How should I go about selling my car?
April 16, 2012 8:33 AM
How should I go about selling my car?
I have a 2004 VW Passat that lately has been spending more time in the shop than on the road. My spouse and I have decided we don’t want to dunk anymore money into it and want to sell it. We bought the car used from a dealer and still have a couple of years left on the note. Our goal is to sell the car and hopefully be able to pay off our note. If we can’t make that much, we’ll just have to find another way to pay off what the sale doesn’t cover. We do not want to trade Passat in for another car (at least that’s our thinking for the moment). Our plan is get by with one car for a while, save up some money, and then have a decent down payment for another vehicle in a year or so.
So my question is, how do I go about a selling a used car?
I figure there are two ways: to an individual or to a dealer.
What are the pros and cons of each? If I try to sell to an individual, how do I do it? Craigslist seems to me the most obvious option, but are there others? Is there anything I should be aware of if I go this route? For example, what are some good ways to attract buyers? What do I do when the person takes it for a test drive or to a mechanic?
And if I sell to a dealer, what should I watch out for? Should I try my luck at a VW dealership or go to an independent used car dealer?
And now there’s another wrinkle. This weekend, the check engine light came on YET AGAIN. The car’s running, but I suppose I have to take care of this new problem before anyone would buy it, right?
Ethically, what should I say are my reasons for selling the car? I’ve had bad luck with this car’s reliability, but that doesn’t necessarily mean the next owner will. (All of its problems seem to be isolated.) How can I be honest without talking a potential buyer out of the sale?
I have a 2004 VW Passat that lately has been spending more time in the shop than on the road. My spouse and I have decided we don’t want to dunk anymore money into it and want to sell it. We bought the car used from a dealer and still have a couple of years left on the note. Our goal is to sell the car and hopefully be able to pay off our note. If we can’t make that much, we’ll just have to find another way to pay off what the sale doesn’t cover. We do not want to trade Passat in for another car (at least that’s our thinking for the moment). Our plan is get by with one car for a while, save up some money, and then have a decent down payment for another vehicle in a year or so.
So my question is, how do I go about a selling a used car?
I figure there are two ways: to an individual or to a dealer.
What are the pros and cons of each? If I try to sell to an individual, how do I do it? Craigslist seems to me the most obvious option, but are there others? Is there anything I should be aware of if I go this route? For example, what are some good ways to attract buyers? What do I do when the person takes it for a test drive or to a mechanic?
And if I sell to a dealer, what should I watch out for? Should I try my luck at a VW dealership or go to an independent used car dealer?
And now there’s another wrinkle. This weekend, the check engine light came on YET AGAIN. The car’s running, but I suppose I have to take care of this new problem before anyone would buy it, right?
Ethically, what should I say are my reasons for selling the car? I’ve had bad luck with this car’s reliability, but that doesn’t necessarily mean the next owner will. (All of its problems seem to be isolated.) How can I be honest without talking a potential buyer out of the sale?
Just a thought: If there is a Carmax in your area, they will give you a quote for what they would pay you for your car, and that quote is good for a week. You can get their quote and then take it to dealers to see if they will beat their price.
You'll probably get more from an individual buyer from craigslist or such, but you do have to be wary of scams. If you go this route, you may want to request cash only to avoid bad checks or money orders. You will want to have the title of the car available, and you can write up a "bill of sale" explaining the date that the individual buys the car, indicating that they are buying it "as is," so that they can't come back on you if something breaks.
I would suggest starting with Carmax, though, to get a quote, and then see if a dealer can beat it. Good luck! I have a 2010 Jetta that I hope will hang in there for quite a few years.
posted by shortyJBot at 8:47 AM on April 16, 2012
You'll probably get more from an individual buyer from craigslist or such, but you do have to be wary of scams. If you go this route, you may want to request cash only to avoid bad checks or money orders. You will want to have the title of the car available, and you can write up a "bill of sale" explaining the date that the individual buys the car, indicating that they are buying it "as is," so that they can't come back on you if something breaks.
I would suggest starting with Carmax, though, to get a quote, and then see if a dealer can beat it. Good luck! I have a 2010 Jetta that I hope will hang in there for quite a few years.
posted by shortyJBot at 8:47 AM on April 16, 2012
You don't need to take care of the problems if you sell privately. Just be honest about the engine light, etc. Lots of mechanically inclined people want to get a bargain and fix their own cars.
posted by weapons-grade pandemonium at 8:47 AM on April 16, 2012
posted by weapons-grade pandemonium at 8:47 AM on April 16, 2012
How can I be honest without talking a potential buyer out of the sale
Provided the car doesn't have any serious faults, or anything you know about that will need replacement immediately, you basically play dumb. Answer questions honestly, but don't over-share. If you've had new parts fitted because of wear and tear, this can be a positive, any shows you've been conscienscious about maintaining the car. There's no need to detail every bit of work you've had done - if it's been fixed, it's fixed.
Selling to a dealer almost inevitably means selling for less. There's no real up-side, and no down-side to selling privately, as long as you make sure you have the money before the keys change hands.
posted by le morte de bea arthur at 8:48 AM on April 16, 2012
Provided the car doesn't have any serious faults, or anything you know about that will need replacement immediately, you basically play dumb. Answer questions honestly, but don't over-share. If you've had new parts fitted because of wear and tear, this can be a positive, any shows you've been conscienscious about maintaining the car. There's no need to detail every bit of work you've had done - if it's been fixed, it's fixed.
Selling to a dealer almost inevitably means selling for less. There's no real up-side, and no down-side to selling privately, as long as you make sure you have the money before the keys change hands.
posted by le morte de bea arthur at 8:48 AM on April 16, 2012
You'll get way, way more money selling to an individual. I'd try the usual suspects: Craigslist, VW enthusiast forums (ie, Passat World forums or VW Vortex). Ebay can work, too.
Don't say why you're selling the car. If anyone asks, you don't need two cars. Answer questions, but do not volunteer much negative information. Never lie, but it won't sell if you're upfront about every little thing wrong with it, at least in my experience. I'd volunteer the CEL or huge dents or bald tires, but not faint noises or seat heaters or a general feeling of ill-health.
It's fine if they want to take it to a mechanic to be checked out. Offer up the contact info for your own mechanic, since they know the car, though most people probably want a more "independent" checkup.
Clean it up, possibly even pay a couple hundred for detailing. Take lots of photos.
It's easy enough to weed out scammers. Be up front that you will only sell face-to-face and only accept cashiers checks from local banks or cash.
posted by pjaust at 8:53 AM on April 16, 2012
Don't say why you're selling the car. If anyone asks, you don't need two cars. Answer questions, but do not volunteer much negative information. Never lie, but it won't sell if you're upfront about every little thing wrong with it, at least in my experience. I'd volunteer the CEL or huge dents or bald tires, but not faint noises or seat heaters or a general feeling of ill-health.
It's fine if they want to take it to a mechanic to be checked out. Offer up the contact info for your own mechanic, since they know the car, though most people probably want a more "independent" checkup.
Clean it up, possibly even pay a couple hundred for detailing. Take lots of photos.
It's easy enough to weed out scammers. Be up front that you will only sell face-to-face and only accept cashiers checks from local banks or cash.
posted by pjaust at 8:53 AM on April 16, 2012
Don't sell it to a dealer. The dealer will need to re-sell it at a profit for the transaction to make sense for them. That means they'll only want to give you wholesale/trade-in value for the car. It could be an easy transaction but you're going to give up $1,000 or so vs. selling it yourself.
Your car should be cheap enough that I think you'll do fine selling it on Craigslist. You'll almost certainly get contacted by someone from England or something who claims that your specific model is in high demand. That is the most common scam and is pretty easy to ignore.
If you have a buyer that wants to take for a test-drive, go with them. Don't talk a whole lot and let them drive the car, when you get close to the end of the test drive, start asking them what they think. If they have good things to say, ask them to buy it. If they want to take it to a mechanic, let them. You have the title so you still own the car and have legal recourse to take it back. If they want to buy it, insist on cold hard cash or a cashier's check. If you take a check, make sure you call the issuing bank to verify it (and get the number from their website, not off of the check).
posted by VTX at 8:55 AM on April 16, 2012
Your car should be cheap enough that I think you'll do fine selling it on Craigslist. You'll almost certainly get contacted by someone from England or something who claims that your specific model is in high demand. That is the most common scam and is pretty easy to ignore.
If you have a buyer that wants to take for a test-drive, go with them. Don't talk a whole lot and let them drive the car, when you get close to the end of the test drive, start asking them what they think. If they have good things to say, ask them to buy it. If they want to take it to a mechanic, let them. You have the title so you still own the car and have legal recourse to take it back. If they want to buy it, insist on cold hard cash or a cashier's check. If you take a check, make sure you call the issuing bank to verify it (and get the number from their website, not off of the check).
posted by VTX at 8:55 AM on April 16, 2012
Seconding Carmax if possible. I had a really great experience selling a car to them. They gave me twice the price any dealer offered and it was simple and low stress.
posted by procrastination at 9:35 AM on April 16, 2012
posted by procrastination at 9:35 AM on April 16, 2012
"Craigslist seems to me the most obvious option, but are there others? Is there anything I should be aware of if I go this route? For example, what are some good ways to attract buyers? What do I do when the person takes it for a test drive or to a mechanic?"
I just sold a 2000 Focus on Craigslist. My thought was, it's not like there's any cost or commitment to placing an AD, so I perused the ads to see what other cars like mine had been listed for recently, picked a price I was happy at, and posted an ad. As it turned out I got like 20 responses, only about 5 of which were clearly spam or people who wanted to buy it off me for 1/4 of my posted price. I ended up setting appointments for that weekend with the first five people who'd responded who were interested at my posted price. My husband just cleared out his Saturday to show it to people and do test drives with them; we sold it that weekend at the price I asked.
I made my ad a bit quirky; it seemed to me my target market for an 2000 compact sedan was teenagers getting a first car or 20-somethings looking for something inexpensive. I figured people would be interested in safety, mpg, that the car's had only one owner (who was now a boring soccer mom), and that I was a non-shady married lady selling the car, not some creepy random, because if I were an 18-year-old girl, that would have been the kind of thing I'd want to know.
I can't remember exactly how I worded the ad, but I started with the bald facts (make, year, mileage, color, asking price, mileage achieved); I did include the accident history of the car (two fender benders, bumper replaced both times) and made a point of there having been only one (female) owner with all scheduled maintenance done on time. I included that there was some cosmetic scratching on a rear quarter panel. And I finished the ad with "Car's name is Ferdinand."
My husband thought this was sort-of silly, but actually a ton of people said the ad caught their eye because the car had a name, and it made the car sound well-loved and me sound not-scary. I also did speak with several parents-of-teens looking for a first car, and every single one said they appreciated I was up front about the scratches and the accident history (which they could find out anyway). Didn't waste anyone's time that way.
Anyway, I sold it within 3 days of placing my "test" ad, to a very nice teenaged boy, very little hassle. All the people we dealt with understood that selling a car private party requires some trust on each side of the equation and we had no trouble arranging a cashier's check, time to exchange keys, etc.
And if your ad only draws weirdos, or your price is clearly too high or too low, you can always pull the listing and re-list it later.
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 9:49 AM on April 16, 2012
I just sold a 2000 Focus on Craigslist. My thought was, it's not like there's any cost or commitment to placing an AD, so I perused the ads to see what other cars like mine had been listed for recently, picked a price I was happy at, and posted an ad. As it turned out I got like 20 responses, only about 5 of which were clearly spam or people who wanted to buy it off me for 1/4 of my posted price. I ended up setting appointments for that weekend with the first five people who'd responded who were interested at my posted price. My husband just cleared out his Saturday to show it to people and do test drives with them; we sold it that weekend at the price I asked.
I made my ad a bit quirky; it seemed to me my target market for an 2000 compact sedan was teenagers getting a first car or 20-somethings looking for something inexpensive. I figured people would be interested in safety, mpg, that the car's had only one owner (who was now a boring soccer mom), and that I was a non-shady married lady selling the car, not some creepy random, because if I were an 18-year-old girl, that would have been the kind of thing I'd want to know.
I can't remember exactly how I worded the ad, but I started with the bald facts (make, year, mileage, color, asking price, mileage achieved); I did include the accident history of the car (two fender benders, bumper replaced both times) and made a point of there having been only one (female) owner with all scheduled maintenance done on time. I included that there was some cosmetic scratching on a rear quarter panel. And I finished the ad with "Car's name is Ferdinand."
My husband thought this was sort-of silly, but actually a ton of people said the ad caught their eye because the car had a name, and it made the car sound well-loved and me sound not-scary. I also did speak with several parents-of-teens looking for a first car, and every single one said they appreciated I was up front about the scratches and the accident history (which they could find out anyway). Didn't waste anyone's time that way.
Anyway, I sold it within 3 days of placing my "test" ad, to a very nice teenaged boy, very little hassle. All the people we dealt with understood that selling a car private party requires some trust on each side of the equation and we had no trouble arranging a cashier's check, time to exchange keys, etc.
And if your ad only draws weirdos, or your price is clearly too high or too low, you can always pull the listing and re-list it later.
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 9:49 AM on April 16, 2012
Carmax can sometimes be a good place to sell; it is indeed simple and low stress. You may get a much better price by putting your car on Craigslist, though. I got around six times as much on Craigslist as Carmax was offering me. Yes, 6x.
posted by Justinian at 10:08 AM on April 16, 2012
posted by Justinian at 10:08 AM on April 16, 2012
We recently sold our son's '97 Jetta on Craigslist. We were brutally honest about the condition of the car in the ad, and included photos (hosted via Photobucket. DO NOT use CL's own photo server. It degrades image quality)
It went fairly well, once we got in touch with an actual buyer. That's the huge fail of Craigslist, unfortunately. It seems about 80% of any inquiries you get on anything are scammers or simply trolls playing games.
posted by Thorzdad at 11:31 AM on April 16, 2012
It went fairly well, once we got in touch with an actual buyer. That's the huge fail of Craigslist, unfortunately. It seems about 80% of any inquiries you get on anything are scammers or simply trolls playing games.
posted by Thorzdad at 11:31 AM on April 16, 2012
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by weapons-grade pandemonium at 8:45 AM on April 16, 2012