# Selling a used car to an auction house via AutoTrader: good idea? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [July 8, 2014, 1:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/selling-a-used-car-to-an-auction-house-via-autotrader-good-idea/692627 "2014-07-08T13:02:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Donald\_Rump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9fc29f/32.png) [@Donald\_Rump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Donald_Rump)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2014, 1:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/selling-a-used-car-to-an-auction-house-via-autotrader-good-idea/692627/1 "2014-07-08T13:02:56Z")
First things first: I know zilch about cars and am distinctly un-savvy when it comes to any transaction involving cars. I have a 2008 Jeep Grand Cherokee Laredo with around 95,000 miles. It has mechanical problems that cause it to crap out at inopportune times, like cruising down the highway with a 4 month old in the back seat and a large tractor-trailer bearing down right behind me. I spent some money replacing the throttle body, which didn’t solve the problem. So now I’m trying to get rid of the car. I’m told no dealer will buy such a vehicle. I’m definitely not going to sell it privately. So it looks like my options are: - Sell it for scrap - Donate it to charity - Sell it to CarMax (pain in the ass because there isn’t one nearby) - Sell it to an auction house via AutoTrader. AutoTrader quoted me a surprisingly high price of $5,000, leading me to think this is obviously the best option. But it almost seems too good to be true. Will I show up to the auction house and be told the real offer is $1,000? [A further wrinkle is that the car was recently dented pretty bad while parked. I’m trying to decide if it’s even worth the hassle of getting it repaired before disposing of it.] Open to any and all advice on the best way to get rid of my hunk of junk. ---
**Author:** ![Omar\_Little](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omar_little/32/269_2.png) [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2014, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/selling-a-used-car-to-an-auction-house-via-autotrader-good-idea/692627/2 "2014-07-08T13:46:33Z")
> [@Donald\_Rump](#): > > Open to any and all advice Reported for forum change. ---
**Author:** ![bob\_2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bob_2/32/3341_2.png) [@bob\_2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bob_2)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2014, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/selling-a-used-car-to-an-auction-house-via-autotrader-good-idea/692627/3 "2014-07-08T14:16:21Z")
What’s wrong with other sales methods - ebay, local paper etc. I don’t like that because it involves people coming to my house making me a used car salesman, but that may not worry you. Can you trade it in? Seems like you will need a replacement. Find out what scrap value it has. Some scrap dealers might pay well for a car as new as this, with the intention of doing it up and selling it on. ---
**Author:** ![dolphinboy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dolphinboy/32/330_2.png) [@dolphinboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dolphinboy)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2014, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/selling-a-used-car-to-an-auction-house-via-autotrader-good-idea/692627/4 "2014-07-08T14:16:49Z")
There are ways to determine the value of a vehicle, such as [Kelly Blue Book](http://www.kbb.com/) etc., and based on that you can donate it to charity and take a tax write off, or sell it privately for parts. Once you know what’s it’s really worth you can decide how much effort you want to put into getting rid of it. Another option might be donating to your local high school auto shop and let them take it apart. I’m not sure why you wouldn’t sell it privately. Somebody may want it. You never know. ---
**Author:** ![crazyjoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f14d63/32.png) [@crazyjoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crazyjoe)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2014, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/selling-a-used-car-to-an-auction-house-via-autotrader-good-idea/692627/5 "2014-07-08T14:23:40Z")
Just because one dealership was unable to fix the problem doesn’t mean the vehicle is un-fixable. Assuming it was in mostly good shape, I wouldn’t accept less than $5k for it (ok,m the dent is going to take some of its marketability away), it’s worth that in parts easily. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2014, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/selling-a-used-car-to-an-auction-house-via-autotrader-good-idea/692627/6 "2014-07-08T14:28:40Z")
> [@Donald\_Rump](#): > > AutoTrader quoted me a surprisingly high price of $5,000, leading me to think this is obviously the best option. But it almost seems too good to be true. Will I show up to the auction house and be told the real offer is $1,000? My guess is that this is what’s going to happen. I very much doubt that you’re going to get more for the car at a car auction than you’re going to get in a private party sale. ---
**Author:** ![Donald\_Rump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9fc29f/32.png) [@Donald\_Rump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Donald_Rump)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2014, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/selling-a-used-car-to-an-auction-house-via-autotrader-good-idea/692627/7 "2014-07-08T14:43:38Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > I very much doubt that you’re going to get more for the car at a car auction than you’re going to get in a private party sale. I have no doubt that a private party sale would be the way to maximize my price. However, I’m trying to optimize between the price I get and the amount of time I have to put into this. The fact that the car has a seemingly serious mechanical issue that my mechanic was unable to diagnose makes it a particularly tough sell, so I’m envisioning sinking endless hours into finding a buyer. Meanwhile, because I live in NYC I’m paying $300 in insurance premiums every month I own this car, which I’m no longer even using because I’m now leasing a Honda. (The Honda dealer didn’t want the Jeep, or I would have traded it in; he told me to donate it.) I also don’t have a permanent parking spot for it so I’m having to move it around every couple days due to our asinine alternate side parking rules. So, I’m pretty motivated to get rid of it. In short, I’m trying to determine the least onerous among the quick-and-easy options–scrapping, donating, selling to CarMax, or selling to an auction house via AutoTrader. ---
**Author:** ![bob\_2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bob_2/32/3341_2.png) [@bob\_2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bob_2)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2014, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/selling-a-used-car-to-an-auction-house-via-autotrader-good-idea/692627/8 "2014-07-08T14:48:14Z")
I have no experience with them but they advertise a lot over here: > **[We Buy Any Car® | Sell My Car | Free Online Valuation](https://www.webuyanycarusa.com/)** > > Sell your car hassle-free at We Buy Any Car. Free online valuation. Instant payment. The fast, safe and fair alternative to trade in or private sale. ---
**Author:** ![engineer\_comp\_geek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/engineer_comp_geek/32/504_2.png) [@engineer\_comp\_geek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/engineer_comp_geek)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2014, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/selling-a-used-car-to-an-auction-house-via-autotrader-good-idea/692627/9 "2014-07-08T15:36:14Z")
**Moderator Action** Since this is looking for advice and opinions, let’s move it to our advice and opinion forum. Moving thread from General Questions to In My Humble Opinion. ---
**Author:** ![dolphinboy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dolphinboy/32/330_2.png) [@dolphinboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dolphinboy)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2014, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/selling-a-used-car-to-an-auction-house-via-autotrader-good-idea/692627/10 "2014-07-08T16:20:28Z")
> [@Donald\_Rump](#): > > I have no doubt that a private party sale would be the way to maximize my price. However, I’m trying to optimize between the price I get and the amount of time I have to put into this. The fact that the car has a seemingly serious mechanical issue that my mechanic was unable to diagnose makes it a particularly tough sell, so I’m envisioning sinking endless hours into finding a buyer. > > Meanwhile, because I live in NYC I’m paying $300 in insurance premiums every month I own this car, which I’m no longer even using because I’m now leasing a Honda. (The Honda dealer didn’t want the Jeep, or I would have traded it in; he told me to donate it.) I also don’t have a permanent parking spot for it so I’m having to move it around every couple days due to our asinine alternate side parking rules. So, I’m pretty motivated to get rid of it. > > In short, I’m trying to determine the least onerous among the quick-and-easy options–scrapping, donating, selling to CarMax, or selling to an auction house via AutoTrader. In that case I would think donating it would be fairly easy. They will come out to your house with the paperwork, you sign it and hand them the keys and the title, and you never see it again. ---
**Author:** ![GreasyJack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/df705f/32.png) [@GreasyJack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreasyJack)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2014, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/selling-a-used-car-to-an-auction-house-via-autotrader-good-idea/692627/11 "2014-07-08T19:14:22Z")
If your only concern with selling it private party is the time, just list it on craigslist with a firm but very competitive price and it should sell pretty quick with minimal dealings with tire-kickers. At least in my part of the country, if you listed the Jeep for $5k on CL it’d be gone in a few hours, even with some mechanical issues. ---
**Author:** ![Doctor\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doctor_jackson/32/32_2.png) [@Doctor\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doctor_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2014, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/selling-a-used-car-to-an-auction-house-via-autotrader-good-idea/692627/12 "2014-07-09T20:20:21Z")
> [@dolphinboy](#): > > There are ways to determine the value of a vehicle, such as [Kelly Blue Book](http://www.kbb.com/) etc., and based on that you can donate it to charity and take a tax write off… It’s not that easy [anymore](http://www.bankrate.com/finance/money-guides/donating-a-vehicle-to-charity-1.aspx). > [@](#): > > Giving away a clunker to a charity was once straightforward. You could claim the old car’s fair market value, that is, the amount a willing buyer would pay a willing seller for the product. Typically, you’d refer to auto valuation services, such as the Kelley Blue Book, to get an idea of the donated car’s value, give it to your favorite nonprofit and then drive off with a tax break equal to that valuation amount. No more. > > Because some taxpayers got greedy, claiming much more than their old autos were worth, lawmakers tightened the rules on how much you can write off for a vehicle donation. Now the precise tax break depends on the donor’s claimed value of the gift and how the charity uses the vehicle Not saying not to donate, but be aware that tax deduction rules are more complicated now. ---
**Author:** ![Death\_of\_Rats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a6a055/32.png) [@Death\_of\_Rats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Death_of_Rats)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2014, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/selling-a-used-car-to-an-auction-house-via-autotrader-good-idea/692627/13 "2014-07-09T20:35:58Z")
I would suggest the Craigslist route. Also, being a Jeep, post a link to some local Jeep clubs and you are guaranteed to find a buyer who wants it either for parts or to build into a trail rig. ---
**Author:** ![muttrox](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a8b319/32.png) [@muttrox](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muttrox)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2014, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/selling-a-used-car-to-an-auction-house-via-autotrader-good-idea/692627/14 "2014-08-28T19:58:28Z")
> [@Donald\_Rump](#): > > So it looks like my options are: > > - Sell it for scrap > - Donate it to charity > - Sell it to CarMax (pain in the ass because there isn’t one nearby) > - Sell it to an auction house via AutoTrader. > > AutoTrader quoted me a surprisingly high price of $5,000, leading me to think this is obviously the best option. But it almost seems too good to be true. Will I show up to the auction house and be told the real offer is $1,000? AutoTrader does not offer you a trip to the auction house. There is no functionality like that. I assume you are referring to their [Trade In Marketplace](http://www.autotrader.com/car-news/trade-in.xhtml). This is a guaranteed price. It’s 100% legit. Take the TIM offer to the participating dealer and they will give you a check for $5,000. \*\*\*IF IF IF \*\*\*you have answered all the questions accurately, and your vehicle is in the condition you asserted in the online form. If not, all bets are off. AutoTraders algorithm is such that the dealer will get your car for a price that allows them to make a profit (either via retail or wholesale), and allow you to do this with no effort. And hey, if you’re at the dealership and find your next car, why wouldn’t that be wonderful for everyone as well.