What is the best way and where to sell a car private party?

[Glashub]

In preparation of transitioning over to a 2012 Genesis I'd like to sell my 2010 Acura TL with 5400 miles. Money dumb I know so I'd like to mitigate my "dumbness" by selling the car rather than trading it in. A dealer offered $32,500 on a trade-in. That seems low.

But I've never sold a car in this price range privately. I have no clue how to go about it or where to advertise it. I don't think Craigslist or eBay would be the best way to go particularly after reading about a guy in NY who advertised his BMW on Craigslist and got completely jacked, kidnapped, and beaten near death by a "prospective" buyer.

Anyone have any experience or wisdom they'd care to share with me?

Thanks.

 

[Cut-Throat]

Car Soup

 

[Gen0814]

Autotrader

 

[dbthompson]

In preparation of transitioning over to a 2012 Genesis I'd like to sell my 2010 Acura TL with 5400 miles. Money dumb I know so I'd like to mitigate my "dumbness" by selling the car rather than trading it in. A dealer offered $32,500 on a trade-in. That seems low.

But I've never sold a car in this price range privately. I have no clue how to go about it or where to advertise it. I don't think Craigslist or eBay would be the best way to go particularly after reading about a guy in NY who advertised his BMW on Craigslist and got completely jacked, kidnapped, and beaten near death by a "prospective" buyer.

Anyone have any experience or wisdom they'd care to share with me?

Thanks.

If you have a CarMax in your area, bring your car to them, and get their offer on it. It can also help you negotiate with your own dealer. If no CarMax, then check with other dealers - a lot say "we'll buy your car even if you do not buy from us." Again, this can give you bargaining leverage.

Depending on your state, trading in can have tax advantages, because many states offset the purchase price with the trade-in value to get a net purchase price on which the sales tax is based. You should investigate this if you do not already know (ask your dealer - they should know). Depending on your sales tax rate, this can make a big difference.

Now, knowing all of that puts you in a better position as to whether you want to sell it yourself or trade it in. If you want to sell it yourself, I'd say that's a bit too pricy to run on Craigslist, and would try Autotrader or Carsoup as suggested.

 

[homeofstone]

autotrader.com and criagslist.org

 

[Gen0814]

If you have a CarMax in your area, bring your car to them, and get their offer on it. It can also help you negotiate with your own dealer. If no CarMax, then check with other dealers - a lot say "we'll buy your car even if you do not buy from us." Again, this can give you bargaining leverage.

Depending on your state, trading in can have tax advantages, because many states offset the purchase price with the trade-in value to get a net purchase price on which the sales tax is based. You should investigate this if you do not already know (ask your dealer - they should know). Depending on your sales tax rate, this can make a big difference.

Now, knowing all of that puts you in a better position as to whether you want to sell it yourself or trade it in. If you want to sell it yourself, I'd say that's a bit too pricy to run on Craigslist, and would try Autotrader or Carsoup as suggested.

Agreed. Send an email to a few Acura dealers. A lot of times your brand's dealer can offer you better price.
Maryland doesn't offer tax brake when car is traded-in so in my case it makes sense to try to sell privately even though I'm leasing.
Last year people could deduct sales tax for new cars. Does anyone know if this deduction will be continued in 2011 taxes?

 

[Glashub]

Thanks for taking the time to educate me, folks. Much appreciated.

 

[nextcar]

In preparation of transitioning over to a 2012 Genesis I'd like to sell my 2010 Acura TL with 5400 miles. Money dumb I know so I'd like to mitigate my "dumbness" by selling the car rather than trading it in. A dealer offered $32,500 on a trade-in. That seems low.

But I've never sold a car in this price range privately. I have no clue how to go about it or where to advertise it. I don't think Craigslist or eBay would be the best way to go particularly after reading about a guy in NY who advertised his BMW on Craigslist and got completely jacked, kidnapped, and beaten near death by a "prospective" buyer.

Anyone have any experience or wisdom they'd care to share with me?

Thanks.

i understand you. i'm about to commit the same "dumbness" by trading in a 2010 accord with 18k miles on it.
i've sold a few cars in the past 10 yrs:

craigslist - it turns out a used car dealer bought it for $22k cash (cashier's check - i called the issuing bank to verify authenticity.)

cars.com - sold to a regular guy for $15k cash (a bag full of cash - we met at the bank, and i deposited it right away)

Acura dealer - 14k

Honda dealer - 18k

I always bring my newly washed car to Carmax first to get a baseline. they consistently give the lowest quote. i can always beat them by $2k-3k by selling to the above places.

 

[nextcar]

Agreed. Send an email to a few Acura dealers. A lot of times your brand's dealer can offer you better price.
Maryland doesn't offer tax brake when care is traded-in so in my case it makes sense to try to sell privately even though I'm leasing.
Last year people could deduct sales tax for new cars. Does anyone know if this deduction will be continued in 2011 taxes?

actually, emailing would not be helpful, as they need to see and examine the car in person.

 

[Gen0814]

actually, emailing would not be helpful, as they need to see and examine the car in person.

They can give a ballpark figure based on your description, you just need to be detailed. I've done that before. Off course if your car is realistically in fair condition but you described it as excellent, then you shouldn't be surprised if dealer doesn't honor his offer. Usually, in my experience dealer gives about $2k less that good or fair value on kbb. From there you can start negotiate the price. Anyway, private sell almost always will give you better price.

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[Gurkha]

But I've never sold a car in this price range privately. I have no clue how to go about it or where to advertise it.
Anyone have any experience or wisdom they'd care to share with me?

In addition to the above mentioned ideas, I'd also try word of mouth within your circle of friends, family and co-workers.
You never know who's looking for a deal on an almost new set of wheels.
I mention this since I bought my Genesis this way, it was never listed as being for sale in any media whether online or print.