I think it’s like a rite of passage when you get married to sell your car and get a new one. It’s one of those experiences you should have as a couple, and it can either be stressful or not.
Mathew’s car had been sitting at the mechanic’s shop for like 5-6 months now, in hopes that the mechanic could help us find someone to buy it. We had a couple lookers, but nothing promising. We’d been stressed about money (another marriage rite of passage) because of Mathew’s medical bills from his ski accident that I told Mathew we NEEDED to sell his car, and I had just the idea how.
One word:
Craigslist.
I’d never sold ANYTHING on Craigslist, let alone a car. But I figured, what could it hurt? It was time to get this sitting duck of a car out of the way.
Now, this isn’t something I’d normally think about posting on my blog except…I’m The Vintage Modern Wife…and as a wife, sometimes you’ve gotta help your hubby and SELL A CAR!
The first thing you can do to help ANY sale (car, clothes, house, whatever) is to make sure it’s well presentable. Clean the car inside and out!
Our next step was to take pictures of the car. Take pictures of the front, back, and both sides of the car. Also take pictures of any large dings/major scratches so your customer won’t be surprised. Take pictures of the interior as best as you can, front and back seat.
Visit Craigslist and locate your state and city. If Craigslist doesn’t have your city, find the nearest metroplex.
Click “Post to Classifieds”. It will ask you “What type of posting is this?” and you need to click on “For Sale”. Then you will need to click “cars & trucks- by owner”.
BEFORE YOU MOVE ON, read the information about avoiding craigslist scams just so you are completely aware of what you could stumble upon.
Then, you’ll be sent to the “Create Posting” page, as shown below.
Again, you’re selling a product (your vehicle) and you want to make sure it sells fast. Post a snazzy, catchy title to get people to want to know more. Make sure the make/model of your car in the title as well so people know what exactly you’re selling.
Next, price your vehicle. Know what your car is WORTH and then go from there. We chose to price our car $500 more than what we wanted in case a potential buyer would want to negotiate. Keep that in mind when you figure out your price.
For location, Mathew and I chose to put “Waco/Woodway/Robinson/Lorena”. We live in Waco, but the other towns are within 5-15 minute drives, and we wanted potential buyers to know that we were close by. Make sure you put your town and the ones really close by if that’s possible.
I put my email in the “reply to” section, but made sure I said that I stayed anonymous when people emailed me. I didn’t want any weirdos knowing my real information. Make SURE you put that you want to “anonymize” your email!
When it came down to “Posting Description” time, we put EVERYTHING we could think of. Make, model, color, mileage, and any important details about the car. If your car has something great, showcase it. We have killer wheels on the mustang, so I made sure to talk them up. I also talked up features like leather seats, convertible top, power steering/windows, etc. TALK UP YOUR CAR, BUT DON’T BE MISLEADING. Although you want to showcase the best about your car, if it has any problems or dents/scratches make sure you say that in your description. No one likes a liar, and you won’t sell your car fast if you’re not honest. The more honest you car, the more quickly it’ll sell because people know what they’re getting into.
Once the post is all set up, add your pictures into the ad! Then, you’ll approve your ad and will be ready to go!
This next step is the last and most difficult (to me): SCREEN YOUR EMAILS. You’ll most likely get emails as quick as 5 minutes or so after you post your ad. If they’re legit, the person will 1) Write with proper grammar, 2) Not mention that they will have cash in hand, 3) Ask more specifics about your car or when you are available.
DO NOT give your phone number to anyone that seems suspicious. Sure, you’ll be excited that someone is interested, but there are a LOT of people that try to do sleazy deals, and you don’t want to meet up with them. We literally had a guy email us at 10 at night asking if he could come see the car and would have the cash in hand. If you get someone like that, either don’t respond or make up an excuse. BE SAFE and make sure you listen to any “bad feelings” you may have about a potential customer.
If you use these tips, you’ll hopefully sell your car as fast or faster than us. We managed to sell ours in less than 18 hours on Craigslist!
If you have any more tips/tricks on selling a vehicle on Craigslist, feel free to tell me! Everyone can benefit!
Breenah says
If you’re going to respond to an inquiry via email and you’re not sure if it’s spam or not, don’t use your regular email address. If it is spam, you’ll be getting more and more and more. It’s obnoxious.
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Meg O. says
That is so awesome you had such a seamless and great experience selling your car on Craigslist! I am so nervous to do anything like that. Maybe it isn’t that bad! Congrats on selling it so quickly!!!
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Katie says
We put Donny’s truck on craigslist, and sold it the next day! That’s also where we found the truck that he bought to replace it. I love craigslist!
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Sarah Wyland says
I just used Craigslist to find a wonderful girl to take over the lease to my apartment! Now if I could just use it to find a new apartment in my new city… bah! Glad you had a good experience!
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Sarah says
Woo hoo, congrats on selling your car in 18 hours! We went the easy route and sold my truck to Carmax…it was easy and painless and got more then the Kelly Blue Book, win in my book! glad that it worked out, My husband bought his car through craigslist so I know it works =)
Amber says
Congrats on selling so quickly. That’s awesome! I’ve had some bad experiences with CL, so I tend to stray from it. But y’all did awesome!
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Chloe says
I love Craigslist! We sold my boyfriend’s car on Craigslist within a week and we’ve used it to buy so many cheap pieces of furniture and things like that. Have you seen the documentary Craigslist Joe? It’s incredible the things you can do with Craigslist!
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Jodi says
That is so awesome that you sold it so quickly! Congrats!!
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Kelly says
Good luck and please let us know how it goes!
xx
Kelly
Sparkles and Shoes
My 1,000 Follower Giveaway!
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Ari says
Great tips… And how neat that you can sell your car on Craigslist!
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Kathrin says
My husband has sold 3 cars (each of our old cars and his mom’s) on craigslist. So easy and fast and we got a little more than we expected for them!! good luck!!
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Heather says
Congrats on selling your car! That’s amazing!
Taylor @ Pink Heels Pink Truck says
I am a pro at selling on craigslist. Specifically because I own a used car lot and that’s how we drive our traffic to our lot. We would not be in business if we just prayed a drive-by customer wanted to buy one of our used cars. 😉 LOL
We also buy a lot off of craigslist (vehicles that is). And we know all the tricks in the book. The person that called you at 10pm at night, was a dealer. And probably legit. If you posted up your ad at night time, you basically told those people that you are still awake and it’s okay to contact you. My best advice when selling on craigslist, create an email account specifically for your item your selling. That way you won’t bother your real accounts. Go get yourself a $40 throw-away cell phone. One that you can connect a number to, list your ad under that number, and then when you’ve sold the item, you toss the phone in the trash. You are finished. Sometimes people like to call us 1 year later asking for help to fix something. Seriously?? I sold it as-is 1 year ago. It’s a used car. It will break eventually. Hope those bits helped. 🙂 If you have any other questions, don’t hesitate to ask. I know all the tricks! 😉 LOL
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Katie says
I’ve always wondered how to sell a car on your own (rather than to Carmax or something). The stuff you posted about I get, but what do you do to transfer title and make sure you get the $ (cash or money order, I guess?)? And what if the person buying the car has to finance it? Does that complicate things? We’re going to sell my car soon, but I think we’ll probably go the Carmax route to avoid all those pesky little issues.
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avis reservation Hotelliere says
hello, J’ai quarante-deuxA .
Mon nom est Falerina.
Je suis une professeur d’arts plastiques ! Je suis plutôt d’un naturel timide.
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dentiste sourire 93 says
Un sourire resplendissant ça se reprenne.
Votre dentiste est capable de se changer en un reel seducteur.
Pour les personnes qui ne revent pas decouvrir la marque de l’age sur ses dents,
il est propose de poursuivre des prises en charge d’ esthetique dentaire 93.
Pour le cas des facettes en ceramique elles sont adoptees pour voiler l’imperfection.
Grace aux facettes, on s’introduit dans le domaine de la chirurgie
esthetique.
L’intervention recommande une meditation et le tarif
est assez consequent.
Adoptant les memes techniques que les faux ongles,
mis sur les dents et masquent les anomalies, comme les dents felees.
Ce processus est aussi utilise pour couvrir la breche constate sur les dents
de devant.
L’ensemble du traitement se confectionne en une seule intervention et l’intervetion se conserve dans une dizaine d’annees.
Pour ce qui demande un sourire etincelant, affirme par un email bien blanche, ci-apres les recommandations
Les tactiques et produits courants ne finissent de croitre tout en magnifiant votre dentition.
Parmi les recettes qui sont appropries le plus il faut noter les appreils de blanchiment a la maison ajoute les traitements en dentisterie tenu par un expert.
Les therapies orthodontiques preconises aux enfants ainsi qu’aux personnes agees sont difficiles a admettre.
Seulement la conclusion de cette forme de soins ne sont plus a prouver
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avis hotel says
bonjour à tous, Mon nom est Luce.
Je suis agée de vingt-huit ans Et tant pis si
on ne le dit pas !
Mon boulot: agent de police municipale ! Mon caractère est plutôt souriant.
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lascactif.free.fr says
This design is steller! You most certainly know how to keep a reader entertained.
Between your wit and your videos, I was almost moved to start my own blog (well, almost.
..HaHa!) Wonderful job. I really enjoyed what you had to say,
and more than that, how you presented it. Too
cool!
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Accessoire multimédia says
comment va ? Je me nomme Ermengardi.
Je souffle mes quarante et un bougies dans un mois .
Mon travail est artiste ! il apparaît que je suis un drole
d’oiseau.
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destination vacances says
ça roule ? J’ai vingt-sept ans ; je ne fait pas de retenue là dessus .
Anastasie à votre service
Je voudrais être technicienne de laboratoire . Est-ce un défaut que d’être marrante ?
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