Would you take your time, or hurry up and sell the car?

[DougStache]

I'm holding in my hands the registration renewal for my very unmustachian car, for $320.81.  It's another kick in the pants that I need to get rid of my $25,000 car (has it really deprecated $7,000 in two years?), and I don't want to pay it.

However, I feel like rushing to sell my car and buy a new one by the end of the month would ultimately cost us more than $320.81.

Would you take your time looking at replacement cars over the next few months, or hurry up and sell the car before having to pay the registration?

[willn]

There's another option (usually is, right?).  Sell it now but don't be in a rush.

It shouldn't take long to sell it.  It can't hurt to try. I sold one early this year on Craigslist and it took less than a week.  Researching market value should be less than an evening's work at the computer.

Buying could take longer.  But, knowing what you know about the cars you've had in the past you should be able to come up with a basic requirement and budget pretty quick, and there are cars on every corner to buy...it does help a lot to have the patience to walk away from a deal that isn't quite there, so if can hold both concepts in your body at once--the need to get one with some urgency, plus the ability to walk away from a deal that isn't quite there, you'll do fine.

[DougStache]

We do have another car, but it's currently dead (need to replace the radiator).  We're taking our time getting it fixed (father-in-law is getting the part from a junk yard, he loves that sort of thing).

Would you sell a car worth $25,000 on craigslist?  A transaction that large seems risky to me with complete strangers; I was planning to pay the premium at CarMax to eliminate that risk.

On the buying end, the big time sink is going to be my wife figuring out what kind of car we would want.  She is our primary driver as my job allows me to bike or take the bus, where as she doesn't have that luxury (substitute teacher, she gets jobs all over town).  Right now her default is a Subaru Forester but I'd like to gently nudge her to something cheaper/smaller that we can add storage space to as needed.

[rtrnow]

Would you sell a car worth $25,000 on craigslist?  A transaction that large seems risky to me with complete strangers; I was planning to pay the premium at CarMax to eliminate that risk.

Absolutely I would and have. I generally pay for autotrader as well and have ultimately sold more cars there than CL. Do your homework and read about the selling process. Do the official sale process/paperwork at the buyers bank. Banks will generally do this at no charge and even notarize the bill of sale, then cut you a check on the spot. I would never take a check of any kind from a buyer without accompanying them to the bank and verifying the funds. Even then, I would get a cashiers check which removes the funds from their account on the spot.

[DougStache]

Would you sell a car worth $25,000 on craigslist?  A transaction that large seems risky to me with complete strangers; I was planning to pay the premium at CarMax to eliminate that risk.

Absolutely I would and have. I generally pay for autotrader as well and have ultimately sold more cars there than CL. Do your homework and read about the selling process. Do the official sale process/paperwork at the buyers bank. Banks will generally do this at no charge and even notarize the bill of sale, then cut you a check on the spot. I would never take a check of any kind from a buyer without accompanying them to the bank and verifying the funds. Even then, I would get a cashiers check which removes the funds from their account on the spot.

If I were purchasing a car worth that much, I would want to take it for a test drive.  Do you do anything to protect yourself from shenanigans during a test drive?

[Mr.Macinstache]

Would you sell a car worth $25,000 on craigslist?  A transaction that large seems risky to me with complete strangers; I was planning to pay the premium at CarMax to eliminate that risk.

Absolutely I would and have. I generally pay for autotrader as well and have ultimately sold more cars there than CL. Do your homework and read about the selling process. Do the official sale process/paperwork at the buyers bank. Banks will generally do this at no charge and even notarize the bill of sale, then cut you a check on the spot. I would never take a check of any kind from a buyer without accompanying them to the bank and verifying the funds. Even then, I would get a cashiers check which removes the funds from their account on the spot.

If I were purchasing a car worth that much, I would want to take it for a test drive.  Do you do anything to protect yourself from shenanigans during a test drive?

Yes, carry a gun if you have one. Trust your instinct, don't let people drive it that you dont seem to trust. Show the car at a public place.

I've bought and sold dozens of cars off of CL, high and low dollar, never a problem. Complete the transaction inside your bank.

If you involve a dealer you are costing yourself 1000's of dollars in the process.

[Freedom2016]

Would you sell a car worth $25,000 on craigslist?  A transaction that large seems risky to me with complete strangers; I was planning to pay the premium at CarMax to eliminate that risk.

Absolutely I would and have. I generally pay for autotrader as well and have ultimately sold more cars there than CL. Do your homework and read about the selling process. Do the official sale process/paperwork at the buyers bank. Banks will generally do this at no charge and even notarize the bill of sale, then cut you a check on the spot. I would never take a check of any kind from a buyer without accompanying them to the bank and verifying the funds. Even then, I would get a cashiers check which removes the funds from their account on the spot.

If I were purchasing a car worth that much, I would want to take it for a test drive.  Do you do anything to protect yourself from shenanigans during a test drive?

BINGO. The guy who test drove our car got in an accident with it. Long story short, he refused to pay for the damage, we sued him and won, but he then declared bankruptcy so we never collected a dime.

Protect yourself!!!

[DougStache]

Yes, carry a gun if you have one. Trust your instinct, don't let people drive it that you dont seem to trust. Show the car at a public place.

I've bought and sold dozens of cars off of CL, high and low dollar, never a problem. Complete the transaction inside your bank.

If you involve a dealer you are costing yourself 1000's of dollars in the process.

I read up a bit on selling private party, and feel more comfortable with it.  Not many charger's for sale via private party in my area (a ton by dealerships, all advertised as $ per month so hard to compare) but I think I can get a bit more for it than I expected.  Thanks for the push in the right direction!

However, I do think I'm going to eat the $300 registration fee to relieve myself of the pressure to sell. I feel that hanging over my head would just make me make a mistake in my first private party car sale.

Now for the real hard part, convincing my wife it's the right decision to part with it :)

[DougStache]

BINGO. The guy who test drove our car got in an accident with it. Long story short, he refused to pay for the damage, we sued him and won, but he then declared bankruptcy so we never collected a dime.

Protect yourself!!!

Ouch, that really sucks.  But I expect getting in an accident and then declaring bankruptcy has to be the exception to the rule.  I will definitely be making a copy of a drivers license and writing down their license plate number so I know who they are before a test drive.

[Mr.Macinstache]

BINGO. The guy who test drove our car got in an accident with it. Long story short, he refused to pay for the damage, we sued him and won, but he then declared bankruptcy so we never collected a dime.

Protect yourself!!!

Ouch, that really sucks.  But I expect getting in an accident and then declaring bankruptcy has to be the exception to the rule.  I will definitely be making a copy of a drivers license and writing down their license plate number so I know who they are before a test drive.

That would be a good idea. Just a quick a snap shot of his license with your phone should work. Good luck on the sale of your Charger. Paying the fee and taking your time to find the right buyer at a good price will pay off I think. Just know you're headed in the right direction!

[Freedom2016]

BINGO. The guy who test drove our car got in an accident with it. Long story short, he refused to pay for the damage, we sued him and won, but he then declared bankruptcy so we never collected a dime.

Protect yourself!!!

Ouch, that really sucks.  But I expect getting in an accident and then declaring bankruptcy has to be the exception to the rule.  I will definitely be making a copy of a drivers license and writing down their license plate number so I know who they are before a test drive.

For sure, ours is a weird outlier story. What shocked me about the whole thing was just the thought that there are people out there who would take advantage of you and otherwise not do the right thing. The bankruptcy part was lame, but what was truly annoying was how much time we had to spend dealing with the guy afterwards. Several phone calls, and 3 separate visits to the courthouse.
 

[Fuzz]

Definitely off-thread, but as an attorney, if you were able to sue the guy, get a judgment, and then have him declare bankruptcy and screw you in just 3 visits to the courthouse, your story is an outlier story in more ways than one. That's impressively quick. You had excellent representation. And eff that guy.

[DougStache]

Thought I would give you all an update.  Accountability and all.

Try as I might, DW is simply not on board with downgrading our car at the moment.  I have already had major success in the car arena by convincing her we can be a one car household, but pushing it further would clearly lead to trouble in paradise.  She has been fully on board with cutting back on eating out, slowly using less AC, taking shorter showers, getting books from the library (major win, we already have 4 bookshelves) reducing our driving, and I swear I saw her turn a light off the other day.  However when it comes to the car I truly believe pushing it further at this point would be penny wise and pound foolish.

Still at 62% savings rate and on track to retire by 40 assuming we make no more optimizations :)

[olivia]

Thought I would give you all an update.  Accountability and all.

Try as I might, DW is simply not on board with downgrading our car at the moment.  I have already had major success in the car arena by convincing her we can be a one car household, but pushing it further would clearly lead to trouble in paradise.  She has been fully on board with cutting back on eating out, slowly using less AC, taking shorter showers, getting books from the library (major win, we already have 4 bookshelves) reducing our driving, and I swear I saw her turn a light off the other day.  However when it comes to the car I truly believe pushing it further at this point would be penny wise and pound foolish.

Still at 62% savings rate and on track to retire by 40 assuming we make no more optimizations :)

She may come around!  I shocked myself by getting my husband to agree to sell his car and bring us to a zero car household.  Keep up the killer savings rate, and once she sees the dollars piling up she may want more and agree to get rid of the car.  It's important to keep the spouses happy though, so you're smart not to push it!  :P

[Mr.Macinstache]

Thought I would give you all an update.  Accountability and all.

Try as I might, DW is simply not on board with downgrading our car at the moment.  I have already had major success in the car arena by convincing her we can be a one car household, but pushing it further would clearly lead to trouble in paradise.  She has been fully on board with cutting back on eating out, slowly using less AC, taking shorter showers, getting books from the library (major win, we already have 4 bookshelves) reducing our driving, and I swear I saw her turn a light off the other day.  However when it comes to the car I truly believe pushing it further at this point would be penny wise and pound foolish.

Still at 62% savings rate and on track to retire by 40 assuming we make no more optimizations :)

Well don't let anyone make you feel guilty for not carting your groceries 8.4 miles behind your bike. There's nothing wrong with owning 2 cars with that savings rate.

And you can still OWN two cars, just choose 2 that you can buy in cash, instead of paying a big ol car payment. There are a lot of good deals on used cars that aren't total junkers.

I think you're on the right path by working on the wife to be more efficient... in time she will be on board with downsizing and conserving in all areas. GL!