best way to sell an old car?

morg_monster

Having finally passed through the hassle and stress of buying a new car we now need to sell our old one. I know we're not going to get much for it; it's a P reg astra, MOT due by end feb, and obviously we are suspecting it won't sail through or we'd get it done ourselves! (although we don't think there'll be anything huge wrong). It's also due a cambelt change. on the other hand it has pretty low mileage which can be a draw for some people...

I was thinking of putting an ad in autotrader, but was just wondering that if we are only going to get a few hundred quid, is it worth paying for an ad somewhere, the hassle of getting it properly cleaned, taking photos, having to arrange viewings (we're away a few weekends in jan/feb so that's going to make it worse), etc?

I'm almost tempted to put it on freecycle... except we could do with the ££. so please give me your advice... what's the most hassle free (legal) way to sell a car?!

downshifter

Have you looked at ebay? I sold mine on there, I ended up getting more for it than I expected which was a surprise! It's the one and only thing I've ever sold (or even bought) on there so a great success!

hubert_cumberdale

ebay will be a definate sell but they take a fair chunk to list and sell and if make sure the person doesnt paypal you as they take even more

i sold a car for about £170 and only recieved about £140 as they guy paypal'd me before i could tell him not to

what about www.adtrader.co.uk it used to be free but not sure now

or for even more hits try http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/ there are thousands of cars on there its a great site with the option to pay for a premium ad or just have a normal ad for free

downshifter

hubert_cumberdale wrote: »

ebay will be a definate sell but they take a fair chunk to list and sell and if make sure the person doesnt paypal you as they take even more

i sold a car for about £170 and only recieved about £140 as they guy paypal'd me before i could tell him not to

mine was paid for in cash so that made it cheaper I suppose. Or how about the local paper or free rag? Lots of people read those who don't use the internet.

wallbash

With the last years scrappage scheme , removing a lot of cheap cars suitable for the learner , I would thinking of asking any friends who had older teenagers.But the lack of a MOT is a big problem .

morg_monster

Agree the MOT is the stumbling block. I can just see it costing a couple of hundred to get it through, plus if I wanted a service too... we'd be struggling to get much profit out of it, I suspect. I'm almost tempted to keep it just in case it scraped through, but if it didn't we'd really be stuck as selling an MOT failure is an entirely different kettle of fish I suspect...
the teenagers is a good idea, I have a cousin who lives in a remote village who's turning 17 this year & will probably be needing a car once she passes her test. I don't mind selling it for less £ to someone I know!

Also I am a big ebay fan so maybe I'll investigate that.

Thanks for all the ideas! (please keep 'em coming if you have any more!)

Jackinbox99

Autotrader now seems to be just traders advertising on there, as they charge so much to list these days.

Personally id put it in the local freepaper (usually charge for cars however), and / or put it on ebay. Items on ebay usually fetch the market value and you can be sure you`ll get a sale. As you say, you wont get much for the car as its an old one, but someone will still buy it.

Id look at completed listings to get an idea of what its worth.

Another good way to get rid of a car is to just park it on the side of the road with for sale in the window....

hubert_cumberdale

what spec astra is it

LandyAndy

Might be worth putting it in for a MoT.

Pass or cheap fix - result and more ££ for you.
More expensive fix - at least you can tell people what is needed.
V.expensive fix - keep quiet when selling or scrap.

Inactive

LandyAndy wrote: »

Might be worth putting it in for a MoT.

.

Agreed, at least you will know how much needs doing .. if anything.

Make a decision based on the outcome.

morg_monster

hubert_cumberdale wrote: »

what spec astra is it

1.4L, LS Hi-T, P reg (1997 i think)
5 door hatchback, manual, petrol. 80k miles ish on the clock

I hate having the MOT so soon after christmas, I swear if it was July I'd definitely put it through! Very glad that our new car's MOT date is august...