German
Spanish
French
Italian
Portuguese
Japanese
Korean
Russian
ChineseHow I Sold My Car (and How You Can Too!)
[tags] sell,car,sold,craigslist,car free,los angeles[/tags]
As of last Friday I officially no longer own a wasteful and unnecessary automobile. It feels good. It feels great. It feels… right. Here’s how I did it.
First and foremost, what kind of car do you have? This will automatically decide your audience and therefore your approach. If you want to get rid of a Lexus or a Ford Escort Wagon your steps will definitely be different, though the end goal the same. Getting rid of the burden/headache/pollutant/financial black hole that is an automobile in Los Angeles, California.
The main difference with respect to your audience is based on options and asking price. For example, the car I was selling was a ‘97 Ford Escort Wagon with 93 thousand miles. Therefore, going into this whole process I am less hard pressed for some huge sum of money because with such a vehicle I’d be living in a cloud to think I’m going to get exactly what I want. The “blue book” value if you will. So right off the bat I have to accept the fact I have a pretty standard commodity and nothing that’s going to go for some huge asking price. Though certain things, like the wagon feature to my car did fetch a niche audience of surfers.
One of fastest ways to go about selling is to simply go to a dealer, but though the effort is less, expect to get about 50 percent less than said bluebook value, if that. So if you got some time to sell, a bit of patience and a digi-cam, definitely do it yourself. And if you don’t have a digi-cam, borrow one. Bums have them at this point.
Because I already had an account with Craig’s List, a process that takes all of 2 minutes to do, I decided to use them. Plus, as we all know Craig’s List allows you to stay local and I didn’t really want to get into the AutoTrader thing. (However, if you’re into that, sell yours that way and then write a post!)
Next thing to do is get an idea of your competition. See what others on Craig’s List are selling their comparable cars for. Most people were asking about $1800-2000 for a car like mine, but with, on average 20K more miles and maybe 2-4 years older and probably getting about $1300. Therefore I decided I could do okay with asking $2500, my goal really being $2000.
After all that, I was ready to get that boi all cleaned up for the prom. First it was off to the local JiffyLube what-have-you to get the oil changed and tires rotated. I’ve always been adamant about keeping up with that stuff anyway so I’m not about to sell my car anyway less that I would like to receive. Now that also means I want it clean. So then I took it to one of those quarter places where you can clean the outside and inside pretty damn thoroughly for about 15 bucks, but if you have a high prize automobile and fear such places get it detailed at a profo carwash if you’d like. The reason I say this is because a while back someone with a BMW once told me that the brushes from the quarter joints scratch the car’s paint, though I’ve not ever had a problem, so possibly just on her special euro paint. Then take it to a location where you can get some quality photos and not a lot of junk in the background to distract any viewers. I simply used the side of small street that was empty and in the shade, enough to not reflect too much but also with enough sun too… sparkle. And make sure your photos are of high quality so they’re not all crappy and grainy when posted in your listing. When you’re all done, head on home and start your post.
Now because you took some hi-qual pictures you won’t be the moron with thumb nail size photos that no one can or wants to see. Also, make sure to leave more than a one line of description. I don’t want to buy a car that the seller couldn’t say anything more than a single sentence about, but perhaps that’s just me. In my opinion a succinct paragraph is best, showing all the highlights and briefly mentioning any problems. By being honest and up front people tend to trust and therefore any weary first time style buyers will have confidence in contacting. Below is my posting sans images.
With just over 93K miles this car has still got a lot of love left to give. Prior to moving to Los Angeles the majority of miles were highway (about 75K) so it still runs great with no problems to speak of. I’ve always been adamant about keeping it clean, rotating the tires, and changing the oil, fluids and filters on time. It’s an automatic and best of all, the A/C works amazing! It’s the perfect car to run around in without the insanity of always worrying about it getting broken into or scratched. But not to worry, the body is still in perfect condition as you’ll see from the photos below (it’s never been in an accident). Not to mention the insurance is quite cheap, which is always a plus.
I’d hold onto it but I no longer drive because I take public transit exclusively. It’s been parked in a carport for over 3 months now and I only drive it once a week to make sure the gears and the like stay lubricated and working. One problem with the car is the wagon door is broke and though opens like normal must be held up. I’ve inquired about getting it fixed but never got around to it because I was able to still use it without any problems, though the expense to fix is minimal if it’s necessary. One photo below shows what I mean.
$2500 is the asking price but I’m looking to sell sooner rather than later, so OBO is also in play. Available now so please e-mail if you’re interested.
I posted this on Sunday night and by the time I went to bed I already had three emails from interested parties. But I waited it out and emailed them back in the morning. From the feel of it, it seemed like contacting them relatively fast is a good idea because most are trying to buy sooner rather than later and you could miss out on a sale if you wait too long to contact them back. Some will ask for a VIN number, which you should have with you that way you won’t seem like you’re hiding anything though many others never even asked. Plus emailing within a day will allow you to get a feel for what kind of buyer they are:
The aggressive salesmen type.
The weary annoying type.
Or the interested and serious type.
There’s also the desperate, but they seem to be more harmful because though you think that, “well sweet, they need my car so they’ll pay what I want.” It’s usually the exact opposite. Instead they’ll just keep you on the phone for 15 minutes trying to convince you to drop the price because this and this has happened to their life’s recently and they only have so and so money. All justifiable reasons, but if it’s less than your asking price, and it’s still just the first week, say no thank you. There’s that rule again, BE PATIENT. (A quick hint, I suggest re-posting your listing every third day so it’s always within the top two or three when searched.)
These desperate types are very similar to the aggro salesman guy in that they keep you on the phone for a long time, but the difference is, the agro tries to get you to drop the price by listing not what’s terrible about their life but what’s terrible about your car. Something overbearingly annoying and not worth your time.
I also suggest making sure they come to you. But that’s just me. The aggro will try to make you drive all the way to where they’re located and then “work out the rest of the details” when you get there, attempting to flatter you as an “intelligent salesmen” and that he’s “sure we’ll come to an agreement.” These words are very bad. Stay away from any and all that start talking like this.
What you want and what I ended up finding was the ideal buyer, the interested and serious, but it was only because I was patient enough for them to come along. And when I’m talking patience, I’m not talking Job stylez, for it was just waiting out a week before I found a good buyer, nothing hair pulling inspired. You see, by waiting an extra couple days and turning down some phone offers and the like that were topping at $1700, I not only didn’t have to drive anywhere, but the dad and son I sold it to were extremely nice and great to deal with.
I spoke with the son on the phone several times and we decided to meet at the car and go from there. He showed up with his dad and we talked about the car among other things. What the car had been most used for, what it would be used for, and the like. A quick test drive around the block later and I sold the car for $1900 cash. (Only accept cash!) And though it was $100 less than what I was really hoping for the two were really great to get along with and I was happy to be selling the car to them compared to any number of other assholes out there in the world. Plus, it was 200 more than my best offer prior to them. Heck, they even invited me to a home cooked full Italian dinner. Thanks Tony!
After I transferred the title, a simple process of filling in some blanks with a pen, I handed the keys on over to them and waved them goodbye with cold hard cash to replace the never-ending headache and financial black hole that is an automobile.
I then called my insurance company and boom, I now have 120 bucks more every month, plus another 90 that I was throwing away on parking. I just might buy some Air Jordan’s like I’ve dreamed of having since 2nd grade. Yep, things are really looking up. So take the step yourselves and get rid of your car for there’s no better time than now.
If you’ve sold your car send your stories in! If you haven’t, sell it now and write a story!
Discussion
Both comments and pings are currently closed.
Please keep discussions civil: exercise Troll Controll.
That’s a great story. It must have taken you a lot of guts [that most people here in LA don't have] to go with the lifestyle you lead. With me I have never driven/owned a car so I didn’t have that transition.
Here’s to hopeing for a better transit lifestyle for LA in the coming years!
Surely wouldn’t have guess 3.5 years ago when u bought that boi that it would become completely irrelevant to the L.A. lifestyle. Car-free living in L.A. is possible, smart, and fun. Thanks for the story, hopefully others will follow suit.
Oh yeah, and don’t forget about Flexcar. Even though you’ve sold your car it doesn’t mean you’re completely stranded. Car-sharing through Flexcar is a GREAT safety net.
yeah, when i was looking to finally sell i remember reading a post you had written about flex car so i checked it out. i got lucky too cuz it just happened to be free to sign up in february and only cost me 35 bonez for my application and what not. cheap azz. so yeah, just in case i’m in complete dire need for a vehicle i got it.
Hmm, you don’t mention this, but you also need to get your car smogged before selling it. If it doesn’t have a recent smog cert (
What makes you think autos pollute more than your current lifestyle?
the bus is gonna drive by whether tyke gets on or not. if i decide to get into my stupid jeep, that boi’s gonna spit out some smokes
No, the bus will not run without riders. Right now the buses are more polluting than the autos they replace.
So if every bus rider got off the bus and drove a car, there would be less pollution. Good point.
Vis-a-vis, if every car driver gave up their car for the bus, there’d be more pollution.
Oh hell yeah! rob dawg makes another useless and “unbiased” comment on the terrible world of public transportation. Your stance on this is completely assanine to say the least. U may know a great deal about la public transit but your basic notions r all wrong. Busses won’t run and therefore not polute if no one rides them? Just imagine the traffic if those million or so boardings a day were replaced by cars on the road. Oh wut a glorious future u must see for all the world. Of course in your world the urban existance in dashed aside by the widespread onslaught of suburbia where everyone drives a car and the thought of commuter, let alone urban, rail is mocked and instead replaced by quad decker highways that connect to all the untouched land this world once had. The sprawling masses taking every spec of land and natural resouce that once existed. Great idea genius. If you’re so hard up for such an existence and so tired of all this pro public transit talk, please free to move to wyoming or either of the dakotas. For I agree, in all three of those states I would be hard pressed to get around using just those dreadful busses, or even worse… subways!!!
Hey tyke, learn to read what is written. “assanine?” Go ahead. Disprove. I was very careful. ” Right now the buses are more polluting than the autos they replace.” Try it again parsed through a grade school education. What kind of juvenile decides to go with the insult without any facts? Surely you have a fact or two? I know better. Transit does not save energy in the US nor does it pollute less. Pathetic insults only make you look less informed.
a juvenile named tyke who can’t spell. oh well. also, someone who can’t imagine for one second the goal you have for society in general. “right now” “right now”. well unless things change, THINGS will always be, “right now”. therefore, looking into the future just a tad, like even just a bit, you can see the absurdity of a future (your dream future as it seems) where every single human being is driving a car.
50 people get on 1 CNG bus and take it 7 miles.
50 people get in their 50 cars and drive them 7 miles.
which scenario produces more pollutants?
Better yet, replace all the riders that can fit in a subway or light rail with cars for each passenger. Or perhaps you already live in dakota for only someone in such a state could possibly disagree that the traffic situation here in elhay is not okay.
good point. i had it checked already so i didn’t have to do it again, but for sure get that cert or you ain’t selling anything.
i also wanted to say, if you smoke in your car expect some negative reactions from buyers. the guy i ended up selling my car to specifically turned down a car just like mine because the previous owner smoked in the car and you just can’t get rid of that odor it seems.
Anecdote and insult. I can do more but I have respect for the forum. Why don’t you?
”Right now the buses are more polluting than the autos they replace.”
your ego is really showing nicely, congrads. as for the respect for this board, i have the utmost, in fact i have respect for you and your musings from time to time as well, just not your anti-public transit stance.
“Right now the buses are more polluting than the autos they replace.”
No. One bus is not more polluting than the 50-100 autos it replaces.
And besides, if most bus riders were forced to drive a car, do you think in your heart of hearts that they are going to buy a Prius? HELL NO!
They’re going to be able to afford only a 30 year old hoopty piece of crap like a Dodge Dart that pollutes 20 more times than that bus you hate so much. That will increase the pollution even more than you can imagine.
Besides, most of our Metro buses are CNG, which produces less pollution for certain types of particulate matter than diesel buses (which we still have a small amount of 20 year old buses running, about 15% of the fleet)
Rob Dawg, are you related to Zuma Dogg? Just curious.
“Right now the buses are polluting more than the autos they replace”
Let me try to understand… so at this very moment (right now) the large multi-passenger compressed natural gas vehicles driving down the street carrying multiple passengers (the buses) are creating more environmentally unsound emissions (are polluting more) than if each of those passengers were driving their own gasoline powered personal automobiles (the autos they replace).
So if I see at-capacity 720 bus pass by, with approximately 200 people on board, being pulled to their destination by one combustion engine running CNG, you’re saying THAT is polluting more than if those 200 people were each driving in their own cars. That’s one CNG engine vs 200 gasoline engines.
You say transit does not save energy or pollute less. If LA has a daily weekday transit ridership of 1,586,850 distributed over 2,000 buses (at peak hours) how is that NOT more environmentally sound that having 1,586,850 more vehicles on the street. Transit in LA currently takes 1,584,850 potential vehicles off the street. Imagine if our ridership was even higher. I mean come on Rob… 1,586,850 vs 2,000.
If you want facts I suggest you read through the government’s Energy Information Administration website and specifically at this page. Per the facts, transportation is the largest single contributor for all US emissions of carbon dioxide. Something tells me it’s not because there’s so many bus riders in the US. If you look at the report, you see that even though Alternate Fuels are all the rage these days, they have much less impact at reducing emissions versus “reducing vehicle travel” which includes car-pool and van-pooling, mass transit, telecommuting, etc. Basically, it comes down to 1,586,850 vehicles vs 2,000 vehicles. You might also want to check out this document (PDF). Or this website, which I’m sure you’ll write off.
You have yet to present any facts Rob. At least we’ve presented logic, you’ve presented absurdity (which maybe is your point, maybe you’re just playing with semantics here) with your repeated cry of “Right now the buses are polluting more than the autos they replace”.
“Right now pedestrians are polluting more than the autos they replace.” Might as well be saying that dawg, cuz without any facts to back it up… it very well could be trew.
I think I might get what your semantics game is Rob.
You’re talking about the fact that most bus riders are transit dependent and thus don’t have cars and thus buses aren’t really replacing any cars. Thus they pollute more than no cars.
Good job. Here’s a cookie.
I got one for you, which weighs more, a pound of bricks or a pound of feathers? Ponder that.
The idea that most bus rides are transit dependent in Los Angeles is less true than it used to be. Ridership is growing by leaps and bounds. People are sick of driving around here. Some of them actually do something about it.
I’ve been carfree by choice since August 2000, and get to work entirely by train, bus or bicycle, depending on what I feel like doing on any given day.
Sure I could own a car, but I have no compelling reason to do so. And I’m not the only one.
Oops, typo. I meant August 2006. Heh.
No. One bus is not more polluting than the 50-100 autos it replaces.
Who says a bus replaces 50-100 autos? Were that the case I’d be there with saying buses were less polluting. So, where’d you get 50-100? You really want to jump the shark Portland thinks their buses replace 219 autos. Anyway. Sure a bus does the work of 150 cars. The bus also works 16 hours
to do it when those cars only work a total of (150x.32mins) 48 hours combined. Viola, a bus is only as good as three cars. This compares well with the 1.6 person vehicle average for autos and the 8.3 person average for buses.
rob. go outside. get in your car. get on your bff 101. drive east from ventura to dtla. enjoy.
whoa…flammage…Ego’s in tatters. This was such a nice post by tyke, now tarnished.
I like this little obsequious dose:
“I’d hold onto it but I no longer drive because I take public transit exclusively.”
Brings up a new model of a good salesmen: Someone who can turn you on to public transit while selling you a car!
And? Other than the insults that are backfiring does anyone have a competing analysis? There’s something to be said for the waste of space devoted to POVs not performing transportation; gargages, on street parking, etc. They are not only ugly but attractive nuisances. Come on, there’s lots wrong with our preponderance of POV travel but for some reason people are wedded to the myths rather than the facts.
Rob:
Most 40 foot buses seat about 50, and with standees, the number can easily go up to 100. On the most used routes, such as the 20 or 204, during rush hour the bus can often hold more than 100. So I thought 50-100 was a good average bus passenger range. I realize that owl service buses running at Midnight often hold only 5-10 passengers. If buses disappeared, many of those bus riders would be forced to buy cars, and only some of them would be carpooling.
More likely, “gypsy buses” would pop up, like happened during the last transit strike. People with vans were charging people $10 to go to down Wilshire Blvd. their jobs. Not to get all BRU on you, but gee, that didn’t cause low-income people to go broke or anything.
I see you did not debunk my contention that many bus riders are forced to ride buses, and do not ride by choice. And if they were suddenly forced to buy a car, due to the disappearance of the bus system, they would only be able to afford old, broken-down cars that get low MPG, pollute more, and break down on the road more often, causing more traffic jams.
I guess my overarching point is that our current public transit system is not perfect, but removing any amount of buses currently in service is a prescription to only making things worse: more pollution, more traffic and more misery. We don’t want any more of that.
Scott, I didn’t realize your point was refutable. I think about it. No, my “point” wasn’t a pont but a fact. Go to the NTD, pull up LA and divide passenger miles by bus miles. 12 passenger average load.
you win rob dawg. next week metro is disbanding and all the used car lots in los angeles county are having super sales. “everything must go!” to coincide with this, the la transpo authority will be selling monthly parking on the 101, 110, 134, 210, 5, 405, 105, 10, 60, 605 and 705 as well as all surface streets. rumor has it, the average parking price will be 125 dollars a month, though some sources claim such lucrative real estate on sunset blvd, wilshire - miricle mile, wilshire - westwood, santa monica blvd - weho, and the length of la brea, sepulveda, and vermont could cost as much as 150 a month.
So I was going to comment on how helpful this post was cuz I’m thinking of selling my car soon (it is currently on a semi-permanent loan to a friend who’s paying for insurance and maintenance while I deliberate) — and see that the comment stream’s deteriorated into a complete debacle due to one stupid troll who, to his credit, spells ok. Rob Dawg cites no credible sources and pulls “stats” out of his ass — yet all you nice MetroRiderLA writers and other readers are actually trying to “refute” him with real facts and real studies and real proof. The effort is heartwarming, but obviously it’s only giving the troll what he wants: attention.
Don’t feed the trolls.
The BTS has the BTU/pass mi data.
The NTD has tha LAMTA average bus loads.
Most find them credible.
Siel, I can vouch for Robert. I know him from way back, going back to Usenet a decade ago.
Robert can often be combative in his posts, and he often provokes long and heated interchanges. But he is not a troll. He disagrees with the site’s basic premise, but he does stick to the topics at hand and does his homework.
Order today receive tomorrow phentermine….
Receive tomorrow. Order today receive tomorrow phentermine….