How to Sell Your Car on Ebay or Craigslist
8 min read
I just helped my girlfriend sell her old car, an ancient ’96 Chevy Cavalier that she had driven for seven years – for six hundred and fifty dollars. That’s right, the car in the picture. We ignored the lowball $200 offers she was getting from professional used car buyers and walked home with four hundred and fifty more. Find out how we pulled this off below:
The Golden Rule of Selling Your Used Car: Honesty. Being straightforward with potential buyers is vitally important. You will get more money for your car if you are being honest, trust me. You’ll see why as you keep reading:
- Determine the Kelly Blue Book value of your vehicle using KBB.com.
Be sure to select the correct vehicle condition. If your vehicle is in fair condition, don’t use the value for a vehicle in good condition. At all stages in this process resist the urge to try to make your vehicle sound better than it is. Estute buyers will catch on to you and will give you much, much lower offers than you would get otherwise.
- Determine everything that is wrong with your vehicle.
Keep a notepad in the passenger seat of your car as you drive it around and write down each and every one of your vehicle’s quirks. It’s easy to forget or leave something out, so writing down issues as you drive is the best way to ensure you have recorded everything. Make sure you even write down seemingly unimportant issues, like one of the interior lights having a short in it.
You are going to want to give the buyer all of this information. Ads that contain a detailed list of the vehicle’s flaws and quirks are more likely to be bid on or responded to. This is because, unlike with used car salesman (who are all assumed to be dishonest) some private party sellers are honest and some are not. If your buyer thinks that you are being honest when you represent the condition of your car, they will also think your asking price is fair. Although you should be aware that no one on craigslist pays the asking price for a vehicle, the offers you receive are much more likely to be 70-90% of your asking price, rather than 30-60%.
- If your vehicle is not in running condition:
Find out how much would it cost to repair. If the cost of repairs is greater than the price of the vehicle, find out what parts only cost. If the cost of the parts are still greater than the cost of the vehicle, unfortunately, it’s time to take the low-ball offer of a pro. Two hundred to four hundred dollars, depending on the value of your parts and scrap metal, is still better than nothing. A vehicle that is totaled beyond the cost of repairs is often very hard to sell at all.
- Determine how much to ask for your vehicle.
First, determine the bottom line – the number that you would be totally unwilling to sell the car for less than. No matter what happens, don’t sell below this number. You can always wait and try to find another interested buyer. A good rule of thumb for this is half the Kelly Blue Book value. Now determine what your asking price should be. Look again at the Kelly Blue Book descriptions for “Vehicle Condition.”
Is your vehicle only barely in Fair condition because it has one major problem? If so, your asking price should be 110% of the Kelly Blue Book value (and you should expect to go home with at least 90% of the Kelly Blue Book value.)
If your vehicle is in Fair condition and has multiple problems that prevent it from being in Good condition, then perhaps your asking price should be 75% of the Kelly Blue Book value. My girlfriend’s car had a Kelly Blue Book value of $960. However, although the car ran, it had multiple problems, so our asking price was $750. We went home with $650 – a much better deal than some of the pros who offered us $200 or $300.
- Write your ad.
First off, explain why you are selling your car. Are you upgrading? Moving? If you have a reason, buyers are more likely to believe that you aren’t trying to offload a lemon.
Second, give the condition and Kelly Blue Book value of your vehicle. If your asking price is greater than the Kelly Blue Book value, explain why. If it is less, don’t explain why – just let the potential buyer’s eyes light up when they realize that they could be getting your car for less than the Kelly Blue Book value.
Next, enumerate in detail everything that is wrong with your car. Leave nothing out. Don’t try to make excuses – don’t worry, even if your car has many problems, it will still be sought after. Consider this a how-to guide for your vehicle’s new driver: they need to know all the quirks, like, for example, that it sometimes has trouble shifting into third gear – so that they can drive it safely and take care of it properly. If there is anything that you would tell someone after they signed the bill of sale and the transaction is over, it must, MUST go in your ad.
Next, enumerate all the repairs you have done on the car. If, like me, you keep service records in your glove compartment, this will be easy. If not, try to remember the most recent work that has been done. Ideally, you will be able to give dates next to each repair. For example “Radiator and hoses were replaced in 2006, Alternator and battery was replaced in 2008.” This section makes your car sound great and each repair you have completed sounds to potential buyers like value added to your car.
Finally, close with a personal touch. Say that you hope the person who buys the car will enjoy it as much as you did. You might consider even ending with “Sincerely, James.” After all, one of the reasons some people prefer to buy from private parties instead of dealers is that they can buy from honest individuals instead of professional used car salesmen. Plus, knowing your name will make your ad stick out in a potential buyer’s mind. If someone has looked at hundreds of ads, the one they remember will be the one where they feel like they got to know the seller, even if only by name.
- Decide where to sell your vehicle.
Ebay is often a good choice because it allows potential buyers to bid. I think no matter what, you should start with Ebay, but ask for a good price. If your auction succeeds, then you will get an excellent price on your car. If it fails, you will be able to use the free CarFax report Ebay provides to give to potential buyers on Craigslist.
For Ebay, Make your starting bid equivalent to your asking price minus $50-$100 This makes it so that at minimum, you are likely to get the equivalent of a very good craigslist offer.
Warning: Ebay charges you a fee to sell cars through them. However, this fee will only be charged should your auction succeed. On cheaper vehicles, this fee is usually $60. On vehicles that sell for more than $2500, the fee is usually $120. Make sure that your minimum bid is set so that these fees will not push your take-home money below your minimum. Don’t assume that multiple people will bid on your vehicle: One person could bid at the last moment and get your vehicle in exchange for the minimum bid.
If your car sells, great! You’re done and you got a great price for it! If not, using Ebay actually helped your cause, because now you have a free CarFax report in hand. Also, if potential buyers asked questions on Ebay, make sure you include that information (as well as the ad description you used) in your Craigslist ad.
I listed my girlfriend’s car on Ebay and it didn’t sell. This actually worked out great for us, because I got a Carfax report to give to interested buyers.
If you car didn’t sell on Ebay, list it on Craigslist, copying and pasting the description you wrote and adding any information that was missing or that was requested by Ebay buyers.
Then, wait for responses to pour in. Get specific offers from people before agreeing to meet with them. Some people will email you their offers, others will want to get you on the phone before making an offer. Generally, the more well-spoken a person is over email or on the phone, the better.
- Actually Selling Your Car.
You will need your vehicle’s title as well as two copies of a Bill of Sale for your state. Go to your local DMV website to print these Bills of Sale.
Accept only cash or a certified check as payment. Cash is preferred. Don’t be afraid to count cash in front of your buyer, but try to be polite about it.
If you sold on Ebay, you might be able to have their representative pick up the car for you if the buyer requested transport of the vehicle through Ebay. Otherwise you are going to have to arrange a meeting.
Meet only with interested buyers who have made you a specific offer. Do not allow buyers who met with you in person to reduce their stated price to less than 90% of what they offered you before meeting. If a buyer seems evasive, don’t waste your time on them.
Arrange meetings only in public parking lots during the middle of the day. A Wal-Mart, Target, or mall parking lot is best. Gas stations will do in a pinch. You want to be in a place surrounded by people for safety’s sake.
Bring a friend to the meeting. You will need someone to drive you home if you successfully sell your vehicle in any case. Never meet with an interested buyer alone, and definitely never meet near a private residence.
If the potential buyer wants to test drive the vehicle, agree only to allow them to ride in the passenger seat while you drive the vehicle. Never simply hand off the keys and let them go – they might not come back. Some car thieves may offer to let you keep their own keys in exchange for a test drive. This is often a ploy and the keys may not even be genuine.
Listen to your instincts. If someone seems sketchy or dangerous, do not offer to drive them in your vehicle. Simply refuse to test drive and insist that the fact that you drove the vehicle to the public location is proof enough that the vehicle is in working condition. If someone is giving you a bad vibe, you generally want to end the interaction as soon as possible and try again with a different buyer. The best buyers – the ones you want to work with – will show up on time and will not try to re-negotiate the price at the last minute.
If all goes well, sign both Bills of Sale and make sure that you keep a signed copy of the Bill of Sale yourself so that you will be able to prove that you are not responsible for any further property taxes on your vehicle. Give the buyer the title, their copy of the Bill of Sale, and the keys.
Go home with your well-earned cash and celebrate with a take-out meal of your choice! Congratulations! You just successfully sold your car.
Sources:
Personal Experience using Ebay and Craigslist
Prior Knowledge of Online Safety Precautions When Arranging a Meeting
