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As usual, there are all kinds of sites out there that want to take your money in exchange for precisely zip in promises that your car will sell through them. So, tell me about your experiences. I have a classic car I want to sell, it's cheap, I don't want to waste money advertising it, which site would you recommend I use in order to get the most "bang for my buck", as it were? Cars? Autotrader? Hemmings? ClassicCars? Something I didn't list?
Location: By the sea, by the sea, by the beautiful sea
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Quote:
Originally Posted by RomaniGypsy
As usual, there are all kinds of sites out there that want to take your money in exchange for precisely zip in promises that your car will sell through them. So, tell me about your experiences. I have a classic car I want to sell, it's cheap, I don't want to waste money advertising it, which site would you recommend I use in order to get the most "bang for my buck", as it were? Cars? Autotrader? Hemmings? ClassicCars? Something I didn't list?
If that's the case and you're not pressed for time, you may as well throw it out there on Craigslist in different areas for free to start with. If there's any large cruise nights in your area flyers may we worth the trouble also.
CL for free to start with. Augment that with a reserve auction on ebay. Had good luck with both of those, myself. If it was nice, I'd say Bring-A-Trailer, but they've gotten picky lately. And of course on forums for that sort of car.
If that's the case and you're not pressed for time, you may as well throw it out there on Craigslist in different areas for free to start with. If there's any large cruise nights in your area flyers may we worth the trouble also.
Around here, people don't pay market price for anything. I have had it for sale on my front lawn for over two months. I've had it priced more than $500 below the Collector Car Price Guide value. I live on a four-lane main road, 35 mph speed limit. Thousands of cars drive past every day. Not one person has contacted me. The guy who owns the shop next door, who is always out and about, says that he's seen people looking at it. I've seen a few myself. Not one contact. I've had it listed for sale on Craigslist that whole time. Anyone who has contacted me has made comically low-ball offers or wants to trade something. The same is true of the Facebook ads that I've had up for the same amount of time. For the last week or so, I've had the price $200 lower than originally posted. This past weekend I did a yard sale and dropped it another $100. We're talking $1,600 for a 46-year-old car that runs, drives, stops, has proven itself reliable across about 7,000 miles that I've put on it in the last 2 1/2 years, etc. Yes, it's a project. Yes, it needs new front fenders if it's going to look really nice. No, not everything works. But people around here won't even pay $1,600 for a car like that. (The truth is that they don't want to pay money for anything because most of them spend what little money they have on beer and cigarettes. Then they want everything else for what few cents they have left over.)
Just for giggles, I looked at comps on the various car sales websites. I saw listings for many similar or nearly identical cars, and each and every last one of them was set at a higher price than what I was originally asking. Some of them were nearly twice my asking price.
This is what happened to me with the RV I was selling two years ago. Around here, everyone wanted me to sell it for next to nothing or trade it for some other lower-value thing that they couldn't sell for market price either. There's really only one website for RV sales - RVTrader - so I posted an ad. Yeah, I still got the low-ballers, but I also got a guy from the San Francisco area who paid me my asking price, even though that meant he had to fly from there to Ohio and drive it back. So, I'd like to post it online, so that it can reach people in areas where they are actually willing to pay market price for things. I really don't want to sell this car, but it's a matter of practicality now that we have a child (didn't have one when we bought the car, didn't think we could have one... SURPRISE!)... and apart from my emotional attachment to it, I don't want to perpetuate this area's notion that you can get something for nothing by selling it for what little the people in this vicinity are willing to pay.
As for cruise nights, yeah they exist, but I took the car to one two years ago and one was enough. So many inconsiderate smokers... and when I called one guy out, asking him to put out his cigarette if he was going to be hanging around talking to the people next to me, he busted attitude and started talking about how old cars have smelly exhaust and what not. That is not my idea of fun.
CL for free to start with. Augment that with a reserve auction on ebay. Had good luck with both of those, myself. If it was nice, I'd say Bring-A-Trailer, but they've gotten picky lately. And of course on forums for that sort of car.
What car is it?
If I made that clear, it'd compromise my anonymity. Suffice it to say that I have a reputable pricing reference and I set the price significantly below that. The car is an early 1970's American land-yacht. If you're interested in buying something like that, PM me and I'll give you more info.
Location: East of Seattle since 1992, 615' Elevation, Zone 8b - originally from SF Bay Area
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I would suggest using all of the above if you have a classic that's worth at least $20,000. For a project Craigslist because that's where people looking for a cheap deal are going. When you spend money on restoration or upgrades on a classic, it's rare to get the money back when selling. I dis about 80% of the restoration on a 1963 Ranchero, and sold it for just what I paid for it. When I sold my 1972 El Camino in the recession, I got a few inquiries but ended up selling it to a local classic/muscle car dealer at a loss. With the good economy now prices are up, but then there are fewer buyers with the aging of people (like me) that love them. There is no real market value on classic cars despite NADA and other sources of data. When I was looking recently I found 1967 Chevelles in very similar condition ranging from $18,00 to $60,000 depending on the location. For 1970-72 Novas, the range was $12,000 -$50,000. Some areas have more demand than others, and some have more inventory. In your case, the best place to show it is at a local swap meet. We have them several times a year at the local fairgrounds, with a "car corral" for sales and everyone there is interested in classic cars or wouldn't go. They do charge for space, but some people just hang signs on the car and sell it by just having it in the parking lot.
Maybe I missed it, but I have read all your posts and can't find the year, make , and model. That info would be helpful in offering advice to you. You could have a very cool/desirable car, or just another old car. Makes a huge difference. Not all old cars are "classics", some are just old cars.
For a '70's land yacht, I would try Craigslist first. Use the contact feature they have to allow people to contact you via email. I have had good luck, but know to meet in public places and so-on.
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