What are your tips and best practices for selling a car on Craigslist?
April 6, 2017 10:02 AM Subscribe
It is time to sell my 1999 Toyota Corolla. I would like to sell it to a private party through Craigslist or something instead of donating it, because even thought it has high mileage I have done a ton of work on it in the last year and it has a lot of new parts and still has a lot of life in it.
I have never sold a car before. I'm in California and have looked at the pages on the CA DMV website about selling a car.
The car is registered, insured, and just passed smog in October. I am the second owner. It has 195K miles on it and gets great gas mileage. In the last 18 months I have done: new muffler, tires, brakes, shocks and struts, spark plugs and wires, battery, starter, some $450 thing it needed to pass the smog check. I probably shouldn't have spent all this money on it, but I did! I'd like to make a little money back, and also just don't want it to rot in a lot somewhere.
Does anyone have any tips for selling a car on Craigslist? How do I make sure I'm not scammed? Are there places other than Craigslist I can go through?
I have never sold a car before. I'm in California and have looked at the pages on the CA DMV website about selling a car.
The car is registered, insured, and just passed smog in October. I am the second owner. It has 195K miles on it and gets great gas mileage. In the last 18 months I have done: new muffler, tires, brakes, shocks and struts, spark plugs and wires, battery, starter, some $450 thing it needed to pass the smog check. I probably shouldn't have spent all this money on it, but I did! I'd like to make a little money back, and also just don't want it to rot in a lot somewhere.
Does anyone have any tips for selling a car on Craigslist? How do I make sure I'm not scammed? Are there places other than Craigslist I can go through?
Best answer: I just sold my transmission-slipping, paint-peeling, dog hairy 1996 Civic and got $1000 for it - my full asking price. Take good pictures (I washed my car and took it to a nice location to photograph). Be honest about any issues up front. My Craigslist ad was a little more verbose and conversational than others I saw; no idea if that had any impact.
Once the emails start coming in, I found it worth my while to Google the email names (or actual names when I got them) - one person ended up having a number of very sketchy results, so I crossed him off my list.
Patience was worth it for me - I gave it a full day or so before I even started to respond, and I started off responding to the people who wrote in full sentences. A few people offered me less than my asking price and I turned them down - I think it took the three days before I got someone willing to pay full price. Obviously if I'd had no takers I would have stayed being open to negotiation, but I think it's worth giving it a week if you're comfortable with your price.
Meet in a public place - we met up in a Home Depot parking lot with easy access to a road that would allow for a simple test drive. My buyer didn't do a test drive but if he had I would have photographed his drivers license, given him directions, and let him go on his own (I'd explained this in email beforehand so there would be no surprises).
Look up your state's requirements for private vehicle sales before you go, and try to do the meet up close to a place you can do the title transfer - we did ours at AAA but I don't know if that's doable everywhere.
Bring a friend when you meet anybody. Make it clear in your ad that you accept cash only.
Good luck! It really wasn't as bad as I feared - you'll do fine.
posted by DingoMutt at 10:19 AM on April 6, 2017 [5 favorites]
Once the emails start coming in, I found it worth my while to Google the email names (or actual names when I got them) - one person ended up having a number of very sketchy results, so I crossed him off my list.
Patience was worth it for me - I gave it a full day or so before I even started to respond, and I started off responding to the people who wrote in full sentences. A few people offered me less than my asking price and I turned them down - I think it took the three days before I got someone willing to pay full price. Obviously if I'd had no takers I would have stayed being open to negotiation, but I think it's worth giving it a week if you're comfortable with your price.
Meet in a public place - we met up in a Home Depot parking lot with easy access to a road that would allow for a simple test drive. My buyer didn't do a test drive but if he had I would have photographed his drivers license, given him directions, and let him go on his own (I'd explained this in email beforehand so there would be no surprises).
Look up your state's requirements for private vehicle sales before you go, and try to do the meet up close to a place you can do the title transfer - we did ours at AAA but I don't know if that's doable everywhere.
Bring a friend when you meet anybody. Make it clear in your ad that you accept cash only.
Good luck! It really wasn't as bad as I feared - you'll do fine.
posted by DingoMutt at 10:19 AM on April 6, 2017 [5 favorites]
There are some police departments that provide safe places to meet for such transactions - check to see if yours offers such a service.
Also, years ago I sold a car, and followed the buyer to the bank his check was drawn on - we verified funds were available, and I accepted a check as a result.
posted by dbmcd at 10:23 AM on April 6, 2017
Also, years ago I sold a car, and followed the buyer to the bank his check was drawn on - we verified funds were available, and I accepted a check as a result.
posted by dbmcd at 10:23 AM on April 6, 2017
This is for after you've actually sold the vehicle, but you need to let your jurisdiction know that the car is no longer yours. This varies widely by state, but here's the rules for CA. Basically you want to follow the rules to let the state know you don't own this car anymore. You don't want to be in a position where the new owner racks up a shit ton of tickets in the car and hasn't switched over the registration and title, and the state starts sending YOU tickets and collections notices.
I got lucky that this happened to me and it was only a parking ticket, but my brother-in-law dealt with this for years because it wasn't handled properly to begin with (and that was in CA).
posted by furnace.heart at 10:34 AM on April 6, 2017
I got lucky that this happened to me and it was only a parking ticket, but my brother-in-law dealt with this for years because it wasn't handled properly to begin with (and that was in CA).
posted by furnace.heart at 10:34 AM on April 6, 2017
Response by poster: I somehow totally missed your question, DingoMutt! That's very encouraging. I was thinking of putting it up for $1500 and seeing what happens.
Thanks for the tips so far, everyone. I'll duck back out now. :)
posted by apricot at 10:44 AM on April 6, 2017
Thanks for the tips so far, everyone. I'll duck back out now. :)
posted by apricot at 10:44 AM on April 6, 2017
Best answer: A few years ago, I sold my low-mileage 1999 Acura Integra for $4,500 on Craigslist, and had a pretty good experience. I had lots of good photos of the car from all angles, inside and out, after it had been detailed. The best thing about my car was the low mileage, so I used that for my headline. Maybe you can list all the new parts in your headline?
For safety, I had Craigslist people come to a nearby grocery store parking lot during the day when there were a lot of people around. If the potential buyer wanted a test drive, I held onto their driver's license and stayed with their car.
I accepted cash payment inside my bank's lobby and wrote a receipt for payment.
The only scammy thing that happened to me was a family who told me the head gasket seal was defective and said they'd only pay $1,000. There was no defect. Good day, scammers. I said good day! If someone gives you a hinky vibe, you don't have to keep going forward just to be polite.
You might also try listing it on Auto Trader or Facebook Marketplace. These might be geography specific, but on FB near me I have seen lots of vehicles and I have sold some furniture that I would have normally placed only on Craigslist. You might also put it on Nextdoor if yours is active.
posted by *s at 10:48 AM on April 6, 2017 [1 favorite]
For safety, I had Craigslist people come to a nearby grocery store parking lot during the day when there were a lot of people around. If the potential buyer wanted a test drive, I held onto their driver's license and stayed with their car.
I accepted cash payment inside my bank's lobby and wrote a receipt for payment.
The only scammy thing that happened to me was a family who told me the head gasket seal was defective and said they'd only pay $1,000. There was no defect. Good day, scammers. I said good day! If someone gives you a hinky vibe, you don't have to keep going forward just to be polite.
You might also try listing it on Auto Trader or Facebook Marketplace. These might be geography specific, but on FB near me I have seen lots of vehicles and I have sold some furniture that I would have normally placed only on Craigslist. You might also put it on Nextdoor if yours is active.
posted by *s at 10:48 AM on April 6, 2017 [1 favorite]
I had a good experience selling an older car on Craigslist- I looked up its blue book value and priced it slightly lower (as I was moving overseas and wanted to sell quickly). Got lots of responses, ignored the spammy ones, and sold it a couple of days later to a woman who wanted to buy a cheap, older car for her teenage daughter. She paid cash and came to my house on a weekend afternoon.
My advice would be to take good photos, price to sell, and only bother engaging with potential buyers you get a good vibe from.
posted by emd3737 at 11:13 AM on April 6, 2017
My advice would be to take good photos, price to sell, and only bother engaging with potential buyers you get a good vibe from.
posted by emd3737 at 11:13 AM on April 6, 2017
Best answer: Everyone else is giving good advice. I sold my car on Craigslist about four years ago and it was fine. I needed to be patient, but ended up getting what I thought was a fair price. I would strongly urge cash and if you have no choice but to accept a cashier's check you absolutely must be there when the check is purchased. But, really, cash. Cash is king.
I, too, did the whole exchange at the bank from which the cash was withdrawn because, why not? It just feels safer.
With everything I've sold on Craigslist I got about 4 raving dipshits for every serious seller and the car was no exception (one person tried to argue with me that my price was high and I was an idiot and everything that was wrong in the world could be traced back to people like me. I thanked him for his tolerance of those less intelligent than him and moved on). Still, it was a positive experience and when our next car goes (probably in a couple of years) I'll do the same thing.
posted by It's Never Lurgi at 11:23 AM on April 6, 2017 [1 favorite]
I, too, did the whole exchange at the bank from which the cash was withdrawn because, why not? It just feels safer.
With everything I've sold on Craigslist I got about 4 raving dipshits for every serious seller and the car was no exception (one person tried to argue with me that my price was high and I was an idiot and everything that was wrong in the world could be traced back to people like me. I thanked him for his tolerance of those less intelligent than him and moved on). Still, it was a positive experience and when our next car goes (probably in a couple of years) I'll do the same thing.
posted by It's Never Lurgi at 11:23 AM on April 6, 2017 [1 favorite]
The only scammy thing that happened to me was a family who told me the head gasket seal was defective and said they'd only pay $1,000. There was no defect. Good day, scammers. I said good day!
This exact same thing happened to me. People would say "Oh hey there is oil leaking from this, I'll give you (significantly less than asking) just to take it off of your hands, it's a fire hazard!!" Ignore these people. Be realistic about how much the car is worth, get some approximate values on Edmunds. Try to have a conversation with yourself about what you'd like to get for it versus what you would take for it. Try to separate that from the money you put into it which won't matter that much to the people buying it. Highlight stuff like "Recently passed smog!" which is a bigger deal than "new tires!" People will lowball you, be ready to handle that. Also people will want to take a test drive, possibly, so think about how you'd like to handle that.
posted by jessamyn at 11:26 AM on April 6, 2017
This exact same thing happened to me. People would say "Oh hey there is oil leaking from this, I'll give you (significantly less than asking) just to take it off of your hands, it's a fire hazard!!" Ignore these people. Be realistic about how much the car is worth, get some approximate values on Edmunds. Try to have a conversation with yourself about what you'd like to get for it versus what you would take for it. Try to separate that from the money you put into it which won't matter that much to the people buying it. Highlight stuff like "Recently passed smog!" which is a bigger deal than "new tires!" People will lowball you, be ready to handle that. Also people will want to take a test drive, possibly, so think about how you'd like to handle that.
posted by jessamyn at 11:26 AM on April 6, 2017
At this pricepoint, just Nthing to only accept cash.
posted by freezer cake at 11:29 AM on April 6, 2017
posted by freezer cake at 11:29 AM on April 6, 2017
Best answer: I had a good experience selling an older car on Craigslist- I looked up its blue book value and priced it slightly lower (as I was moving overseas and wanted to sell quickly). Got lots of responses, ignored the spammy ones, and sold it a couple of days later to a woman who wanted to buy a cheap, older car for her teenage daughter. She paid cash and came to my house on a weekend afternoon.
My advice would be to take good photos, price to sell, and only bother engaging with potential buyers you get a good vibe from.
Seconding all of this.
Do you want to make money or do you want to sell it quickly? That will be the determining factor in all of your meetings. If you want to sell it, be prepared for how much you will go down from your asking price. If you want to make money, be prepared for a longer lead time for selling it.
Decide if you will take a deposit. Anecdote time: Nothing pissed me off further than hurriedly driving an hour in Friday night LA traffic with my should-have-been-in-bed toddler to meet a guy for a test drive; we told him that in order to get on the road quickly we'd need to come with a deposit but not full payment; we test drove the car and offered him a deposit with a promise to return with full payment the next morning and he said "well, I have another guy coming to test drive the car in 20 minutes and since there's so much interest I feel like I underpriced it. Do you want to stay here and wait until he's done with his test drive?". Uh, buh-bye. (And here's how that turned out for him - a week later it was still on CL and he ended up lowering the price.)
Make it clear in your ad that you are selling for cash only. When you set up a meeting with a potential buyer, repeat it again during your phone or text conversation "if you decide you will buy the car please be prepared to pay in cash".
For safely we always took two people for the transaction and met at a busy McDonald's down the street from our house. We always transferred title in person at Triple A.
Make sure you know where your actual physical title is, and this should go without saying but I'll say it anyway - make sure the title is in your own name and/or that you have clear rights to sell the car.
posted by vignettist at 11:32 AM on April 6, 2017 [1 favorite]
My advice would be to take good photos, price to sell, and only bother engaging with potential buyers you get a good vibe from.
Seconding all of this.
Do you want to make money or do you want to sell it quickly? That will be the determining factor in all of your meetings. If you want to sell it, be prepared for how much you will go down from your asking price. If you want to make money, be prepared for a longer lead time for selling it.
Decide if you will take a deposit. Anecdote time: Nothing pissed me off further than hurriedly driving an hour in Friday night LA traffic with my should-have-been-in-bed toddler to meet a guy for a test drive; we told him that in order to get on the road quickly we'd need to come with a deposit but not full payment; we test drove the car and offered him a deposit with a promise to return with full payment the next morning and he said "well, I have another guy coming to test drive the car in 20 minutes and since there's so much interest I feel like I underpriced it. Do you want to stay here and wait until he's done with his test drive?". Uh, buh-bye. (And here's how that turned out for him - a week later it was still on CL and he ended up lowering the price.)
Make it clear in your ad that you are selling for cash only. When you set up a meeting with a potential buyer, repeat it again during your phone or text conversation "if you decide you will buy the car please be prepared to pay in cash".
For safely we always took two people for the transaction and met at a busy McDonald's down the street from our house. We always transferred title in person at Triple A.
Make sure you know where your actual physical title is, and this should go without saying but I'll say it anyway - make sure the title is in your own name and/or that you have clear rights to sell the car.
posted by vignettist at 11:32 AM on April 6, 2017 [1 favorite]
This is all excellent advice. I have bought and sold several cars on Craigslist and have had only good experiences.
With everything I sell on Craigslist I make sure to put in the listing that it is being sold as-is (no, I will not do a bunch of work on it before I sell it to you; no, you cannot come back to me in a month and complain that something is wrong), and that the price is firm because I am not in the mood to haggle and if I can't move it for what I'm asking, I'll lower the price myself, on my own terms.
When actually agreeing to the sale, I will arrange to drive to a title transfer location and meet the buyer there to do the sale and transfer the title all in one go.
I sold a car that had immaculate service records (it had belonged to my father in law) and with that one I scanned them, masked any identifying information, and sent them to any serious inquiries. I was able to ask for a better price on that one because I had proof that it had been babied throughout its life.
posted by soren_lorensen at 11:45 AM on April 6, 2017
With everything I sell on Craigslist I make sure to put in the listing that it is being sold as-is (no, I will not do a bunch of work on it before I sell it to you; no, you cannot come back to me in a month and complain that something is wrong), and that the price is firm because I am not in the mood to haggle and if I can't move it for what I'm asking, I'll lower the price myself, on my own terms.
When actually agreeing to the sale, I will arrange to drive to a title transfer location and meet the buyer there to do the sale and transfer the title all in one go.
I sold a car that had immaculate service records (it had belonged to my father in law) and with that one I scanned them, masked any identifying information, and sent them to any serious inquiries. I was able to ask for a better price on that one because I had proof that it had been babied throughout its life.
posted by soren_lorensen at 11:45 AM on April 6, 2017
If someone says they're definitely going to buy it, but for some reason they need to wait...get a deposit. If they can't/don't want to put money down, just tell them the car will be sold to the first person who makes a deposit.
Whenever I sell, or even give away, anything on Craigslist, I ask to speak to the person on the phone before setting up a meeting. I believe people are more likely to be no-shows if they've communicated with you only by email.
posted by wryly at 11:55 AM on April 6, 2017 [1 favorite]
Whenever I sell, or even give away, anything on Craigslist, I ask to speak to the person on the phone before setting up a meeting. I believe people are more likely to be no-shows if they've communicated with you only by email.
posted by wryly at 11:55 AM on April 6, 2017 [1 favorite]
The police station in my city actively encourages people to complete high value transactions in their lobby.
posted by shockpoppet at 12:19 PM on April 6, 2017
posted by shockpoppet at 12:19 PM on April 6, 2017
Less savvy buyers may not hold you to it, but per the DMV you're going to need a more recent smog certification: When a car is sold, who is responsible for the inspection?
The seller is required to provide the buyer with a valid smog inspection certification at the time of the sale or transfer. Smog certifications are good for 90 days from the date of issuance.
posted by doctord at 12:53 PM on April 6, 2017
The seller is required to provide the buyer with a valid smog inspection certification at the time of the sale or transfer. Smog certifications are good for 90 days from the date of issuance.
posted by doctord at 12:53 PM on April 6, 2017
Best answer: You know the smog cert can only be 90 days old in California, right? Other than that I think you're in good shape. Just the usual Craiglist stuff about dealing in person. I took a cashier's check for a $4500 car, that isn't absolutely foolproof but it sure beats carrying around that much cash. I just took a picture of a test driver's license; if you're going to steal a car you'd make a fake license anyway. Maybe don't get it detailed but a good handwash and detailed pictures in flattering light (the blue hour is totally a thing for cars) helps a lot. Don't wash the engine, people want to see how much it's leaking if the gaskets are old. The two cars, one a 20-year-old Mazda with 200K, sold for basically Blue Book in 48 hours on Craigslist. And I didn't get any scammers either. Have a bill of sale drawn up in advance, containing the "no warranty" thing, just so you have something official with the price and VIN and both your signatures. Be prepared to be flexible on timing in terms of people looking at the car; people looking for a super cheap car are probably working two jobs.
posted by wnissen at 12:54 PM on April 6, 2017
posted by wnissen at 12:54 PM on April 6, 2017
Oh, one heads-up I received from someone before I sold my car: sometimes buyers will ask if, during the title transfer, you'll tell the DMV you sold it for significantly less than you actually did (so that the buyer can pay less tax on it). While it didn't happen with my buyer, I'm passing it along so you're aware that it's a thing - I don't like to be surprised with stuff like that, and would prefer to have my "no" already prepared.
posted by DingoMutt at 1:18 PM on April 6, 2017
posted by DingoMutt at 1:18 PM on April 6, 2017
Best answer: This is totally possible: I bought a 2000 (I think!) Corolla with something like 130k miles on it off of Craigslist a few years ago and it went surprisingly well! I was going to pay $2000 I think it was (he asked for the Blue Book value, and I was happy to pay it because the car was in good condition, with all the records). I actually ended up paying $1800 I think because something major needed work for about $800 (suspension/struts?) and the seller agreed to pay for 25% of it. I can't remember the exact numbers but it was something like that. Car is still running strong and I have a very positive memory of the whole purchase (which I didn't expect given it was a used car purchase on Craigslist!). I would say $1500 sounds fair for your car. I actually asked a question on the process here, and you might be able to work backwards from some of the advice I got. I chose a seller who had a legit reason for selling the car, was polite, and wrote in complete sentences with reasonable grammar (and the seller said he chose me for the same reason!).
The biggest things I'd advise are:
- Have the VIN number handy and be prepared to give it out so the buyer can run a search to see if the car has been totaled, etc.)
- Have all the receipts handy for the work you've had done, and general maintenance records, and mention the work in the ad
- Only take cash (obviously). I personally wouldn't hold the car for anyone - just sell to the first person who gives you your asking price in cash.
- Be prepared to meet at a mechanic (picked by the buyer) and for that mechanic to check out the car for your buyer (my seller did this for me and it gave me a lot more confidence in the car). Ideally that mechanic would be near the title transfer place and you'd go directly there.
- Put in the ad that the price is firm (if it is), and be prepared for lots of lowball offers and scammy stuff, because the used car market on Craigslist is just a little bit sketchy.
- Ideally someone can go with you for safety, just on the very slim off-chance of a problem (I had someone there with me, and so did the seller).
posted by ClaireBear at 2:12 PM on April 6, 2017
The biggest things I'd advise are:
- Have the VIN number handy and be prepared to give it out so the buyer can run a search to see if the car has been totaled, etc.)
- Have all the receipts handy for the work you've had done, and general maintenance records, and mention the work in the ad
- Only take cash (obviously). I personally wouldn't hold the car for anyone - just sell to the first person who gives you your asking price in cash.
- Be prepared to meet at a mechanic (picked by the buyer) and for that mechanic to check out the car for your buyer (my seller did this for me and it gave me a lot more confidence in the car). Ideally that mechanic would be near the title transfer place and you'd go directly there.
- Put in the ad that the price is firm (if it is), and be prepared for lots of lowball offers and scammy stuff, because the used car market on Craigslist is just a little bit sketchy.
- Ideally someone can go with you for safety, just on the very slim off-chance of a problem (I had someone there with me, and so did the seller).
posted by ClaireBear at 2:12 PM on April 6, 2017
All good, adding/emphasizing:
* pictures of all sides of the vehicle; the assumption is the side that's not shown is the worst.
* my inlaws do Etsy/Ebay exchanges in bank parking lots due to the amount of security cameras around, if there's not a "safe space" already in town. If a buyer is adamant about a check, change the place of the transaction to their bank, so you and the purchaser can go right in and cash that check without any fuss.
posted by AzraelBrown at 2:54 PM on April 6, 2017 [1 favorite]
* pictures of all sides of the vehicle; the assumption is the side that's not shown is the worst.
* my inlaws do Etsy/Ebay exchanges in bank parking lots due to the amount of security cameras around, if there's not a "safe space" already in town. If a buyer is adamant about a check, change the place of the transaction to their bank, so you and the purchaser can go right in and cash that check without any fuss.
posted by AzraelBrown at 2:54 PM on April 6, 2017 [1 favorite]
When I sold my last hunk of junk I scheduled viewing with the best offer first, $1800, then the person offering $1,600 an hour later, etc. That worked well. In addition to having the interior detailed go to one of those diy car washes and wash the engine and engine bay. It makes the car look well maintained.
posted by nestor_makhno at 7:49 PM on April 7, 2017
posted by nestor_makhno at 7:49 PM on April 7, 2017
Response by poster: Thanks, everyone! This is all very helpful.
Thank you for the heads up about the smog cert. I did not know that. :/
posted by apricot at 3:34 PM on April 12, 2017
Thank you for the heads up about the smog cert. I did not know that. :/
posted by apricot at 3:34 PM on April 12, 2017
This thread is closed to new comments.
Only take cash, never a cashier's check or personal check.
posted by AFABulous at 10:18 AM on April 6, 2017