best way to sell a used car?

[dw1]

I haven't sold a used car on the open market for quite some time but we now need to sell my wife's older car.

Back in the day, I bought & sold cars via local newspapers, but that's not done anymore.

So.....craig's list? autotrader.com? other web sites?

I want to avoid getting flooded with e-mails from people who have no real interest in buying the car, or are looking to pay 1/10 of book value.

Btw, the car is a 2000 Impala, but in very good condition.

[onewhippedpuppy]

Craigslist. I buy and sell a lot of cars, and thus far I've maybe sold one on Autotrader and zero on Ebay. Craigslist is free and very effective, especially for cheaper cars. The downside is you'll get some spam emails, though you can request that buyers call you to reduce that problem. Take some good pictures, write a good description, and if it's priced well I bet it sells easily. I've sold cheaper cars in 2-3 hours on Craigslist.

[ckelly78z]

Craigslist works for me, but like OWP said, the spam emails are annoying.

[onewhippedpuppy]

Originally Posted by ckelly78z

Craigslist works for me, but like OWP said, the spam emails are annoying.

Even worse, you have to decipher between scam and stupid/illiterate. When we sold my wife's Armada I almost didn't reply to the email because it was so poorly written. Turned out to be a Mexican guy that didn't speak very good English, but bought the car the next day.

[biosurfer1]

Craigslist...get a google voice number and have it forwarded to your cell phone so no one gets your real number. Make sure the ad is very detailed, that will help you weed out the real buyers when they contact you. If someone obviously didn't read the ad, they probably are not interested.

[SiberianDVM]

Carmax?

If it's in good shape, they will take it. The price they offer will seem low, but the upside is that you don't have to trade, they will buy it outright.

[onewhippedpuppy]

Originally Posted by SiberianDVM

Carmax?

If it's in good shape, they will take it. The price they offer will seem low, but the upside is that you don't have to trade, they will buy it outright.

If you don't mind losing a few thousand dollars, sure. You get trade-in value, but don't get the sales tax advantages of trading in your car on a newer one. I've taken a few cars in for their "appraisal" process just for the fun of it, their offers are laughable.

[SiberianDVM]

Originally Posted by onewhippedpuppy

If you don't mind losing a few thousand dollars, sure. You get trade-in value, but don't get the sales tax advantages of trading in your car on a newer one. I've taken a few cars in for their "appraisal" process just for the fun of it, their offers are laughable.

As I said, their offers are low; however, for some people, getting rid of a car quickly, without having to get into a new car, and without having to deal with potential buyers on the phone or showing up at your house, makes up a bit for the loss.

It did for me, when I got rid of my Mitsubishi, but maybe that's just because I'm antisocial as hell.

[Don Ro]

Originally Posted by SiberianDVM

...showing up at your house...

I only meet w/the few that I sense are serious...then I tell them to "meet me at my place of work" - the local police station parking lot. Not a cop.

[UncleRay]

Make sure the ad is very detailed, that will help you weed out the real buyers when they contact you. If someone obviously didn't read the ad, they probably are not interested.[/QUOTE]

^^Good info here. I've used CL for cars, trucks, suburban, boat, boat lift, etc. Attach plenty of pictures. Know the car and it's maintenance history to answer questions. Price it reasonable and it will sell. Also no low balls cash only. Good luck.

[josonalico]

get a google voice number and have it forwarded to your cell phone so no one gets your real number.

[aigel]

Originally Posted by onewhippedpuppy

If you don't mind losing a few thousand dollars, sure. You get trade-in value, but don't get the sales tax advantages of trading in your car on a newer one. I've taken a few cars in for their "appraisal" process just for the fun of it, their offers are laughable.

Not always. Definitely need to go there and compare what you get from them against KBB private party.

I sold my MS3 to them for a very good price. No dealing with pimple faced teens that don't have the money. A buddy also just sold them an 01 Wrangler for decent money.

Craigslist only works if you have no email in the ad. Give a phone number. Then only serious people call and if they are idiots, you can tell right away. I always give them my wife's phone number and she sorts through them quickly, only making appointments (at a neutral and safe location) with reasonable people.

JMHO.

G

[Steve Carlton]

I say in the craigslist ad that responses without phone numbers will be ignored, "sorry, too much spam." The serious ones will give you their number. Get a image hosting service like Photobucket or something and host several good quality, 800-1000 pixel wide images. Put the VIN in the ad, so they can run their own Carfax if they want to. Or buy one and make it available to them. Ask a little more than the most you think you'll get. They're going to want you to come down some, guaranteed.

[azasadny]

We usually tell friends, family and people at work and church and we have always had a good experience selling a car. If it's a good car, you won't regret selling it to someone you know...

[Cajundaddy]

How to sell a used car quickly:
Preparation first
- Make sure everything works. No knobs missing, no tattered seats, no leaks, runs good, smells clean.
-Get all your paperwork together, title in hand, maintenance receipts with a service log in a nice folder.
- Spend $100 and have it professionally detailed.
- Take really nice photos with a quality camera in good lighting and crop out ant distractions in the background.
- Research blue book price and be very realistic about it's condition.
- Post an ad in Craigslist with GREAT pics and very detailed description. No phone #, anon. email only. Include a pic of the maint. log and receipt folder. Price it at or near PP bluebook.
- Get ready for the flood. Ignore all flaky emails and focus on the "have cash, no games" inquiries.
- Kiss the car goodby in a few hours at asking price without showing it to 20 tire kickers.
- All transactions cash and carry only in a nearby bank parking lot (armed security guard in plain view).

Over the years I have found that a couple of days preparation make the transaction quick and painless. They are dying to buy the car when they see it in person. The worst part of this process is dealing with an endless parade of flaky, lowball, no-show, tire kickers so choose your buyers ruthlessly and only show the car to the ones that you are certain can follow through. Ignore the rest. Good luck!

[kaisen]

Don't pay to fix anything. Sell it as-is, period. If there's something wrong, price it accordingly. But don't pay to fix it. You'll never get 100% back.

Don't pay to detail it. Make sure it's cleaned (no trash wrappers), but no need to pay $100 or more for a "detail". You'll never get that money back.

Put it on Craigslist as per the suggestions here

Price it aggressively, KBB Private Party "Good-to-Very Good: rounded down to the nearest $500
In other words, if KBB Good is $3350 and KBB Very Good is $3750, price it at $3500
If it's $2950 to $3450, then price it at $3000
Don't bother with the mid numbers -- it will either sell for the $X,500 or $X,000
If you feel your car is *exceptional* and the market supports it, round up

Do not negotitate. List that your price is firm. State cash only.

Put your Google phone number in your ad. You'll get less response with email only. For the exact same reasons you listed above. In fact, don't even check the email option. This will weed out the serious responses and phishing expeditions.

For that priced car, don't bother with paid sites like Autotrader. Just free Craigslist.

You'll sell it within a few days if you take good pictures and write an honest, detailed ad

[Jim Bremner]

I'm looking for a cheap transpo car in socal for my son.

[Evans, Marv]

I sold only one car on Craigslist, but I've sold a variety of other things. I have gotten my asking price on all I've sold, mostly because I've listed it at a fair price & said in the ad I was firm on the price. As far as being contacted, I list my phone number but spell it out. The first time I just listed my number I got all kinds of stupid calls. I haven't given out my personal email address on any and stated in the ad emails (via Craigslist) absolutely wouldn't be responded to. For all except for one item I've arranged to meet the person in a public place. Except for the irritating emails & phone calls the first couple of times, things have gone smoothly.

[Aragorn]

I like Kaisen's advice to a point. I would want to fix the safety items like worn brakes if needed. You don't want someone getting in an accident because of maintenance you neglected even if you did sell it as is and advised them of the problem.

As for craigslist, all of the above plus: Meet in a public area; Show up with a few friends or family members to watch your back; Always be honest with the person before the meet. If he asks about oil consumption or paint dings tell him what you know. It will make the initial meet go smoother; No test drives (only test rides) before you have cash in either your hand or one of your friends hands.

[kaisen]

Originally Posted by Aragorn

I like Kaisen's advice to a point. I would want to fix the safety items like worn brakes if needed. You don't want someone getting in an accident because of maintenance you neglected even if you did sell it as is and advised them of the problem.

As for craigslist, all of the above plus: Meet in a public area; Show up with a few friends or family members to watch your back; Always be honest with the person before the meet. If he asks about oil consumption or paint dings tell him what you know. It will make the initial meet go smoother; No test drives (only test rides) before you have cash in either your hand or one of your friends hands.

This is a 2000 Chevrolet Impala
It's a $2000-3000 car, not an aircooled Porsche

Do you think paying $350 for a front brake job is a good investment? That's a typical price for a Midas, Sears, Pep Boys, dealer, etc. Just disclose that it's due for brakes and price it accordingly.

Now, if you're more than a checkbook mechanic, and can do it yourself for under $100 ($25 each rotor, $25 pads) and advertise it with new front brakes, then it would be worthwhile.

Disclaimer: I fix everything. But repairs are very cheap for me.