Best place to sell a car?: Off-topic discussion forum: Grassroots Motorsports Magazine

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March 18, 2010 1:50 p.m. rob_lewis Dork

I promise, I'm not trying to be a dirty spammer or anything!! (I'm not even going to mention the car in this post!)

I've posted my car for sale on Craigslist and here, but not sure where else to go. I've had very little feedback on it (and I don't think I'm asking too much). Unless you count the "Can you check to see what my insurance would be on your car?" or the "How you can make extra money" emails....

Ebay? Ugh, besides the listing fees, I am 99% guaranteed it'll be an out of state buyer, which will have hassles.

Local Paper? Does anyone even read the paper for classifieds anymore? Our local (Austin, TX) paper automotive classifieds is like half a sheet long....

Autotrader? Again, locally, they combine it with trucks and it's like 25 pages total, I don't think anyone really reads it.

CarMax? That's probably the next step, but I shudder at how little they'll offer.

-Rob
March 18, 2010 2:12 p.m. jwdmotorsports Dork

If it's the car I think it is I've always wanted one and would love to buy it from you but don't have that kind of cash right now.

Before you give it to CarMax let me know what they're going to give you for it.
March 18, 2010 2:16 p.m. Tom_Spangler Reader

It depends on the car and the price. I always put cars (and anything else) I'm selling on Craigslist because it's free. But a lot of people only look for bargains on there. So if you're selling a cheap car, CL is the way to go. But for something more expensive, if you don't want to deal with out-of-state people, I'd try Autotrader. Forget whatever paper they put out (they still do that?), you'll get it on Autotrader.com, which gets a lot of traffic. Granted, it seems like 90% of the ads on there are dealers, but there are some private ads. I found my Miata on there. Downside is that it's not cheap to place an ad on there, like around $80 I think.

There's also Cars.com, also mostly dealer ads. I think if you list a car with a local paper it will show up on Cars.com as well.

Alternatively, if it's a car that has any kind of enthusiast following, there's always the marque-specific message boards. I sold my BMW that way.
March 18, 2010 3:21 p.m. rob_lewis Dork

I'll be honest, I never planned on getting rid of it, but our financial situation just changed drastically and it's paid off.

So, part of my lack of "serious" advertising was emotional, but I realize now that it needs to go.

I'll check Autotrader and did just post it on one of the enthusiast boards.

Thanks.

-Rob
March 18, 2010 5:07 p.m. BoxheadTim HalfDork

I would say that advertising it in as many places as possible is probably the best move.

I advertised the Elise on an enthusiast forum only, that took awhile but as it's a pretty big forum, I finally got a few people who were interested and didn't start lowballing without even seeing the car. The 911, which is also advertised on an enthusiast forum, got 1(!) response in three months. But I'm probably keeping that for the time being anyway.

Both the Integrale and my BMW tourer (bike, not car) are currently on ebay for maximum exposure; both seem to attract bids mostly from other European countries (so that'll be your out of state buyer then). It certainly seems to have resulted in higher bids so far (and some plonkers who went "I bid the bike up to the reserve price, can you end the auction now").
March 18, 2010 6:18 p.m. jrw1621 Dork

Any car onto Craigslist, it is free.

If it is a car that will sell for less than $4k then just Craigslist. If it will sell for higher, also place the car on autotrader. At autotrader they have an option that cost a bit more but stays on the website until it sells. I find this to be a better deal.

If it is a unique car or requires a unique buyer then ebay is they way. It does the best job of capturing national attention. Take the option which gives the longest, most days possible (each day is more exposure.) Do not be disappointing if it does not sell. If the exposure was right you will gather interest and maybe sell privately after the auction ends.

The classified section of this website is fee as well. Like others have said, place it as many places as possible.
March 18, 2010 6:28 p.m. Osterkraut Dork

Are you selling a truck or SUV?
March 18, 2010 7:00 p.m. rob_lewis Dork

Osterkraut wrote:

Are you selling a truck or SUV?

Neither. Opposite of that.

Sounds like Autotrader is a good option.

-Rob
March 18, 2010 7:29 p.m. White_and_Nerdy Reader

Whatever local want ad publication would be a good move, too. I just spent 2 weeks selling my SW2. Told a friend who I knew had been interested first. When he passed, I posted it on enthusiast forums (including GRM). Soon after I posted on Craigslist. I got maybe one live human hit there and at least 5 spammers. On Monday, I posted it online-only (therefore, free) to Uncle Henry's, which is the big want ad publication here in Maine. Within 24 hours I had 2-3 live human responders, no spam, and I sold the car. If it had lingered another week or so I would've sprung for a print ad, but there was no need.

I know this option doesn't exist where you are (unless you're in Maine, in which case you'd already know about it), but there's got to be some similar local publication where you are.
March 18, 2010 10:37 p.m. VanillaSky Reader

My yard seems like a good place. I have an offer or 2 a week on both my beat-up Nissan truck and my 1989 Honda Accord. I would have sold the Honda by now, if I had the title straight in my name.
March 18, 2010 11:04 p.m. Lesley SuperDork

I bought my last three cars from kijiji.com, and sold one there too, in a couple of days. It's free.
March 18, 2010 11:22 p.m. Josh Dork

Lesley wrote:

I bought my last three cars from kijiji.com, and sold one there too, in a couple of days. It's free.

It's not going to be cheap to ship a car from Texas to Canada.