Howdy,
I'm looking to sell my 4Runner and haven't yet had the pleasure of selling a car in NYC. Aside from posting that beautiful black and orange 'FOR SALE' sign in the window, any tips for local online advertising? There's obviously the usual suspects like Craigslist NY, but I've never sold a car there before and am not sure if it's worth the time/hassle of dealing with potential scammers.
Thanks in advance for any help you crazy fellow Brooklynians.
There are specific car websites (i.e., sellmycar.com, nothingbutcars.com) where you can post your car (warning: with some you may get calls from dealers hoping you are looking to replace your car). No matter how you slice it, selling a car privately is a royal pain. We had tried virtually ever way imaginable - posting on sellmycar, craigslist, good old flyers with rip-off contact info at the local stores and cafes - you will get responses. Its just dealing with people in general that becomes a hassle (who calls and never shows, who wants to negotiate, who bounced a check, etc.) GOOD LUCK!
Hi there -
The first thing I suggest you do is get it detailed. It might be a couple hundred dollars for a top to bottom job, but you can bake it into your asking price. Plus, it will potentially cushion against aggressive haggling on price (less to complain about).
With the FOR SALE sign approach, take the time to park the vehicle in high traffic areas. Seventh Avenue on a Saturday, etc. for maximum eyeballs.
I like autotrader.com or cars.com
Thanks for the advice. I'm def going to get it detailed. Only problem is that the exterior detailing will go to shit in a few days after being parked on the street. Ah well, goes with the territory of owning a car in the BK.
I guess I'll try good ol' Craigslist and weed through the crap.
Interestingly enough, I found out that apparently there's some law against posting a 'for sale' sign in your window while the vehicle is parked on the street, and I risk a $45 fine doing so. What the what?! My neighbors can have stoop sales selling junk (and leaving the unsold junk out on the sidewalk for weeks), but I can't have a dinky little 'for sale' sign in the window of my car?
Craigslist is probably your best bet. If the car is in good shape and you post pictures I think most of the emails will be legitimate interest in the car. Again, pictures will get you a lot more clicks so after you get it detailed take some of the outside and inside.
It also helps to do a craigslist search of cars exactly like yours to see what your competition is and to help judge what a reasonable price is.
I just sold my car on craigslist. It was a high milage car, and I was only asking $1000. From the time I posted it to craigslist it was about six hours until I had cash in my hand. It seemed a bit odd, but the first person to email me showed up with cash in hand and bought it on the spot.
Detailing your car inside is a good idea. I'd be careful about what payment method you accept. I've heard stories of what appeared to be vaild cashier's checks turning out to be fraudulent, even after the deposits cleared in the bank. I would check the section of craigslist on how to spot a fraud.
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