Author Topic: tips/tricks for selling 10yr, 185,000 mile vehicle?  (Read 9396 times)

nereo

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tips/tricks for selling 10yr, 185,000 mile vehicle?
« on: February 04, 2015, 07:55:49 AM »
We all know mustachian-minded individuals should drive used cars paid with cash, but what about when it comes time to sell your even-more-used vehicle?

I've got a 10 year old pickup I'm trying to offload with ~180,000 miles on it.  KBB lists its private-party value at a shockingly high $8k (private)/$6k(trade-in).  I put up an ad in auto-trader for $500 under KBB value but the only nibbles I've gotten are solicitations from people trying to get me to pay to list it in their newspaper/magazine/website as well.  I even asked a local dealership who's service dept recently did an extensive repair on the vehicle what they'd give for it, but I couldn't get a straight answer - seems they'd only deal with me if I bought a new/'pre-owned' vehicle and financed it through them.

so:  any tips on how to sell an older vehicle that looks good & runs great?  places to list? is -$500 under kbb still way too high?

Stash Engineer

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Re: tips/tricks for selling 10yr, 185,000 mile vehicle?
« Reply #1 on: February 04, 2015, 08:05:39 AM »
Most dealers won't mess with a car that 'used' because there is no money in it for them.  As you've discovered, not too many people want to pay $7500 for a vehicle that is reaching the end of its service life or may need expensive repairs soon.  Buyers automatically assume that any vehicle (with the exception of diesel trucks) with over 150k miles is going to need expensive repairs.  A dealer would most likely sell the vehicle at auction just to liquidate it.  If you do want to trade it on another vehicle, you'll have better luck at a mom-and-pop used car dealership.  In my experience, you'll need to lower the price considerably to get some interest on it.  You may also want to consider accepting partial trades.

I'm trying to sell an F350 dually with 353k miles on it right now.  KBB says its worth $5900 in fair condition.  I have it listed at $4500 and have received 3 inquiries on it in the past 3 weeks. 

fodder69

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Re: tips/tricks for selling 10yr, 185,000 mile vehicle?
« Reply #2 on: February 04, 2015, 08:23:34 AM »
+1 to the above. KBB is just a guideline and most people are scared of high miles. Look in the classifieds yourself and see what prices look like. Maybe bookmark and check back in a week and see which ones are selling. You may see some higher prices but I bet those aren't the ones selling.

nereo

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Re: tips/tricks for selling 10yr, 185,000 mile vehicle?
« Reply #3 on: February 04, 2015, 08:35:17 AM »
Thanks for the advice.  It's been a bit hard to judge other cars because there's such a huge difference in makes/models/years out there, and I've yet to find anything that comes close to matching my vehicle.  More research is needed I guess, looking at individual models and what they are selling for relative to kbb value, etc.

One thing I find strange - what good is the "KBB value" if no one is willing to pay it?  Does it only work for cars with <100,000 miles?

drunken buddha

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Re: tips/tricks for selling 10yr, 185,000 mile vehicle?
« Reply #4 on: February 04, 2015, 08:39:29 AM »
Check craigslist for what equivalent truck is priced at. Stay clear of car lots!!! I used to run a car lot (God forgive me) before I got all empathetic and mushy.
Unless your frame is rotting in two, I'd consider driving it until you got repaid for those repairs you're talking about. But I don't know your situation, so I'll butt out of it. Good luck!

nereo

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Re: tips/tricks for selling 10yr, 185,000 mile vehicle?
« Reply #5 on: February 04, 2015, 08:50:55 AM »
Check craigslist for what equivalent truck is priced at. Stay clear of car lots!!! I used to run a car lot (God forgive me) before I got all empathetic and mushy.
Unless your frame is rotting in two, I'd consider driving it until you got repaid for those repairs you're talking about. But I don't know your situation, so I'll butt out of it. Good luck!
Craigslist is a good idea - previously I  had been focusing on autotrader (don't know why, it was just what popped up).  Problem as mentioned earlier is that it's hard to find something that's even remotely similar in my area in terms of mileage, make, and condition.  Seems there's only about a dozen pickups with >150,000 listed, and they range from mega-plow truck to 20-year-old, almost 'vintage' pontiac.  I'll keep looking and watching.  Actually starting a spreadsheet now.

Also, don't entirely understand what you mean about 'driving it until you got repaid for those repairs".  - at this point it's a sunk cost, is it not?  The only thing that matters going forward is whether I can get a decent price going forward and switching to something more fuel efficient.  If I drive it for another two years all I've done is spend more on fuel than I would need to, and probably get even less for it.
Thanks for the input.

Dimitri

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Re: tips/tricks for selling 10yr, 185,000 mile vehicle?
« Reply #6 on: February 04, 2015, 09:01:21 AM »
If you want a quick no hassle no haggle offer take it to CarMax if you can.  They will make you a firm offer.  At least at that point you have a base price to work off of if you are intent on selling privately.  Personally to me it isn't worth the hassle.  In the past two years I sold CarMax two Toyotas - one with 160,xxx and the other with 195,xxx miles.  Good luck!

nereo

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Re: tips/tricks for selling 10yr, 185,000 mile vehicle?
« Reply #7 on: February 04, 2015, 09:08:04 AM »
If you want a quick no hassle no haggle offer take it to CarMax if you can.  They will make you a firm offer.  At least at that point you have a base price to work off of if you are intent on selling privately.  Personally to me it isn't worth the hassle.  In the past two years I sold CarMax two Toyotas - one with 160,xxx and the other with 195,xxx miles.  Good luck!
I did not realize that CarMax did this.  I'll check it out - as you said at least then I'd have a base price to work off of.
Thanks!

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Re: tips/tricks for selling 10yr, 185,000 mile vehicle?
« Reply #8 on: February 04, 2015, 09:14:07 AM »
If you haven't already, take half a day to clean it the best you can.  When someone does show up, a clean vehicle can make all the difference.  Car max didn't work out for us, but halfway in between their offer and KBB might be a good price point.  Update your listing(s) every week or so, and don't be afraid to keep it listed for 6-8 weeks waiting for the right buyer.  If no interest, then consider reducing the price. Park it in the yard with a sign (if legal).  I have sold a couple cars this way as well.

Stash Engineer

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Re: tips/tricks for selling 10yr, 185,000 mile vehicle?
« Reply #9 on: February 04, 2015, 09:53:18 AM »
If you haven't already, take half a day to clean it the best you can.  When someone does show up, a clean vehicle can make all the difference.  Car max didn't work out for us, but halfway in between their offer and KBB might be a good price point.  Update your listing(s) every week or so, and don't be afraid to keep it listed for 6-8 weeks waiting for the right buyer.  If no interest, then consider reducing the price. Park it in the yard with a sign (if legal).  I have sold a couple cars this way as well.

+1

nereo

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Re: tips/tricks for selling 10yr, 185,000 mile vehicle?
« Reply #10 on: February 04, 2015, 10:03:39 AM »
If you haven't already, take half a day to clean it the best you can.  When someone does show up, a clean vehicle can make all the difference.  Car max didn't work out for us, but halfway in between their offer and KBB might be a good price point.  Update your listing(s) every week or so, and don't be afraid to keep it listed for 6-8 weeks waiting for the right buyer.  If no interest, then consider reducing the price. Park it in the yard with a sign (if legal).  I have sold a couple cars this way as well.
Thanks.  I've cleaned/detailed the inside... keeping the outside clean in the wintertime is the challenge with road salt and dirt and no where to park it indoors.  Might not successfully sell it until April, but I'll keep updating my listing and just see if there are any fish out there.  Can't park it along the road where I live though.  Thanks.

Eric

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Re: tips/tricks for selling 10yr, 185,000 mile vehicle?
« Reply #11 on: February 04, 2015, 10:07:19 AM »
Craigslist is a good idea - previously I  had been focusing on autotrader (don't know why, it was just what popped up).  Problem as mentioned earlier is that it's hard to find something that's even remotely similar in my area in terms of mileage, make, and condition.  Seems there's only about a dozen pickups with >150,000 listed, and they range from mega-plow truck to 20-year-old, almost 'vintage' pontiac.  I'll keep looking and watching.  Actually starting a spreadsheet now.

Autotrader should work way better than Craigslist for this purpose.  Stop looking only in your area!  Widen that search to 1000+ miles if you need to.  There should be tons of comparable vehicles if you expand your search area enough.

Edit -- to clarify, I mean use Autotrader to guage the selling price, not necessarily as the venue to actually sell the vehicle
« Last Edit: February 04, 2015, 12:03:52 PM by Eric »

fodder69

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Re: tips/tricks for selling 10yr, 185,000 mile vehicle?
« Reply #12 on: February 04, 2015, 11:46:04 AM »
Autotrader seems to focus on car lots so prices will be higher. You can use something like search tempest to search multiple craigslist areas to get a broader search.

http://www.searchtempest.com/

spruce

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Re: tips/tricks for selling 10yr, 185,000 mile vehicle?
« Reply #13 on: February 04, 2015, 11:54:50 AM »
Craigslist is a good idea - previously I  had been focusing on autotrader (don't know why, it was just what popped up).  Problem as mentioned earlier is that it's hard to find something that's even remotely similar in my area in terms of mileage, make, and condition.  Seems there's only about a dozen pickups with >150,000 listed, and they range from mega-plow truck to 20-year-old, almost 'vintage' pontiac.  I'll keep looking and watching.  Actually starting a spreadsheet now.

If your vehicle is truly rare in your area, that could be a good thing! Not sure what it is, but some trucks sell really well even with higher mileage.  (I bought my truck with >200,000 on it because that was my price range and the thing runs like a champ!)

I vote Craigslist all the way - I've sold both of my previous cars there at good prices (even made a profit on the first one!). But, Craigslist is different in different areas - here it gets a lot of traffic, where you are it may not be as busy.  You just have to be patient. I sold my Audi wagon (210,000mi) on Craigslist several years ago...no nibbles for almost a month, and then someone who loved old Audis came and gave me a good price for it.  Autotrader and Cars.com could be good options too.

I would stay away from CarMax, or any dealerships in general. I don't trust them at all to give you a fair price. 

I'd say - put it on several online listings. Be patient. If no bites within a few weeks, lower the price by $500-$1000. Wait a few weeks, and repeat if needed. In addition, is there some visible place you could park it with a for sale sign in the window?

mbl

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Re: tips/tricks for selling 10yr, 185,000 mile vehicle?
« Reply #14 on: February 04, 2015, 11:56:06 AM »
I sold my 2002 4Runner with 375k miles on Craigslist in May 2014.
Got $1200.   Done.

ltt

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Re: tips/tricks for selling 10yr, 185,000 mile vehicle?
« Reply #15 on: February 04, 2015, 12:16:56 PM »
We have a very old Toyota, 1991, that's been sitting in our drive for the past few years.  It doesn't run and we simply do not want to pay the money the dealership wants to repair it.  So, a man stopped by one day and asked how much we wanted.  It has around 170k miles on it. 

We would like to get another Toyota or Honda, used.  And I'm the one who was complaining about the price of insurance yesterday for two teens.

I would never pay the high amounts that people want for older vehicles with high mileage.  People, I have found in general, always feel their possessions are worth more than they are. 

What it's worth is how much someone is willing to pay.  Come down on your price and you will probably have many more offers. 

nereo

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Re: tips/tricks for selling 10yr, 185,000 mile vehicle?
« Reply #16 on: February 04, 2015, 02:42:13 PM »
I sold my 2002 4Runner with 375k miles on Craigslist in May 2014.
Got $1200.   Done.
congrats.  how long did it take you?  Any thing you needed to do to attract buyers?

nereo

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Re: tips/tricks for selling 10yr, 185,000 mile vehicle?
« Reply #17 on: February 04, 2015, 02:48:21 PM »
I would never pay the high amounts that people want for older vehicles with high mileage.  People, I have found in general, always feel their possessions are worth more than they are. 

What it's worth is how much someone is willing to pay.  Come down on your price and you will probably have many more offers.
I've been basing my price to be slightly less than the KBB, which claims to give the "fair market value" of all sorts of vehicles.  Maybe this is accurate, maybe not.  If not, what is accurate?
Since starting this thread I got an autotrader quote about what KBB said I'd get for a trade-in (at least that seems accurate), and following Eric's suggestion I searched for similar models across the country and have found a few that are all in the same ballpark.  <<shrug>> maybe I it just needs more time.  I started this just over 2 weeks ago, but was getting discouraged by the complete lack of responses so far.

GregO

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Re: tips/tricks for selling 10yr, 185,000 mile vehicle?
« Reply #18 on: February 04, 2015, 04:07:57 PM »
I've been basing my price to be slightly less than the KBB, which claims to give the "fair market value" of all sorts of vehicles.  Maybe this is accurate, maybe not.  If not, what is accurate?
Since starting this thread I got an autotrader quote about what KBB said I'd get for a trade-in (at least that seems accurate), and following Eric's suggestion I searched for similar models across the country and have found a few that are all in the same ballpark.  <<shrug>> maybe I it just needs more time.  I started this just over 2 weeks ago, but was getting discouraged by the complete lack of responses so far.

I've bought and sold lots of used cars, and they have always been close to Private Party value on KBB. A truck with high miles probably isn't in high demand, which just means you have to take a lower price or wait a little longer to find the right buyer.  It won't necessarily move quick, but I'd hold steady at your price on multiple websites for a month or so before I considered dropping the price.  I'd just keep an eye on sites like autotrader and make sure that your truck is priced competitively to others on the site.  As long as that is true, it may just take time to find the right buyer.  Unless you're in a hurry to sell it, then you might have to price it a little more aggressively. 

RapmasterD

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Re: tips/tricks for selling 10yr, 185,000 mile vehicle?
« Reply #19 on: February 04, 2015, 04:44:05 PM »
Nereo -- What's the make and model of this 10 year older? We're so curious now. Thanks.

Weedy Acres

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Re: tips/tricks for selling 10yr, 185,000 mile vehicle?
« Reply #20 on: February 04, 2015, 05:39:48 PM »
The only reliable way to know what a car is worth is to test the market with a listing.  You can get a starting point by looking at kbb, or browsing through autotrader and ebay listings.  But IME, autotrader listings, most of which are dealers, are high.  Those are list prices, not selling prices.

So list your truck, as you have, and if you don't get any nibbles, that's the market telling you you're priced too high.  So drop it in increments of $500 every couple weeks, and when people start calling you know you're getting close.

The only trucks I know with values that high for the mileage are Toyota.  Last year DH sold his 2002 Tacoma with 220K.  Kbb said $8k, so he started there.  Eventually sold when he got to $6500.

I also sometimes find it helpful to turn the tables and ask, "what price would make me want to jump on this as a great deal?" start a bit higher than that.


surfhb

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Re: tips/tricks for selling 10yr, 185,000 mile vehicle?
« Reply #22 on: February 04, 2015, 06:25:38 PM »
No way on God's Green Earth will you get that for this vehicle.

Have people make offers and take the largest

nereo

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Re: tips/tricks for selling 10yr, 185,000 mile vehicle?
« Reply #23 on: February 04, 2015, 06:34:56 PM »
No way on God's Green Earth will you get that for this vehicle.

perhaps not.  just makes me wonder why KBB lists the price like that then. 

Grateful Stache

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Re: tips/tricks for selling 10yr, 185,000 mile vehicle?
« Reply #24 on: February 04, 2015, 06:57:01 PM »
Craigslist gives you the freedom to put some humor in your ad, and I've always found that humor helps any situation. It's a Honda, and a desirable model at that (love the Ridgeline). Get a "bottom line" price in your head and be patient. The first folks to strike are the low-ball vultures. Don't be deterred.

Source: I've sold lots of old vehicles on CL, some for more than I paid for them.

Cheers,

- Grateful

RapmasterD

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Re: tips/tricks for selling 10yr, 185,000 mile vehicle?
« Reply #25 on: February 05, 2015, 03:41:58 PM »
Would there be a possibility of you not selling the car and simply running it into the ground, particularly given the current level of gas prices?

nereo

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Re: tips/tricks for selling 10yr, 185,000 mile vehicle?
« Reply #26 on: February 06, 2015, 06:23:37 AM »
Would there be a possibility of you not selling the car and simply running it into the ground, particularly given the current level of gas prices?
Yes - actually that's our basic 'default' right now. Since we only drive <6k miles/year we should be able to keep it for many, many more years.  I've just been looking to sell because it no longer fits our life.  I used to work a job where I used it as an actual truck 200+ days a year.  Now we moved to the city and drive it only to go on trips. 
Gas prices are down now, but whether they'll be low 6, 12 months from now... (shrug).

mbl

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Re: tips/tricks for selling 10yr, 185,000 mile vehicle?
« Reply #27 on: February 06, 2015, 06:38:55 AM »
I sold my 2002 4Runner with 375k miles on Craigslist in May 2014.
Got $1200.   Done.
congrats.  how long did it take you?  Any thing you needed to do to attract buyers?
I listed it for $2500.  A gentleman called and asked me the basic questions.  He came and drove it and offered me $1200.
I said yup and a few days alter I signed over the title and he gave me $1200 in cash.  Done.

As was said above.  You have to be reasonable in that your vehicle is only worth what someone is willing to pay for it.

paddedhat

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Re: tips/tricks for selling 10yr, 185,000 mile vehicle?
« Reply #28 on: February 06, 2015, 06:57:25 PM »
No way on God's Green Earth will you get that for this vehicle.

perhaps not.  just makes me wonder why KBB lists the price like that then.

I do know that KBB is a pretty hand tool for used car dealers to come up with some wild assed, crack head, "dealer retail" prices. We have some local dealers that put that number on the window of newer, used stuff and automatically drop that by a few grand, to create the illusion that you are getting  a great buy. I went through this with a newer Scion TC I bought for my daughter. The car had a KBB retail of $16.9K, the dealer had an "internet blowout" price of $13,999. I bought the car for $11.9K.   JMHO, but if somebody is trying to sell me something based on what KBB claims it's worth, I just assume that they are either confused, or full of shit. 
« Last Edit: February 06, 2015, 06:59:38 PM by paddedhat »