Wiseguy ON
07-29-2005, 02:51 PM
Want to sell your car, especially here?
It's easy to do if you know HOW. The first thing is you need a good description and then you need to know the realities of the market.
1) ALWAYS State an asking price, not "BO over $X" or "Best Offer". I'd also suggest against "Feeler" Posts, the car is for sale or it isn't.
2) State Mileage! I see TONS of ads on here that do NOT state mileage. Guys, it makes a huge difference in the value of your car! Clearly state how many miles the car has.
3) Pics. Always post pics even if it takes you a few days, say so.
4) Condition condition condition. What may seem like no big deal to you can be a big deal, state what's wrong with your car. Most of us are longtime members here and have posted about the issues we've had with our cars. I bought a car from a forum member recently with a bad fuel gauge, I knew it was probably a blown sender and I knew the car had the issue, because I searched the forum. Before people spend a lot of money, they like to do their research. Also, the more you disclose, the easier it is to sell a car. If you tell me that your 1988 E30 is perfect, I'll assume you're probably lying. You need to tell people exactly what's wrong with the car. If it's a 10k mile 2004 M3, it probably has a few tiny stone chips, if it's 15 years old it must have wear as expected. By doing this you build trust with buyers.
5) Price. Be realistic. Nobody is going to buy, say, a 1995 325is for as much or more than they will pay for a 1995 M3 with comparable miles. If you try and get $13k for that car you will robably not sell it, and then it will get stale on the market. This is a bad thing. I have sold an E36 M3, and an E38 740 on here myself both times VERY quickly, both were priced properly.
I happen to own a dealershkip and watch the market like a hawk, feel free to post here or PM me if you want to know what your car's worth. Realistically, on late model cars, expect to be $1,500-2,500 over what the car is worth at a wholesale auction. Much over that and you're competing with CPO cars with 1.9 financing.
On late-model stuff Kelly Blue Book retail is generally a stretch, except for really rare stuff such as S54 Coupes and Roadsters, certain M cars, etc. On the other hand, E30 M3s can be worth multiples of KBB retail.
Also watch what's out there like your car. If you're selling, say, a 525i then do some research and see what cars like yours are going for. If they are selling for, say, $6500 and you want $9,000 you may find that 540s are selling for 8,500-9,000. In that case, your car is not going tobe an easy sale.
MODS!
Mods, at best, are 10-20c on the dollar come resale time. If you spend $6,000 modifying a $10,000 car, you absolutely do NOT have a $16,000 car. You MIGHT have an $11,000 car that is still a tough sale. Add to that that you have to hope that the buyer likes what you did to the car which is a crapshoot.
Generally parting out your mods makes the most sense, you will generally net the most money for your car that way.
It's easy to do if you know HOW. The first thing is you need a good description and then you need to know the realities of the market.
1) ALWAYS State an asking price, not "BO over $X" or "Best Offer". I'd also suggest against "Feeler" Posts, the car is for sale or it isn't.
2) State Mileage! I see TONS of ads on here that do NOT state mileage. Guys, it makes a huge difference in the value of your car! Clearly state how many miles the car has.
3) Pics. Always post pics even if it takes you a few days, say so.
4) Condition condition condition. What may seem like no big deal to you can be a big deal, state what's wrong with your car. Most of us are longtime members here and have posted about the issues we've had with our cars. I bought a car from a forum member recently with a bad fuel gauge, I knew it was probably a blown sender and I knew the car had the issue, because I searched the forum. Before people spend a lot of money, they like to do their research. Also, the more you disclose, the easier it is to sell a car. If you tell me that your 1988 E30 is perfect, I'll assume you're probably lying. You need to tell people exactly what's wrong with the car. If it's a 10k mile 2004 M3, it probably has a few tiny stone chips, if it's 15 years old it must have wear as expected. By doing this you build trust with buyers.
5) Price. Be realistic. Nobody is going to buy, say, a 1995 325is for as much or more than they will pay for a 1995 M3 with comparable miles. If you try and get $13k for that car you will robably not sell it, and then it will get stale on the market. This is a bad thing. I have sold an E36 M3, and an E38 740 on here myself both times VERY quickly, both were priced properly.
I happen to own a dealershkip and watch the market like a hawk, feel free to post here or PM me if you want to know what your car's worth. Realistically, on late model cars, expect to be $1,500-2,500 over what the car is worth at a wholesale auction. Much over that and you're competing with CPO cars with 1.9 financing.
On late-model stuff Kelly Blue Book retail is generally a stretch, except for really rare stuff such as S54 Coupes and Roadsters, certain M cars, etc. On the other hand, E30 M3s can be worth multiples of KBB retail.
Also watch what's out there like your car. If you're selling, say, a 525i then do some research and see what cars like yours are going for. If they are selling for, say, $6500 and you want $9,000 you may find that 540s are selling for 8,500-9,000. In that case, your car is not going tobe an easy sale.
MODS!
Mods, at best, are 10-20c on the dollar come resale time. If you spend $6,000 modifying a $10,000 car, you absolutely do NOT have a $16,000 car. You MIGHT have an $11,000 car that is still a tough sale. Add to that that you have to hope that the buyer likes what you did to the car which is a crapshoot.
Generally parting out your mods makes the most sense, you will generally net the most money for your car that way.