How to sell a car
April 14, 2010 9:29 AM Subscribe
How should I go about selling my 1999 Ford Ranger?
I live in the Chicago area, and my ranger is in pretty good operating condition. It has a cracked windshield but runs fine. What's the best way for me to sell it for the maximum amount of profit?
I live in the Chicago area, and my ranger is in pretty good operating condition. It has a cracked windshield but runs fine. What's the best way for me to sell it for the maximum amount of profit?
Craigslist, for sure. I just drove out-of-state to buy a 1989 Suburban that was literally full of mice. There's always a buyer!
posted by Madamina at 9:44 AM on April 14, 2010
posted by Madamina at 9:44 AM on April 14, 2010
The "buy it now" prices on ebay, as well as a quick search of your local craigslist or classifieds, should give you a good idea of what people are asking for a particular vehicle.
Having sold a few aging vehicles myself, I can tell you that the $150 to fix that window will go a long way toward making a good impression.
posted by M.C. Lo-Carb! at 9:46 AM on April 14, 2010
Having sold a few aging vehicles myself, I can tell you that the $150 to fix that window will go a long way toward making a good impression.
posted by M.C. Lo-Carb! at 9:46 AM on April 14, 2010
I agree with M.C. Lo-Carb! w/ respect to getting the windshield fixed.
For a baseline price, take an average between edmunds.com, kelly blue book, and nada guides. I think edmunds tends to give the lowest and most reasonable price quotes, kbb is usually on the top.
posted by mbatch at 11:42 AM on April 14, 2010
For a baseline price, take an average between edmunds.com, kelly blue book, and nada guides. I think edmunds tends to give the lowest and most reasonable price quotes, kbb is usually on the top.
posted by mbatch at 11:42 AM on April 14, 2010
Trade it in/sell it to a dealership?
I have no experience trying to sell a vehicle, but we're in the process of buying one from a dealership, and they offered us roughly 50% more for our 12-year-old Honda than what the Kelly's Blue Book website taught me to expect....
posted by FlyingMonkey at 12:05 PM on April 14, 2010
I have no experience trying to sell a vehicle, but we're in the process of buying one from a dealership, and they offered us roughly 50% more for our 12-year-old Honda than what the Kelly's Blue Book website taught me to expect....
posted by FlyingMonkey at 12:05 PM on April 14, 2010
There are a lot of Rangers on Craigslist in Chicago. Seems to be highly variable depending on the condition and options. Check out the competition and figure out how much you'd be happy getting for it. It's probably a low enough number that you could demand cash.
You'll usually get more money from a private sale which goes some way towards compensating for the pain in the ass that selling a car can be.
Edmunds True Car Value is the closest thing you can get to what a typical dealer might pay you. They'll pay you more on trade-in because they will screw you on financing, options, or price on whatever new car you want to buy from them. Basically, a dealership is not going to pay you any more for your car than the price they would pay at an auto auction.
Here is the biggest piece of advice, though: File Release of Liability as soon as you sell the car. I'm not sure what they might call it in Chicago, but whatever document or portion of the bill of sale/title you have to fill out and file to release your interest in the car, GET IT, fill it out, and file it with the DMV or whoever immediately. I have learned this the hard way. Don't forget to call your insurance company and cancel your coverage on that car, too.
If you're going to post it on Craigslist, include every bit of information possible (mileage, color, some pictures, options, etc) unless you want to deal with endless email/phone conversations with bucket-drooling morons. You'll have to endure some of that anyways, though.
posted by Skrubly at 3:22 PM on April 14, 2010
You'll usually get more money from a private sale which goes some way towards compensating for the pain in the ass that selling a car can be.
Edmunds True Car Value is the closest thing you can get to what a typical dealer might pay you. They'll pay you more on trade-in because they will screw you on financing, options, or price on whatever new car you want to buy from them. Basically, a dealership is not going to pay you any more for your car than the price they would pay at an auto auction.
Here is the biggest piece of advice, though: File Release of Liability as soon as you sell the car. I'm not sure what they might call it in Chicago, but whatever document or portion of the bill of sale/title you have to fill out and file to release your interest in the car, GET IT, fill it out, and file it with the DMV or whoever immediately. I have learned this the hard way. Don't forget to call your insurance company and cancel your coverage on that car, too.
If you're going to post it on Craigslist, include every bit of information possible (mileage, color, some pictures, options, etc) unless you want to deal with endless email/phone conversations with bucket-drooling morons. You'll have to endure some of that anyways, though.
posted by Skrubly at 3:22 PM on April 14, 2010
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posted by restless_nomad at 9:31 AM on April 14, 2010