Advice needed about selling my car

[Duppers]

I placed an ad on Cragslist yesterday to sell one of our cars, since we've decided to downsize to just one vehicle. Expecting to be negotiate down, I think we overpriced it by a couple of hundred $.

However, we got five immediate replies! We naively thought we'd be lucky to get one reply this week.

How do I handle this? Take the first email and negotiate with him? Or have them all meet at the same time & bid. <---- halfway joking there.

What would you do?

Thanks.

[digonswine]

1. I sold my van yesterday-

from Craigslist.
Be prepared for about half of those people who are interested to not show up. Even if they make an appointment.
The lesson I took away from my experience was to determine in your mind how much you will take and sell it to the first person with the cash.
I thought I'd be all nice and wait for the first person that responded to see the van and make an offer first. You know-first come, first served. This is nice but a mistake.
I ended up reserving the van for this guy for a week, he set up a time, never showed up and would not respond to my calls.
My ad was on CL for a month and I finally have cash in hand. Take the first guy or gal who meets your price.

[Duppers]

2. Good advice!

Thanks!

Our bottom line is $300 less than we priced it. So, we'll make the appointments and see who shows with cash in hand.

[digonswine]

3. I would only add that-

this was not a high-end vehicle. If it was an expensive car, I probably would have done it differently.

[Duppers]

4. How so?

It's a shame that folks are such shits when it comes to money, isn't it.

[LynneSin]

5. I know this much about Craigslist - look at the email address

I know this may sound a bit snobbish but I had alot of issues when dealing with someone who uses free email accounts especially hotmail and yahoo. Gmail was iffy.

The last thing I sold on craigslist was a flatscreen monitor and I thought I should go with the first person. It was a hotmail account and the person was acting very sketchy and evasive.

So I decided to look at all the email requests I mean it's not like anyone but myself knows who bid first. I had an email from someone with an account thru one of the big banks here in Delaware (we have several of them, including myself). I realized that it was a person who emailed me from their work account so I contacted them. After a bit of negotiating I dropped about $10 off the price and they picked it up the next day. Was a very lovely couple - just married and new home so they didn't have alot of extra cash. They were setting up a home office and wanted to get rid of their old junker mongo size monitor but didn't think they would find a flat screen they could afford.

[Duppers]

6. another great idea.

Thanks, LynnSin!

Since posting I got yet another offer, a suspicious one. Said he'd pay cash immediately, had a yahoo addy. Ask for my ph no. which I don't give out until the last min.

I posted in the ad that we will not accept checks, even cashiers checks as they can be fraudulent.

I now need to research how to detect counterfeit bills. Seriously. Hubby said that we also need to take a pic of them, just in case. Our spidey senses are a tingle.

[LynneSin]

8. When you sell it make sure you deal with the tag/insurance switch too

Although not sold on Craigslist, my stepfather sold a car where the person who bought it promised he was driving to the insurance company immediately to take care of tags & insurance.

We found out 2 days later the guy was still driving on my stepfather's tag which means if this asshole would have gotten into an accident my stepfather would have had to pay all claims against the vehicle.

[Duppers]

11. more great advice

thank you thank you thank you.

The DMV is only 5 miles from our house. I think we should follow the guy over there, then remove our plates.

[bluedigger]

12. Tell them to bring tags with them or take their chances.

I doubt a cop would give them a ticket if they have a fresh bill of sale with them, and a DA would toss the charge when you showed up at court with the proper paperwork, anyways.

And I use free email and am legit. First come, first serve, no reserve.

[Duppers]

14. that's what hubs said too. :)

And although I could use cox email acct., I like my gmail better.
Thank.

[mrmpa]

13. DMV or AAA....eom

[Duppers]

15. Dept of Motor Vehicles

Issues the plates.

[mrmpa]

22. So can AAA.........

if you're a member or buyer is a member AAA can issue tags & registration

[opiate69]

7. Good luck... I`ve had my car up since April...

And haven`t had a bit of luck yet. I`ve gotten a fair number of "people" who ask me about it and then, after I reply, they try to get me to click a link to "get them an insurance quote." And don`t get me started on ebay... Every time I went to post it, I double and triple checked and saw the total price for posting was $0 (I wouldn`t have posted otherwise), but now they`re saying I owe them $60 for insertion fees.... meanwhile, I`m trying to juggle two car payments which we really, really can`t afford...

[HopeHoops]

9. Definitely meet in public, but the bid thing isn't a bad idea. Oh, and check the seats for change.

[OriginalGeek]

17. I once bought a 71 Firebird

and after getting home I started going through it and found a handful of marijuana seeds in the center console.




Sadly, I have a black thumb.

[HopeHoops]

18. Might have been gym sock weed anyway.

[OriginalGeek]

19. They were big fat seeds If I recall correctly

Like I used to get in many a bag of Oklahoma home grown - headache weed.

[HopeHoops]

21. Yeah, the fat ones are usually headache weed.

[pipi_k]

10. Whenever

Mr Pipi sells something on Craigslist and gets multiple replies, he gives the first consideration based on who replied first, letting the others know that they will have a chance at the item should the one(s) before them fail to follow through.

Everyone has always seemed OK with this.

[haele]

16. Watch for scams -

There are a lot of scam "buyers" on Craigslist - especially ones who will contact you to "buy your car" but really will "consign your car" for you for a "small fee". They'll take the fee, but not sell your car.

If the buyer wants to test drive it or take it to their mechanic, make sure you or a trusted agent are with them and that they have a valid license and your insurance covers them, just in case.

Make sure you know everything (and I mean everything!) that could be wrong with your car - if it's slipping getting out of 2nd, if there's an odd pinging noise during idle, a noise coming from a wheel bearing...another scam is to take it to a "mechanic friend" who will then claim "the transmission is going" or something to that effect that will cost "a couple hundred to a thousand" to fix, and they will attempt to negotiate you out of that amount of money to get the deal they want.

Insist on Cash Only, unless you both go to the bank and you watch them get the cashier's check from the teller.

Remember - when dealing with "big ticket" items on Craigslist, half the people e-mailing you are scammers or people who think your stated price is at least twice your "obo" and that you would be willing to sell them, say, a well-maintained 2009 Ford Fusion in excellent condition for $2K and a promissory for a free tattoo sleeve when you posted it for $9K.

Just my experience.
BTW, speaking of Craigslist - does anyone in San Diego want a good condition, maintained by auth. mechanic, Sea-foam Green 2010 Genuine Buddy (125cc) scooter for $1500? Great deal - about 1/3 off Kelly blue book for "sell by owner" just because of a few dings. It gets 80-85MPG and can get up to 60MPH (50MPH on steep hills with a 200lb rider). Cash Only...I'll even toss in the helmet. My right leg just can't handle stopping and holding it up on hills anymore...

(And everyone who's contacted me during the past two weeks has been a scammer...)

Haele

[Robb]

20. Here's what I did with three motorbikes on CL. Start calling them back in order.

I tend not to respond to anyone who doesn't include a phone number in their initial email. That's just a personal preference, but I'm usually more comfortable telling someone where I live after I've talked to them and have a name, email, phone number and a conversation.

Start negotiating with the first one who wants to come that night, or that weekend (if you're not in a rush). Don't hold anything for anyone for free.

(I did have one person who wanted me to hold a $3,000 dirt bike for a week, and I agreed for a holding fee of $3,000. I figured I'd snarked my way out of a sale, but his girlfriend stopped by, gave me the cash, and I signed over the title to her. I let her know I'd buy it back at the end of the week or whatever, but three days later sure enough he came and got the bike. I expect this is not typical.)

Cash only, no joyrides without you, etc. Best advice I ever got was to assume every email is trying to swindle you somehow, and work to a happier place from there.