Private party car sale for nicer car?

[Chewbacca 7779]

Anyone here do this?  I'm considering selling my Audi for a Landcruiser.  I've sold lots of $5-10k cars on Craigslist and the like, but I've never sold a $40k car privately.  Not sure I want to mess with that, but I'm looking at a ~2016 Cruiser and they aren't exactly common, so the odds of being able to just trade in at the dealer is not a sure thing (nor is it a sure thing that I'd get FMV for my car when it's not all that common - 2016 Audi S6).

 

How do you deal with that much cash?  I'm assuming go to the buyer's bank and have him get a certified check or do a wire?  I have the title in hand, so I don't have to deal with a lender on my end.

Edited February 25, 2020 by Chewbacca

[Mother mopar 3318]

Sold a few muscle cars in my time and it was always by certified check or wire transfer.

[52-80 19159]

post it on the associated car enthusiast forum, and when you really need to offload it, do the texasdirectauto / carmax thing.  the floor of their offered price isnt worse than dealer trade-in, so you're not tied to a swap.

[orange dream 1251]

I used givemethevin.com a couple of years ago.  Sent them some pics, answered a few more questions and they even worked with the dealer I was buying from so that I got credit for the trade-in and saved on the taxes on the car I was purchasing.

It was surprisingly easy and I feel like i got FMV for what I was getting rid of.  It was 16-18k, not the range you are talking about though, so YMMV.

[TwiceHorn 31472]

Hundreds.  Crisp ones.

[Johnny Chimpo 478]

I would try posting on a Audi S6 enthusiast forum like mentioned above, or at least an Audi enthusiast forum. Take it by Carmax and a few other dealerships to establish your floor. 

[CooterBrown 18012]

There’s also Carvana. Supposedly a decent trade in price and you do it all online. they come pick up the car.

[immamac 42850]

There's services specifically designed to do this and syndicate your listing like a dealer would. They even insure cars during test drive and deal with all the riff raff from offering you stupid amounts. 

Tred.com is one I have used in the past to sell a 40k+ car cash. It allows you to take financing as well (through them or they can bring their own) which opens up a lot more of the market to you. Also if you have a transferrable warranty this is a big deal. 

[Js1 85338]

2 hours ago, CooterBrown said:

There’s also Carvana. Supposedly a decent trade in price and you do it all online. they come pick up the car.

Carvana ended up offering me almost 30% more than any dealer or Carmax offered me for my car.  And they picked it up.  Easiest fucking thing I've ever done. 

[ShaggyBevo RIP 3868]

Keep in mind trade value gets knocked off taxes. 6.25% of $40K is $2500. Is private party going to be over $2500 more than trade in and what is your time worth?

Edited February 26, 2020 by ShaggyBevo RIP

[shakahorn 1645]

6 hours ago, Js1 said:

Carvana ended up offering me almost 30% more than any dealer or Carmax offered me for my car.  And they picked it up.  Easiest fucking thing I've ever done. 

This might be a good time to jump on deals from Carvana.  They're still trying build market share as opposed to being profitable.

[ButtFumble 5179]

1. certified checks are worthless

2. you need to talk with your bank about the transfer and how long those can be reversed

3. the fact that your car is a bit more "rare" (not extremely rare though, but with enthusiast forums) helps you a little bit, but the sad reality is most people in the USA cannot come up with that amount of cash. They also are often too stupid to understand the concept of getting a loan from a bank or credit union even if they can EASILY qualify for the loan and afford the car. The vast vast vast majority of Americans think "car loan must go to car dealer" and that is the end of that. This makes selling your car very difficult on your own and being a somewhat unique car probably exposes you to a certain type of "professional haggler" that knows it is hard to sell a $40,000 car on your own and probably assumes you are in debt or strapped for cash or the maintenance is killing you so they will hound you mercilessly with low ball offers and buffoonery. But if you can get it to the right market there might be a cash buyer or someone that understands how to get a loan not from a dealer. So that works in your favor is you can withstand the other idiots that will think you are desperate.

4. the $8,000 or $10,000 car is the sweet spot for a used car dealer and a used car buyer so if you were in a good market in the past and had a good car (especially for a 16yo or a college kid car) that helped you sell those cars with less hassle all the more so if you had a popular model with that crowd and a "safe" car for the parents piece of mind. The less popular the car is with the "cool kids"  and the smaller the market the harder it is to sell even those desirable $8,000 to $10,000 cars and it almost becomes more of a hassle than it is worth (had to go through this a bit ago when my dad passed away)

so you experience with those cars will probably not be the same as with an Audi you are putting a value of $40,000 on

5. cash is KING period meet them at their bank or talk to your bank about the POSSIBILITY of a certified check of that check is cut IN FRONT OF YOU at the buyers bank. In the past a certified check meant that the bank took the funds from the account holder and placed those funds into an account held by the bank and cut the check on that account and thus stopping the check or clearing out the account was not an issue. These days a certified check is just a worthless piece of shit that actually takes longer to ACTUALLY clear than a regular check, but your bank will often let you go ahead and spend off of until they call you and tell you it was a fake.  So IF you can get a check cut from the BUYERS bank that is guaranteed to have funds or that is drawn on an account not held by the buyer and instead held by the bank AND your bank says that is a good idea then you might try that. Otherwise fuck certified checks they are the biggest scam running. And again talk to your bank about wire transfers and how long until those funds have FULLY cleared before you go that route because a lot of times those are not worth shit either if not properly set up.

6. I have read a few people selling cars recently and as stated above Carvana seemed to be paying well above what the others were paying and it was a very hassle free process probably because as stated above they are trying to build inventory and they are oN tHe WeB!!! and HaVe aN ApP!!!!! so that means they will absolutely make money at some point so they can keep losing money forever until they make money or go broke

Edited February 26, 2020 by ButtFumble

[Parliament 14260]

Or meet the guy at a branch of HIS bank. You go into the lobby and he writes you the check. Before he leaves, you take the check to the teller and get straight cash homie. Your friend is waiting outside with his ccw, so you don't get jacked in the parking lot.

The bank can probably write you a cashier's check too that is 100% good? Not sure.

Also, great humblebrag by OP.

[Chewbacca 7779]

Keep in mind trade value gets knocked off taxes. 6.25% of $40K is $2500. Is private party going to be over $2500 more than trade in and what is your time worth?

All depends on how shitty an offer i get on trade, doesn't it?

[Chewbacca 7779]

Or meet the guy at a branch of HIS bank. You go into the lobby and he writes you the check. Before he leaves, you take the check to the teller and get straight cash homie. Your friend is waiting outside with his ccw, so you don't get jacked in the parking lot.

The bank can probably write you a cashier's check too that is 100% good? Not sure.

Also, great humblebrag by OP.

Never knew having the title in hand for a 40k cat was considered a humblebrag around here. Surly must be slipping.

[Johnny Chimpo 478]

A 40k cat? I hope that’s one hairless pussy. 

[Dbeasy 15051]

Never knew having the title in hand for a 40k cat was considered a humblebrag around here. Surly must be slipping.

Wow! The rare DoubleHumbleBrag. Nice. Well done.