easiest way to sell a car?

bikedo

Hi, I'm looking to sell my 6.5 year old car. Its not in the best nick and I've never sold a car privately before and to be honest, just want rid of it. I'm really reluctant to place an ad or anything that involves having people coming out to see it and that kind of thing. I've checked its valuation on Parkers and they have it say that for my car in a private sale it would be between £1835 in good good condition and £1155 in poor condition. I don't think its quite as bad as 'poor' but probably closer to that than good. So I was thinking about using one of the websites that are advertised that will buy any car (queue very annoying jingle!). So basically just looking for some advice on whether this is the best way forward or if there is anything else I can to sell it rather than placing an ad somewhere? I appreciate I'll probably not get as much as I would do if i did it myself, but I really just want to offload it asap!

Any advice would be gratefully appreciated.

drussmonkey

We buy any car will offer a pretty bargain basement price, but as long as the description you enter on the site regarding its condition matches their own assessment, they *will* honour any valuation, and it's a very hassle free way of getting shot of a motor. Depends how bothered you are about the price, private sale will always attract more.

Badger_Lady

Mmm... personally I think placing an ad and meeting a few prospective buyers is well worth an extra £300 or so when you sell. I can easily see that being the difference based on your valuations.

I do find the easiest tends to be eBay. I've sold countless cars and motorbikes on there in my time and actually it's surprising how people are willing to bid without ever even seeing it! And although you find the odd rogue out there who may change their mind after winning, 100% of my vehicles have been collected and paid for no problem at all. And because the auction is only 7 days long, your buyer is secured within 7 days.

As long as your buyer comes to collect it and pays in cash, and you fill out the V5 with them, there's really no risk.

Foxy-Stoat_3

I dont bother with 7 or 10 day auctions for cars, just a 30 day classifed advert for £15 - no final value fees, no numptys winning it and not turning up.

Make sure you put a realistic price to start with.

Badger_Lady

Foxy-Stoat wrote: »

I dont bother with 7 or 10 day auctions for cars, just a 30 day classifed advert for £15 - no final value fees, no numptys winning it and not turning up.

Make sure you put a realistic price to start with.

It is better but it can drag on and on. Most recently I listed my scooter as Classified - loads of questions and comments but no viewings or bids.

When it ended after 30 days, I stuck it on an auction for the same price and within a week I had the cash

Ghostrider

Badger_Lady wrote: »

Mmm... personally I think placing an ad and meeting a few prospective buyers is well worth an extra £300 or so when you sell. I can easily see that being the difference based on your valuations.

I do find the easiest tends to be eBay. I've sold countless cars and motorbikes on there in my time and actually it's surprising how people are willing to bid without ever even seeing it! And although you find the odd rogue out there who may change their mind after winning, 100% of my vehicles have been collected and paid for no problem at all. And because the auction is only 7 days long, your buyer is secured within 7 days.

As long as your buyer comes to collect it and pays in cash, and you fill out the V5 with them, there's really no risk.

I agree with this, I've sold a few cars on ebay now and as long as you have listed it honestly, then like said above, you'll probably find that nobody even bothers to come and view it and the winner will just turn up the cash, sign the paperwork and toddle off.

I have to say though it might depend on the value of the vehicle, I would expect if you car is worth more than £5-10K then it might be a different story, and that actually people may prefer to view before they commit that much cash.

Don't bother with "we buy any car.com" they never pay the price they offer you on the net (which is generally low anyway), they always reel you in then knock it down further knowing you've already half commited to letting them have it.

bikedo

Thanks so much for all the very helpful advice, it is hugely appreciated. I think ebay might be the way to go. I think mechanically its not too shabby, but I can list the recommendations from the MOT last month so I'm being dead upfront about what might need doing to it in the fairly near future. The worst of it is all the dinks and scratches on the exterior but I could take loads of pics of that so that hopefully there are no surprises. Can I ask a couple more questions please from those of you who've sold cars on ebay before?

To be totally honest I'd be happy walking away with 1K from it, so should I list it at that Buy it Now or a wee bit higher and add Make Me An Offer?

Should I ask for cash on collection only or also paypal?

Apart from filling out the V5 with the buyer on collection is there any other paperwork or documentation I should do? I have all the mot certificates and service documents, should i be handing them over too?

Can you tell I'm a total car novice! again, thanks for all the help, much appreciated.

Badger_Lady

I'll answer your questions based on my experiences - I'm sure other posters may have different ones!

To be totally honest I'd be happy walking away with 1K from it, so should I list it at that Buy it Now or a wee bit higher and add Make Me An Offer?

I would list it as an auction - if you're willing to risk a slightly lower price anyway, this is a good way to get people excited and active on your listing. Buy it Now guarantees that you won't sell it for less, but it also leaves the possibility you won't sell it at all so you might have to relist it a few times. An auction just feels like a bargain!

Should I ask for cash on collection only or also paypal?

Cash on collection ONLY. They have to collect it, so why not? Just makes it nice and easy for everyone - you know that they can't reverse the PayPal transaction on you, and they know they physically have the vehicle before they hand anything over.

Apart from filling out the V5 with the buyer on collection is there any other paperwork or documentation I should do? I have all the mot certificates and service documents, should i be handing them over too?

The buyer will appreciate receiving all the vehicle's history so yeah, bundle them up ready. And of course make sure you hand over the current MOT. Your only legal obligation is to fill and post the V5, but I'd also recommend writing a purchase receipt so both of you can keep a copy for the future (in case the V5 gets lost in the post, for example). This can be handwritten, typed or downloaded - as long as it has two names and address, a date, a price and two signatures it'll do.

That's it

bikedo

Thanks so much Badger_Lady, really appreciate your help. Will get the pics taken and get it listed. Can't hurt and I've been looking at other listings and what to put on it with regards to bidding to buy etc. Should I put a start price on of 995 and anything i get more than that will be a bonus?

Thanks all!

Badger_Lady

bikedo wrote: »

Should I put a start price on of 995 and anything i get more than that will be a bonus?

Sounds good to me

bikedo

Thank you!