Selling a Car...

Zeste · 08-27-2007, 08:08 AM

I am wanting to sell my 2002 Trailblazer. I've never really sold a car to a private party before, I've always just traded it in. This car has a little more value, and the trade in would take a pretty big chunk out. My loan was pretty shitty, so I still owe about $11,500. At the time, my credit score was about 650 and I had almost no down payment. Now, my score is 720 and I could have a few grand for a down.

The blue book is like this:
Trade in: $9,500
Private Party: $11,500
Retail: $14,2000

It's really clean, looks great. I added some wheels/tires about a year ago that were $1,100, and a Yakima roof basket that was probably $300.

What is the general rule for selling a car? Do I just put it for sale at 13k and know that I am going to "knock it down" to 12k? I don't want to sell it for less than 12k, but with the trade in so low, won't it just be an endless line of people offering me 9k and such, claiming that's "what the trade in is."

I live in a pretty small town, so eBay motors isn't my first pick for selling it.

Any suggestions?

Eomer · 08-27-2007, 09:54 AM

The one time I sold my car privately, or attempted to, I ended up just trading it in to a dealership which was run by someone I know. I got way less than I should have, but after two months of dealing with tire kickers, most of them 16, I just decided that for the couple grand difference I'd rather just have it done with. I was selling a 97 Probe GTS in, hmm, 2003 I think? Maybe 2002. Either way, it can be very frustrating in my experience.

The one thing to keep in mind is that pretty much any money you spent on the tires and rack has virtually zero value. You may as well keep them if you can use them on your next vehicle, because people won't pay a dime "extra" for them. My bro just sold his 2005 330xi to a family friend, and the jackass insisted that my brother should throw in his aftermarket rims and tires and not factor them into the price, even though new they're worth 3-4 grand.

Zeste · 08-27-2007, 11:32 AM

I was pretty stupid when I bought it, I had a 600 dollar down payment that I put on a credit card, so I owe more than the bluebook says. Trade in is like 9500, I owe 11500.

It's a pretty raw deal for me, but I'd probably just settle for someone to pay the remainder of the loan. I've learned alot about financing and such in the last year. I was pretty retarded.

But yeah, I am not sure how to handle tire-kickers and people offering like thousands less and then calling me an idiot for not taking their deal.

Aulirophile · 08-27-2007, 12:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zeste

I was pretty stupid when I bought it, I had a 600 dollar down payment that I put on a credit card, so I owe more than the bluebook says. Trade in is like 9500, I owe 11500.

It's a pretty raw deal for me, but I'd probably just settle for someone to pay the remainder of the loan. I've learned alot about financing and such in the last year. I was pretty retarded.

But yeah, I am not sure how to handle tire-kickers and people offering like thousands less and then calling me an idiot for not taking their deal.

Put it on Craigslist. Explain you won't take less then 12k under any circumstances, you can tell them why or leave it out. A lot of people will be sympathetic to being bad with financing. Every time someone calls you to look at the car make sure they understand you won't take less then 12k.

That'll eliminate quite a few people right there. Also, Capital One has the lowest interest rate on "Blank Check" auto loans right now, if you wanted to buy a new car you'd probably get a 6.5% interest rate.

Eomer · 08-27-2007, 01:05 PM

Quote:

It's a pretty raw deal for me, but I'd probably just settle for someone to pay the remainder of the loan. I've learned alot about financing and such in the last year. I was pretty retarded.

That sucks. A girl I knew ended up in the same spot, because she's incredibly naive and none too bright. She got it in her head that she wanted to buy a Cougar (coincidentally the car that replaced the Probe, and mechanically was very similar), and in fact a specific Cougar at a dealership. It was a couple years old, if I remember right, and she bought it with financing from the dealer. Loan was like 9% or more interest. And this was 4 or 5 years ago, when interest rates were at historic lows. She was selling it a couple years ago because it had completely fallen apart (she's basically white trash but with money, everything she owns ends up wrecked), was asking around 8k for it, and still owed 16k. Whoops.

Tallyn · 08-27-2007, 01:11 PM

My fiance sold her "fair" condition '01 Corolla last summer on Craigslist. She started getting phone calls within 20 minutes of posting and had taken 40 calls in two hours. She sold the car inside of three hours of posting for $500 more than blue book. That's not a typical story I'm sure, but Craigslist is certainly worth a shot.

Gigfc · 08-27-2007, 01:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tallyn

My fiance sold her "fair" condition '01 Corolla last summer on Craigslist. She started getting phone calls within 20 minutes of posting and had taken 40 calls in two hours. She sold the car inside of three hours of posting for $500 more than blue book. That's not a typical story I'm sure, but Craigslist is certainly worth a shot.

Agreed.

A friend of mine sold his dads car the same day he posted.

Flood950 · 08-27-2007, 01:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gigfc

Agreed.

A friend of mine sold his dads car the same day he posted.

Same sort of luck here. Friend sold a 2005 Mazda 3 on there that had *cough* "extensive body work" done on it for way more than a trade-in would have gotten due to the dirty title. The girl buying it didnt seem to care....she said as long as it looks new, she would take it. Idiot...

Kilivek2.0 · 08-27-2007, 01:33 PM

sell it for private party +/- what condition you think its in.

Zeste · 08-27-2007, 02:00 PM

It's in really nice condition for five years. Real clean exterior and interior, no major blemishes. Runs like you'd expect a car with 75000 miles to run.

I've never been on craigslist, I presume it's easy to list something like this? I thought craigslist was all just people wanting casual sex encounters.

I'll check it out, sounds like a good idea.

Zeste · 08-27-2007, 02:02 PM

err, also about Craigslist, do I just post it to my area? Or is there a larger distribution for classifieds? There's like no usage of craigslist anywhere near me, so is it reasonable to assume that most people expect to travel a few hundred miles or more to get a car?

Gigfc · 08-27-2007, 02:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zeste

err, also about Craigslist, do I just post it to my area? Or is there a larger distribution for classifieds? There's like no usage of craigslist anywhere near me, so is it reasonable to assume that most people expect to travel a few hundred miles or more to get a car?

Where are you?

I'd post it to the closest are you could find.

Edit: And yes, it's easy, click post in the top right corner, don't need to register or anything.

08-27-2007, 08:08 AM	#1 (permalink)
Zeste Ben's Secret Assassins - HIPPITY HOP RABBIT Join Date: Feb 2005 Posts: 2,819 +25 Internets	Selling a Car... I am wanting to sell my 2002 Trailblazer. I've never really sold a car to a private party before, I've always just traded it in. This car has a little more value, and the trade in would take a pretty big chunk out. My loan was pretty shitty, so I still owe about $11,500. At the time, my credit score was about 650 and I had almost no down payment. Now, my score is 720 and I could have a few grand for a down. The blue book is like this: Trade in: $9,500 Private Party: $11,500 Retail: $14,2000 It's really clean, looks great. I added some wheels/tires about a year ago that were $1,100, and a Yakima roof basket that was probably $300. What is the general rule for selling a car? Do I just put it for sale at 13k and know that I am going to "knock it down" to 12k? I don't want to sell it for less than 12k, but with the trade in so low, won't it just be an endless line of people offering me 9k and such, claiming that's "what the trade in is." I live in a pretty small town, so eBay motors isn't my first pick for selling it. Any suggestions?

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08-27-2007, 09:54 AM	#2 (permalink)
Eomer Registered User Join Date: Feb 2002 Posts: 9,518 +25 Internets	The one time I sold my car privately, or attempted to, I ended up just trading it in to a dealership which was run by someone I know. I got way less than I should have, but after two months of dealing with tire kickers, most of them 16, I just decided that for the couple grand difference I'd rather just have it done with. I was selling a 97 Probe GTS in, hmm, 2003 I think? Maybe 2002. Either way, it can be very frustrating in my experience. The one thing to keep in mind is that pretty much any money you spent on the tires and rack has virtually zero value. You may as well keep them if you can use them on your next vehicle, because people won't pay a dime "extra" for them. My bro just sold his 2005 330xi to a family friend, and the jackass insisted that my brother should throw in his aftermarket rims and tires and not factor them into the price, even though new they're worth 3-4 grand.

08-27-2007, 11:32 AM	#3 (permalink)
Zeste Ben's Secret Assassins - HIPPITY HOP RABBIT Join Date: Feb 2005 Posts: 2,819 +25 Internets	I was pretty stupid when I bought it, I had a 600 dollar down payment that I put on a credit card, so I owe more than the bluebook says. Trade in is like 9500, I owe 11500. It's a pretty raw deal for me, but I'd probably just settle for someone to pay the remainder of the loan. I've learned alot about financing and such in the last year. I was pretty retarded. But yeah, I am not sure how to handle tire-kickers and people offering like thousands less and then calling me an idiot for not taking their deal.

08-27-2007, 01:11 PM	#6 (permalink)
Tallyn Registered User Join Date: Nov 2006 Posts: 275 +1 Internets	My fiance sold her "fair" condition '01 Corolla last summer on Craigslist. She started getting phone calls within 20 minutes of posting and had taken 40 calls in two hours. She sold the car inside of three hours of posting for $500 more than blue book. That's not a typical story I'm sure, but Craigslist is certainly worth a shot.

08-27-2007, 01:33 PM	#9 (permalink)
Kilivek2.0 Banned Join Date: Jul 2007 Posts: 514 +0 Internets	sell it for private party +/- what condition you think its in.

08-27-2007, 02:00 PM	#10 (permalink)
Zeste Ben's Secret Assassins - HIPPITY HOP RABBIT Join Date: Feb 2005 Posts: 2,819 +25 Internets	It's in really nice condition for five years. Real clean exterior and interior, no major blemishes. Runs like you'd expect a car with 75000 miles to run. I've never been on craigslist, I presume it's easy to list something like this? I thought craigslist was all just people wanting casual sex encounters. I'll check it out, sounds like a good idea.

08-27-2007, 02:02 PM	#11 (permalink)
Zeste Ben's Secret Assassins - HIPPITY HOP RABBIT Join Date: Feb 2005 Posts: 2,819 +25 Internets	err, also about Craigslist, do I just post it to my area? Or is there a larger distribution for classifieds? There's like no usage of craigslist anywhere near me, so is it reasonable to assume that most people expect to travel a few hundred miles or more to get a car?