I used Craigslist to sell my truck and buy a car last time around. Like porscheguy said, you want to detail the hell out of the car including the engine. One trick that works great, after you've cleaned out the engine is to spray it liberally with Armor All protectant and leave it on there, it will make things really shine. That's the biggest thing, you can have a piece of shit car but if the engine bay looks clean people will think you've taken good care of the vehicle. It may even be worth $100 to take it to a professional detail shop and have them give it the works. Also top off all the fluids so they're right where they should be, people will definitely check the oil, coolant, power steering etc...
Cash deal only, no checks, unless it's like a $20,000 deal? Have a friend with you when it goes down.
I was lucky, when I sold my truck it was a Toyota and everyone wanted it, my phone was ringing for a week after I sold it. I think it was the second caller who bought it. Depending on your make and model it might not go so quick. Pick a price and stick with it. When negotiating the deal don't drop down in big chunks. For instance, if the price is $5000 and the buyer offers $4000, your counteroffer should be around $4800 and stick to increments of $200 (or $100 or $50 or whatever increment you're comfortable with depending on the make, model, year and condition of the vehicle). If you take $500 off the top then the buyer will assume that you'll take another $500 off and another until you're selling your car for peanuts.
Trust your gut, if something seems fishy do not do the deal. It may take a few "practice" deals to actually sell it. Like I said, the best thing to do is pick your target price and stick to it and don't do the deal unless you're getting what you want. Then again, you might need a quick sale or the vehicle might not be in good condition, then all bets are off and some car buying shark may talk you into a bad deal.
When I sold my truck I priced it at $500 more than I wanted to get for it and "let" the guy negotiate me down to my target price and stood firm on that .
A long time ago I knew a guy who used to scour the For Sale ads, talk people into selling their cars for peanuts, give them a story about not being sure if they were putting the title in their name or their "younger brothers'" name so leaving that blank, taking the car home and detailing the fuck out of it, then turning around and selling the car at a tidy profit, making anywhere from $500 to $2000 for a few hours work. By leaving their name off the title the car appears to go from the original seller to the second buyer so there's no paper trail or taxes.
It's not really a scam but it's shady and gets you around the laws that limit how many cars you can sell per year without being a licensed and insured auto dealer. It's a great way to make money, cars are a great liquid asset and most people have no experience negotiating and buying cars, they think if they know the Blue Book value they won't get ripped off.
Cash deal only, no checks, unless it's like a $20,000 deal? Have a friend with you when it goes down.
I was lucky, when I sold my truck it was a Toyota and everyone wanted it, my phone was ringing for a week after I sold it. I think it was the second caller who bought it. Depending on your make and model it might not go so quick. Pick a price and stick with it. When negotiating the deal don't drop down in big chunks. For instance, if the price is $5000 and the buyer offers $4000, your counteroffer should be around $4800 and stick to increments of $200 (or $100 or $50 or whatever increment you're comfortable with depending on the make, model, year and condition of the vehicle). If you take $500 off the top then the buyer will assume that you'll take another $500 off and another until you're selling your car for peanuts.
Trust your gut, if something seems fishy do not do the deal. It may take a few "practice" deals to actually sell it. Like I said, the best thing to do is pick your target price and stick to it and don't do the deal unless you're getting what you want. Then again, you might need a quick sale or the vehicle might not be in good condition, then all bets are off and some car buying shark may talk you into a bad deal.
When I sold my truck I priced it at $500 more than I wanted to get for it and "let" the guy negotiate me down to my target price and stood firm on that .
A long time ago I knew a guy who used to scour the For Sale ads, talk people into selling their cars for peanuts, give them a story about not being sure if they were putting the title in their name or their "younger brothers'" name so leaving that blank, taking the car home and detailing the fuck out of it, then turning around and selling the car at a tidy profit, making anywhere from $500 to $2000 for a few hours work. By leaving their name off the title the car appears to go from the original seller to the second buyer so there's no paper trail or taxes.
It's not really a scam but it's shady and gets you around the laws that limit how many cars you can sell per year without being a licensed and insured auto dealer. It's a great way to make money, cars are a great liquid asset and most people have no experience negotiating and buying cars, they think if they know the Blue Book value they won't get ripped off.