Another car sale question

[thelamb]

I think I know what I'm going to do but I could use a final push.  For starters, don't need anybody to point out the stupidity that got me here...  I KNOW! :)

Have a 2012 SUV that I've "owned" for almost 2 years and so far have put 12.5k miles on it, including 3 1200 mile trips.  Don't drive much because I telecommute, mostly walk, bike or use the bus for errands, going out, etc.  Owe <$19k, want to ditch it ASAP.  We just got car2go and I figure that can fill in emergencies, other random short trips, use basic car rental an average of 1 day a month or half that and I'm looking at getting total car expenses down to $100-150/month (probably much less in warmer months) if I go completely without car. 

The downside to going completely carless is that my family lives about 15 miles away and having no car will limit abilities to visit.  Plus my parents tend to watch my dog when I travel for work.  There are other options for this but they really like the little guy.  My car2go usage factors into getting him up there and back. 

I've debated waiting till after winter, after the holidays, until I can not only get rid of the car but also get a little beater, but it's been weighing on me and I want to pull the trigger NOW, use the time without a car to sharpen my mustachian skills and then, if a car really is necessary, do proper research and buy something in the $3-5k range with cash.  Personally, I think if I can get through the winter without one, I'll never need one. 

Anyway, I took it to carmax yesterday and they offered $21k, which is the bottom of the kbb estimate, so not great but not terrible.  They did warn me that subsequent appraisals will be lower and lower just because. 

In short, if I pull the trigger and get to cancel car insurance, I'm looking at $19k less in debt, ~$2400 in my pocket, no $440 car payment next month, but perhaps a couple hundred that I'll have to spend for car rentals to get through various holidays and other family events in December.  After that, I have the winter to hunker down and continue to save. 

What do you guys think?  Pull the trigger this week? 

[Eric]

Okay, so lets see here.  $2400 in cash with expenses of $150/mo or $19k in debt with expenses of $440+ / mo.

Hmmm, how will you ever decide?  :)

[Bruised_Pepper]

You could probably get more selling to a private party, but if it takes a month or two, you'll lose some of your profit margin due to insurance.  It sounds like they made you a pretty decent offer, I'd really consider it unless you're very familiar with car sales and your area has a strong market for your car.

[thelamb]

Okay, so lets see here.  $2400 in cash with expenses of $150/mo or $19k in debt with expenses of $440+ / mo.

Hmmm, how will you ever decide?  :)

Ha... And indeed.  Wonder if I should rephrase a bit:  Selling is the stupidly, utterly, obviously correct move, but can anyone (at all) think of any reason (whatsoever) why I shouldn't? 

[Bruised_Pepper]

Okay, so lets see here.  $2400 in cash with expenses of $150/mo or $19k in debt with expenses of $440+ / mo.

Hmmm, how will you ever decide?  :)

Ha... And indeed.  Wonder if I should rephrase a bit:  Selling is the stupidly, utterly, obviously correct move, but can anyone (at all) think of any reason (whatsoever) why I shouldn't?

Sounds like you have plenty of transportation options, and for as little as you'll need to drive, renting seems much more affordable.  The only issue I could possibly think of would be hauling things if you weren't old enough to rent a truck, but you're 33--I'm sure they'll give you the keys to any toy possible. 

[chasesfish]

Sell it immediately to carmax - $2400 in your pocket and no big payment.

[dadof4]

Ha... And indeed.  Wonder if I should rephrase a bit:  Selling is the stupidly, utterly, obviously correct move, but can anyone (at all) think of any reason (whatsoever) why I shouldn't?

Zombies. AFAIK, they are almost as scared of SUVs as they are of gold.

[Mr.Macinstache]

sell sell sell! I bet you're only getting 15mpg anyway. Unload that boat.

[the fixer]

You might be able to do better selling private-party, but on the flip side you don't have the title in hand. That will make people on Craigslist more reluctant to deal with you. In your case, I think selling to Carmax makes sense.

[thelamb]

Thanks everyone so far for giving me the sort-of-needed push.  Not one reason given to keep the damned thing.  What's wrong with you people?!?  :) Kidding. 

You might be able to do better selling private-party, but on the flip side you don't have the title in hand. That will make people on Craigslist more reluctant to deal with you. In your case, I think selling to Carmax makes sense.

This has been my only concern.  The kbb private party maxes out at $26k and leaving a potential $5k on the table sucks, but I've done plenty of craigslist sales for small things, can't imagine the nightmare of selling a car of this nature/price, especially not having the title.  I've sold a car on cars.com before, took about 3 months.  That plus possibly waiting to get the title, the fact that I'd probably get somewhere between the two numbers, the months of insurance and interest, etc, leads me to believe ditching ASAP is financially the best move. 

So, yeah, this weekend it's gone!  Thanks everyone!

[chasesfish]

My one recommendation, before you sell it to craigslist, call a couple of the dealers that sell that model car and tell them that your selling the car to Carmax but wanted to know if they make cash offers.

Used cars are in really short supply in some areas and you might be able to get an extra $500 or $750 on a few calls.  Just give them the VIN and your carmax offer.

[m8547]

This tool will give you an instant quote for a cash offer, and it gives fair prices. Not great prices, but if it's worth the convenince you can sell this way.
https://tradein.autotrader.com/ATPages/TradeinMarketPlace.aspx

Today I learned that KBB has relatively little incentive to be accurate. They mostly just want to get you to visit their site to sell ads. Autotrader and KBB are partners, and the Autotrader tool is based on real time sales data, but KBB is not.

The way I look at it is that if I'm earning $1000/week, the amount of time/effort I put in to making an extra $2000 on a car should be on the order of a week or two (at 8 hours a day). If I have a full time job I'm not going to stop doing that for two weeks to sell my car, but I should be willing to put in a lot of work to do it.

[thelamb]

FYI, I just got rid of the car and it did feel real good.  Tried the autotrader link, it can back about $2400 less than carmax, obviously went with carmax. 

In short, ~$19k of debt wiped out, $2k check from carmax, cancelled car insurance and got a $300 refund, cancelled this months car payment.  Got home, grabbed my book bag, walked to the bank and deposited, then over to the grocery, loaded up the book bag, and hoofed it back home.  Felt great!

[Mr.Macinstache]

Hell yea.. debt free feels great. Nice job.

[greenmimama]

Sounds like you made a great decision, I don't think you will regret it, plus it's not like you can't just go buy another one if your circumstances change.

PS your parents might come get you if it means visiting with you ;)