I have a used Honda Accord (1990, EX model, low miles) that I’m trying to sell. Edmunds tells me it’s worth about $6400.00. Blue Book says $7300.00. I’ve had it in the paper now for about 3 weeks, and haven’t gotten much response. The first two weeks I was asking $5995, then I dropped it to $5400.00.
I’ve had one solid offer of $4000.00 for the car, and have had 2-3 other semi-offers or calls where people mumble something about wanting to spend $4K. All of these people have been from a prominent minority which will remain unmentioned since I don’t really know if it has any bearing on this or not, and I don’t want to be accused of thinking that (minority deleted) people are stingy bastards.
My question is, is this normal when selling a car? Am I advertising in the wrong paper? Should I expect to get Edmunds/Blue Book prices? This is a good, reliable car. I am loathe to let it go at 3K+ below what it may be worth.
Second question - anyone wanna buy a Honda Accord?
It’s worth what you can get somebody to pay for it. Rather than bluebook, you might look at how similar models are priced at local used car lots, in online ads, and classified’s in your local newspapers.
If you donate it to charity, the hassle will be a lot less, and the charity probably will give you a blue-book estimate to write off on your taxes, if they can justify it at all. The charity outfits will generally handle all paperwork for you, pick up the vehicle at your convenience, and give you a written estimate for your taxes. The IRS is trying to tighten up on this, but if it’s kept within reason, you can still often manage to claim a higher estimate for a vehicle given to charity than anyone would really pay for it. The tax savings still won’t be as much as you can sell it for, but it may be close enough to be attractive.
Also, remember that just because someone offers you 4k for the car, doesn’t mean you can’t make a counteroffer. Im pretty sure that they aren’t expecting you to let the car go for that little, but they bid low hoping you will bring down your asking price. Its pretty much how car selling works.
I think there is a glut of used vehicles now.
I still have my 88 S10. Haven’t looked to see what it’s worth now but I did have an offer of $400. for it.I have been trying to sell it for 4 months. I’ve been asking $1500.
I tried to sell my wifes 74 yamaha 125 in the same newspaper ad. It is mechanically perfect no dents and only 6000 miles. Had an offer for $400. for it too. I think people just want you to give it to them.
If you have a Carmax dealership near you that’s a good option if you just want to get rid of it. I just took my car there. They spent about 1 1/2 hours inspecting the wheels and made me a written offer right there. No hassle, no worries. It wasn’t book value but I’d been putting about 40K miles on the car every year for a while. I’m happy with it and it was VERY convenient.
I’ve donated to charity. It’s a good thing and they (the Red Cross in my case) do most of the work. One warning. They give you a written notice that the car was donated to charity. They do NOT put a value on the car for tax purposes. You have to determine how much the car is actually worth writing off on your taxes. This leaves the IRS only you to come after if you’ve over-valued the car on your taxes. The charity is free and clear.
Actually, Athena, since you’re in Colorado, you should probably check out the NADA book, specifically the Mountain States edition. That’s what car dealers use to value trades and such. I did a quick scan through, and it looks like they advise these prices:
Low Retail: $4,575
Average Retail: $5,750
High Retail: $6,975
Now, there’s no way you’ll get the high figure, unless you have it professionally detailed and serviced. Average is possible, but doubtful. Usually, when you, as a private party, are selling a car, go with the low retail value. The acceptable milage for this car is 90,000-100,000 miles.
That said, you shouldn’t have trouble selling your car for $5,400 (with low miles) if the body’s in good shape and it runs, but maybe you should spice up your ad a bit. If you’re just saying “1990 Honda Accord EX with some stuff and this many miles” maybe people are skimming over it. And maybe throw your ad in both papers as opposed to just one.
The book price is the retail price a dealer would ask, it is NOT the price you can get for it. The price a dealer buys them for is also in the book, a little more that price is the one you can probably get for it.
Those prices are for all of the USA. Some areas are going to get quite a bit less, some more. Say, SF, probably more for that, but in Watts, pretty much less.
I completely disagree with this. You’re not going to put a car for sale in the paper for wholesale. That’s ridiculous. If you’re willing to take wholesale for it, just go out and sell it to a dealer. They’ll take it.
Even car dealers know this. That’s why, when you want a certain amount for your trade, and they want to give you wholesale for it, they recommend that you go out and sell the car yourself.
If you’re selling it yourself you want to price it somewhere between a dealer’s price and the dealer’s wholesale price. Make it lower than the dealer’s price because if all things are held equal, a buyer will more likely buy from a dealer than you. Of course, don’t price it too low, because the buyer is sure to haggle.
So, if a dealer is asking $10,000 for a similar car, and they’re willing to take $7,000 on your car in trade-in value, then price the your car at about $9,300 OBO. The OBO let’s the buyer know that you’re willing to go down on the price.
That may be true for some price guides but not for the NADA book mentioned by Necros.
The NADA books are regionalized and reflect numbers reported by the dealer members in that region. They are updated monthly as I recall.
The Blue Book and Edmund’s quotes I have are for my area. I got 'em off the web, not a book, and it asks for zip code to determine where I live.
This is a damn nice car, and it’s been in the paper for almost a month now. I’m a little surprised it’s been taking so long. I just put it in the big-city paper, so we’ll see if I get more calls. The good part is that it’s paid off, so it’s not like I’m making payments every month. It’ll be nice to get rid of it, though.
Why not try selling it online? Not to be a jerk or anything, but this “prominent minority which will remain unmentioned” generally does not look at this venue as one in which to make major purchases. For that matter, it’s easier to weed out the “stingy bastards” in general that way.
You’ll reach a lot more people who are willing to spend what the car’s worth, and there’s no reason to settle for less.
We found that our local paper was a waste of money. Really. We got a few inquiries, not many.
We put an ad in Autotrader (free web classified) and got tons of responses, including the one that got the car out of our driveway!! We also paid for an ad on Stoneage (with a digital photo we submitted) but found we got little response.
Most of my advice on car selling comes from http://www.carbuyingtips.com. The author has a page on selling a car. He recommends Stoneage (and another site, whose name escapes me) and when I told him about our so-so results there, he said he hears really different things–some people get great response, some don’t. It’s worth a try, and generally cheaper than a newspaper ad. But Autotrader gets our vote!!
I punched up our ad in Autotrader, remarking on the car’s great points and why we were selling it. Doing that (and being a little more personal) got us bigger responses than just a straightforward listing of options (which is how it ran the first few weeks). We also paid to have the interior detailed (cost us $60, but it was worth it because it had TONS of dog hair). I think this made a big difference on the test drive because it really looked “new” on the inside. Everyone who test drove it became a serious prospect.
Don’t get discouraged, it’s odd how demand runs hot and cold. We’d go a week with no calls, then have three people call in one day.
Athena, it took me the better part of a year to sell my Camaro when I moved here (in favor of a 4x4). Don’t let them bend you to their price. Get what it’s worth, or you’ll be pissed every time you see one. And for god’s sake, make sure you put your ad in the Rocky Mt. News or Denver Post, not some Boulderite rag.
"If you’re willing to take wholesale for it, just go out and sell it to a dealer. They’ll
take it. "
Ah, no they won’t. First of all, the price in the book reflects a vehicle that works perfect & looks perfect. A dealer would discount for every little nick or scratch.
bestoffer.com is a nice web site for online selling located around Calif.
I’d take the $4,000 because that car is more than ten years old. Which is pretty old for a car like that. You know how it is getting parts as they get older…
