Selling a used car

[Mursilis]

I've posted my car on craigslist because it's free and lets you post pics, but there's been relatively little interest, so I'm considering other options. Any other good websites with decent traffic? Local paper? Park it at the commuter lot with a "For Sale" sign? What's worked best for you when selling a used car?

 

[Demon-Xanth]

When I sold my Grand Prix it was through the local classifieds. But at the same time I parked it at numerous places with a for sale sign. I just made sure to move it every 24 hours to keep it from getting towed.

 

[iamwiz82]

I have the worst luck with Autotrader, the best with Craigslist.

 

[vi edit]

As the price of the car goes up, your ability to sell outright goes down. If it's over $15,000 or so it's practically unsellable unless it is hard to find/unique car.

Cheap cars are best sold through local papers/trading post adds. People looking for bargains look there. Everyone else looks at dealers.

 

[jagec]

Craigslist, always craigslist.

But I've been selling pretty cheap, old cars. Had nothing but good luck...I'd usually have the car sold in three days.

 

[fbrdphreak]

Craig's List worked for my $1500 car. Expensive cars are hard to sell, as vi_edit noted.

There has to be a market for them, like an enthusiast car or general popular model.

 

[zoiks]

I sold my Infiniti G35 on CL. But then I live in the bay area where CL is used pretty heavily. No bites on Autotrader and cars.com.

 

[thomsbrain]

If you have a desirable make/model that appeals to people who use the internet to shop for things (i.e. young middle to upper-class white people), then your car will sell just fine on craigslist. If you're selling a mid 90's Accord in good shape, your email will explode in responses. If you're selling an Oldsmobile Intrigue, you'd be much better served putting a sign in the window on a busy street, or putting an ad in the newspaper classifieds.

 

[AMCRambler]

I lived on a well traveled main road. Parked the old 91 Accord at the bottom of the driveway with a sign on it with a price. People were stopping in every day on their way home from work. Sold that car in less than a week.

 

[Mermaidman]

Originally posted by: thomsbrain
If you have a desirable make/model that appeals to people who use the internet to shop for things (i.e. young middle to upper-class white people), then your car will sell just fine on craigslist. If you're selling a mid 90's Accord in good shape, your email will explode in responses. If you're selling an Oldsmobile Intrigue, you'd be much better served putting a sign in the window on a busy street, or putting an ad in the newspaper classifieds.

Heh, we sold a 5-yr old Intrigue through a newspaper ad. One way to sell an expensive car is through a LOCAL consignment dealer who can take care of all the test drives and more importantly, arrange financing for potential buyers. I paid $400 to a consignment dealer to sell a $16-$17,000 vehicle. I recouped most of the fee with a higher selling price. If you choose to go this route, it's better to leave your car with the dealer so people can see it easily and also facilitate test drives. This was the dealer I used: http://automotiveconsignment.com/about.php

 

[helpme]

I sold my Corolla through cars.com in the bay area. They list on other sites, and the buyer found it through autotrader.