Pricing my used vehicle for private sale

haspelbein

I've finally found somebody semi-local who has put a deposit on the car, so I'm now in the process of managing a "waiting list" should the deal fall through. I don't quite understand why the car is so popular, but it seems that I will sell it about $1K above Edmunds private-party TMV (including the allowance for new tires), so I'm not complaining.

Thanks for all the feedback!

H-Bein

P.S.: I now know why salespeople don't like the phrase: "What is your best price?" or "Give me your best price."

british_rover

Funny how that works huh.

haspelbein

Yeah, I feel better that I never used that phrase in a negotiation. There is simply no incentive for the seller to negotiate from his/her best price down.

I was really ticked off my e-mails stating just that line. ("What is your best price?")

british_rover

Yeah that is knid of equivelant to the guy that when you walk up to him to introduce yourself the first words out of his mouth are, "What is the best price you will sell me this car right here for?"

I don't even know his name yet and he is trying to start negotiating.

backy

I have something even better (worse)? I got an email inquiry on a car I was selling a few months ago. The guy says, "I will buy your car for $5300." Not only was this far below my asking price and published book values, but he hadn't even SEEN the car yet. (It was in excellent condition.) Anyway, I responded to him that he might want to look at it before making an offer. I didn't hear back from him.

I sold the car to my sister--gave her $100 off. She was very happy to get it.

haspelbein

The only one worse is the one who insists that the car is only worth as much, even when you tell him/her that you will not be selling it for that much. What a waste of time. I found out it was the best to tell them that I would call them back if I was ready to sell for that price, and they simply never received a call-back.

sebring95

I used to buy cars from my employer (fleet vehicles, usually 3-4 years old with 120k miles +/-. They were generaly in very good shape with just highway miles. I always made a couple grand by flipping them. They were mainly Luminas and I got a lot of calls from (semi-locals) who exported these types of vehicles to the middle-east. The routine generally was that they would offer about half what I was asking and when I said "no way" they would become belligerent about how my price was "crazy", "too high", "you'll never get that", etc. etc. I told them I sell 3 or 4 of these a year and always get what I'm asking. I would usually just annoy the crap out of them with snide remarks until they would boil-over and slam the phone down. I actually enjoyed it, really. I would wheel-n-deal people that really needed a good car, but someone just wanting to make a buck wasn't getting anywhere with me, particularly with their bad attitude.

haspelbein

It makes you really wonder if these extreme low-ball negotiating tactics work. I hope not.

It is so much better to sell a car to someone who actually looks at it and is obviously excited to become the new owner.

villebillies

I have a 1986 Buick Park Avenue with 87,000 miles on it previously driven by two older ladies and myself mid twenties. The front two electric windows dont work, the steering catches, air conditioning is almost non existent, but car drives very well and has a powerful engine and everything else is in good shape, very clean. How should (computer, newspaper, etc.) I sell this and what should I ask and what should I expect to get for it. NADA lists it at around $1200 in poor condition. Any advice? Thanks everyone!!!

tsgeisel

Just posted this on the trade-in thread.

Check out private party listing sites - your local newspaper, cars.com or my favorite, craigslist.org. See what people are asking for cars of that nature.

I like craigslist because it's completely free. If you don't get offers at your price, just lower it.

otis1

I have a car (subaru forester) that needs new tires. we're thinking of keeping the car for another 6-9 months. My first inclination was to put "cheap" tires on the car since I would not have the car for long, but am unconfortable with the idea since we actually have to drive on them. normally I would put on a set of $80-100 tires (say bridgestone turanza or some other comparable tire) if I were to keep the car. But then I was wondering if putting a "premium" tire, such as a set of Michilins, would be a selling point. I personally don't see the benefit of spending an extra $100/set of tire for a marginal difference, but in terms of the buyer, I wonder if this tire has any appeal (ie. "new michelins put on this summer...")

I usually try to sell my cars myself so I wonder if doing this would either a) shorten the length of time i takes to sell the car or b) raise the price I can sell the car for.

backy

Putting on something like Michelins may actually hurt the sale price! The Michelins I had on two Hyundais I owned were not very good, rode hard and noisy and wore quickly. I replaced them with tires that cost less than half as much and not only did they ride better but wore better also. I think as long as you have tires with good tread on them, you are OK. A name brand such as Bridgestone won't hurt--better than "Joe's Tire".

steine13

Check into BFGoodrich. I have just bought my second set of Traction T/A tires. They get great reviews on TireRack, they stick well wet or dry -- dunno about snow -- and cost all of $71 in 205/65/15. There's no sense in buying "4 for $100" tires when you can get quality for $300 installed... I'm sure there are other quality tires out there for much less than $100 apiece.

-Mathias

corvette

Michelin's OEM tires (usually Energy models) are not the best tires they make--they're overpriced and don't handle well. They're designed for low rolling resistance to get a fraction of a MPG more on the EPA tests.

Michelin's other tires are better, but still overpriced. BFGoodrich is owned by Michelin, and offers tires that are comparable in quality with lower pricing.

otis1

Thanks for the advice on tires. If I weren't selling the car, I'd just put on a set of "good" tires. I ONLY ask about michelin (hydroedge- one of the highest rated CR tires) because I'm selling the car. I personally don't have anything against michelin's other than being over priced, but they do seem to carry a certain appeal among certain buyers (I wouldn't buy them).

what it comes down to is, do I spend the extra $100 to get a set of michelins? by spending the $100, do i either get >$100 back in my selling price and/or do I sell the car in less time? (time is as improtant if not more important than price- I'd gladly spend an extra $100 to sell my car in 1 week vs 1 month)

Backy has already stated that michelins would hurt the resale value- is this more or less along the lines of the consensus?

Thanks,
Brian

sebring95

My general opinion...if it's a truck I have no problem with Michelins and sometimes prefer them. I might pay an extra $100 to have them, depending on what I was doing with the truck/SUV. I've never met a Michelin car tire that I liked and consider it a negative. My Odyssey came with Michelins and they are loud on concrete roads and are just wearing OK. Quite a few other brands/model tires I would prefer.

How about offering a tire incentive to the new buyer. If I'm shopping for a car, I'd rather get a better deal and shop for the tires myself. Then the tire warranty is in MY name. Just a thought.

Another point...I've sold a lot of cars and maintenance records and tire type are of very little concern to the average car buyer. Options, color tend to be the big questions.

corvette

Michelins should not hurt the resale value. I just don't think that having new Michelins vs. having new BF Goodrich, Toyo, or Yokohamas will make the car bring $100 more. As long as the tires have good tread and don't vibrate, the car should bring what it's otherwise worth.

bolivar

MY wild guess - less than 25% of the people looking at a used car would even look at the brand name of the tires.

Probably less than 50% would even look at the tires to see what depth of tread was left.

danaf

I am planning to buy a new Toyota which I will be selling after 12 months. I don't need A/C, power locks, alloy wheels etc. but I have been told that I would be able to get a MUCH better price, and it would be MUCH easier for me to sell it, if I have those extras. It might be true for A/C, but I am not sure about others. Thanks a lot.

cccompson

The items you listed are standard on most cars today, whether made by Toyota or otherwise.

The key to recouping on the outlay of most options is to equip a vehicle appropriately for its market. A DVD player in a minivan will facilitate its later sale.

However, bear in mind that the value of options drops quite quickly, especially for expensive ones.

The biggest drop in the value of any new car happens within the first 12 months. From personal experience, I will tell that your plan is not financially wise. A better idea might be to buy something that is 2-4 years old with low mileage. After a year, it likely will have lost little value.

corvette

A/C is a must. Opinions differ on power locks--I think they're needed on four-door cars, but not an absolute requirement on four-door cars. Lots of cars don't have alloy wheels. ccompson is correct in that you are better off buying used. If you can find a used car with no A/C, especially right now during the hottest part of the summer, you will get a huge discount upfront, but plan on giving a similar huge discount when you sell it.

Kirstie_H

As cccompson mentioned, the options are not your enemy here, time is. No matter what options you select or decline for a new vehicle, you're going to take a huge hit on resale after only 12 months. If you finance the vehicle, this could hurt you badly and leave you in a position of owing more on the vehicle than it is worth on resale. This means you would actually have to pay to sell it.

Have you considered a gently used vehicle, or is there more info that we should take into consideration before giving you advice?

danaf

Thanks a lot! Really appreciate it. I thought about buying a certified used too, but I am very bad at negotiating so I think I might get ripped off less if I buy a new one because Toyota has some policies on fixed price? They do it in Canada. Thanks.

steele1028

I am looking for some advice on which Blue Book value I should use when figuring a fair asking price for my private party sale. I am currently using the suggested dealer asking price as my car is in excellent shape with very low miles. It just had it's major maintainences and tune-ups and everything is perfect.

here is the link to check it out. I have it listed other places as well, this is just the easiest to see all of the info at once.

My question is this: am I asking an insane amount for this truck or am I just lacking patience. Any thoughts are very much appreciated.">link title

sebring95

That's pretty high. IMHO, KBB retail is a dream even for a dealer. That's typically what a dealer would "ASK" and you negotiate from there. I'd think if you're a bit above private party value you'd be in the ballpark. All the vehicles I've private sold in the last few years have gone in the ballpark of KBB private party value.

mmurali72

no call so far. its been a more than a week. I have priced it at the private party price from the edmunds. I am willing take 500 less then the listed price when there is negotiation. one guy who is a friend's friend offered up to 24k. below is the link from the cars.com. i did not advertise in the local classified, just at the cars.com. please let me know if I can do anything more,

http://www.cars.com/go/search/fsbo_search.jsp?affiliateadid=1969791&affiliate=na- tional

cccompson

With gas above $3.00 per gallon, I don't envy anybody who is trying to sell an SUV right now. Obviously the market in Ohio may well be different from yours but here these things are priced less even at the Acura stores.

The key to any used car sale is exposure and the only thing I would suggest is to make yours broader - craigslist, ebay, and/or local papers.

british_rover

There is a bowling alley near where I live that always has a lot of used cars for sale in the parking lot. It is right on a serious main road. From what I understand the owner has an agreemant with the people selling the cars that they can keep their cars out front in the empty part of his lot. He probably charges them a little bit of money or takes part of the sale price when the car sells.

Maybe you can find something similar around your area.

sebring95

A week isn't enough to get too worried over. You should probably expand your advertising if you really want to move it. SUV's aren't exactly flying off the lots at the moment...might be $3/gas I dunno

Your price seems right on for book value, but KBB/edmunds aren't always right on with big market swings. I think I'd take the $24k and run. I see an almost identical MDX on Ebay (without NAV) for a BIN price of $22,575. That blue isn't helpful either, IHO. Standard colors sell better when used (new buyers have the pick of the litter...).

tamaraster

When I tried to sell my car on cars.com, I didn't get a single bite. But once I listed it in the newspaper, I got lots of calls and it sold quickly. I have a feeling that cars.com either doesn't get a lot of buyers, or maybe only gets buyers in some areas.

tsgeisel

46k miles on a 4 year old (at most) car may be more milage than folks are looking for. And, given the year, people are probably thinking "3-year old car". No biggie for me, but others might be wary.

Also, check out craigslist.org.

What are other similar cars selling for - on cars.com and in your area in general?

skye_

I've sold my car and today I will meet the buyer to close the deal. This is a first for me and I'm quite nervous! I am a little concerned because when I spoke to him over the phone last night, I said something like, "I have a bill of sale ready and we will do the title transfer then." to which he replied, well, we'll talk about the title transfer then."
WHAT DID THAT MEAN? I can't imagine what he meant by that and I hope he doesn't want to offer some of kind of shady arrangement. What are some of the scams and shady dealings that I need to be aware of?? I'm meeting this guy in an hour and so I'm in a bit of a hurry!!

cccompson

By all means, close the transaction at wherever titles are transfered and insist the buyer get a new title then and there. I don't know about other states but in Ohio the seller legally owns the car until the new title is issued - merely assigning it is not enough to transfer ownership.

skye_

I'm in Fla. and I've checked the DMV site -- as long as I put the mileage on the tile and fill out the DMV form bill of sale (which also has a place for mileage), signed by both buyer & seller, I'm clear. I'll have to take the DMV form down tomorrow and then (he has 10 days to get new title). I'm just wondering what he meant by what he said.. it may be nothing at all, but I'm nervous as a cat!! I just wish it wasn't Sunday so I could take the DMV form immediately. Also, how can i tell if a cashier's check is legit??

skye_

I just re-read your post -- in fla. all that needs to be done is both buyer and seller sign the title itself... no place such as you speak of where "titles are transferred" other than the DMV which is closed today!

skye_

My buyer just called and said he only has a personal check. I said I just couldn't do it that way and asked if he wanted to just wait until tomorrow. He agreed and so everything can be taken care of tomorrow! I'm SO glad! Although I still don't know what he meant by "We'll talk about that then" in reference to transfer of title.

Should I ask to see some ID before he signs the title? It would seem to me that as long as both of us sign off on the title and the bill of sale, it should make no difference who he is - or says he is -- it still clears me from liability, right? Is that the way you see it? With all that said, he seems to be legit (but then, don't they all?).

One thing that caught my attention though was at first, the wife said the car was for her (however, he did the test drive, not her) and then he said he was buying it for his son. Not a big deal -- I don't really care who it's for, it was just a little discrepancy that caught my attention.

Sorry to ramble on with my thoughts ... and thanks for being there during my time of panic... I'm sure I won't sleep very well tonight!

Be sure to tune in again tomorrow -- I may need you again before this is over!! :sick: LOL!

tsgeisel

It may be shady, and it's not what was the case here, but some buyers like to have the selling price reduced on the bill of sale, to reduce the amount of sales tax they have to pay when they register the car in their name.

cccompson

He's paying by personal check? Meet him at HIS bank so you can promptly cash it.

And I sure wouldn't rely on any state's website for a 100% accurate representation of any law.

backy

That won't work in at least some states. In MN for example, the buyer pays tax on the claimed purchase price or the market value of the car, whichever is greater. (Not sure how they determine the market value of the car.)

tsgeisel

I guess that kinda sucks for someone who sells a car with damage. Unless there's some kind of appeals process.

In theory it probably works similarly in CA, but since new car registration doesn't require a visual inspection, as long as your claimed value doesn't set off any alarm bells, you can get away with a lower amount. Not even the DMV is going to believe the $50 BMW sale.

skye_

You may be right about that, tsgeise. Maybe he wants me to put a lower selling price on the title to lower sales tax. I've already printed out the bill of sale with the correct selling price on it so I'm not going to play any games on the title! Thanks for that input.

backy

A car with damage will have a low market value.

guidedbyvoices

I have a beat down 125,000 mile 95 Grand Am. Has steering problems, a front end shake (prob just an alignment), needs a new AC compressor, and has both coolant and oil leaks (oil leak is pretty major - 2 quarts a day).

So, I have a new car I can pick up this week, and the dealer doesn't want it. My idea to keep it fast & simple is to take it to Carmax. Will they buy a beater with issues? Outside is OK, interior has lots of little things wrong - electric windows dont roll down, stuff like that.

just looking for some advice. I'd rather carmax or donate it then sell it to anyone because of the issues and worrying that if I don't sell it right or transfer the title right and they kill someone its on me, you know?

tsgeisel

Well, they *say* they'll buy nearly any car except "frame-damaged vehicles". Check out the Carmax website and see for yourself.

Alternately, if there's a local community college or high school even with an auto-shop program, you might want to see if they could use a free car to work on.

jlawrence01

It is probably not worth the gas that it would take to get it to Carmax.

It is probably going to take $1500 to get that car to where anyone - other than a high school shop class - to be very interested.

tsgeisel

http://asap.ap.org/stories/773074.s

May be old news, but it was a fun story to read through. I like the "go in with a bunch of friends" option.

guidedbyvoices

got $550 for my junker, maybe not as bad shape as I thought?!

castlek

I'm in NY and I put ad my civic on Cars.com and one of Broker gave me a call saying he can probably gave some more money than I asked for.
What does broker do in selling and buying cars?

bobst

Be careful of the scam that is going on.

1) The guy sends you a check for $10K for your car. You cash it.

2) Before you send him the car, he says he has changed his mind. If you refund him $8K, he will call it even.

3) You send him a check for $8K and keep your car.

4) Later your bank says his $10K check was invalid and you have to pay back the $10K to the bank. In the meantime, he has cashed your $8K check.

5) When all is said and done, you still have your car but you have lost $8K.

tamaraster

It's also important to note that even if you wait until his check clears at the bank, it doesn't mean the check is not phony and won't be found out later. Just because a bank tells you a check has cleared, and they release the funds, don't assume the check was OK. If it's really a fraudulent check, it can take weeks to find out. This goes for money orders too.