Got any advice?

<_< You should put an add in the paper with the notation "Owner will finance"

With a 1995 with 120,000 miles, you have nothing to lose if:
Ask for a few hundred down and finance yourself at $200 or so a month. Just make sure the new owner registers the car and has insurance. File paper work with DMV. Keep copies of all paper work. Write a contract for the balance "time is of the esence". This has always worked for me. Only one bad experence out of fifteen or so sales over the year.

 

go to www.kbb.com to check the private party sales price in your area. Pricing it very reasonably will insure a quicker sale. Make sure you clean in up real good in and out. If it needs tires put on a set of new, cheap, tires. If you can display it in a high traffic area, or have a friend with a business in a high traffic area that is good spot to display the car. Put an add in the paper that runs Thur-Fri. at least. Lots of people get paid on Friday and look on Saturday. Good Luck!

 

I would try craigslist. It's a free website for classified ads. I wouldn't finance it myself though, too risky for my taste. San Diego Craigslist Then again I'm not selling my car....the idea of a 20 something girl riding around with complete strangers in the city...not so safe. But, 60 yo man in a town of 450, sounds like a great plan to me. So Dad will be selling it for me B)

But if anyone in Northern Virginia wants a '96 Camry with 112k on it in a few months....let me know

 

Auto Trader is another way to go. I sold my Mercedes with them.

My last car (1990 Ford Probe) had over 194K miles on it so I donated it to an animal charity.

 

I have no experience used personally financing used cars, it has always been a full cash transaction for me. An ad in the paper will probably cost about $50. Pick up a "autotrader" at the supermarket and see if you want to list it there. Mention your audio and keyless in the ad.

I looked up a used car value at www.nadaguides.com and they suggest about $3500 as "average retail". Edmunds and Kelly Blue book are other sources. Everybody puts a little negotiating room in their asking price.

Finally you could ask the Toyota dealer what they would offer in trade. About $1000 less, as a guess.

DAS

 

I sold my Jetta using Craigslist. I also had an ad in autotrader.com which has worked for me in the past. Not this time, though.

Never had any luck with the local paper.

Oh, and I found both KBB and NADA's estimates of resale values to be pure science fiction - way too high.

Good luck!

 

I got a call that mine's on the boat too... it's supposed to be to illinois about feb 16-29 ish...

So, I have a f250 pickup to sell... and may have gotten the job done today.

We live with a well and septic system. Yesterday the well went dead so today I stayed home and worked with the well company to figure out the problem.

Their well pulling truck got stuck after it sank in and ruined our lawn and they needed my f250 to pull it back onto the pavement.

6 hours later our well is fixed (likely under warranty at no cost to us), and one of the guys who did the well pulling work wants first rights to buying my pickup in a month when my car comes. He was a real nice guy, and I hope it works where he can buy it.

I don't think your well will break just in time for you, but all of this to say.... put your vehicle availability in your conversations. You never know who might be interested, or know someone who needs a car like yours.

Good luck!

 

I've sold my last three cars on autotrader.com---it's the biggest. They have an option called "run 'til it sells" for a little more than the base fee, which I've found useful. It allows you to upload a picture (or 6!) and almost unlimited space for text. It mixes private party sales with dealers, whose prices tend to be higher, and thus make your price look relatively better! To be contacted, you can give them your phone number (to post), or just an e-mail address if you don't want phone calls. They're very professional, and get your ad online usually within 24 hours.

As suggested, determine your selling price by going to Kelley Blue Book (kbb.com). Their format will ask you to list the mileage and optional equipment on your car AND whether you consider it in "excellent" or "good" condition---the prices they give you depend partly on what you enter. While you're at it, also look up the dealer price, just to get an idea how much higher it is. I've always sold cars for slightly higher than the private party price, partly because I detail them well.

I've no vested interest in Autotrader.

Edit: since you're new to this, under NO circumstances accept a personal check for payment; bank check or money order only (or cash).

 

damn. if it were an 86 (which is what i thought i saw at first) we would have taken a serious look at it.

 

The most important thing I can think of is to be sure to include a "sold as is" clause - in writing - in the sales agreement. The last thing you want is someone coming back to you 2 weeks after buying the car expecting you to pay for the transmission the car dropped on the highway.....

Another thing to be wary of is selling cars to family or friends. Similar to above, if something serious goes wrong with the car soon after the transaction, then there is a good chance that person may feel ripped off or else you will feel guilty for unloading it onto them... either way it has the potential to change a relationship.

Just my $0.02.


- Kevin

 

Just write "1995 Toyota Corolla sold 'as is' " on any piece of paper and include the VIN. Sign and date. If the buyer does a double take, simply say that you have to protect yourself from any later claims. Your service records should already have proved to the buyer that the car's probably as good as it looks.

Some stationery stores sell standard business forms, but you don't need it, nor for the buyer to sign it, IMO. If he/she were to try to use it in court, how did they get possession of it? You handed it to him/her, and he/she accepted it.

Disclaimer: NOT an attorney.

 

You can download forms from the DMV's website for selling. They also have helpful hints.

I can't help you with selling. I sold one car on eBay for double what I paid. And I sold my former car to my sister.

I've done the local paper and online. Haven't tried Craigslist for selling cars but it's been great for other things.

 

Kelly Blue Book for approx asking price then Craigslist for your area. Sold my Toyota truck first day to third caller. And it's FREE!

 

Date, mileage, service performed. If you had any expensive repairs done that are still under warranty (e.g., air cond repair, warranted for 6 months), place is important, but not generally.

No spreadsheet.

Some buyers will ask for service records, some won't. Any smart buyer will ask you what weight oil is in the engine (if whoever last changed the oil didn't leave a reminder sticker on the windshield or somewhere).

 

Doubt the car is worth more than $2000 even to a motivated private buyer, despite it being in good shape. That's assuming it is an automatic. Manual transmission cars, though they have their charms and fans, are much harder to sell.

Don't expect to get significantlymore money for your aftermarket additions, though they'll probably make the car easier to sell for an average price. Because of the age and mileage of the car, the effort you need to make to sell it may be "costly" out of proportion to your reward.

If you don't need to sell for the money, a car you know that works could be worth more to you than the cash. Consider donation or keeping it as a "spare" or occasional use vehicle, making sure to let your insurer know that the car will now be driven minimal mileage. The cost of keeping it (registration, license, gasoline) will be very low, and even if you sell it later it won't be worth much less -- unless it breaks down first.

 

Don't finance it yourself. Insist on an official bank check.

Pictures help, especially on a sunny day.

As suggested, can't go wrong with Craigslist. It's free. Try it there for a while and if it does not move, then consider Autotrader and Cars.com. I would have recommended Autotrader over cars.com, but with my latest sale, cars.com generated more contacts including the buyer.