Advice for selling a car

T

TheFied

2,500+ Posts
We just bought a new CRV and now we are putting my wife's 2 door 2003 Honda Accord EX-L V6 on the market. Any thoughts on best ways to sell it? We are not in a hurry to sell it. I just got 4 new tires on it on Friday last week (BF Goodrich) and I am going to get the oil changed this week.

After that I am going to clean it inside and outside to get it cleaner than it has ever been. It is garage-kept and will be after I clean it. In fact, it won't be getting used after I clean it up.

But any advice on the best way to sell it? Fortunately Accords are very popular cars. I have found prices online on craigslist, AutoTrader and Kelly Blue Book. It is in very good shape but has a small ding or two.

Last thing -> this is my 1st time to sell a car that I owned outright and didn't owe any money on. We have the title in our name in our house. If I get a serious buyer and he brings a cashier's check, is it standard to tell him that we want to go to my bank to cash it? Do I need to get him/her a receipt? After it cashes, do I then give the keys and title?
 
I sold a 2001 Accord a few months ago on craigslist in 2 days.

Correct -- keys and title. I would recommend going to your bank w/ the cashier's check to be on the safe side. You may also want to get the buyer to sign a vehicle transfer document that you can print from the website of the Texas DMV. You can file this document to let the state know that you have transferred title so that any future vehicle violations are not your responsibility.
 
I sold 2 cars on craigslist, for the asking price, within two weeks of one another. One was $13k, the other $7k. Both times, I had the check within 24 hours of posting.

Also, set up an account with craigslist and be ready to remove the post as soon as you sell. Otherwise, you'll be getting calls for weeks.

And, yes, on the cashing the check with the buyer. I met my buyer at my bank (which he also banked at) and did the whole transaction there. Maybe you could just meet your buyer at his bank and cash the check or get cash right then?
 
For a vehicle that's in demand (which yours is), Craigslist will be very effective. Go here to see what you need to do to transfer the title in Texas.

Edmunds and Kelley Blue Book are good resources to determine the private party resale value.

I listed a car on Craigslist earlier this month on a Sunday evening and sold it by 9 am Monday.
 
I have noticed that CarMax and AutoTrader (via dealerships) have Accords about $1000+ more than blue book value for selling at a dealership.
 
I printed out the forms from TXDOT. Just verifying, let's say I sell the car for $10,000 pre-tax. Do I collect tax? I ask b/c the form says the seller fills out the shaded area and the tax part is there. Or do I fill in how much they will need to pay in sales tax and then they pay the state later?
 
The county collects the sales tax when they register the vehicle. You can fill in the selling price, but it really doesn't matter anymore. They now collect tax on 80% of the market value to keep people from significantly understating the selling price to avoid tax.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Weekly Prediction Contest

* Predict HORNS-AGGIES *
Sat, Nov 30 • 6:30 PM on ABC

Recent Threads

Prediction Results Threads

2024 Schedules

Back
Top