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Be sure to fill out the form and send it to the DMV that you sold the car. I sold a $1,000 car and didn't get the buyers name or address, he never transfered the title. What a 6 month nightmare of worry and expense, wound up costing me $577 in parking tickets and impound lot cost.
We've listed two cars for sale by owner. It is true you get more money for it selling it yourself vs. trading it in to a dealership - and the buyer pays less than they would if they bought it from a dealer. That is worth the time and effort to us. We've had a strategy of starting with the highest realistic price we think we can get for the car (check KBB and Edmunds private party values), not allowing negotiation, but dropping the price a little at regular intervals until it sells.
I also recommend Craigslist, which is free and tends to yield a lot of traffic. Cars.com and Carsoup are two other sites on which you can list your car free or for a low fee, though have more limitations to how many pictures or words you can post unless you pay more for the ad. Autotrader is another option, but their entry level ad is more expensive.
I agree that a well priced, well in demand car (like yours appears to be) should sell quickly. Both of the cars we have listed were fairly in-demand models, and got a good amount of bites. Also, if you have taken the car in for service regularly and have all or most records, mention it in the ad - same if the car has been in no accidents. Both of those will make your car more attractive to certain buyers.
We met all prospective buyers in a public place, and let them take the car out on their own, though not without taking a picture of a driver's license first. Never had anyone drive off with the car and not bring it back, but that outcome sounds better than getting into a car with a potentially malicious stranger at the wheel. You will probably be getting a good amount of money for your car, so require the transaction be done at your bank to ensure the payment is not fraudulent. It is ideal to accompany the driver to the DMV to transfer the title, but if that is not possible, you can always follow up later to make sure the sale/transfer went through. Our state also allows you to report the sale online.
You may end up with some "spam" responses - someone who wants to buy the car at the listed price, sight unseen, and "deposit money into your PayPal" which is a common scam. You may also get some responses from dealers who want to "help you sell your car." Ignore them.
Sold my 05 CRV with 130k miles in a day and got a good price. I put an ad on local Facebook buy/sell board I belong to. The first guy to see it bought it. He knew my price was lower than a dealer but still a fair price for me.
Before you take photos or list it make sure the car is very clean. I also had all the service records. CRV is a great car-- I had many happy years driving mine. Meet in a public place, preferably your bank. Don't take a check. Make a bill of sale. Rip off your registration sticker and take your plates. Report the sale to DMV or follow whatever the regulations are for your state.
We looked into trading it in but the offer I got from a dealer was laughable. I got 3k more selling it on my own.
Chances are, there is a Bill Of Sale form on your state dept. of Justice website or DMV website that you can download.
When you sell the vehicle, give the buyer a filled out BOS, and keep a copy of it for your records. Then, in the unlikely event that the buyer gets parking tickets or drives off without paying for gas, or any other such a thing, you can prove to law enforcement that you did not own the vehicle at the time of the occurrence.
I have had that happen once, in all the years I have been selling vehicles, so yes, I know, it does happen. The buyer asked me to leave the license plates on the car (in Montana, the plates belong to the registered owner, and are not transferred to the buyer), and, being young and dumb, I did it. BUT, since I had a copy of the BOS, and showed it to the Deputy Sheriff that came to investigate, I had no trouble. Since the BOS had the buyer's name and address on it, I made another copy and gave it to the Deputy. He appreciated that.
My point is, you don't HAVE to go to the DMV with the buyer. I sure would not, even here where the wait times are usually less than 45 minutes! Just be sure you have completed all the necessary paperwork, and your liability should be ended.
As always, KNOW the laws or rules!
COMPLY with the laws or rules!
DOCUMENT your compliance with the laws or rules!
and you will have no problems!
Very clean, very low miles. Don't think I want to trade it in or sell it to a dealership and get ripped off that way. I don't want to post it on craigslist and go on test drives with ax murderers. What's a good way to sell a car?
Ok, you don't want to sell it to a dealer but you don't want to sell it yourself.
Look for car consignment places in your area -- you park it there and they take care of the test drives and tire kickers. Obviously, you have to pay for this service.
I understand your concerns but I would put it on craigslist. A crv in great condition with low miles will sell within a day. Have a friend with you and/or meet at a busy area if you're that afraid.
For what it's worth I've bought and sold plenty of cars via craigslist and have never had a problem.
So have I, but it depends on how much OP wants for the car. I've sold several vehicles on Craigslist, but they've all been cheap cars. Craigslist isn't a good venue for selling high dollar items because you get a lot of lowballers. CL is pretty safe overall, especially if you take precautions. Don't ride with people who are test driving. After all, in order for them to test drive they have to leave their car with you, so you have built in collateral. Ebay is a good way of selling cars if you do pickup only. Shipping a car is a PITA, I heard. I don't know how much Carmax pays, but if it's like any other car dealership, you'll get taken for a ride. Trustworthy or not, they're in it for the profit, and it isn't yours.
So have I, but it depends on how much OP wants for the car. I've sold several vehicles on Craigslist, but they've all been cheap cars. Craigslist isn't a good venue for selling high dollar items because you get a lot of lowballers. CL is pretty safe overall, especially if you take precautions. Don't ride with people who are test driving. After all, in order for them to test drive they have to leave their car with you, so you have built in collateral. Ebay is a good way of selling cars if you do pickup only. Shipping a car is a PITA, I heard. I don't know how much Carmax pays, but if it's like any other car dealership, you'll get taken for a ride. Trustworthy or not, they're in it for the profit, and it isn't yours.
The Honda CR-V is a very sought after used vehicle. So long as he prices it accordingly, those on the market for a clean cr-v wont waste time trying to haggle and risk losing out on the deal. Especially one with low miles.
So have I, but it depends on how much OP wants for the car. I've sold several vehicles on Craigslist, but they've all been cheap cars. Craigslist isn't a good venue for selling high dollar items because you get a lot of lowballers. CL is pretty safe overall, especially if you take precautions. Don't ride with people who are test driving. After all, in order for them to test drive they have to leave their car with you, so you have built in collateral. Ebay is a good way of selling cars if you do pickup only. Shipping a car is a PITA, I heard. I don't know how much Carmax pays, but if it's like any other car dealership, you'll get taken for a ride. Trustworthy or not, they're in it for the profit, and it isn't yours.
You mentioned eBay. How much of a percentage would eBay get from the sale of the car? Have you sold any cars on eBay? The more I look at Craigslist, the more I think you're right in terms of it being a better place for older vehicles or maybe hard to find vehicles. There are so many Honda Accords on the road that I'm beginning to think that unless I drastically cut the asking price, I might have a hard time selling it.
You mentioned eBay. How much of a percentage would eBay get from the sale of the car? Have you sold any cars on eBay? The more I look at Craigslist, the more I think you're right in terms of it being a better place for older vehicles or maybe hard to find vehicles. There are so many Honda Accords on the road that I'm beginning to think that unless I drastically cut the asking price, I might have a hard time selling it.
I haven't sold anything as expensive as a car on ebay, but I've sold a couple of items in the $1500-$2000 range. Their fees are kind of hard to determine, but on non car items, they're about 10%. And Paypal also gets a cut. I believe it's about 2.8%. For the kind of exposure I get on my sales, it's worth it. But I rarely bother selling anything less than $100 on ebay. It takes time and hassle to take pics, write a good ad, and ship the item, and no matter how good a seller you are, you always risk getting negative feedback from buyers, so I only do it when I know I can make some money on the deal.
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What's a good way to sell a car?
