Selling a car privately, how to and another $ question...

[mbhf]

I'm really not sure where to put this, but since it does have a financial aspect to it I thought this might be a good place.

My dh got stuck with my old car when I moved on to a minivan. It's a nice car, but he hates it (mostly because it's nice, actually) and has asked me to sell it while he is deployed. He would have liked to have done it before he left but it just didn't work out.

We do have a loan on the car. We bought it new about 4 years ago and owe about $7000 on it. It is supposedly worth about $16,000 if we sell it privately. I talked to a used car dealership and they offered me $12,000 for it. Trade in is supposed to be about $14,000 but I am not interested in buying another car.

Part of me (a BIG part!) wants to just sell it to the dealership. It would pay the car off and then some. But if I sold it privately (and was able to get $16,000 for it) obviously that is a big payoff for not a whole lot of work. But then I am here alone with my four kids, pregnant, and we are military and the car is titled in a different state and the bank we financed through is not local so I don't even know how that would work. It's intimidating!

So, all of that for two questions. One- what would you do? and two- would it make sense to "refinance" (i guess?) the car at our local bank so they are in possession of the title to make it easier if I do decide to sell it privately? And I guess there's a three, how do you even go about selling a car privately? I have no idea and googling is only getting me so far.

[lunarlady]

I've never sold a car privately that I didn't have the title for. If you have the title, it is very easy:
-- Post ad (We used Craigslist)
-- Talk to interested people, go on testdrives, explain any issues
-- Sell car (They give you money or certified check from their bank, you sign over the title.) You need to create a "bill of sale", basically a receipt, but you can download examples online and it is really easy. Just shows who is selling to who, the milage at the time, states that the car is sold "as is" (no warrenty, no returns) and you both sign it.
-- Remove plates before handing over keys.
-- Cash check...you're done!

That said, I don't know what you do if you don't hold the title, but a bank does. I've only ever traded in cars like that. You could look at selling on consignment, as you might get a better deal. You also have somebody whose job it is to worry about the paperwork for you. In your shoes, I would price that out and maybe do it that way as the consignemnt fee is usually pretty minimal. We sold my grandfather's car this way after his passing, and paid $1000 consignment fee on a $18,500 car.

The only snag I see for you is if you DH is on the title. You can't sell the car without him signing it if he's on the title. Might want to look into that before he ships out.

[mbhf]

Originally Posted by lunarlady

The only snag I see for you is if you DH is on the title. You can't sell the car without him signing it if he's on the title. Might want to look into that before he ships out.

Thank you for the advice! My dh is on the title but I have a specific power of attorney to sell his car so it shouldn't be an issue.

I've never heard of selling a car on consignment, how is that done?

Also.. since the loan balance is only a little over $6000, would it make sense to just get a personal loan for that amount so I can own the car free and clear? I'm kind of hesitant to do that but it seems like it might make sense.

[Annie Mac]

I would also check with the DMV in your state, as laws and transfer of title procedures vary -- especially because your car is titled in a different state altogether.

[xmysticprincessx]

I'd talk to some other dealerships too about selling the car to them. (I'd try to take a day to do this, maybe have a friend watch the kids while you take the car for an assessment on its value.) You can negotiate with the dealership on the price they'll give you for it. Just like when you negotiate with them on the purchase of a new car, you can play dealerships against each other and tell them that the dealer across town is willing to give you $1,000 more for the car and see if they can beat the price. The dealership who sold you the car or where you get it serviced may give you more than just a random used car dealership.

This way, the dealership deals with paying off the loan, getting the title, and then sends you a check for the difference between your loan payoff and what they bought it for. It may take a few weeks to get the check, since the dealer may wait to pay off the loan, get the title, etc. (You'll still have a copy of the contract that you sold the car for $x, you'll be getting a check for the difference between selling price and what's owed, etc.)

You could probably get more money from selling the car privately on Craigslist, but selling the car to the dealership or on consignment seem to have much fewer hassles. (And with 4 kids, being pregnant, and a deployed hubby, it seems like you're busy enough and don't have the time or energy to deal with Craigslist flakes.)

[texmati]

Talk to the bank (the one that has the title,) just to see how it would work. It's porabalby much easier than what you are thinking!

[lilyka]

Talk to the people at the court house (whoever handles titles) and ask them what yoiu need to do. I just happened to mention it when I was filling out paper work for a new title(couldn't find it : turned up a couple days later of course) turned out I needed temp plates (paper) in order to sell it. Who knew. Thats also how I found out I could keep my plates for my new car (new law woot woot. saved me $100).

In your position i would sell it to the dealership. quick and easy. you will also save on the loan interest (it could take months to sell it, especialy if you are trying to get book value. people shop from individuals to get a good deal. below book) and can invest the other money in a high yeild account to incure interest or pay off other debt. tpoo exciting!!! I wouldn't hold out for what amounts to an extra one or two thousand dollars but lots and lots of stress.

[mbhf]

Originally Posted by xmysticprincessx

You could probably get more money from selling the car privately on Craigslist, but selling the car to the dealership or on consignment seem to have much fewer hassles. (And with 4 kids, being pregnant, and a deployed hubby, it seems like you're busy enough and don't have the time or energy to deal with Craigslist flakes.)

Originally Posted by lilyka

In your position i would sell it to the dealership. quick and easy. you will also save on the loan interest (it could take months to sell it, especialy if you are trying to get book value. people shop from individuals to get a good deal. below book) and can invest the other money in a high yeild account to incure interest or pay off other debt. tpoo exciting!!! I wouldn't hold out for what amounts to an extra one or two thousand dollars but lots and lots of stress.

Thank you both for saying this. I keep telling myself (and my dh) it's really not that much more work for a couple thousand dollars more, but it's so much hassle and I feel guilty every day it sits in the driveway with no action toward selling it.

[lilyka]

exactly. And again. you are assuming yiou will get book value for it. I have never known anyone to get book value for their car. There are so many cars for sell and used dealerships offer inspections and warrenties and financing....

[annekevdbroek]

I've always sold my cars myself.

Call the bank that holds the title and ask them the procedure. It's been a while, but I reacall that it wasn'ta huge deal.

Check values on edmunds.com. I found it to be a very good measure of what you can get for the car in your area, and takes into consideration condition. If the difference between the two values is small, I'd just sell to the dealership. However, changes are the dealership is offering you A LOT less than they can sell the car for, because otherwise they won't make money.

On craigslist, if you price fairly - you'll be able to sell. We sold two cars a couple years ago, both in under 24 hours - for CASH (10k on one , 7k on the other). Easy peasy. You could try posting it and see what kind of response you get in a week or 5 days or whatever and then just go w/ dealership if it doesn't work.

Tip - clean the car really well or have it detailed. Take out all personal stuff, car seats, etc. Take GOOD photos and post them with your craigslist ad.

[mnnice]

Originally Posted by annekevdbroek

I've always sold my cars myself.

Call the bank that holds the title and ask them the procedure. It's been a while, but I reacall that it wasn'ta huge deal.

Check values on edmunds.com. I found it to be a very good measure of what you can get for the car in your area, and takes into consideration condition. If the difference between the two values is small, I'd just sell to the dealership. However, changes are the dealership is offering you A LOT less than they can sell the car for, because otherwise they won't make money.

On craigslist, if you price fairly - you'll be able to sell. We sold two cars a couple years ago, both in under 24 hours - for CASH (10k on one , 7k on the other). Easy peasy. You could try posting it and see what kind of response you get in a week or 5 days or whatever and then just go w/ dealership if it doesn't work.

Tip - clean the car really well or have it detailed. Take out all personal stuff, car seats, etc. Take GOOD photos and post them with your craigslist ad.

I think past two private sales I have been part of took about 10 hours of work and netted about $1000 more than the trade in would have been. I'll take the small amount of hassle for $100 per hour.

[fioner]

It may be different for every situation, but I have sold a car privately without having paid it off first. What ended up happening, after communication between the buyer's bank and our finance company, was buyer wrote two checks, one to the finance company for the amount we still owed, and one to us, for the balance. When the check cleared the finance company, they sent the title to the buyer's bank. We also had to sign something when the buyer went to register the car with the state. It was more simple than I expected it to be.

Also, I listed the car on craigslist and autotrader.com I think. I had to pay for the listing at autotrader, but it was only $20, and that was where the guy who ultimately bought the car saw it.

[lmonter]

Originally Posted by lunarlady

I've never sold a car privately that I didn't have the title for. If you have the title, it is very easy:
-- Post ad (We used Craigslist)
-- Talk to interested people, go on test drives, explain any issues
-- Sell car (They give you money or certified check from their bank, you sign over the title.) You need to create a "bill of sale", basically a receipt, but you can download examples online and it is really easy. Just shows who is selling to who, the mileage at the time, states that the car is sold "as is" (no warranty, no returns) and you both sign it.
-- Remove plates before handing over keys.
-- Cash check...you're done!

Yes to this. We've only sold paid off vehicles, the one time we didn't have the vehicle paid off we traded in to a dealership for the next vehicle.