Best way to sell car quickly and still get a good price?

[riaanpdaddy]

I have advertised our Mitsubishi ASX on Gumtree and Autotrader to no avail, used Facebook for shares, dropped the price quite a bit and tried webuycars who are offering us next to nothing. I have to sell our car within this week. What is the best way to get rid of the car quickly?

 

 

[Waylander]

Age old economics - when there is a queue, put up the price - but when there is no queue, drop the price.  Only way to sell quickly is to drop your price to where someone can make a decent profit on buying it and flipping it.

 

Webuycars is good.  But they exist because people need to sell their cars quickly.  They will offer you below a trade in price, but they are good for the money and the process is efficient.  You could easily get a little more for it, but then you run the risk of dodgy purchasers and scam artists and people who will never register the car into their name.

 

I used them as a backstop - I advertised the car through all the normal channels, but in my mind had already accepted the pretty low price that Webuycars had offered.  Two days before we left for Aus I put the Webuycars backstop into operation, got my cash and flew off.

 

 

[ChrisH]

One of my friends recently sold his car.  The dealerships offered him laughable amounts of money, even the dealership where he was buying his new car.

 

He ended up selling it to http://www.webuycars.co.za/.  Apparently their service was brilliant, they come to you to inspect the vehicle and he got the settlement sms from Wesbank 2 hours after signing the paperwork with them.  Really efficient it would seem.

[ChrisH]

12 minutes ago, riaanpdaddy said:

 and tried webuycars who are offering us next to nothing

 

FAIL, guess I should read the entire post before posting a response!

[RedPanda]

We got them(webuycars) over to look at our old VW Polo and they also offered us an absolutely ludicrous amount, with the fine print: This is the top price we are willing to offer, it will decrease depending on what we see when we inspect the car!

So the car was sold out of hand, and the price we got was fantastic. But it helped us that friends and family had been eying the car for some time already.

Anyway, best of luck! 

[ChrisH]

Sorry to say @riaanpdaddy but I think you'll have to shop around and see what other dealers are willing to offer.

[CyberJoe]

@riaanpdaddy I shopped around quite a bit to get the best price for our cars and honestly, word of mouth was the best option for me. Clean your car, take proper pictures, pay for a roadworthy and Dekra multipoint inspection (R650+-) and then post it on both your Facebook with the reason why you are selling.

 

When I say post it on Facebook, its not just for your friends to see. Make sure you join one of the buying and selling groups that are active in your area, it worked out very well for us. As a side note, research the process of selling a car privately so you know exactly what to do. Plenty of articles and advice on this e.g. http://mybroadband.co.za/vb/showthread.php/359350-How-to-sell-your-vehicle-privately-A-step-by-step-guide

 

[Dora]

Riaan, you from Pretoria area right? I also have to sell our VW Polo in the next week or 2. I will also go the Gumtree and facebook route and as last resort for all the reasons stated above We buy cars...

 

A guy who bought one of our chairs on Gumtree said that he sells cars on the side (mentioned that he is a pastor). He takes your car and sell it on your behalf. He then takes a R5000 fee and then he does all the paperwork and puts it through the test.  I can send you his fetails if you are interested to speak to him.

 

[riaanpdaddy]

@Dora, please send his details - I appreciate any help at this stage:)

 

Riaan

[riaanpdaddy]

@CyberJoe, thanks mate! That's great advise. 

[DavePE]

Riaanpdaddy, I've got the same car I also need to sell before next week Thursday! How bad was the offer from WeBuyCars as I was also considering using them.

[riaanpdaddy]

@DavePE, they offered between R140 and R145k without seeing the car, so I am sure they find a way to bring it down after inspection. We have a 2012 2.0GL with just over 70,000kms. Good luck for you to. Remind again in a week or two and I will let you know how much I got for mine

[Marcodasilva]

I need to sell my car by November and Webuycars low balled me immedialty. Dodge Journey 2012 3.6 V6 2012 70 000km on the clock. Only offered 135k. Trade value is R 200k. 

[Moose2014]

Yip same drama on this end @riaanpdaddy we fly Thursday and haven't sold our car yet. Luckily we're able to leave this behind with the in-laws and they will sell it for us. This suits them too as they don't have a car at the moment. Our Autotrader ad expires tomorrow so will bite the bullet and pay for a new one and drop the selling price. Autotrader highly regarded in UK and they know it - they're ads aren't cheap but we've had a few bites. Hopefully the lower price will seal the deal. Good luck for the last week or so!

[Waylander]

14 hours ago, riaanpdaddy said:

they offered between R140 and R145k without seeing the car, so I am sure they find a way to bring it down after inspection.

Riaan, my experience with them was not this.  They offered me R80k on the phone, when they came to see/buy it, they just confirmed that the condition was as I said it was, and paid me R80k right there and then, and drove away in the car.  

 

I could probably have sold it eventually for R100k on Autotrader or Gumtree, but I did not have the time or inclination.  2 weeks before I left I phoned them and 2 days before I flew I bit the bullet and got them to take it away.  

 

( I am not here to punt Webuycars, but just want to point out that I had a surprisingly good experience when I used them - I was wary of them initially, but they came through for me).

 

 

If you have the option to leave it with friends or family, use it - but also be aware that they will not be as motivated as you to sell it - and lets face it, selling a car privately online is a massive pain in the arse.   The run around you get from people is astounding, never mind the personal safety risks......

 

 

12 hours ago, Marcodasilva said:

Only offered 135k. Trade value is R 200k. 

Point is Marco, you are not trading your car in.  Trade in prices are predicated on the fact that the dealer is locking in profit on a sale of existing stock and then will make a turn on the trade-in when he moves it on.  

 

You have time to sell it privately (if you are able to sort out an alternative vehicle if it sells before you leave), so that will be your best bet in getting a better price.  

 

But we emigrants do not have that much flexibility and there are tons of other things to do that keep you occupied right up till you leave.  I needed the car right up to the day we flew basically, so I was pretty happy to take a reduced price on the car for a quick clean sale.

 

[Mel-B]

We sold our car back to the dealer we bought it from. Was an OK deal, wanted more but time was critical, basically sold the car 2 days before we flew as we needed it to get around before we flew  

 

If we had time to find a private buyer we could have made R40 000 more I guess. But at that stage we were so stressed and tired and "GATVOL" we both decided to go with this tactic: WHATEVER.

That was a crazy stressful time - good luck to you now going through it.

[Marcodasilva]

Hi Riaan, did you sell your car eventually? I hope it went well.

[Marcodasilva]

@Dora please can you send me that pastors details as well. Thanks

[riaanpdaddy]

Hi @Marcodasilva, yes luckily we had a friend refer a colleague and pending their finance application they will take the car. So we are getting at least more than what webuycars would give us but with a bit more hassle 

[Marcodasilva]

Well done, I hope it pans out well.