My experience with AutoTrader.com
 

Attempting to sell my car with autotrader.com was a total disaster, and waste of time, energy, and MONEY.

In 1 week, I got ~25 calls / emails.

paypal scammers.
Nigerian scammers
finance companies wanting to sell me financing for a potential buyer
aftermarket warranty companies.
web page builders wanting to build me a fancy page for the car sale.
wholesale car buyers low balling the sh!t out of me. and even offering consignment deals below market price.

NOT 1 VALID POTENTIAL CAR BUYER.

If you need to sell your car. TRADE IT IN !!!!!

sorry that happened to you....but i have had great results w autotrader. It is a "tool" though and you have to use and manage it accordingly. I refuse to trade in.....for a little more time and effort...I can put a substantial chunk of $$$ in my pocket. To each his own. :cheers::cheers:

Trade it in? That's your answer? :rofl:

With the sales tax savings, trading it in is not too bad.
Otherwise I dealt with tire kickers.
People with NO MONEY.
Spent 100's of hours dealing with non-sense.
Washing the car before every looker came over my house was a RPITA.
I even took the car for an independent inspection, which passed ! Then he couldn't get a loan !!
And the Autotrader non-sense put me over the edge. Trade it in !!!

Same here they are all about the same ebay, craigs list even the forums you have to find someone that really wants exactly what you have and has the money.
Time is on your side.:thumbs:

Trade ins
 

If you are buying another vehicle then i would go straight to Hendricks
and make your best deal. No matter if you are trading in for a new or used vehicle.

Keep inmind that you save your states sales tax on your trade in, if your tax is 7% and your trade in is worth $20,000 you save $1400 plus you get some kind of a warranty and if a problem appears like a water car or rebuilt etc you have a place to go back to.

Love them

Alan

PS i do not work for them!

Sold my car in 3 days on Autotrader..
4 phone calls
3 appts to see
first one bought it. 2 disappointing people

Bought my 09 Cyber Gray Vert on Auto Trader. Did a search unlimited distance and found the exact car i wanted at a very good price. Flew 1200 miles picked it up and drove home. That was 3 years ago and still love the car.

Had good experiences with autotrader. There are always going to be people that waste your time however, more so in craigslist and other FREE sources. <---Just my opinion. Trading the vehicle in is less headache but depending on jurisdiction, taxes may offset.

Did you buy the "Privacy Shield? I sold three cars on Auto Trader in the last two years. No issues. A Tacoma, An Infinti and a RAV. Have not traded a car in a while. Last car I traded was an HHR Had to . Not a popular vehicle.. Sold the 06 RAV on Craigslist though But it was only $9800 (trade offer was $6000!!!!) The thing with AutoTrader I don't like that they leave the vehicles up after they are sold. I got calls on my Tacoma from Florida 3 months after i sold it. Had to call AT and tell them to take it down. I put SOLD on the ad and still got calls.

I don't mind the low ballers Just say no!! LOL

My Rule is sell a car when I don't NEED to and I will never have to trade it in. My Vette is for Sale. But i am not motivated so I can wait for my price and not have to wholesale the car or fire sale it. The newer Vettes I am looking to buy are depreciating much deeper and FASTER than then my 05. WIN WIN.

Then again there is no tax advantage to trading a car in here. Sales tax is capped at $300 on anything.


I did a national search on AT for my car <30K miles <$30K and mine is the only one that comes up. So I figured my asking price is well below the rest.

In fact if one does any search for all VERTS <30K <$30K mostly C4s and C5s come up

My career is a motorcycle dealer, deal with used bikes and retail them. I also sell a lot of cars on the side as a personal hobby. You get all sorts of BS offer and personalities to deal with and unfortunately, thats just part of the whole gig.

Listing on Autotrader and such sites is a tool. It should NOT be your only source of advertising the sale of a car. Vettes are a dime a dozen out there, you want to sell it, you need to make it stand out and priced agressively such that someone wants yours over another.

Now dealing with those nonsense type people, it comes with the territory. You can usually weed out who are the time wasters and who aren't. Once you know what type of persona you are dealing with, act accordingly. Tell the losers to move on, focus on the serious parties.

Saying "Trade it in" is not the solution. You get substantially less money on trade then an outright sale. And some people DON'T want to trade, they just need an outright sale. I'd say thats 75% of the population selling their cars are selling bc they don't need what they have.

And yes, if you want convenience of trade in and get a new one, by all means go for it. You're the one driving the car and making the payment. Your loss and your gain.

I just sold my Porsche turbo yesterday. Dealers kept calling me on it, i would listen to their low ball 40-42k offers. Ultimately, i sold it for near my asking price ($52k). I wasn't offended by their offers, they are in the business to make money. Ultimately, i sold my car to a guy local, it was exactly what he wanted and he was super happy with it. I listed it on Craigslist and that where he found it. I had it on ebay, Autotrader, cars.com, and craigslist. Low and behold, the free option worked for me.

You can't get upset and blow up at people for wanting a good/great deal. Its that type of economy, a buyers market. Unfortunately, YOU will loose.

I'd suggest you get a Goggle Phone # for such contingencies. I'm looking into buying a (non-Vette) car right now, and I use it for annoying car dealers. It's actually amusing getting the e-mails, and them thinking they are calling a real number.

Or you can get a Skype # for $5/mo.

[QUOTE=Tbong;1587541421]The thing with AutoTrader I don't like that they leave the vehicles up after they are sold. I got calls on my Tacoma from Florida 3 months after i sold it.

You can remove your ad through your profile once the vehicle is sold.

There will always be tire kickers and " would yah take ? " customers. The worst part I have found in looking for vehicles is owners can't describe their vehicle accurately. I just looked at a rust free southern car. Gaping holes is what I saw... and mid west rust very present. Then after five phone calls part of the truth surfaces.... there might be minimal rust but nothing that would require a panel change. Another 200 miles one way wasted.

[QUOTE=suzuki7502k;1587542458]Yeah I tried and finally had to call them. AutoTrader is a good way to sell (and find) cars. Carmax is the best place to wholesale a car. Dealers treat sellers as ifthey are in financial dire straits

I've had the opposite results. I always try to sell my car for free on specific car websites such as this. Sold my gto on ls1gto.com for example. If the car is cheap I'll also list it on craigslist. I had no luck with my 08 selling on here so I sold it on autotrader for over my asking price... can't complain

The car was an 08 base with 30k miles. Listed here for 28.5 I think I said I'd take as little as 28.
This site offered me between 20 and 25k daily.
Dealer 1 offered me 20k
Dealer 2 offered me 28 as trade but I wasn't sold on the z06 I was trading for
Sold on autotrader for 28.7

Both times I sold my car on this forum. It's easy. Just offer a good price. If it doesn't sell adjust accordingly. People only buy from private sellers if it's a deal. Otherwise why bother.

Since everyone is offering advice on car selling and websites.

Anything that gives exposure is good, use them all: e.g. Autotrader, Cars.com, Craigslist, and this forum. I had serious buyers from all three places I advertised. I did get one scammer from Autotrader but that didn't go far, as I had required up front that prospective buyers meet me face to face and that I had the money sitting in my bank account before I would release the car. That way they don't waste my time, I don't waste theirs, they can go scam someone else who is an easier target. Anyone who sounds shady or lowballs doesn't require a response.

Pricing it right is the key. Err a little bit towards the lower side and it will be a quick sale. I just sold my Z06, had serious offers at or within 1K of asking price within 48 hours.

Spend a lot of time on the advertisement. Lots of good pictures. Lots of detailed information of the car, everything you know about it.

You have to keep up with your ad. Update it and adjust it to get responses. Anyone who contacts you has to be treated with the same respect because you never know. My opinon is that most people selling cars on Autotrader etc. are unrealistic, unresponsive and seem unmotivated to sell their car. You are selling your car ...that means you have to "sell" it not just sit there and collect money....

I agree. I've probably sold 7-8 cars on Autotrader. You need to be careful. And even then, you may get some tire kickers or re-sellers. But it works. And you probably will sell the car for 10 percent more than you'd get by trading it in.

Jim