How do I go about selling my car?

[Really_Not_All_That_Bright]

To me, one of the deal-breakers associated with a private sale is the hassle of transferring a title. Maybe it’s easier in other states. If you sell private party, make sure you have a signed and witnessed (or preferably notarized) “as is” sales agreement so you don’t wind up in small claims court if the alternator dies after a week. There are plenty of standard form private party sales contracts available online just by googling.

@echoreply

2002 Volkswagen GTI 1.8t, 125,000 miles. Carmax offered $800, I listed it for $3500, and sold it for $3000 cash. This was in August, 2018. In all, it really couldn’t have been much easier.

@CookingWithGas

That is a stunning difference, much different than my experience.

<snip>

I got a quote for a 2008 Toyota Solara convertible and the quote was $11,000, which was lower than retail bluebook but higher than wholesale. I advertised it for $12,000 on Craigslist and AutoTrader and didn’t get an offer. I didn’t even get anyone to come out to look at it. I would have done the CarMax deal but just decided to keep it.

Although I’m a GTi fanboy, any mass-market vehicle with over 100K miles is auction fodder and is effectively worthless to CarMax. It will be bought by one of those “buy here, pay here” places, or possibly by a private flipper, or even by a scrapyard for parts.

I’m assuming your Solara wasn’t 11 years old and didn’t have 125K miles on it when you sold. If the OP thinks her car is in the $5,000.00 KBB range, her experience will probably be closer to echo’s than yours.

[robardin]

I’d imagine that selling your car to Carmax is best for a recent but not super old car which is extremely vanilla and common, and thus a very stable secondary market price.

@echoreply

For me the difference between the Carmax offer and what I sold it for on Craigslist was 375%, so not trivial at all. …

To put numbers and facts on it:

2002 Volkswagen GTI 1.8t, 125,000 miles. Carmax offered $800, I listed it for $3500, and sold it for $3000 cash. This was in August, 2018.

I’m going to guess that your 2002 GTI 1.8T, being something of an “enthusiast’s car” versus a utilitarian one, had a stick shift (manual transmission) and thus simultaneously possibly priced down by Carmax (they’ll have very few buyers wanting this old a car with a manual tranny, and a proprotionally high carry cost), while for an enthusiast, a rarity bonus (“Man, all I want is to replace my beloved GTI Mk4 that just got totaled with one more or less exactly like it”).

If you go to AutoTrader and look for what other listings are for 2000-2002 VW GTIs, that’s probably a better feel for what you might get than for what Carmax offers.

On the other hand, who knows how long it’ll take you to find that buyer. Seems like you got lucky.

[CookingWithGas]

@Really_Not_All_That_Bright

I’m assuming your Solara wasn’t 11 years old and didn’t have 125K miles on it when you sold. If the OP thinks her car is in the $5,000.00 KBB range, her experience will probably be closer to echo’s than yours.

Just FTR the Solara was about 8 years old with 35K miles, and very clean.

[snoe]

I bought my current car from a family friend who couldn’t drive anymore – and paid a bit more than I should have, because I didn’t want to haggle with her when the experience was already unpleasant for her. (She had the same emotions about giving up her car that I sense in your OP.)
So, depending on your social circle, don’t give up on a private sale to someone you know, or a second-degree connection. You might get a sympathy premium!
(I hope that doesn’t sound insensitive. Just sharing my experience from the buyer’s point of view – many people will empathize with what you’re going through. Good luck, and sorry about giving up your car.)