Amy’s Garage

So You Want To Sell Your Old Car Yourself?

If you do decide to sell your car privately it will get you the most money in your pocket, but can take several weeks or even months to get the money!

How Do You Figure Out How Much You Can Get For Your Old Car?

In reality, you can only get what someone will give you… But, a good place to start is to find out the current average value of the car.

The value of your car is based on its age, mileage and condition it is in. To find out what the average amount your car is selling for, go online to www.edmunds.com, www.kbb.com,

or nadaguides.com. You should also gauge the website values with real life values of a similar vehicle that is in the want-ads in your local newspapers.

Don’t worry about putting any repair work into the vehicle. You will never recoup the money. Just be honest about what it needs to the next owner. Most people who are purchasing a used vehicle expect to spend some extra money on minor repairs or maintenance service.

Remember that first impressions are very important!

Clean the inside and outside of the car as best as possible. Make sure you also clean out all your “stuff” from the door pockets, glove box, ash-tray, cubby-holes and under the seats. Don’t want to clean it yourself? If you take it to a professional car detailer expect to pay approx. $100.00 – $150.00 for a thorough job.

Dr. Dolittle: Tail to the Chief rip

Gather all the car’s documents and put them in a folder. This should include all the service and repair records you have on your vehicle.

How To Market Your Car!

Tried and true is the classified section of your local newspaper. You can also list it on Craigslist.com, cars.com, eBay.com and / or autotrader.com

Use emotion words like luxurious, sporty, safe and reliable, etc. Describe the reasons why someone else would find your car interesting. Accentuate all the positives. For example, “one owner, nonsmoker, never had a dog in it, highway miles only, all service up-to-date with records to prove it, tires almost new, kept in garage,” etc.

Here are a couple of gorilla marketing ideas for you…

• Place posters on bulletin boards where lots of people will see them (grocery stores, country stores, health clubs, schools, Laundromats, etc.). The poster should list the features of your car, with tear off phone numbers on the bottom.
• See if there is a radio call in “swap and sell” show in your area.
• Ask everyone you come in contact with if they or someone they know is looking for a great used car. To give them incentive to find you a buyer, offer them a “bird dog fee” ($50.00) if they send you a qualified buyer who completes the deal.
• Park your car on a busy street with a detailed information sign in the window. Ask around to find out the local “hot spot” where sellers park their vehicles on the weekends.

When people start calling you…

• Be honest and forthright about describing your vehicle, but don’t dicker on the phone. The buyer needs to come and see what you are talking about before the selling begins.
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• Make sure the cost of your vehicle is within their budget. If they can’t afford it, then don’t waste your time setting up a time for a test drive.
• {I am sorry that this still holds true: Women would be well advised to have someone along whenever they show a vehicle for safety reasons.
• When scheduling a test drive, don’t leave it casual, like “why not stop by anytime Wednesday.” The prospect may not show and you have wasted your day waiting for nothing. A good idea is to treat this as a job and give them two different choices: “I can show you the car 4:30 pm on Friday or 10:00 am on Saturday; which time is better for you?” Take notes and get a phone number to call back in case something comes up. This may also help you call back the person you liked the most with a lower price if you get desperate.
• If they come driving up like a wild cat in a run down vehicle, there is no law that says you have to let them drive your car. Any excuse is better than regretting later that you didn’t listen to that tiny voice!
• Write down the potential buyer’s driver’s license number and name before the test drive to make sure it’s current.

• Go on the test drive with the potential buyer. You don’t know who they are… and you don’t want anything to happen that you’re not aware of.
• Agree to have the vehicle taken to a mechanic for an inspection. Have them leave a refundable deposit before they take the vehicle away or you could ask them to give you the name and address of their shop to set up a time to take it there yourself. Give the buyer a dated receipt for any deposit given.

If They Want To Purchase Your Car…

• To firm up the deal, set a time limit for picking up the vehicle. If they don’t call or come by the deadline you have every right to sell it to the second person in line.
• Don’t release the vehicle, the title or the keys until the car has been paid for in full. Insist that the buyer gets a bank check. This is guaranteed by the bank and you can release the vehicle that day. Cash is the easiest and most secure way to go when possible.
• Once you sell the vehicle notify your insurance company to remove the car from your policy. Take off the license plates before they take away the vehicle. It’s a good idea to make sure the new owner has registered and insured it before they drive it away.

Any Good Selling Stories To Share?

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Are We There Yet? buy

by Amy Mattinat

Do You Want To Know A Secret?

I personally think it’s a bit foolish to ever purchase a brand new car. Why not save thousands of dollars and buy at least a two year old vehicle with at least 15,000 miles on it.

Today I purchased a 2004 Toyota Corolla LE with 98,000 miles on it for my husband. It was a one owner vehicle and was very well maintained. We should be able to get 5 yrs out of it, and hey…. we don’t need a monthly car payment.

We always put a bit of money aside every week in a special account to purchase our next vehicle. We sold the old Corolla for $4000, so we only paid $4000 for this beautiful 04 Corolla.

A lot of folks are afraid to purchase a used vehicle, especially if it has over 50,000 miles on it, and rightly so. You need to have help to purchase a good used car.

1. You need to know what your wants, needs and budget is before you even think about looking in the paper and on the streets for a used car.
2. Then once you know what you are looking for you need a good walk about checklist & a good test drive checklist so you can “Pre-Qualify” a used vehicle.
3. But you mostly need a trained automotive technician who knows the make and model you want to purchase, and who can do a Thorough Used Car Inspection to determine if this vehicle is worthy to buy.

You want to know the real shape the vehicle is in. I don’t care if the dealer says it is “Used Car Certified”, you still need to have a trained automotive technician do a thorough used car inspection. I want you to remember: Almost All Used Cars Need Something! And, when I say thorough I’m talking about the technician taking 2 to 2 1/2 hours. You want them to take the vehicle on a test drive and do an inspection that includes going up on a lift and taking the tires off the vehicle.

“But what are the Secret Words”? Hang on, I’m getting there…

If the technician feels that this is a solid vehicle and worth buying, have them take pictures with your digital camera of any repairs the vehicle needs: a picture says a thousand words! Have the shop work up an estimate for all repairs and maintenance service the vehicle needs to be safe and reliable.

Pictures and a real estimate are the tools you need in hand to negotiate a good deal on a used car. You are going to use these facts about the car to turn the tables on the sale and become a salesperson.

Give them the information you have in hand and then say The Magic Words: “What Can You Do For Me?” Then “shutupa you mouth”!

Private owners and Independent Used Car Dealers without a service department are more likely to lower their price. BONUS: You were going to buy the car anyways, so any amount they take off the sales price you can use to repair and/or service your new rig.

Dealers or Independent Used Car Dealers that have a service department are more likely to offer to do the repairs and maybe even some of the service work. It is cheaper for them to do the work in-house then to lower the price and have you to take the work elsewhere. BONUS: you would of had to have the work done anyways and now you won’t have to spend the time or money.

Do You Have Any Additional Secrets To Negotiating A Used Car Purchase?

The only way to insure you don’t buy a flood car is to thoroughly inspect a used car before you purchase it. You don’t want to be one of the estimated 200,000 unlucky consumers that will purchase a flood car this year. In 2005, Hurricane Katrina alone destroyed more than 600,000 vehicles.

Once a flood car is cleaned up, they can be hard to spot. Flood vehicles can have significant mechanical problems, and electrical problems that may not be immediately evident, but will cause ongoing problems for the rest of the car’s serviceable life. Mold growing in hard to see places can also cause chronic health problems for you and your family.

Most flood vehicles are declared total losses by the insurance companies and are given a salvage title. These titles (depending on the state) are marked with a coded letter or number, or the words “salvage” or “flood.” They are usually sold to junkyards and broken down and sold as parts.

But some flood-damaged vehicles will be repaired, cleaned up and make their way back onto the used-car market. There is no one sure way to detect a flood car, but here are some quick checks that you can do yourself.

Tips to avoiding a flood car:

• Exterior of the vehicle:
  

Lights: Look at the car’s headlights and taillights. Do they have water trapped inside or a water line showing on the lens or the reflector?

Rust: Look for rustier-than-usual fasteners around the doors. Is there any rust or flaking metal under the vehicle?

Spare Tire: Check for mildew around the spare tire in the trunk, and smell for a musty odor.

• Interior of the vehicle:
  

Check the glove box, other storage areas, and underneath the seats for signs of sand, mud, moisture or rust.

Upholstery and Carpeting: Check for discolored, faded colors, or stains. If it something doesn’t match or fit properly, it may have been replaced.

Bolts under the Seats: Check the bolts beneath the seats for rust. If they look like they have been removed look deeper because to dry the carpets, the seats must be removed.

Fuse Box: Check for rust on the inside of the box and corrosion on the fuses.

Heater and Air Conditioner: When checking to see if the A/C works, smell for musty odors.

Electrical Components: Make sure all the lights work, along with the windshield wipers, cigarette lighter, radio, mirrors, windows and seats! Bend some wires under the dash to see if they crack. Wet wires become brittle upon drying and can crack or fail at any time.

• Take the car for a test drive to see how it reacts at high speeds.

• Look under the hood: Look all around the engine compartment for corrosion, mud or grit.

• Checking the vehicle’s title history: First off ask the seller if the car has been damaged by floodwater. Get the answer in writing on the bill of sale. Ask to see the title of the used car. If the title is not available for inspection, the vehicle may be one to avoid. Check the date and place of transfer to see if the car came from a flood-damaged state and if the title is stamped “salvage.” You could get a Carfax report and they may alert you to some types of problems, but they can’t guarantee that the vehicle has no hidden problems. That’s why it is important to get any used car inspected by a trusted independent mechanic before you buy it.

• If you are feeling pretty confident that you found a good one, make sure you still have the car inspected by
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  a trained, certified mechanic. The money you spend for the inspection could save you thousands of dollars down the road.

Educated consumers are a used car seller’s worst nightmare. Learning more about the vehicle then the seller knows is the secret ingredient to buying a great used car, negotiating a great deal and avoiding a nightmare!