Okay, you all came through for me when me and the Mrs. were considering a new car. Mission accomplished, and since we'll still be a 1-car family, we're going to sell the current car. Looks like people do okay on Craig's List, but I know there are also a couple of large web operations that will give you a no-hassle, slightly-less-$-maybe, but save-you-time type of operation. *Any* advice on selling a car on-line would be very welcome. Given the age of this car, I'm only looking in the range of 2-3 grand anyway. I know, Cool Toyota, bro. EDIT: By the way, guyz, I live in the San Francisco Bay Area now, so all of y'all nice Texas folks emailing me for info, sorry! Probably just trying to sell it easy and local. It's a 1998 Toyota Corolla (VE), with about 88k miles and it runs great.
Thanks much, ling ling. I'm so happy with your useful advice that I won't even post the obligatory panda picture.
I'm using autotrader.com to sell my car right now. Researched the KBB value and used it to set my asking price. Check it out.
Thanks, TexasFight. I'm checking it out now. And to y'all emailing, THANKS. But please see my edit note in the OP.
B-Bob, Don't just rely on KBB or NADA to price your car. You need to price it "private party". Research models comparable to yours on Autotrader (in your area) and base your selling price on that.
I've bought and sold a dozen or more cars online so here is my 2 cents. Start higher on a car like that - low miles, reliable, etc. You might check autotrader and see what the going rate is for that car as that seems low considering the make and miles. Be verbose listing all the "good" (clean title, no wrecks, how long you have owned the car, replaced items like tires and brakes or the fact that you haven't had to replace anything in x years, regular fluid changes, good gas mileage, cold a/c, etc) and the "not so good" (needs front tires in about 10,000 miles, rear window doesn't roll down, slight tear in the front seat, etc). Buyers appreciate total honesty so there are no surprises. The more you are admitting is not 100%, the more they will trust you and after all, you are a used car salesman. Most just want cheap, dependable transportation and if you admit the little things, they will assume (and rightfully so I hope) that the big things like the engine and transmission are fine. Lines like - "First person to see and drive the car will take it home so bring cash" - creates a sense of urgency that they really need to hop on this as it is true that the best online cars go fast. If you have access to an active Carfax or Autocheck account, use it - otherwise I wouldn't bother. Take good pictures with a possible link to more pictures. Try and capture everything clearly as buyers will not think too highly of blurry pictures, dark pictures or an artsy shot of the headlight. You could meet somewhere to show the car but I will say that I've been stood up more than the times that the person actually showed. Serious buyers are willing to find your house. As others have stated, don't go for anything but a straight up cash deal. No shipping, no checks, etc. Overall though, you shouldn't have a hard time selling this car for the price you are looking for.
