Any advise for posting my MINI on-line? I know this isn't the best place to do it. Where should I advertise to maximize exposure for the best sale? Opinions welcome as well as your success (or failure) story.

 

From past experience, this is what I have found......pictures are a must!! And ALL details about the car........Auto Trader on line seems to get a lot of exposure......my 2 cents - Good luck...

Donna

 

How much are you selling for?

Did you list it in marketplace on NAM??

There is a buyer in NJ- see other thread- Smack me!

 

Of my last two cars, I found one on Auto Trader, and one on Ebay. I wasn't very impressed with cars.com.
Wait for C4 to pipe up - he's all over AutoTrader...:smile:

 

I sold my last car on Craigslist (www.craigslist.com). It is free and accepts pictures. I look for cars on there all the time and find it easy to use. It is local which I think is an advantage over national systems like autotrader and eBay. I agree that details are important as are pictures. The first thing I look for are the things that set the car for sale apart from all the others of the same model.

 

I agree, pictures and an detailed description are a must. I tried several methods to sell my last car. Local news paper, parking it with "for sale" signs, recycler.com, carfair (kinda like a car swap meet), and autotrader. Autotrader got more leads, and a purchaser, in a week than the other methods did over a combined 2 months!

 

Photos, photos is what sells the car

Regardless of which online car service you choose to advertaise your MINI, make sure to pick a "package" that allows at least 5-8 photos to be uploaded. Take good and clear pics of both the interior and exterior of the car.

As far as the description goes, highlight the important features about the car. Also make a great emphasis on available service records and any balance of transferable factory warranty left. Prospect buyers LOVE to see a neat folder with all service records because this instills confidence in the purchase. It says that you took good care of the vehicle.

Don't brag about racing or autocrossing activities. Most people shy away from cars that have seen track time, because in their minds this means = Powertrain abuse. No need to disclose any of this IMO.

If you have aftermarket mods, see which ones can be removed to bring the car back to stock and sell the parts separately online. Again some buyers are not attracted to cars with too many aftermarket mods and usually these can potentially affect your resale value. Unless, the potential buyer is actually interested in a particular mod(s) your car may have.

Be honest, but not overly honest. Resist the temptation to point out every minor scratch, paint chip, scuff, etc. First and foremost, you are selling an USED CAR. If your buyer expects 100% perfection, then he or she will be better off buying brand new. Make it clear that you are selling the vehicle AS-IS and any future issues will be taken care of by the warranty. If there are some obvious cosmetic imperfections, by all means go ahead and get them fixed, but don't over emphasize little imperfections.

If you still owe money on the vehicle, disclose this fact right away. Why? because if you find an eager buyer he will want to take possession of the car right away and in order for you to complete the sale, you will need a free and clear title. Contact the financial institution and holds the lien of the title to find out how soon you can expect to receive it after the final payoff on the loan has been submitted to them. Some banks can process the title fairly quickly, others take weeks to do so.

If you already hold the certificate of title, make sure is CLEAN.

Wash/detail the car. Clean the interior. People are turned off by seeing all your chewing gum wrappers all over the interior

As far as online selling services, I had excellent results with Cars.com (Sold my '04 MCS in just 6 days after listing it there) but others have had better luck with Autotrader.com or Craigslist. Your ability to quickly sell the car is affected by your current market conditions and if your particular MINI "rings a bell" with your audience.

Good luck.

 

I also sold my old car in craigslist..
Definitly get a lot of detailed photos..
Washing the car before the photo shoot helps too.

 

I sold my MINI on Craigslist, too. Wasted $110 on cars.com and autotrader.com, and got nothing but automated phone messages and an annoying dealer calling me as a result. It never hurts to post it here with photos, and if you use other other sites, post the urls of your ads here and on craigslist. Good luck!

 

Isn't NAM great?!?! I love this place. Ask a question and get numerous, excellent responses. Thanks to all!

 

I sold my Honda on Ebay. I posted pictures and explained every thing that was wrong with the car, the history and what I had replaced and why.... I got about $1K more then I expected...and it sold to a local person so no dealing with the shipping of the car......I was very happy with the whole process... but of course I did get more $$$ then I expected.

 

Posted my 03' Jetta on Autotrader.com one month ago and sold it in 5 days to a local buyer...Also got several inquiries from craigslist.com and of course its free there. I'd recommend either. Of course your geographic range will produce certain variability in possible interest, but yes, multiple photos are a must! The more organized you are, the better.

 

Digging this one up from the past...

When selling privately, what form of payment should I accept? Does it matter if I still owe money? I read on-line that I should have the buyer pay the lien holder the pay off balance and the remainder to me. Is this best practice?

Any assistance or guidance is appreciated.

 

Lots of photos + lots of details + Craigslist = two cars sold after just one day.

You can't beat them. It's free after all, what have you got to lose?

 

I sold my 16yr old Integra on Craigslist.

That should be your first option.

 

That definately is the way to go. Cash is the only other option. Whatever you do don't accept a check or even a certified check. One of the biggest scams out there is fake certified or bank checks. Even if you call the issuing bank and they tell you the check is good, when it comes back that it is fake guess who has to reimburse the bank? You! And they will come after you hard.

I'm in banking and see this stuff all the time. Have the buyer deal directly with the lien holder. Don't release the car to them until the lien is paid and you have proof from the lien holder, not the buyer.

 

Cash or cashiers check. BTW, Microsoft has some templates for a car sale agreement.

 

Do NOT accept a cashiers check. See my post above.

http://www.carbuyingtips.com/nigerian-scams.htm

 

I sold a car to Sweden on ebay, sold one car on autotrader, and one car on through a forum for that make/model. All worked out great. Pictures and honesty go a LONG way. And reply SWIFTLY to any questions people have. When I was shopping for my MINI online, people who took a while to reply to my questions, I just simply went on to the next.

 

This is a great place. Thanks for the input. So it sounds like cash (unlikely) or ??? What's the best option besides cash?

Webini - you said to have the buyer deal directly with the lien company. I called the lien company and they said they could not accept payment from a 3rd party. I'm confused about how the buyer would deal directly with them if this is the case? HELP!

 

I sold my wife's 1996 Forrd Taurus for $400 above book value on craigslist. I cleaned it up as well as one could clean a beater like that, gave it a coat of quick detailer for the photos and when showing the car. Sold in 3 days.

Granted, we're talking about a $1200 car here, but selling it for free worked great.

 

I've never heard of a lien company refusing to accept payment from a 3rd party in a payoff situation. It happens every day when a car is traded at the dealer. The dealer (3rd party) pays off your lien, not you.

You may have gotten a CSR that was clueless or just wanted to get you off the phone. It happens. Call back. If they give you that story again ask them how they handle dealer payoffs.

I've done it three times. Don't take any form of bank or cashier's check!