Other ways of selling a car?

Kev_2012

Hi all,

I'm selling my car at the minute and most of the calls ive been getting have seemed promising but then some problem comes up with them not actually having the money, or they want to trade in(which doesn't suit me at all). I already have my car on donedeal, adverts.ie, the buy and sell, my friends have shared it a lot on facebook and i have for sale signs on the windows.

Any other good ways of selling a car? It's one of the cheapest of it's type on Donedeal so lowering the price isn't an option!

Anan1

Kev_2012 wrote: »

Hi all,

I'm selling my car at the minute and most of the calls ive been getting have seemed promising but then some problem comes up with them not actually having the money, or they want to trade in(which doesn't suit me at all). I already have my car on donedeal, adverts.ie, the buy and sell, my friends have shared it a lot on facebook and i have for sale signs on the windows.

Any other good ways of selling a car? It's one of the cheapest of it's type on Donedeal so lowering the price isn't an option!

Assuming your ad is ok (post it up here for advice?), your only two options are to be patient or to reduce the price. Remember, it's worth what someone will pay.

Scortho

Does it have an nct with more than 3 months remaining?
I don't know about others, but it'd want to be significantly cheaper than the competition, before I'd even entertain going to look at a car with no nct or less than 3 months remaining.

Kev_2012

Here it is, it's crazy, I need to sell it (as much as I don't want to!), but it's actually running perfect. My dad brought it for it's NCT last monday and the guy said that it was 100%! Never heard them say that about a car before! http://cars.donedeal.ie/for-sale/cars/4917130

biko

The ad has pretty much everything it should. The only thing left to play with is the price. Or wait.

Anan1

IMO the text is good, but i'd redo the photos. The car should be dry, shiny, and against a simple but pleasing background. Also, if it has a service history then i'd mention it.

Edit: Change 'Bluetooth Handsfree kit built in' to 'Factory bluetooth integration', and fix that typo at the bottom re the NCT.

Kev_2012

Anan1 wrote: »

IMO the text is good, but i'd redo the photos. The car should be dry, shiny, and against a simple but pleasing background. Also, if it has a service history then i'd mention it.

Edit: Change 'Bluetooth Handsfree kit built in' to 'Factory bluetooth integration', and fix that typo at the bottom re the NCT.

Yeah I find it difficult to take good photos! Probably my shortcoming!

Anan1

Kev_2012 wrote: »

Yeah I find it difficult to take good photos! Probably my shortcoming!

They don't have to be massively artistic - it's really down to preparing the car well and showing it clearly. I'm sure someone will post up a good example soon, and you can copy that.

tinofapples

Anan1 wrote: »

IMO the text is good, but i'd redo the photos. The car should be dry, shiny, and against a simple but pleasing background. Also, if it has a service history then i'd mention it.

Edit: Change 'Bluetooth Handsfree kit built in' to 'Factory bluetooth integration', and fix that typo at the bottom re the NCT.

It may sound daft but I agree about the pleasing background, it's a psychological thing I guess

Hold tight, looks a clean car only problem is at the moment diesel is in fashion in a big way.

Kev_2012

tinofapples wrote: »

It may sound daft but I agree about the pleasing background, it's a psychological thing I guess

Hold tight, looks a clean car only problem is at the moment diesel is in fashion in a big way.

Yeah, that's a problem too. When I originally bought the car, I was going to get diesel, but I only drive to work and training so I do very little mileage, so forking out 2-3k extra made no sense! It's insane how obsessed people are with diesels these days even though it may not necessarily be the right choice for them. Although I'm glad of my choice, 2.5 years worry free motoring without breaking the bank!

bazz26

A few things here:

The photos are taken in a car park which may put some buyers off who might think it is dodgy. Try and find a nicer background on a brighter day for better photos.

Mileage is also on the high side for the year and the Irish tend to shun away from anything with 100k miles or more on it.

No mention of service history, is there one?

You've had some interest but nobody has come to view it right so maybe you need to focus more on enticing an interested buyer to come view the car.

ironclaw

Price is actually pretty good. The average I'm getting for a 2007 Focus is about €7000 with an average of 140k miles. That could be a put off, is it too cheap? Then again there are quite a few on the market.

FrontDoor

ironclaw wrote: »

Price is actually pretty good. The average I'm getting for a 2007 Focus is about €7000 with an average of 140k miles. That could be a put off, is it too cheap? Then again there are quite a few on the market.

The average means nothing. Cars aren't sold at the average. In my experience, you need to have the car priced at the lower end of the asking prices for it to shift.

In my opinion, that car is expensive at 5200. I'd suggest 4200 would be a lot closer to it.

It is a very nice car and well cared for by the looks of it.

Capri86

On top of the advice you've gotten so far about better photos etc, just be patient. I recently sold a focus and it can take a while as there are hundreds of other focuses for sale all the time. I also had trouble as mine was a 1.6 petrol. It didn't seem to be what people were looking for.
You'll sell it no bother at that price though.

Maybe stick down the mileage in miles beside it. I Know it sounds stupid but some people might see the numbers as miles.

djimi

Take "Quick Sale" out of the title (and the body text); it makes me wonder why you want rid of it in a hurry, plus buyers dont care that you need it gone quickly, nor is it likely to make someone jump on your ad over the others on sale just because you need rid of it.

Kev_2012

FrontDoor wrote: »

The average means nothing. Cars aren't sold at the average. In my experience, you need to have the car priced at the lower end of the asking prices for it to shift.

In my opinion, that car is expensive at 5200. I'd suggest 4200 would be a lot closer to it.

It is a very nice car and well cared for by the looks of it.

Well 5200 is the price I have it at but I obviously have to allow for haggling etc., I have agreed on prices with people but they were no shows due to not having money and there were other excuses, but i guess those are the breaks!

When I bought the car from a dealer, I was told there was service history with it, and when collecting it, your man couldn't find it, so I got it all checked out by a mechanic who is a friend before buying it and he said it was all in good nick. There are a lot of those servicing stickers on the inside of the drivers door alright but that's all I have at the minute. But if somebody arrived on the scene with a mechanic to get it checked out I'd have no issue at all because I know it's 100%.

Also with the price, the problem is that if I advertised it at the price I'm willing to accept, then people would keep digging and digging for more, but I have a limit I can't give it away for nothing.

As for the mileage, the previous owner used to commute to and from Limerick. I bought it with 90k miles on it so I've put maybe 15/16 k on it in the last 2.5 years or so.
Cheers, I have looked after it well and it's literally only for getting to and from work and training and lahinch/dublin once or twice a year

ironclaw

FrontDoor wrote: »

The average means nothing. Cars aren't sold at the average. In my experience, you need to have the car priced at the lower end of the asking prices for it to shift.

In my opinion, that car is expensive at 5200. I'd suggest 4200 would be a lot closer to it.

It is a very nice car and well cared for by the looks of it.

Averages mean everything If the average price of a car is €10k, you don't ask for €15k. You set you price around the average and more than likely well below. Then you need to add or subtract the relative costs i.e. If the car does / doesn't need NCT, tyres, tax etc. You can't sell a car these days based on what you think yourself its worth.

At least that's the way I'd approach it.

Cheensbo

djimi wrote: »

Take "Quick Sale" out of the title (and the body text); it makes me wonder why you want rid of it in a hurry, plus buyers dont care that you need it gone quickly, nor is it likely to make someone jump on your ad over the others on sale just because you need rid of it.

x2

Quick sale and GRFS etc bug me in ads,

There's no need for it, unless the Quick sale is indicating a dramatically low asking price - to encourage a quick sale.. Who would want a slow drawn out sale?

The ad is grand though, Pics arent bad at all, yeah a smoother background would be better but theyre very acceptable..

BGozIE

I don't think the price is overly high. Its a decent year the only thing is the mileage is a slight bit on the high side.

I would put in the actual date of NCT expiry. I think that's good for people to just see clearly and they immediately have a positive outlook - "oh its NCT until 2015"

Kev_2012

Thanks for all the advice lads. Greatly appreciated!

I've made those text changes. I'll have to take some pictures this evening and post them up.

Capri86

Has the timing belt been done? If it has stick that up with it.

Kev_2012

Capri86 wrote: »

Has the timing belt been done? If it has stick that up with it.

It's due in the next 10k miles

FrontDoor

ironclaw wrote: »

Averages mean everything If the average price of a car is €10k, you don't ask for €15k. You set you price around the average and more than likely well below. Then you need to add or subtract the relative costs i.e. If the car does / doesn't need NCT, tyres, tax etc. You can't sell a car these days based on what you think yourself its worth.

At least that's the way I'd approach it.

In my experience, you need to be a bit above the wrecks, scams and imports if you are selling privately.

There is a 1.6 07 focus for sale in Tipperary, at 4700, with 80,000 miles. It is difficult to see why somebody would go to 5200 on similar car with 30,000 more miles.

Again, maybe I'm wrong in all of this, but you need to be in the first few pages of ads, in company with other decent cars.

mathepac

I've read through the suggestions and agree with the majority - good looking car, decent price, good ad generally let down by some of the photos.

Take a few pictures outside a nice house or in your own driveway, with no big signs to distract the eye and detract from the look of the car. Look at a few private ads to get a feel for what I'm describing photo-wise. Dealer ads are OK too but they always include their signs.

Personally it looks to me to be worth 5.2k as an asking price all day long.

Good luck with the sale.

Kev_2012

FrontDoor wrote: »

In my experience, you need to be a bit above the wrecks, scams and imports if you are selling privately.

There is a 1.6 07 focus for sale in Tipperary, at 4700, with 80,000 miles. It is difficult to see why somebody would go to 5200 on similar car with 30,000 more miles.

Again, maybe I'm wrong in all of this, but you need to be in the first few pages of ads, in company with other decent cars.

The english import that only has NCT til september?