brotherhef

Im getting a lil too many cars for my place now and may sell my c6. Any tips out there for selling private vs selling to a dealership. I dont want a bunch of people trying to get joy rides wasting my time and gas. Would you say no test drives unless they have a notarized statement of approved funds first? or do you guys just take that hit and sell to dealership?

Thanks!

Buy-Low

Sell it on ebay and require funds to be wired to a bank account used for just that purpose. Better than certified checks

tntdominic

I have bought/sold scores of cars in my life, including 2 C-6s before buying my 3rd. Here is my humble advice from my own experiences. You can sell your car for more money to an individual than to a dealership. Dealership, you can expect no money for any upgrades and up to $1K to $2K less than blue book wholesale (they use what is called a black book not available to the general public). Many dealerships won't buy your car outright unless you are trading for something they have (some exceptions). My best luck with selling cars is with autotrader. Be sure to be very descriptive and include as many photos as possible of the car inside and out (folks like to look at photos). I wouldn't worry about kids trying to get free joyrides in your car as it would probably be pretty easy to figure out and I have never had a problem with it in the past. Also, you can make some homemade signs and pamphlets and make a deal with someone to leave your car parked in a prominent high drive by area on a Saturday and Sunday (don't leave parked there overnight). Bottom line . . . the most exposure you can get to the most people will get your car sold at a reasonable price. Good luck and one final thought. As I said before I owned 2 C-6s before buying a 3rd . . . if you have too many cars at the house you may want to consider selling something other that the C-6 . . . no other car like it and very likely to be missed!
Cheers,
Pat

Pinky...

Try posting up some details on this forum as well. What color, transmission, package car do you have?

Top_Fuel

Consider selling your C6 to CarMax. Sometimes they will offer you a decent price that's hard to pass up.

I don't have a lot of patience for tire kickers, dreamers, etc. I would rather sell a car to CarMax today than to hold onto it for 2+ months just to squeeze another $2K out of it.

carjo

Consider sending an e-mail to Corvette clubs in your state that announces the sale and describes the car and gives your contact info. Your e-mail should request that it be forwarded to their members. This approach could be fruitful - more serious/mature buyers, people seekiing to move up to newer car, etc. As president of a local Vette club, I maintain our e-mail address and often forward info. like this. It's a service to our members.

On the subject of test drives, you could give the prospective buyer a passenger ride and permit a mechanical inspection. However, I don't know how a test drive can be avoided, especially when selling a "pre owned" car.

On the other hand...don't sell the Vette. You are fortunate to own one, try to find another solution.

Save The Wave

Glennm27

with Pat..

Good suggestions and these have worked for me as well.....

ed_yellowc5

I've never been a seller but as a buyer I'll give my 2 cents.
Most serious buyers shop many sites, craigslist and the forum are free so you should use them. I bought a car on cars.com and autotrader, both are very similar so I would suggest using one of them (I'd go with the cheaper site).
Be as descriptive as possible, are you the orginal owner, any problems with the car, flaws, etc. Any mods?
More pictures the better, a picture of the interior will tell a buyer what option package you have (HUD controls, Navigation, etc) and auto/stick. Picture of front wheel and tire tread on both front and back is also very telling (alignment issues, if it needs new tires, etc). Front seat, because these wear.
Price, I'd look at autotrader and cars.com for similar cars. If they are on the site and not newly listed, they've probably been there awhile and sellers think they are high. You can ask whatever price you want but it depends how quick you want to sell. Now is a good time to be selling because you are still in the spring bump. I believe there is a buyer for everycar but there is so much easily attainable info, its tough to find someone willing to overpay for a car. Good luck with your sale...but I'm with the other guys, you should sell something else.

RUBYREDVET

There are also "corvette specific" sales sites on the net. Usedcorvettesforsale.com is one. Might look into one of these sites.

brotherhef

Thank you all for the ideas. I didnt think of sending it to local corvette clubs or to carmax. Thank you again guys!

And its not a for sure thing yet. I need some land so I can build a 5 car garage. (2 sedans, 1 4x4 truck, boat, vette, and a bike)

I know if I sell I will miss. I usually drive it about 3; maybe 4 times a week.

cor28vettes

Notarized approved funds???? Are you selling a one of two ZL1 ?

That's an immediate turn-off for prospective buyers. Take it to Carmax before July 4, their drop-down date on seasonal toys. If not happy there, do a nationwide search in the autotrader for your year & mileage by owner to determine initial asking price. They have a 'Run till it sells' deal (abt $60). If it fails to sell within 2 weeks drop the price below the competition. NADA & KBB will give some further insight but don't expect dlrs to go above their own Black Book Wholesale. If they buy and it doesn't sell, it goes to auction usually.

LMBTom

People who are serious about buying vettes don't need test drives (unless there's something wrong with your vette).

If they seem serious, give them a test ride, no test drives until they have the cash(check) in hand. I'd post something like that in your classified ads.

Ebay sounds fine, but they probably take a big chunk of $$ out of the sale, and a lot of ebay sales fall through.

samotlietuvis

I have sold a few cars for myself and my family, and bought a few. Here are my $.02.

1) Autotrader is your best bet since once you post the car, and pay the fee, the car will remain there until it sells. Just like other guys pointed out, good pictures and detailed description is the best time investment you can do when selling the car. You would be amazed how many people do not take their time to well describe the car. The reason you are selling is important for me. Every car I sold, it went in less than a month, for top $$.

2) The corvette board would be a close rival to Autotrader – it is free, and you have knowledgeable people. It seems to fetch higher $$$ for nice cars.

3) Craigslist is free, but you need to re-post your add every week or so. Nice thing is that it is local to your area. Same applies for description and pictures.

As far as test drives go, you will have at most 2-3 guys test-driving the car (most likely just one). It is not like you are selling a motorcycle, where skill matters. You can test-drive the car yourself, just let the buyer sit in the passenger seat. I would not be so against the test drives.

BTW, when I sold 1L supper stock motorcycles before, I had cashiers check in hand, with written statement signed by two witnesses saying you crash it, you buy it. I don’t believe you would need that for your vette.

LMB-C6

I disagree with that. I'd be more likely to thoroughly test drive a used Vette than something like a used Accord or Corolla.

The the OP - I think the idea of contacting Vette clubs in the area (maybe even ones an hour or so away) is a very good one. Those folks know what the car is, what to expect, and are probably as serious of a buyer as you can get.

jmw_LS2

My advice is simple:


Sell it to me. Cheap.

ww1999

I have had very similar experiences myself selling multiple cars and Harley's over a couple of decades.

Pinky...

OP, I want to know what you are have color and options wise. I might be interested but you really don't sound like you want to sell this car too badly. If I were you, I would already have pictures in the gallery and a description up.

beden1

I sold my daughter's 2003 VW Jetta in two days last month. I took it to my local Chevy dealer where I get my cars serviced, and where I noticed they had a sign in service saying they needed quality used cars.

They offered me $6,000, and $1,000 more than the $5,000 an Audi dealer offered in trade for an S4 (we bought the S4 elsewhere!) I said I'd see what I could do on my own as I wanted at least $7,500 for her clean car that had a high retail of $9,500.

The next morning, the dealer called and offered me the $7,500. He had found someone looking for a car like our VW for his daughter to take to college.

Try taking it to some local dealers and have them call you if they find a buyer looking for a Corvette.

chgoblue

Like the advice "samotlietuvis" gave you.

Only other thing I'd add, is that I would start out at a price you think is competitive with the others, but if there's no action for 3 weeks or so, I'd lower it because no activity over a reasonable time is the market telling you that you're too high.

BrendanS

My advice from a buyers perspective is have a good description of the car, how it's been maintained, work that has been done on it, etc. Also have a lot of detailed pictures. In the pictures make sure the car is clean, otherwise a lot of buyers may think the car is beat. Not only have the car clean, but try have it detailed so it looks it's best. Good luck on the sale!