Hi there, looking for people's experiences in selling cars privately. Let me know which website you used? Carsales, gumtree, facebook, other? What was the approx value of your car and how many enquiries did you get? time wasters? genuine buyers etc.
Selling Car Privately Online
Adz12 on 10/08/2023 - 09:13
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Gumtree ~1yr ago Melbourne
Advertised $6500 with RWC, sold for $5900 without (because would take another 3 weeks for rwc as all booked out and buyer said they could get their own), not a Toyota.
Only a few enquiries, no in person time wasters, did receive maybe 2-3 lowballs over sms around $3k to $4k.
Funnily enough, no scams.
Took about 2 weeks all up.I’m currently in the market for a 2nd hand car, and I pretty much only use carsales, the other market places just seem junk or lack in range. Real waste of time on those sites.
Prices on carsales are also 20 to 30% more expensive because everyone there inflates their asking price to match everyone else.
Oh so people on FB adn gumtree don’t inflate their prices in expectation of discounting for the lower offers? Lol you’re dreaming
I used Carsales, got a sale within a couple of weeks. Only a few scammers on oil rigs contacted me. The buyer turned up and started haggling the price down anyway, so make sure you inflate it a little before posting.
If the car is less than 10 years old, use the carsales "sell my car" option. It's much easier for people who are uncomfortable selling their own car privately.
Sold a $7k car on marketplace, no issues.
Sold a $500 repairable write off on Facebook & Carsales. Plenty of genuine interest.
Used Carsales recently, got a scam enquiry which was the typical PayPal scam and then got a genuine enquiry which led to selling the car. I have received the money via PayPal and car has been picked up by the persons cousin since the buyer is overseas and couldn't make it.
Car sales no longer worth it IMO, sold last few on FB marketplace. I had more obvious scams coming from carsales.
Don't give your address until you've set a time or better yet, meet in a nearby public place. Cash only or maybe bank cheque if >20k
So you have to stand there and count like 15k in cash?
Yea not that hard, by that point usual invite them in for a coffee. Could also do a deposit if you've exchanged IDs & contact details but cash is king still on the resale market.
I'll have to help someone sell a car soon, really not looking forward to this lol
Auto trader. Com. Au?
I need to get off my butt and do this also, I have a Camry that got replaced by another car a year ago, and i still havent gotten around to selling my Camry yet, I guess its because i probably wont get much more than a few $K out of it. Initially i was just going to give it away to a friend etc but they dont need it anymore. Is it easy to sell cars in general? I have never sold a car before.
facebook marketplace ! Just ensure to handover keys once you have got money in bank account.
Its recommended to do transfer in the bankAt $21k you'll do fine on Facebook I suspect. Just be ready, as you seem to be, for low ballers. Simply don't negotiate unless someone comes to look is the best way imo.
Never understood the anxiety around 'low ball' offers. Treat it as invitation to name your actual price or refer back to the listed price, politely. What even is a low ball offer? 80% of the listed price, 50%? For many sellers, it seems to be 'an offer I don't like'. Fair enough, but if it you get insulted by such things, don't go to a secondhand market. Timewasters and scammers OTOH…
I agree, it's rude ppl that annoy me, low balling alone isn't so bad and I'd argue I've gone in lowish before and actually got the car with a lot of patience.
I do always make the offer politely and advise I understand holding out for a higher offer so welcome the vendor touching base later on if the asking price does come down.
I sold a car and motorbike in the last twelve months.
The bike was advertised through Facebook marketplace and brought by a dealer at the price I wanted.
They messaged and asked what am I after and told them $6,500, it was advertised for $7,000.
They brought it without any fuss for the $6,500.The car was advertised for $21,000 on Carsales and Facebook and I was hoping to get $20,000.
A car dealer offered me $19,500 which I accepted.Both bike and car I had plenty of low ballers and scammers contact me.
With the bike someone rang and offered me $3,000 if I sold it today, I said yes and gave them the address of a comedy club.
He rang me an hour latter asking if he was at the right place.
I said yeah, just come inside and tell your joke on stage.
He said I was (profanity) and wasted his time, I said no you wasted mine thinking you would get that much discount.
With the bike someone rang and offered me $3,000 if I sold it today, I said yes and gave them the address of a comedy club.
He rang me an hour latter asking if he was at the right place.
I said yeah, just come inside and tell your joke on stage.
He said I was (profanity) and wasted his time, I said no you wasted mine thinking you would get that much discount.This is brilliant!
In 2019 I was selling a 2016 Passat. Listed for $25k both in Carsales and FB marketplace. In the end took a few months maybe because the car is not a popular one.
Carsales (I paid for the most basic ad): less inquiries but more genuine. Seems to work for more popular cars. So the coverage you got is only specific to your car model. Since not many people look for VW passat specifically, I didn't get that many inquiries.
FB: More inquiries with more lowball offers (which you can just ignore), plus you can see the buyers' profile there. My buyer was searching VW golf and he came across my ad as well. So I reckon FB has much better coverage.
how much did you sell for?
25k, I originally listed it for 28k
I listed a car on marketplace about a year ago for a completely reasonable price so I wasn't open to negotiating and it sold within 3 hours… It was a long 3 hours though, lot's of "I know your ad says no swaps but would you take……" etc
Sold a couple thru marketplace and gumtree.
Marketplace especially is full of "last price" morons (without wanting to sound racist, these types always seem to be the same nationality) and low ballers that may test your patience to its limits. However genuine buyers did surface after a few days. Guy that bought the newer car messaged me about it and was at my place with $20k cash within a couple of hours and took it. Also had a 20 year old corolla which again after a few idiots went to a decent buyer who acted quickly.
You can also expect to receive the usual scammer type messages about sending a friend/relative to collect and transferring money as well as the other idiots mentioned above. Obviously these cretins must have success sometimes to keep doing it.
please disclose nationality
what was your last price on the corolla? ^^
"Is this still available?" "I pay $8000 cash now" (Offers 50% below your asking price)
I know what you're talking about. I just tell them that I have received xxxx offer already and won't entertain any lower. I find this stops them from messaging further. Or, I just completely ignore when they offer way less than asking.
without wanting to sound racist, these types always seem to be the same nationality
Too bad, you sound rascist.
My experience says the names linked to this e comments can come from anywhere.
Maybe so but it's a fact that most are the same nationality, must be a cultural thing. Ice experienced the same thing selling several items.
If you want to know the nationality, put a car up for sale on marketplace 😄
It’s not a ‘fact’. It’s your perception. And if you feel the need to point it out, that makes a racist comment.
@Euphemistic: How is it a perception when I've had a load of these type of inquiries when selling stuff and it's almost always the same nationality making them? It is my experience on a number of occasions.
I haven't mentioned the nationality you might notice, which I probably would if a racist.
@Brianqpr: If you need to add ‘without wanting to sound racist’ you’re about to make a racist statement. Just because you didn’t say which race doesn’t mean it’s not racist.
Also your perception has probably clouded your actual judgement on how many of xxx you have actually received. If you see a lot of xxx doing yyy you are stereotyping and your brain will filter out all the interactions that don’t fit your stereotype.
@Euphemistic: You are wrong. I could go back thru all the old messages to reconfirm but I don't need to. Brain isn't filtering out anything, its what has happened time and time again on marketplace when I've sold stuff. Overall marketplace is a good way of selling things and this is just one of the annoyances that come with the process, along with scammers (profile pic attractive female, "hello dear" etc).
I don't see how any statement that doesn't name a race can be racist. Unless you've already worked it out for yourself? Which would make you a racist 😄
@Brianqpr: I’ll say it again for clarity.
Any time you think you need to preface a comment with ‘I don’t want to sound racist but …’ you’re about to make a racist comment.
@Euphemistic: Don't be so desperately PC.
The phrase "last price" is so stereotypically linked to one or two countries that it's like trying to deny that the words "arvo" or "dunny" are not linked to Australia.
Definitely Carsales for me, FB and Gumtree were next to useless, but the cars I sold were normally in the six-figure range. Also in my case, those who didn't bother ringing to speak directly were usually time wasters, dreamers, or tyre kickers looking for joyrides. Don't forget to blur out the number plates in the photos; and get a separate prepaid number, a Skype number or a Carsales privacy protect number.
if you are selling a 6 figure car I don't think FBT and Scamtree are the right place
I blurred out the rego plates in my recent carsales ad, I had to resubmit them because I pre-blurred. Carsales blurred them automatically.
They do blur them out automatically but they sometimes don't work 100% for all photos with different angles. I've never had any real issues with mine and I use Carsales more often than most, you can always ring them up too, they're usually pretty helpful and quick on the phone.
Ive sold via Carsales and also direct to wholesalers that buy for dealerships. Got much better $$ via Carsales but you do need to be patient and deal with the usual gambit of low ballers, curious lookers and opportunistic buyers. You'll need to weigh up if the extra money is worth the time and the stress of transacting a high value item privately. The wholesaler path is completely painless, you fill out a form, take some pictures, drive to a location, drop the car off and the money is in your account. The liaison i dealt with on both occasions from different companies didnt even bother to turn the ignition… it was basically yeap thanks next.
Depends on your car I guess.
1) Lexus IS250 - Posted at FB marketplace which received heaps of views but no genuine interest. So, I decided to pay for posting on Carsales and sold it within a week to a private buyer who offered $1,000 less than asking price. Buyer was an older gent and lives two hours away from me.
2) Toyota 86 - Posted at FB marketplace, received so much interest and also heaps of low ball offers. Also too much time wasters who just seem to "want to see the car", and those dodgy looking teenagers. One of those who messaged shortly after my car posting was a dealer, who asked straight away if he could see the car. And because I am unable to accommodate asap, he didn't fk around and offered to purchase for the asking price. Highest offer I received from the private buyers was $2.5k less than the dealer's offer (my asking price), and the lowest offer I received was $6.5k of asking price. Lol.I don't use Gumtree now esp when they added a fee to post a car.
Also to add, why don't you ring car dealerships directly to see how much they are willing to pay?
wrt "time wasters who just seem to 'want to see the car'", what is their intent? Is it dreamers who would like your car but can not afford it, or test pilot teenagers hoping for a joy ride? If you deem that a car viewer is not serious or can't afford, would you refuse a test drive??
It could be for many reasons. I assume one is for a joy ride - but I encountered this only when I sold a Fiesta ST and Toyota 86. I refused a few test drive requests in person as their initial offer was way below asking, so there was no purpose for it. What I find better is to ask the price they are willing to pay and proof of funds (if they want to test drive) prior to viewing. I find ones who just "want to see the car" tend to avoid this question, so I don't entertain further. Usually, I find serious 'teenager' buyers would be upfront and say the price they are willing to pay.
i am also looking to sell my car but scared of scammer as there are so many scams where money transferred in your account get it reversed without your authority and someone here said that happens when someone deposit money in the bank atm using cheque where they deposit cheque and you can see balance transferred but then within few hours or days that cheque get bounced as there was no fund so basically you lose money even if you immediately transfer that money out of your one account to another.. !
anyone knows, how to get around this issue ?
Also, if we put an add on facebook market place then can our friends on our account can see your advertisement or i can keep my advert hidden from those in my friend list? also, what would be the name written on my fb advertisement? my own fb account name ?
i was so far offered 5k, then 6.5k then 7k , then 8.5k by agents who buy cars and sell it again… now my car has issue so i am selling as it is but the issue is cosmetic one (i.e. hail damage, dent etc) and central gps doesn't work so i am hoping to get around 11k to 12k as similar car without hail issue would easily sell at 15k.
any suggestion would be helpful.
Depends on the car
my first car I sold on Facebook in 2021 was a 2011 Accord Euro, a few (less than 5) enquiries and sold within about 3-5 weeks, sold for around 11.5k
second car was IS350 listed since Oct last year, sold through carsales in Feb for 41k.
Was on facebook, had a lot of time wasters/low ballers and potential scams
Had less leads on carsales but more genuine interests (still managed to get one caller who tried to scam me).I find it difficult
you have to invite them to your place so they know where you live
not sure who is a crook
if they find some trivial issue, they can make it large and damage your car then they will hassle you day and night that you sold them a lemon
Trading in may not be the best value but gives you some negotiating power and no need to deal with strangers and the hassle of having to deal with the buyer when they keep contacting you how come? why ? can you?
answering 16000 questions of how well you have taken care of your car
have to spend excessive time to prep and detail the car so it always looks presentable
damage your car
Sure. Don't lie and be honest about your car.
By all means tell every stranger where you live and store your car
Sold two cars on carsales over the years. This was pre-covid.
Paid for the most expensive option they had if memory serves me right. Both cars sold in about a week.
One car sold for $10k and another for $7000. A Nissan and a Honda. Listed them based on redbook data.
Will be selling another car soon and will follow the same strategy. But this time I will sell based on recent sales because cars are selling for more than what rebook reports.
Reboot reports are the most reliable
What are reboot reports?
kinda like remix version of the real report more to your advantage
both sellers and buyers have their version of a reboot report
2001 Corolla. Sold in 1 day for $6k. Lots of spam (over 50 enquiries) and low ball offers though. FB market place only
Used carsales for 2004 Honda Accord for $8k
Got about 2-3 enquiries, one genuine buyer and sold in about a week. Would recommend
what was the fee?
$80 no gurantees
$59, not the premium ads or whatever. Leave it up for as long as you want. Buyer paid in cash and I ran the notes through the ATM machine in front of him.
What's the deal around letting potential buyers test drive the car, is this part of the process or you don't let them test drive?
I’m not going no to buy a car from someone who won’t let me test drive.
Most people who have bought cars from me want a test drive. I ask to see a licence then throw them the keys usually. Sometimes they leave keys to the car they arrived in or their licence card as a form of security. If looking dodgy I might ask to go with them for the ride.
You need to know your insurance MAY NOT cover you while someone is test driving your car. Check your particular PDS.
You then need to pay for revcheck to see if the car history $40
You then need to bring it to a reliable mechanic to check the insides $180 you need to pay even if you decide not to buy - no warranty so no fair trading for private handshake sales as no gst went to government
Don't accept PayID because their cousin who's coming to pick your car doesn't have cash. That's a scam.
Don't let them do a test drive or hand over your keys to any "customer" without you already inside the car. Risk of theft.
Don't accept bank transfer or cheque unless you personally know the buyer (such as relative, friend, neighbour, etc). Risk of chargeback/reversal.
Once you have cash in hand, complete the paperwork right there with photo of their licence and lodge notice of disposal online right there before they drive away. Risk of them racking up thousands of tolls and fines in your name.
Even dealers trade in disposal does not happen immediately as the dealer onsell it to the used car wholesaler which can be awhile before title changes but the sales contract with the trade in and date of signature is proof
Private sale notice of disposal can be lodged online, atleast in NSW it is possible. I have done it when I sold my last car.
I actually went one step further but didn't mention here. I had called Services NSW in the week after and got a written confirmation document that it was processed as of the date I had lodged. They sent me a scanned document via email.
with the dealers. there is a purchase contract the minute cars exchanged hands I mean they would not have released the new car if the trade-in was not handed on the date it was signed as the trade-in carries a value towards the purchase of the car, usually the difference between cash and sale price.
although many many years ago I had a very nasty experience with a panel beater who used my car and racked up a parking fine- no standing
that was so hard to prove at least with trade-in and sale you transfer ownership but with repair at panel beaters you still own the car and so lessons learned now I need a statement from panel beaters or some printout to show the car was physically not in my possession but at the shop. I ended up paying the fine. As the panel beaters returned the fine back to say they do not own the vehicle.
This is not the norm I am sure most panel beaters are honest but this one. Nasty piece of wood@paloverde88: Read similar experiences by people where they left the car at the mechanic only to get red light speed camera fine and toll notices a few weeks after in the mailbox. I have started noting down Odometer readings when dropping off and picking up from service/repairs.Its becoming difficult to trust people after reading more and more of these stories. Of course these unscrupulous actors are like less than 1% of the population but you never know when it's your (un)lucky day.
find the right price - consider meeting at a fuel station if unsure of buyer, if not meet at home and stick to a firm price, if you receive a depsoit do a private contract and detail with RWC or not. Just sold a suburu xv for $20k 2015 model
I would meet at Westfield and have a chat in places where there are cameras everywhere then take them to where you park the car at Westfield also ensure they are always facing the CCTV at all times. Then escort them to the mechanic for a check, most serious buyers will want their mechanic to check so stand next to the mechanic in case some jiggy things happen when you are not looking. Question the mechanic what are you looking for in my car? Question them why are you opening this or that every move they made must be monitored with your video camera turned on.
so you see it is much better to sell it privately. If you deny the buyer to take to their chose mechanic that means you are hiding something and you are the dishonest seller.
Several buyers may have you take trips to different mechanics so you see not a waste of time.
Sounds like you haven’t ever sold a car before.
I need to sell my 2016 XV L model asap. Hopeful to get $22k or so. Did you find much interest?
for mine once reduced under 20k yes - car had 100k km on it so easy to sell
It all depends on the car and the price, as well as how fast you want to sell it.
Firstly, you need to get a real value. If it is for a run-of-the-mill car, go to Redbook, and under cars, car research (NOT car valuations), find your car. Look at the lowest trade-in value and the lowest private sale prices. This is where your car will realistically be priced for a private sale. If you are looking at trading it in, halve the lowest trade-in price.
Yes, you might get more, but prices are over-inflated here. Forget what prices you see people selling their cars for, because those are asking prices, not sold prices!
If your car is exceptional, i.e., it has a full dealer service history, has very low km (not for its age, but actual low km), and is fully optioned and in immaculate condition, then you can get more. If your car has non-factory accessories, like aftermarket wheels, body kit, stereo etc., then that will NOT add value and in most cases will decrease its value. If it has a lot of factory options, this will make it easier to sell, but will not increase the value.
Now that you have a price, add $1000 to it. This is because everyone wants a deal, and you need some margin to be able to negotiate. Facebook marketplace is good for local buyers. Make sure that you advertise using many photos and a great description. Gumtree is no longer worthwhile due to the cost. Ebay is good, and you can list it for a set price with the option for the buyer to make an offer, where you can auto-decline or accept. Carsales is also good. If you advertise on Facebook, eBay and Carsales, you can spend under $100 for all. Don't forget to add in as many local buy, swap and sell sites as you can. And if you are selling it without a RWC, say this.
If it is a collector or enthusiast car, then the value will be very subjective. Condition and originality are important. Go to eBay, search for the same model, and on the left side scroll down to completed sales. This will show you what similar cars have actually sold for. Also, use car pages on Facebook and talk to enthusiasts. The same three places are good for sales but include the enthusiast pages.
Auctions are also an option. Go to Manheims and look at this page. https://www.manheim.com.au/home/landing/car-price-guide You will see what actual sales have been made at auctions. You can contact the auctions, including Manheims, Pickles and Grays, and they will give you updated sales results and the fees they charge. If the car is a collector car, Shannons are also worth talking to.
In every case, what sells cars are good photos, lots of them, honesty as to faults and a great description. If you can't write a good sales description, find someone who can. Same with photos. If you can't take a good photo, find someone who can.
Hey OP, this advice may help: buyers who spit out a price are often not serious buyers in the first place. It is very difficult to estimate how much a car is worth to you without seeing it in person.
Also, having the buyer travel there before negotiating a price will make them more committed to the purchase (likewise for you the seller, you may give them a small discount after meeting them in person)
Thanks everyone for your insights and thoughts. I ended up paying for gumtree and Carsales (after trying fb for 3 weeks and no real genuine inquiries). Gumtree no inquiries after $19 ad. Carsales, online for 4 days, one enquiry and sold for $21k so I guess the $140 ad was worth it, even with the higher price to advertise
What type of car did you sell for $21k if I may ask?
And how did you take payment?
Mazda 2, payID
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step by step guide, really helpful!