Adam_W

Hi,

was hoping to get some advice from those who have sold their corvette for a good price.

I'm thinking of posting on this forum, craig's, and autotrader.

Was going to use Ebay prior sales, current forum ads, NADA, and KBB fto determine initial asking price and likely final price.

Wasn't sure how to best conduct the transaction safely/easily, maybe Ebay? Or they deposit money into my account and I confirm receipt prior to handing over keys? Not sure what ebay collects for the service. Car is a very clean and pampered black 08 Z06 with full custom XPEL wrap and a little less than three years/70K mile left on GMPP. I'm assuming that people will be paying with cash and unable to get financing for older car. But if buyer is financing, any tips on how to best conduct the transaction would be appreciated.

Any good advice on selling your car, or websites you can refer me to, would be helpful. Feel free to PM if you want the advice to remain confidential.

Thank you.

CHJ In Virginia

Necessities for selling your car in a reasonable amount of time.
1) Professionally detail the car, exterior, interior and engine bay.
2) Fix anything that does not work properly.
3) Prepare a detailed advertisement including:
A) Complete description of the car including mileage, options, color, modifications, recent service history, tire condition and anything else that a buyer might ask.
B) lots of pictures - engine, wheels, interior and several exterior shots.
C) Prpoerly price your car. Do your homework and see what the car is really worth, not what you THINK it's worth.
4) Post the advertisement on every source you can find - This forum, Craigslist, Ebay, Facebook, Autotrader or other social media sites you frequent. The more exposure you get the better chance you have of finding the right buyer.

Here is the advertisement that I used to sell my Z06 Track car for full asking price in only 6 days.

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/auto...-for-sale.html

Good luck on the sale ---

scott17201

I sold my 97 Coupe almost 3 weeks ago and bought a 2007 convertible. I bought the convertible from cars.com. i had the 97 on this site and on craigslist, and facebook and very little response. I did a free add on cars.com and sold the car the next day. The guy called we agreed on price he went to get a loan and picked it up few days later.

Adam_W

Thanks guys.

1. Getting the money.

So once I find a buyer, what's the best way for the transaction to occur?

Him handing me a stack of bills in a dark parking structure is clearly not a good idea. Do I give him routing number and account number, have him deposit in the bank and then give him car once money is confirmed? Is there a benefit to using Ebay or Paypal?

2. How do I tell if I have a 2LZ or 3LZ ? Somewhere online I can somehow look up the original window sticker?

thanks.

markzeronine

Yeah I found selling my car on here to be a joke. I had it listed for at least half a year and was offered between 20 and 25 the whole time. I was asking 28, 29 for the first few months. Put it on autotrader, it took about a month but I sold it for 28.7.

I did buy my z06 on here though, guy listed it and I was there to see the car the next day. Bought it a week later for 1k under the asking price, which was still very good money for the car, so you never know.

Tonylmiller

On this site people are looking for bargains. They will offer $5k - $10k under retail. I've heard that people have had good luck on eBay if your price is reasonable.

AORoads

There are many ways to handle the funds transfer and you suggest one. Or you can use an escrow company like escrow.com which charges a fee. Since Ebay and PayPal see many transactions for cars, I'd find out mre from them on their process and how it protects you. One thing I did see was someone recommended you set up a new account for this transaction only if you're going to give out your checking acct. number bank routing number(s).

Sometimes, when handled in person (as the seller), I''ve had it done at a bank so that the seller's banker can call the buyer's banker to verify bona fide bank check or wire transfer.

As to the actual option package, check in the glovebox for the sticker that lists all options.

Jefff1

I've had good luck with Cycletrader when selling bikes...Auto trader is great place for cars...used eBay a number of times and that has worked too...

As mentioned above I have set up a separate wireless account I maintain at my bank for buying and selling....I love wire transfers..you have the money very quickly

piper_chuck

If the payment's going to be cash, have him meet you at YOUR bank during business hours.

Absolutely not, unless you want to give him a way to clean out your account. The only way I would consider such a thing is if I used an account with almost no money in it. If I did this, I wouldn't let him have the car/title until I had moved the money to a different account.

For a face to face transaction, I would not even do this. I would choose cash, or an official check from somewhere you can verify. I say this because there have been too many instances of fake cashiers checks. You can minimize your risk against bad checks by meeting at HIS bank so you can see them issue the check.

eBay will benefit from you using them. It would give you a larger audience, but you'll have to pay for this service. When I sold my last car I decided to use free sites first and had good luck.

Paypal can give you some protection, but it also exposes you to buyers who file claims against you and you'll have to deal with their fees.

Option code sticker in your glove compartment. Oodles of online resources for looking up the codes.

Flame Red

+1 on that. Consider the ebay fees in the calculation and make sure you use a good quality camera. Take pictures of of the car in shade with a nice natural background like in a park on a bright midday sun as they tend to look best without a lot of glare.

Besides the helpful post above about funds, I asked the seller to provide a cashier's check from a nationwide bank which had a branch in my area. I took the check over to the branch, they validated it was valid, gave me a stack of Franklins, and the guy then dispatched a flat bed truck to pick up the car. Note this only works when the value of the car is $9,999 otherwise the Feds require a report if you deposit more than that as the Feds think you are a drug dealer.

Tbong

I sold three vehicles in the last four years on AutoTrader for $2000-$3000 above what CarMax offered. I usually go to CarMax to get a "buy it today price" That is pure wholesale. Then I look to see what they are SELLING (they don't haggle) a similar vehicle for as well as What dealers are asking and come off those prices $2000-$3000. I do the same when buying.

I then do a Nationwide search on Cars.com and AutoTrader for the same vehicle I am selling to ensure my markdown gets attention and comes up in the searches. The round number searches are your friend. "under $25K" b"under $30K"

Hagglers want something off so I give them a couple hundred but usually I hold back an accessory (like on the Vette it will be the latest NAV disc) I would throw it in anyway. Normally don't have to give them anything they have already done the searches and know my price is very good and I get many calls after the sale for the vehicles. I am ok unless they insist on Edmunds prices. No one has. but i won't sell a vehicle based on Edmunds. They are $10K less wholesale than what vehicles are being advertised for!! "Advertised Internet" prices are the best help to sell a car privately as they are so inflated.

Sold a Tacoma in three days for $2900 above CarMax offer, an 06 RAV 4 that had a disclosed bad CarFax ($10K wreck 20k miles previous) for $3800 more than dealers offered ACV trade. An Infinti EX37 I actually sold for $900 more than I paid for it privately eight months earlier.

AutoTrader has been good to me but you have to spend the money and get a lot of options. Be extremely honest. When a buyer comes he expects worse than he sees when I sell. i don't use words like "mint" "flawless, or "new condition" I use words like "GOOD" They look at KBB or NADA "good" and I am priced in the ball park and still well under dealers "internet asking prices"

Dealers help sell my vehicles with their extremely high markup pricing.

All my transactions were done at the buyer's bank. I accept a cashiers check for the full amount from their loan officer in case they are financing, or teller. A Bill of Sale is notarized and i sign over the title to them.

BTW HAVING THE TITLE IS A MUST for faster sales. Many do not want to deal with paying a lien holder then waiting for a title. That can get complicated depending on the state

I will not ship or deal with someone who does not SEE the car IN PERSON. So only Ebay local sales. Especially on a vehicle like a Vette where people tend to be more discriminating. I will drive the car to a perspective buyer up to 120 miles. They can drive me back if they buy the car. So they have a good long ride to change their minds. They never have.

Adam_W

Thanks everyone for the advice, very helpful !

Adam_W

Just curious, is there any downside to letting people know the VIN number in my advertisements? license plate number ?

I see others blocking them out, but was just wondering what the dangers/downsides are.

Tbong

I ALWAYS put the VIN number down in case they have opened a CarFAx account like many buyers looking for private sales do. I put the actual CarFax ON the Autotrader site as well and pay for it.

Everyone sees your plates everyday of the week. Even if there is a For Sale sign on the car.

ONe car I was looking at for my stepson had no address but in one of their pictures, there was a sign behind the car advertising homes in that development so I drove there and found the car and did a pass by before contacting the owners. I then called them, told them I was 15 minutes away and made the deal. So be careful if you shoe "home" pics. I try not to take my pics at home and instead go to a scenic place.

The important thing is not to use words that will give the buyer "reduction ammo" like flawless, mint, like new.

NO ONE's used car reflects those terms to a buyer. Hell NEW cars cannot be called flawless nowadays. and NEW is NEW...NEW is never used. However if you say "good" and your car is professionally detailed you have underrepresented your vehicle and it is more likely to sell for all the money.

When I am buying a car if the seller uses those terms I can find many things to make them irrelevant and ask for discounts. Everyone thinks the car they are buying is worthless and the car they are selling is "mint"

One more thing I do is have my vehicles professionally detailed before showing them.

It costs about $400 to sell a car properly IMO. But you will get good money for them, Plus have to realize certain Toyotas, Hondas and specialty emotional cars like Vettes have a larger private sale market than a Dodge Caliber, Hyundai, or Ford Fusion,

Adam_W

What about people knowing my real name in internet advertisements, is that a problem?

I made a photobucket account and loaded a gazillion pics of the car, edited the pics and made comments, and just realized that I made the photobucket account with my first and last name. Wondering if that is a problem.