Author Topic: Just made $1750 in one day putting up one Craigslist ad!  (Read 5264 times)

SDREMNGR

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Just made $1750 in one day putting up one Craigslist ad!
« on: June 27, 2014, 03:03:01 PM »
So I was finally motivated and inspired enough to sell my extra car.  It had a lot of things it needed and it was a bit of pain to get them worked on (car wash, fix an issue with car, get smogged) but I finally did it and took it to Carmax to get a bid.  It is a 2004 Acura TSX with 125k miles and a bunch of dings and cosmetic issues.  But clean bones.  Anyhow, Carmax offered me $5000.  I had it in my mind that I would take anything above $6000 so I told them no thanks and drove home.  I took some pictures of the car, both inside and out, took pictures of all it's faults and issues as well as all the good things about it and posted a Craigslist ad for $7000  I got several emails and had 3 people come see it within 1 day.  I ended up selling it to the 3rd person for $6750.  The 1st guy offered me $6700 and I told him I just listed it and will wait for something higher and he got all mad and huffed and puffed and drove away.  The 2nd guy tried to negotiate by telling me that he will call me the next day and then offered me $6500.  I told him that the car was sold already (it was).  The 3rd guy negotiated with me and I accepted $6750 since he was a younger guy and was nice and I figured he could use the extra money more than I could. 

Anyhow, feels good to get rid of the extra car and the insurance and registration and all of that.  And the extra cash will go toward paying off our 1 remaining car loan in order to reduce our non-mortgage debt to $0!  This is also helping us in our purchase of our new home by reducing the monthly debt that they calculate.

Feels good all around to finally liquidate that unused asset.

Now I'm working on selling off my truck and 5th wheel trailer for $20k.  We are learning to get by on just 1 car and my bike.  My parents and friends think I'm a bit crazy to do this (they are probably right) but I feel like I'm on a roll and am loving the feeling of being free of "stuff"

SDREMNGR

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Re: Just made $1750 in one day putting up one Craigslist ad!
« Reply #1 on: June 27, 2014, 03:06:31 PM »
We also got rid of our big sleigh cal king bed frame.  It was huge and I would kick it once in a while and just took up a lot of room.  We now sleep with the box springs on the floor and the mattress on top of it.  A bit college ghetto but it opened up the room a lot and we really like the new lower level of the bed.  No more jumping off the bed in middle of the night. 

It's a bit addicting to get rid of stuff.  Now on to the garage!

FIreDrill

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Re: Just made $1750 in one day putting up one Craigslist ad!
« Reply #2 on: June 27, 2014, 03:09:41 PM »
Nice!  Wish I could sell my car that fast. lol

Cassie

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Re: Just made $1750 in one day putting up one Craigslist ad!
« Reply #3 on: June 27, 2014, 03:16:52 PM »
We are in the process of fixing & selling our 27 ft motorhome that we never use.  Had to hire a mechanic but it will be worth it once he is done. Really looking forward to selling it. Also I read once that if you are selling private party it usually turns out that your first offer will be your best.  Trying to keep that in mind so not to get too greedy.

okashira

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Re: Just made $1750 in one day putting up one Craigslist ad!
« Reply #4 on: June 27, 2014, 03:21:41 PM »
Nice!  Wish I could sell my car that fast. lol

I have the record there. Sold my 1991 toyota pickup with 200k miles for $1500 on craigslist. (it was beat to absolute shit, but still factory clutch)
45 minutes from CL posting to CASH IN HAND. Had like 10 calls after 20 minutes. It got ridiculous.

SDREMNGR

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Re: Just made $1750 in one day putting up one Craigslist ad!
« Reply #5 on: June 27, 2014, 03:34:57 PM »
We are in the process of fixing & selling our 27 ft motorhome that we never use.  Had to hire a mechanic but it will be worth it once he is done. Really looking forward to selling it. Also I read once that if you are selling private party it usually turns out that your first offer will be your best.  Trying to keep that in mind so not to get too greedy.

I think that is probably right.  If not the best, close to the best.   He was definitely very motivated.  But I would still stick to your price if you are getting lots of calls or emails.  If you are not, just lower your price.  In the end, I think I got a good deal.  I think Carmax is a good proxy for what you can get for your car.  You should be able to get about 25-30% more for your car than a Carmax bid.  That's their profit margin and they can probably sell it for higher than you can.

gimp

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Re: Just made $1750 in one day putting up one Craigslist ad!
« Reply #6 on: June 27, 2014, 04:20:14 PM »
I have the record there. Sold my 1991 toyota pickup with 200k miles for $1500 on craigslist. (it was beat to absolute shit, but still factory clutch)
45 minutes from CL posting to CASH IN HAND. Had like 10 calls after 20 minutes. It got ridiculous.

That's because those cars just never goddamn die, man. People buy em for 1500 and sell them for 2000 two years later. Congrats on the sale, and that is pretty awesome.

eil

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Re: Just made $1750 in one day putting up one Craigslist ad!
« Reply #7 on: June 27, 2014, 04:21:35 PM »
Advice for selling a car if you're shy about negotiating like I am...

Have two prices: the one that you will list the car for, and the one that you will sell the car for. Tell buyers the first, keep the second to yourself. Accept any offer in between. Lower both if you're not getting the number of inquiries you expected.

Zamboni

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Re: Just made $1750 in one day putting up one Craigslist ad!
« Reply #8 on: June 27, 2014, 06:27:11 PM »
^That is excellent advice. 

kendallf

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Re: Just made $1750 in one day putting up one Craigslist ad!
« Reply #9 on: June 27, 2014, 08:07:02 PM »
I did this earlier in the year, with my Lightning pickup.  I had a Carmax offer that I felt was lowball (to be fair, the truck was modified and wasn't really their target vehicle).  I spent a few hundred bucks on cosmetics for the truck and sold it for more than $3k over the Carmax offer.

malacca

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Re: Just made $1750 in one day putting up one Craigslist ad!
« Reply #10 on: June 28, 2014, 10:31:18 PM »
I had a 2006 Ford Ranger Diesel Crew Cab. Yes, you read it correctly. Diesel.  I paid $20,000 for it new in Malaysia. Sales were slow so I got a very good deal.

In 2012, I tried to sell it with ads on bulletin boards - offline and online. No luck. Craigslist isn't used there so useless.

I shopped it around at a few used car dealers. First one low balled me at $11K. A few others were higher. Then one place offered me $15K. Plus he was willing to let me use it until I left - about a month. I drove it to the airport with all my family and luggage (leaving the country) and gave him the keys. Sweet.

So it cost me $5K for 6.5 years of a trouble free vehicle. I loved that truck. It isn't the same as the Ranger here - different platform - more like an Explorer. Four banger turbo diesel engine. Hauled ass. Biggest vehicle on the road other than commercial. Wanted to take it with me. Steering wheel on right and no heater = no go.

Disclosure: I purchased it for 72K Malaysian Ringgit which equalled $20K at the time. The Ringgit appreciated from 3.6 to the dollar to 3.0 - so part of my low depreciation was the currency appreciation.

For those interested in in a Ranger diesel check out this link:

http://www.ford.net.my/ranger/