Sedona Car Dealer Fritz Barnard presents
Selling Your Car On Your Own
In my business with Jim Babbitt Ford Lincoln Mercury, I take great pleasure in helping people with the shopping process. There is nothing more fun than sending a new owner down the road in their new car.
Probably one of the main objections that any one has is the value of their trade. Just a few notes on that:
There is no doubt that your good ‘ole Chevy is worth more to you than anyone else on the planet! You are comfortable with it, and have done all the maintenance (we hope) on it, and in short, this is “your baby.” Moving on to another car is a little scary, but, once you make up your mind to acquire a new vehicle which will better fit your needs, or is safer, or is more economical, looks better, or is just what you’ve always wanted (whatever the reason), then of course you want the best value for your car when you trade it that you can get. We all do!
What detrmines the market value of your used car?
Market value is determined by a variety of market conditions, like locale (4X4’s sell well in Flagstaff, but are not necessary in Phoenix, say), time of year, how many are in the wholesale market now (auctions), rebates and other incentives on brand new ones. Dealerships try to figure out what that car is available for at auction, or the wholesale market, in case they need to sell it at auction themselves. (A dealer wouldn’t want to get stuck with a car they paid $5,000 for, if it can be bought for $3,500 at the local auction). Of course the condition of the vehicle both externally and internally are most important, as well as miles, and any accidents which it may have been in are assessed also. Additional considerations which affect vehicle value are price of fuel, the stock market, the economy in general, and other such uncontrollable factors. It is a very “un-exact science” .
Is selling your car on your own EASY?
Most of my clients who feel that they may be able to sell the car to their neighbor, or put it on the internet think that selling a car is easy. Generally, the dealership spends around $650-850 on reconditioning a used vehicle, fully detailing and cleaning one destined for the lot. That does not include any actual repairs that need to be done, so that it is mechanically sound. Of course, as a dealer, (We’ve been here since 1912), we will not sell “junk”, so if it doesn’t go through a rigorous 115-point inspection, then it doesn’t get to our lot. If you are willing to bring the condition of your car up to that level, great, but most people just run it through the car wash, then put an ad in the paper.
...most NICE cars take an average of 90 days to sell!
Since most NICE cars take an average of 90 days to sell…you may need to not only pay for ads, but pay additional payments, if you owe money on it. Then, if you get some calls, you will need to present the car to a potential buyer- usually on the week end or when you could be spending time with your family, or whatever. Then there’s the liability of selling a car to someone, then having them came back a few days later claiming that there is a problem with it. Not your problem, but some “neighbors” don’t appreciate that. Most people don’t want to mess with it, and frankly have better things to do with their time. That’s why 90%+ of our clients decide to trade, rather than sell their own.
Ask Yourself the Tough Questions:
The entire exercise of selling your own car comes down to this: Are you getting a lot of calls? Are you being offered enough money? Do you want to spend another weekend at home taking calls and showing your car to strangers? Only you can answer those questions, and that will determine what you finally accept for your vehicle.
Remember, when you go ahead and trade your vehicle with Babbitt Ford, we try to get you the market value for it, and will shop it around to other wholesalers and dealers, if necessary. We take the entire risk with regard to the condition of the car, (in fact we offer a warranty on most everything we sell). We also pay off your loan, and, so you don’t have to mess with the title work, and other legal issues, we handle all the little things that need to be done for your transaction. In this state, you may even receive a tax break on the sales tax charged on the purchase of your new car (You only pay on the difference: new car less trade value).
I am happy to help you figure out what vehicle will best fit your needs, arrange for a professional appraisal of your trade, if you have one, and do it all with fun, humor, and no pressure. Why not do it the easy way?
