I haven't sold a car before, I'm about to sell my 2018, looking for advice.

[Crew4991]

This is tempting, anyone ever use Carvana?

Yes, Carvana was very easy to sell to. They sent an associate to look at the car and took it for a test drive to make sure it runs and no red flags for misrepresentation; then signed a check over and a flatbed truck took the car away. I would sell another vehicle to them in the future.

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[Crew4991]

Also, list your car on Cars.com and Facebook Marketplace if you have a social media account on there; both are free to list to sell. Both are great places to sell a car but as @Dave2013M3 mentioned you will get a few annoying messages like "is the car still available" or "tell me about the car...". Gotta deal with those on any platform if you are selling privately.

 

[Lightningwings]

If you choose to private sell, I have figured out what works best for me when selling a car.
Only agree to meet at your bank/credit union during business hours, 3 reasons:
1) Its a public setting, probably don't want strangers coming by your house to view the car.
2) The bank can verify the buyer's funds, whether that be cash, check or a transfer.
3) The bank has a notary public service available to sign your bill of sale.

As far as details, your description looks good! Make sure you include photos of every angle view of the exterior and some photos of the interior and dash/odometer. List any known issues (if there are any) so not surprise people when they view it in person. Start your asking price higher than what you actually want for it-this way you have some negotiating room and can give potential customers the impression of getting a good deal if they talk you down off the price. You can try listing it on Facebook Marketplace as well.

 

[Lightningwings]

Also, list your car on Cars.com and Facebook Marketplace if you have a social media account on there; both are free to list to sell. Both are great places to sell a car but as @Dave2013M3 mentioned you will get a few annoying messages like "is the car still available" or "tell me about the car...". Gotta deal with those on any platform if you are selling privately.

Right. Eventually, once you get a 100 or so of these type messages, you'll get one "cash in hand, can we meet today?" message, lol.

 

[Dave2013M3]

Carvana offered me $30K for my Mustang, I sold it for $33K and I probably could have sold it for more if I would have held out. I ordered a BMW M2 and I wanted to be sure the car was sold before the M2 arrives.

 

[roadpilot]

2) The bank can verify the buyer's funds, whether that be cash, check or a transfer.

Not true. In fact, every single financial institution I've worked with puts a hold on the funds (usually 10 days) before they release them to you because that's how long it TRULY takes to confirm the cash has been obtained from the seller's financial institution. We're talking large money checks here, not a few hundred bucks or even a grand or so.

I've never sold a car, accepted a check (even a cashier's check) and turned the car and title over on the spot. I've always made them wait until the check clears MY bank/CU before giving them the car OR the title. If they don't agree to that, do NOT sell them the car.

 

[Skye]

I thought the following might provide enough detail for those interested. You could also have some additional notes handy, to give even more about the car when they reach out.

For Sale: One-owner [color] 2018 [engine] [trans] Ford Mustang [trim]

- No accidents. Clean CarFax
- ##,### miles
- Service up-to-date
- All maintenance accomplished by Ford Technicians
- [brand] [size] tires with ##% tread remaining
- Active [type] extended service plan, ## months remaining
- Mostly garage kept. See pictures of minor blemishes
- To be presented clean with a full tank of gas
- $##,### [obo, ono, firm]

Additional documentation and photos available upon request.

Attached: one to two exterior, one to two interior photos

Good Luck With Sale .

 

[roadpilot]

I thought the following might provide enough detail for those interested. You could also have some additional notes handy, to give even more about the car when they reach out.

For Sale: One-owner [color] 2018 [engine] [trans] Ford Mustang [trim]

- No accidents. Clean CarFax
- ##,### miles
- Service up-to-date
- All maintenance accomplished by Ford Technicians
- [brand] [size] tires with ##% tread remaining
- Active [type] extended service plan, ## months remaining
- Mostly garage kept. See pictures of minor blemishes
- To be presented clean with a full tank of gas
- Additional documentation and photos available upon request

Attached one to two exterior, one to two interior photos

Good Luck With Sale .

That looks solid.

Guess we will start calling you SkyeGPT

 

[Crew4991]

Right. Eventually, once you get a 100 or so of these type messages, you'll get one "cash in hand, can we meet today?" message, lol.

It happened to me!
Listed my 2016 mustang GT convertible for sale in December, sold the car in February.
Bunch of tire kickers and low ballers... then one day the awesome retired guy reached out and bought it with cash for a valentines day gift for his wife. Awesome experience and I got to meet a really cool dude that loved my car.

 

[jeffnudi]

Not true. In fact, every single financial institution I've worked with puts a hold on the funds (usually 10 days) before they release them to you because that's how long it TRULY takes to confirm the cash has been obtained from the seller's financial institution. We're talking large money checks here, not a few hundred bucks or even a grand or so.

I've never sold a car, accepted a check (even a cashier's check) and turned the car and title over on the spot. I've always made them wait until the check clears MY bank/CU before giving them the car OR the title. If they don't agree to that, do NOT sell them the car.

When I sold my 2018 last year I thought about listing in in a few places and the one thing that stopped me was fear of getting ripped off. As you said, just doing a deal at your financial institution does not guarantee anything.

I was surprised when I bought the 2024. The dealer called the day it arrived and I picked it up that evening, after they did their prep. When she called I told her that I could arrange to have the money wired to them and pick it up in a couple of days. She said, just bring a personal check. I was kinda surprised by that, but it made the transaction pretty smooth.

 

[Zengineer]

Just take it to the dealer…. That’s what it’s worth.
No one sitting on cash earning 5% in money markets is gonna pay more than a dealer that can finance it to poor people.

Dealers generally operate the used car lot essentially as a separate business from the new car side. What they will actually offer as an outright buy or trade value, assuming they want it on their lot, is no more than they would pay at auction to buy an equivalent/similar vehicle (or what they could sell it for if they don't)...which is to say wholesale price. If a car is something the used car guy wants on his lot
and it is 100% ready to just park it in the lot with zero work they might pay a little extra.

They are however not a non-profit charity. They will sell it for more than they pay you....retail price. Somewhere in between is the likely private party sale price, but many if not most people don't have the temperament or knowledge to buy or sell privately, even if dealers frighten them a little. This is why Carvana hasn't gone out of business.

Unless a dealer is playing hide the weenie as part of a new purchase, their offer is about as low as they come. If the stars align for you, a Carvana type offer is often a bit more and sometimes a lot more. In my experience, in many cases the price I've sold for privately is the next level up. I probably can't get what a dealer can for most vehicles because my pool of buyers is smaller, and I don't offer financing, warranty, or license plate frames with my name on them. People love that stuff.

 

[horned-toad]

This is tempting, anyone ever use Carvana?

you're trying too hard. You won't get top dollar. Mustang used market is dead when new ones are 12% off MSRP and have HIGHLY favorable financing. You should have jettisoned the car when you got the 2024.

Just take it to Carmax and take your lumps, or try autolendersgo.com. Stupid name but they are concentrated in NJ/NY/New England where prices are still elevated for some silly reason.

 

[Killshot58]

Carmax is the most convenient and they will offer much more than the dealer. You will probably get more on Autotrader, but not enough to justify the hassle. I sold mine to Carmax for 4k more than the dealer offer. And I couldn't have sold it on my own for much more than Carmax. In the big picture, just go to Carmax.

 

[DukeCLR]

Carmax is the most convenient and they will offer much more than the dealer. You will probably get more on Autotrader, but not enough to justify the hassle. I sold mine to Carmax for 4k more than the dealer offer. And I couldn't have sold it on my own for much more than Carmax. In the big picture, just go to Carmax.

I have been thinking that the hassle of getting a little more money may not be worth it, I can pick up a trip and make the difference easily.

 

[Killshot58]

Go Carmax!

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