by Veronica » Thu Sep 16, 2010 11:24 pm
1 Take pictures. A picture is worth 1000 words. Get photos of the interior, the engine and the best views of the entire body.
2. Be VERY detailed. Tell the whole story and history if the ad site allows. (And many have no text limits) The more that folks know about the car, the more comfy that they will feel about it.
3. Be candid and honest about good and the bad. No car is perfect, no design is perfect. Chances are that the person knows the vehicle that they are looking for and an honest point about a design flaw wins trust. For example: the K cars (at least the ones like mine which has a 2.5) apparently have a timing belt which seems to require more frequent replacing than a chain. I let the buyer know this. My Aries does not have AC, I also let them know this. I point these things out at the same time that I show the features. Our windshield washer reservior was cracked, we gave up on finding a new one and used Epoxy to fix the original one. Would show them that. (It is plainly visible, but dont want them to overlook it).
4. Know blue book value so that you know how to price
4a. Compare your car condition and features to blue book and show why your car is such a good deal. (Example: "Blue book for this car in this condition with this mileage and these features should sell for x, but I will let you have for y"). This will help to remain firm on price or at least within a reasonable proximity to your asking price.
5. Clean every inch inside and out. Cleanliness is next to godliness and far more important than any other factor in a sale.
I post on every free ad site/publication that I can find. I check each ad daily, and keep current/updates. Within 24 hours of car being sold, all ads are taken down and removed.
Carsonline.com
recycler.com
craigslist.org
I cant remember the rest of the sites: have them on my computer at home. There are about a dozen free online car sales websites for used cars. Why not list on every single one?
Following this strategy I nearly always get my asking price and seldom ever have to show a car more than once. In 20 years of buying and selling cars, and feel that I would have made an excellent used car sales person should I ever have had interest. The secret is to know your car. It is easy to sell our own cars, since we drive them so often!