greenbags

Special Sections
-- Baby Boomers -- Family -
-- Green -- Home and Auto --
-- In Critical Condition -- Lifestyle --
-- Just Starting Out -- Money --




The Dollar Stretcher

Selling My Car



share your thoughts
about frugal living
at TDS Community
 
Web Stretcher.com

Subscribe to Our Money Saving Newsletter

Also In This Week's Issue

Credit crunch may squeeze card users

Commuting costs got you down?

Video: Retirement planning in your 30s

Smart ways to trim big-ticket expenses

Visit our Library

More Stories About:

Automobiles

Babies

Children

Debt

Groceries and Food

Making Extra Money

Natural Living

One Income Families

Weddings

Home Home and Auto Automobiles Selling Selling My Car
Advertise on this site

Creative Ideas?

I would like help and suggestions on how to sell a van. We are leaving the country and need to sell it. We are still paying on it - it is 3 years old. Any creative suggestions besides putting it in the paper?
Barry

Check Out CarMax

If there is a "CarMax" in your area, then you are in luck. I have sold two cars to them and it is an amazingly hassle free process. The appraisal only took about 30 minutes and they gave me a fair price.
Ejay

A Picture Is Worth...

Having been in this situation myself recently, I would strongly recommend that you spend a few extra dollars and have the paper publish a photograph of the vehicle. Our local paper will take a photo of the car and run it with the ad for a few dollars more.

After running an ad with no response for two weeks, we published a photo. We received many inquiries and sold the car for our asking price in three days.
David

Ebay Experience

My husband and I recently sold both of our cars on eBay. You can make the eBay listing for anywhere from 3 to 10 days. Both cars went for more than a dealer offered us and both were listed and sold in 7 days.

Before we priced them we researched similar car sales prices on Cars.com and in the local paper. You can set a "reserve" price in eBay so the sale does not occur if you don't get a high enough bid. The cost for the "ad" was similar to running an ad in the local paper.

One of the buyers had an inspection service (Lemonbusters) do a thorough inspection on the car he was interested in since he was in another state and couldn't do a test-drive. The other person emailed and asked for a test drive and we set it up. This was easier than any other car sale I've done, including trade ins.
Cathy

Local Paper On Line Sites

We have an on line site for the local paper that offers free ads, and then they also print them in the paper for free. I have sold many items this way. In fact, some have gone as fast as fifteen minutes after they were placed. You might want to check your local paper and see what they have to offer.
Cheryl

Go Direct

When I was selling my last car, I made up a descriptive sheet, copied it and posted it all over the message boards at the local university & a grad student bought it. I would also think about your church or a friend's, laundromats, hair salons, etc, for posting locations.
Sharon

Share your thoughts about this article with the editor: Click Here


Do you have a time or money saving idea that wasn't included in this article? Please send it to tips @stretcher.com. We get the best ideas from our readers!


Other Articles to Stretch Your Day and Your Dollar

Homemade Window De-Icer
Be prepared for winter's storms

Ask Bob: The Auto Answer Man
Diagnosing a blinking door ajar light

Commuting costs got you down?
Some companies are making employees' treks to the office cheaper with tax-saving commuter accounts

Our Sponsor

Don't Buy a Car Before You
Check Your Credit Score

Get Your Credit Score, Credit Report and
3-Bureau Credit Monitoring
Free for 30 Days

I Would like to:

Would you like to tell a Frugal Friend about this article? Just fill out their email address and your name and we'll send them the URL.
Enter your friend's email:
Enter your name:
Enter a message to your friend:

Copyright 1996 - 2008 "The Dollar Stretcher, Inc.". All rights reserved unless specifically noted.

Write to the Dollar Stretcher at:
Dollar Stretcher
PO Box 14160
Bradenton
FL 34280-4160

941-761-7805 voice
941-761-8301 fax


"The Dollar Stretcher, Inc." does not assume responsibility for advice given. All advice should be weighed against your own abilities and circumstances and applied accordingly. It is up to the reader to determine if advice is safe and suitable for their own situation.