Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
When it comes to online sources, the only 2 I bother with are craigslist and autotrader. That goes for buying or selling.
Aside from online venues, another good way to get traffic is to find that one lot or stretch of road near you where everyone parks their car for sale. Every town seems to have one, and everyone knows that's where to go to look. Of course, if the car is your only means of transportation, that's not feasible. You also run the risk of theft or break-in. But, when I sold my last vehicle, I received more phone calls within 4 hours of putting my car 'on the street' as I did in 2 weeks of posting it in AutoTrader.
While I wouldn't have any high hopes, I would still give Carmax a try. I'm sure the offer will be much lower than what you want, but I have heard stories of people actually getting decent money for their car. My buddy sold his last two used vehicles to them and was satisfied with the money they offered. FWIW, it's a 'no hassle, no obligation' thing. No harm, no foul.
So craigslist is really the only good alternative?
I've sold cars on craigslist and gotten way more than I expected. And I've been trying to find a specific need for a while. My experience as a buyer and a seller with craigslist, is that if a car is priced right, there are typically MANY buyers lined up. As a seller, I get my full asking price, and get to decide who sounds like the kind of person I want to deal with.
As a buyer, if it's still there in 48 hours, it's not worth my time to even look, otherwise someone would have already snatched it up.
Also, I live in a rural area, and I park my car on the side of a busy (ish) highway, in plain view of my house. usually have several people per hour stop to look, and a decent percentage of them to call my number for more info.
Finally, it is a GREAT market for selling used cars right now. With Cash for Clunkers, a slow economy, and several other driving forces (no pun intended), there is a limited selection of good used cars at a reasonable price. Find out what your car is worth (to the buyer, not to you), price it fairly, be honest with people and give them a pleasant transaction. Be sure you are ready to sell (title in hand, if possible) and it will go fast.
I sold one on craigslist two years ago. I posted on autotrader too, but only got spam/scams from them. I will be selling another car soon and plan to use craigslist.
My experience buying and selling has been better on Autotrader, especially if the car is somehow special ... I can see where basic transportation might fare better on Clist.
I sold my car on craigslist a few years ago and had a great experience. I first searched craigslist for similar vehicles in the area, assesed their condition compared to mine based on photos/info posted, then priced mine taking that into consideration along with KBB info.
I gave the car a good bath and took lots of photos on a day with great lighting. I posted LOTS of photos in my ad, all the specs, and any additional info I would want to see as a buyer. I think if you use the "add photo" button on craigslist it only lets you add four photos, but there are other ways to add as many as you like using html tags and photosharing sites like photobucket.
My car was not worth much when I sold it. I priced it higher than I expected to get, but not outlandishly high for what it was. I ended up getting my asking price from the first person who looked at it. In fact, I had someone else offer me more, but the first person who looked at it had already given me a small deposit, so I stuck to my word.
I think the key is to be honest and add lots of GOOD photos - this means good angles and good lighting. For example, if you post photos of a vehicle that were shot on an overcast day, it may make the vehicle look more tired than it really is. I also did not post my phone number, just told them to email using the anonymous email link on the listing. That way I could evaluate whether the person was serious or not before giving away my phone number. Also, make sure you put "serious inquiries only", and if you don't want to deal with resellers, state that as well.
Thanks guys. Great suggestions. I DID get a call just today from someone who will probably look at it tonight (it's a 2001 Nissan Maxima in excellent cond!), although she had the BALLS to suggest I DRIVE IT TO HER so she could look at it (she lives in Greensboro, me in Durham). Unbelieveable. There's all kinds out there lol... We'll see what happens.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
), there is a limited selection of good used cars at a reasonable price. Find out what your car is worth (to the buyer, not to you), price it fairly, be honest with people and give them a pleasant transaction. Be sure you are ready to sell (title in hand, if possible) and it will go fast.
