Financially speaking, best advice is to sell car yourself

“We’ll give you $2,500 for the 2008 Toyota Matrix,” said the salesman at the Hyundai dealer. “We’ll sell it at auction once we clean it up.”

“What’s wrong with these people?” I thought as I left the dealership.

I then realized that I was going to have to sell my “cream puff” – well-worn with nearly 115,000 miles – myself.

But how?

Many dealers profit by lowballing, or not offering top dollar on a trade, if your car is older or in poor condition. Used cars are big business these days. Dealers strive to sell cars traded in for a profit, or they will auction used cars to break even or maximize profits.

According to a new IHS Auto Survey, the average age of a light vehicle is close to 11.6 years. So chances are many Bradenton-area families, not one-percenters, have an older car to sell. Consider selling rather than trading if your car is paid off, older than eight years or has more than 100,000 miles on the odometer

Dealers, according to Edmunds.com, often mark up used cars by 25 to 45 percent. So, at a minimum, you stand to make at least a couple thousand dollars selling your used car yourself. If you’re up for a hassle, start detailing, taking phone calls and waiting patiently. And start praying because there’s more than a little risk when riding with strangers test-driving cars.

Start by listing your used car for sale with online companies. Price your car optimally and take good pictures for your advertisement. Avoid future claims for fraud or misrepresentations by not overselling.

When it comes to pricing cars, “I recommend checking out pricing guides like Kelley Blue Book,” said Brian Moody, an executive editor at Autotrader. “See if you can find the going rate at dealers pricing similar cars.

“Meet potential buyers in a public place and avoid meeting them in your own home,” Moody said. “A couple I know actually met at a police station. Don’t go alone, and bring a friend or relative with you. Ask to see the proposed buyer’s driver’s license.”

Here are some more tips to make sure you get paid and don’t get taken:

▪ Have paperwork completed early. Download vehicle bill of sale forms online. Sign off on the odometer reading. Submit a release of liability form. And remember, sellers need to sign the back of titles.

▪ Use prudence. Don’t accept a wire transfer, for example, from a suspicious bank in a foreign country.

▪ Meet buyers at their bank or credit union to finish deals.

▪ For lower-priced cars, less than $15,000, require a cashier’s check or money order.

For cars under $10,000, don’t be surprised if the deal is in cash. My deal for the Matrix came without warning, and the buyer bought my car for cash last Labor Day weekend.

I couldn’t believe how easy it was selling my used car myself. And I ended up selling the Matrix for $4,200 – about $1,700 more than the dealer’s offer.

My wife used the money we made on the Matrix to buy a “used” 2016 Subaru Forester with about 17,000 miles. As for me, I inherited my wife’s paid-off 2013 Hyundai Tucson with 78,000 miles.

When the Tucson’s odometer hits 130,000 miles, I now know my best financial move is to sell it myself.

This story was originally published March 6, 2017 at 12:39 PM with the headline "Financially speaking, best advice is to sell car yourself."