Hammer Time: A Time To Sell

Mark writes

Hi,

We will be buying a new car soon and that will leave us with an extra one. My experience selling a car myself makes me think we don’t really have the motivation to do it ourselves this time around.

The car is located in CT and is a White 2007 Hyundai Sonata SE with ~73k miles on it. The only option is the Sunroof. For whatever reason the side mirrors seem to attract having the outer housing broken, they sre still functional but the housing rattles.. I’ve replaced one, unpainted grey , and will be replacing the other shortly. There are no other issues with the car as I can tell. The emissions test is due next month, so I’ll have to have that done.

Any tips?

There are three simple steps to getting that premium return:

First off get all the substandard crap off your car. Would you buy a car with rattles right near where you sit? Go here, here or ask this guy and find yourself the real McCoy. They’re cheap.

Second, get the vehicle washed and detailed by a reputable place. You want to eliminate all vestiges of your existence on this vehicle. Why? Because clean cars sell for more money. Folks want a near-new car. Not Uncle Joey’s smelly ride. Spend $100 to $200 on a stem to stern cleansing of your ride.

Step Two: Get Records

The second step in this process is likely the easiest one of all. Get records. The place where you get your oil changed? They have a record of your car. Same with the place where you got your tires. Dealers and independents are always a big plus. But if you want to get the premium return, fill in the holes by having the other places fax you those records most folks don’t bother to keep. Nothing eliminates a consumer’s uncertainty like a good track record of routine maintenance.

Step Three: Advertise

Finally when you sell… ignore the BIG CAP DEALER ADS and acr, on, ymed, li, st, ings. Take about 12 good pictures and offer a quick synopsis of your vehicle. Keep it to no more than 3 sentences.

“We have diligently maintained this vehicle since Day One. It has been garage kept, dealer maintained, and comes with a clean Carfax history. $10,800 Phone # XXX – XXX -XXXX”

If you don’t like giving your number then sign up for ‘Google Voice’ and then have that number forwarded to your cell phone. You can also screen wankers of varying sorts by having it record the messages from the prospective customers and then calling them back. I’ve eliminated virtually all the nutters by doing this when I’m on vacation.

Autotrader can be a great source. Craigslist offers plenty of exposure for a day or so. Other places to consider are local community web sites (your county/ city.com), the workplace, university newspapers and bulletin boards, supermarkets, and in some markets the daily newspaper. Despite the technology of the modern day, I have found that local and personal connections tend to be particularly strong. Don’t forget them.

Finally when it comes time to sell… what should you do? Keep the kiddies away. When an appointment is made you want your buyer to have some quiet time with the vehicle. Everyone has their risk tolerances. So at the very least either write down their license information or be willing to go for the ride.

When it comes to finalize the deal, each state offers their own Bill of Sale form. In practice you can take their linked form and do it yourself. But two stipulations I would always put down are ‘this vehicle is sold AS/IS with no warranty expressed or implied.’ and ‘Buyer agrees to obtain insurance for the vehicle before it leaves the lot’. You want to avoid any potential headaches in the future and expressing the transfer of your vehicle in writing is an absolute must.

Have you been paid yet? Oh yeah. That part. The only time you should ever accept a cashier’s check is if you go directly to the bank that issued it.. and get cash. Make sure you do this before giving the keys and title away. Finally if your sales price is over $10k in cash, your bank may file a Form 8300. This is not a big deal. Auto auctions, car dealerships and jewelers collectively file thousands of these forms weekly as do their banks. The IRS is far more concerned about professional money launderers than Joe Blow from Idaho.

Now that you have that nice five figured sum in your bank account, enjoy it. You’ve earned it. Don’t forget to tip the author.