

As for cleaning - depends on how old the car is. If it’s 2 or 3 years old, a deep cleaning might be good. If it’s 10 years old, and the engine was clean, I’d wonder what leaks were being hidden - I’d expect a certain amount of grime.

[Safetgiver]

Clean it up yourself. Wash, wax, Armorall everything you can and the other repairs are a bargaining chip. Asking (eg) $2500? You know it needs brakes? They offer you $2000, you drop to the price of the repairs ($2200). If you know ALL the repairs will cost $1000 drop the price you are asking $850, and tell them what it needs. DO NOT say $2500 and they offer $2000 and repairs are only $89.00.

[advertising guy]

Avoid craigslist like an Obama, dangerous squared

[Lizavetta]

I Craigslisted my car at 4 pm and sold it at 7 pm on the same day. I represented my car exactly as it was, warts and all, did not bargain because it was a fair price and got cash on the spot.

[lacrew]

I’ve bought and sold off of craigslist. Just meet in public, or bring a friend if your scared.

Its a private party sale - sooner or later, you’ll have to meet with a stranger, no matter what the advertising platform.

[Dr. Sivana]

I have spent my entire adult life buying private cars, and selling them (when I it isn't ready for the junk yard). I am going to answer your questions in some cases with more questions.

(1) Is it better to go with a craigslist ad, or to use one of the paid auto listing services like Autotrader or Cars.com?
Craigslist in a heartbeat. People expect dealers on cars.com. I never even look at them except to get a high ballpark of price. People buying from a private seller are looking for a bargain or a hard to find car.

(2) Where do you look, and what do you look for when you shop for used cars?
I normally purchase well used cars. I have never spent more than $2,650 for a car, and that high water mark was $2,100 as of a month ago. I look for THOROUGH information. ANYbody who says there is no problem with the car, including what I call nuisances, is at best mistaken. When I sell, I have a "Good", "Bad" and Ugly" section included. Typical good: "Solid engine and drive train, low miles", Typical bad "Needs front end work", Typical ugly "Security system has its own imagination".

I am willing to travel for the car I want (when I lived in IL/WI, I would go and buy cars unseen in FL, TN and TX.) Acting like you WANT to sell the car, instead of treating the buyer like a nuisance is good advice to heed. That means being available to show the car, and answering e-mail. If you have contact preferences, make them clear, an understand the buyer's.In may case, I do not have texting, and WILL NOT TEXT. Sellers who want to open up exclusively with texting will never hear from me. Also, anyone who won't state the actual mileage up front on a free Craigslist ad is obviously embarrassed about it, and will not get a call from me.

(3) Is it better to spend some money for minor repairs, or just sell it in its current condition? (It’s about due for new brake pads, and has some small dents.)

That depends on the age of the car and the target demographic. If the car is older, I would put in and as is price and offer to fix it for an added amount. If the car test drives well and the dents are visible, just let the buyer discuss. If you have a REAL safety issue (being "due" is not a safety issue), then address it. A car wash and vacuum is recommended, if needed.

(4) How important is having the vehicle maintenance history available? (I hadn’t ever planned to sell it, so I didn’t keep good records, even though I have had regular oil changes and recommended maintenance done).

It's a nice to have, but not a deal breaker. One owner is ideal. Older owner is also good. Being actually owner is VERY good (a lot of part time "flippers" on craigslist). Answer ALL questions truthfully, volunteering any defects, but sell car as is.

(5) How do you all handle meetups with potential buyers and test drives?
That depends on where you live and what kind of car you sell. As a seller, unless I wore Rolexes and had case dripping from my shirt pocket, I wouldn't worry. Arrange daytime visits, and a woman should never receive alone. The address is going to be on the title, so don't worry about privacy. The buyer has more reason to fear than the seller except in large cities. CASH ONLY. Be ready with your state's bill of sale, know if your buyer needs a Notary signing the Title on your signature, make clear the car is being sold "AS IS". There is rarely a reason to go inside the house, so you can keep it locked if you like.

(6) I know it is important to have the car clean, but how clean is clean enough? Do I need to go whole hog with stuff like a wipe down of the engine compartment and armor-all on the door seals, etc., or is a good wash and wax, with a vacuum and scrub of the interior sufficient?

People always look at the car engine, but few really know what they are looking for. Good enough is good enough.

[tacticalogic]

Another son of a salvage rebuilder!

The smell of Bondo still takes me back to my childhood :).

[STARLIT]

MAIL

[Dr. Sivana]

Oh, one last thing: DON’T put statements in your ad stating that it is below “Kelly Blue Book”, which is not really pertinent to a private car sale. Edmund’s Private Party is more accurate. If your car is common/popular, look at other ads on craigslist, knowing that many don’t get asking price and some don’t sell at all.

[advertising guy]

I am 60, been in some form of the auto industry over 35 years, I know of 10 deaths originated from CL

Meet always at a bank, 2 reasons

1 even outside parkin,smile you are camera
2 verify funds inside the bank, have the tellsf examine the bills to be sure they are real

[IYAS9YAS]

My dad was an auto body man who paid for private schooling by purchasing salvaged titles (cars the insurance company couldn't afford to fix), salvaged parts, fixed and resold them with a clear title.

How'd you get the salvage title changed to a clean one? I didn't think a state would do that.

[IYAS9YAS]

My dad was an auto body man who paid for private schooling by purchasing salvaged titles (cars the insurance company couldn't afford to fix), salvaged parts, fixed and resold them with a clear title.

How'd you get the salvage title changed to a clean one? I didn't think a state would do that.

[Malsua]

You should try to sell the car on a Honda forum first then list it on Craigslist.

It should be clean and get any gadgets out of it.

Meet any buyers at your local PD.

Remember, if you trade it in, that value comes off a new car so you save on taxes. So If you got a 10k trade, you’ll save $575.00 off the new car in Ohio sales taxes. You need to add that into your calculation. $10,500 to a private party means you’d lose $75 over a 10k trade in. Not to mention less hassle.

If you want to get a good idea what a dealer, carmax or one of those other wholesale purchasers will pay, you can check Galves.com and buy a 3 day subscription for $10.

I wouldn’t fix anything that isn’t noticeably broken. Use a rag and wipe any oil off the fill area of the engine, but don’t go nuts as no one expects an older Accord to have a clean engine after 150k miles.

I’ve sold cars on craigslist and you will get lowball offers, sight unseen. Most of these are scams or people trying to get it on the cheap.

Take GOOD pictures. Use a DSLR, not your phone. Borrow one if you have to. Get pictures from every angle and the interior. Take pictures in the sunlight, not in the shade or at dusk or in a garage. Once you have the pictures, punch them up a little in photoshop or some other utility and crop to the vehicle. If you can, use a “fast” lens(like F1.8 or f2.8) so there is a very thin focus on the images. It helps to make the car look desirable. I think craigslist allows you to post 10 pictures.

Be patient if you can.

[topfile]

You didn’t describe the car....but...generally...detail it with goal of making it look like showroom condition. Remove all personalization you’ve done..sticker ..etc . Degrease and Clean engine bay, all door jams. Detail with TuffStuff, hot water, old cloth, and a toothbrush...takes about three hours. Don’t armourall the interior. Replace or remove mats. Afterwards determine price and look up “bracketing” in negotiations.
Assess both the good and the bad of the car and convey all to the buyer, even if they doesn’t ask. Download odometer statement, bill of sale, and price verification docs from your DMV. Do it even if the title, which I assume you have, fufills these requirements. Only advertize in newspaper if your target buyer is pc illiterate...which is okay btw. Ask top dollar.

[Kommodor]

I’d recommend you hide your fangz und loose your aksent fust, then maybe ask Momma Gkika to fence it for you.

[DCBryan1]

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[Jagermonster]

Hoy! But de fangz und de aksent are vat gets me all de gurls! (Or maybe it’s the schnappy hat...)