swamp7

So, I think my TL will be here in a couple weeks. Now I'm trying to decide if I should sell my current car myself or trade it in. Conventional wisdom says I can get a couple more K if I sell myself, but there's the hassle factor, so I'm unsure on course.

If I do opt to sell myself, what does everyone recommend as the channel? Autotrader? Local paper?

Thanks,

Kevin

Mav

That is truly a regional question...here in the south I have sold a couple of cars and ended up parking them on the corner of a busy intersection and they sold for what I was asking for. I understand in some areas this wouldnt be advisable...but if you can do it yourself...it might be worth the extra time and hassel.

JoganJani

Three times I've experienced that dealer gives at least couple of thousands less. I've always sold my cars myself for a good price.

InAcura

You live in a state where you pay the same sales tax on a new car whether you have a trade-in or not. That makes trading in the car less desirable.

brucedeb1

If you can afford to sell it on your own, not having the purchase tied to the proceeds, then that is the way to go. I recommend the Daily Breeze newspaper in South Bay if you are local to the area. I also ditto the comment about the busy intersection for being noticed. Make sure the car is detailed and looking sharp though. A good looking car seems to make up for any other negatives. I sold my Honda Civic Ex cpe, 94 with 155Kmiles on it this way. It sold in two weeks. While it had the high mileage it looked brand new. Just my $.02. I got over two thousand more selling private party vs as a trade at the dealer.

Bartman_RENAMED

Depends on what kind of car it is. My recent experience is that the 0% financing on domestic cars has virtually destroyed the used car market. For instance, why would someone pay $15K and 6% for a 3 year old car when they can get a new one for $22K and 0%? For that reason and the sales tax savings, I am trading mine in.

vothsc

I'm in the same situation, mine will be in in a week or so. I stopped into the dealer to get a tradein quote armed with the usual NADA sheet and he came in about $800 low. I had a feeling I wouldn't get him to deal too much off that so I went for the free dealer accessories route which they can more easily eat. I have a friend at work that may buy it for 2K more but it will be about a wash because I'll have to pay 1K more in sales tax and probably pay for the dealer extras (although I haven't given up on that yet.) The story I got for the lower price was that Acura had offered a $1,500 rebate on leftover 03 TL-S's and that lowered the demand for used 02TLS as well. I guess it is beleavable (that's why you get killed on domestics at trade-in) but I've gotten used to hearing one excuse or another to chop the tradein price over the years. I guess over the 4 months I've been waiting, I lowered my expectations so it didn't tick me off as much.

frqwntbyr

CARMAX, CARMAX, CARMAX. My experience is that CARMAX is so well organized, they'll pay top dollar for a good used car (<3 yrs old; <45k miles) because they'll still make money on the deal. Folks are willing to pay the CARMAX price because of the one-stop smorgasbord, financing, service and support. I sold two cars to CARMAX this year and could not be happier. Another reason to buy a TL w/high resale value.

neuronbob

It also depends on how busy you are. There's no CarMax where I am, and I work 10-12 hours a day. I therefore traded my car and accepted the lost potential as the cost of convenience.

greenseed

Swamp7,

Don’t forget eBay. I've sold a motorcycle and travel trailer on eBay and got more than a fair share for both of them. This time around I'm trading in a '98 Accord and so I didn’t decide to do eBay because the car is way less than perfect. Otherwise if I had a vehicle in decent shape/condition I wouldn’t hesitate to sell it there.

jime

I always sell my own car. Last time I tried to trade one in (Ford Windstar) the dealer offered me $1,800 on a new Toyota Highlander. I sold it the first day I advertised for $5,400.

In November I sold my 95 Acura Legend 6-speed coupe with 142,000 for $10,500 on Yahoo Auto. The Edmunds trade in value was $6000 so what do you think the dealer would have offered for trade on my new TL.

Take some digital pictures and try selling your car on Yahoo Auto. The dealer has to make $3000 on your car to take it as trade.

Good Luck,

Z Factor

SELL

And use the above, along with free internet sites for your model car, and check with CarMax to see what they are willing to buy it for.

Good luck

brahtw8

If you can wait a month or two before you have the cash from the sale of the old car, private party is the only way to go. You will get far more than from a dealer.

Autotrader is the most popular automotive classified site, but I would be sure not to give them my correct phone number. They have a marketing department of telemarketers that continually call to get you to upgrade to a higher package.

I would throw it up on a few forums and autotrader, and run a few feeler ads for a week or two in the local paper.