How to Sell Your Car on Craigslist

This is part of a seven-post mini-series that will explore our journey in selling and buying a used car. You can scroll to the bottom of this post to explore the entire series.

I outlined the majority of our reasons for deciding to sell our older car in Monday’s post. When we finally made the decision, the next obvious question was “How are we going to do it?”

We tossed around a few ideas, including trading in the car, selling through a service, and selling privately. Ultimately, the success of a coworker with selling her mechanically-challenged car on Craigslist won us over and we decided to go that route.

Our Results

We believed that for a bit more effort in preparation and research, we could get more money selling the car privately on Craigslist than through any other means. Kelly Blue Book agrees–private party sale values are typically higher than any other.

Your mileage may vary, but we had fairly good success with getting rid of the car via Craigslist. I listed the car for sale on a Friday afternoon at 11:30 AM. By 3:30 PM the same day, I had a stack of cash in my hands. Although I got $300 less than what I listed the car for, I also got $300 more than what I thought the realistic final sale value would be.

In my book, that was a success. Craigslist is fantastic for used cars because it’s free, it’s popular, and therefore it’s active with a lot of ready and willing buyers.

The Process (How-To)

Since many of you reading this post will be interested in following in my footsteps, I’ll quickly recap the entire process from start to finish. Here’s what we did to sell the car:

• Very important: Research all of the car sale laws in your state and local municipality. You’ll need to know about transferring the title, registrations, sales tax, etc. Your state’s DMV website is a great place to start, but for me, the local tax collector’s office proved most helpful.
• Prepare all the paperwork you have on your car, most importantly: the title, the insurance card, service records, and any past history (lien releases, purchase record, etc.).
• Create a vehicle history: when you purchased the car, what work has been done to it, etc.
• Research the price of the car. Look up its Blue Book value, what it’s selling for on eBay Motors, and comparable cars on your local Craigslist.

• Clean the car the day before you show it. If you want until the day-of, you’ll be running around like a chicken with your head cut off. Remove all personal possessions from the vehicle (remember the glove box, center console, and trunk!). Remove all stickers, toll passes, parking permits, specialty license plates, etc.
• Take photos of your cleaned-out car using a decent camera and from attractive angles.
• Register for a free Craigslist account, and confirm/accept everything that needs to be set up (email, cell phone, etc.).

• Familiarize yourself with the common scams prevalent on Craigslist (they are easy to find on the Craigslist page).
• Determine how you’ll show the car and deal with requests. Email worked best for me, because I could organize and screen interested parties in bulk (instead of having to give an immediate answer to someone on the phone).
• Prepare your listing and post it to Craigslist. From speaking with others and personal experience, Friday at lunchtime or early afternoon seems to work best, giving you the opportunity to sell that same day or over the weekend.

• Show your car in the way you’ve determined and accept the best offer.
• Exchange payment for your title, registration, or any other forms your state might require, like a Bill of Sale.
• Notify your county or state that the car has been sold. Typically, this is done through some type of Notice of Sale and protects you from liability.
• Notify your insurance company that you’ve sold the car.
• Deposit your cash in the bank and enjoy!

My Best Tips

You can list a car on Craigslist and hope for the best. Or you can really list the car, put a little more effort into the whole experience, and walk away without a ton of wasted time and a better feeling. Here’s my solid list of tips for getting the most out of your Craigslist experience:

• Be up-front and honest. Many of the people who buy used cars will be experienced at spotting damage and problems, so don’t cost yourself the sale by being a sleezeball. You’ll also ruin it for the rest of us. (If you’re interested, read about the Market for Lemons, which discusses the forces that affect used car prices).
• List everything that’s positive about the car first, then everything that’s wrong with it. People will be more likely to overlook the negatives if they’ve already warmed up to the idea of buying your car.
• If you’re lucky, you’ll have multiple people lining up to see the car as soon as possible. Be fair, but remember that you’re trying to get the best price for your ride. Don’t let people guilt-trip you into settling for anything with sob stories and promises.

• Be thorough and honest in your listing. Write out everything you can think of that you would find relevant as a buyer. Try to put the buyer in your own shoes as a car owner and walk them through the car’s complete history.
• Format the listing like a blog post. Use short, concise paragraphs with a few sentences each. Too many Craigslist ads look like a giant blob of text goo. Being clear & legible will go a long way. Enclose each idea (what’s good with the car, wrong with the car, etc.) in a single paragraph.
• Take great photos showing multiple angles. A side shot is a great way to show the profile of the car to people who may be unfamiliar with the model. A shot of the interior is also preferable. If the car has any damage, try to include the area of damage in one of the photos. Remember: you want to show the car to people who know what they’re getting, not surprise them.

• Be ready to get offer spam (as opposed to scams). “People” will email you to see if the car is still available. When you respond, a bot will spam you with sites you should visit, claiming you’re “listing your car price too low.” I got at least 3 of these.
• Don’t let people push you around. The best way to do that is to be armed and ready with information about the fair price for the car and your local laws. If any request seems fishy, question it.
• Assume people are not familiar with the car. You know your car intimately, but others may not. Providing complete descriptions like “Good-mileage Silver Dodge Intrepid family sedan, 2001 SE model, 4-door V6. 84,400 miles” is helpful.

• Play up everything positive about the car (regular oil changes, recent maintenance), and play down negatives (“hit a twig, but it didn’t cause any serious damage”). But remember to be honest!
• If the car has never been in an accident, or is a one-owner or non-smoking family car, say so. People want to know they’re getting a relatively “clean” car.
• Get your terminology right! I had to re-edit my listing several times, after realizing that I called out some of the parts that needed to be replaced by their incorrect names. Look on a mechanic’s work estimate or call one if you’re not sure of what something’s called.

• If your car needs work, it’s helpful to have an estimate for the work handy (even if it’s just an amount you share with the buyer). Often, mechanics will purchase cars that need work, so get an idea of the “parts-only” cost as well.
• Don’t price the car too low. Give yourself plenty of negotiation room to work with, and don’t rely entirely on Blue Book averages. My car sold for about $300-$500 above fair Blue Book value.
• Have a “floor price” in mind that you’re not willing to go below until you’ve evaluated many, many offers.
• Conversely, have a “ceiling price” in mind, where any offer equal to or above that price will be accepted on the spot.

My Template

Since I have a feeling that some of you will want to see it, I’m including my original Craigslist “template” as an insert below:

Title: 2001 Dodge Intrepid Silver /# of miles/ /price/

Good-mileage Silver Dodge Intrepid family sedan, /year & model/, /# of doors/ /V4, V6, etc./. /mileage/. Clean title. Located in /give your general location/.

Two owner-car (same family) since purchase. No major accidents or mechanical issues during the car’s lifetime. New A/C installed in 2008 (complete system). New cooling fan installed a few months ago. Brakes recently replaced. Oil changes every 3,000 miles. New battery (installed last year).

Smooth ride, roomy car (HUGE trunk); has served me well. Upgrading to something bigger, so this is your chance for a good deal (especially if you’re mechanically inclined to do some maintenance yourself!).

Minor dent in front bumper due to hitting a small twig a few years ago. Power locks and windows (unfortunately, no functioning remote). Needs routine maintenance: replacing front struts and bearing plates (rusted out), fixing small oil leak, and replacing tires due to wear. All should be completed ASAP before continuing to drive.

Since it needs some work, I’m asking /give your price again/, cash only. Any reasonable offer will not be refused. Title & paperwork is ready to be signed over upon payment.

Per Florida laws, I keep tag/registration, and you are advised to obtain insurance prior to purchasing this vehicle! /(replace with any of your own state’s laws that you’d like to make clear up front)/

EMAIL is the best way to reach me today. Car can be viewed on /give best times and dates/. Questions welcome!

I sincerely hope that this will get you the best possible price for your Craigslist listing!

Have You Done It?

Do you have experience with selling a car on Craigslist? I am eager to hear your tips and what worked in your situation! Please share in the comments below or on Facebook!

This is part of a seven-part series on our new car journey. Below are links to posts that have already been published as part of this series:

1. Our One-Car Experiment and Car Decision
2. This post
3. Using Consumer Reports to Select a Car
4. Would You Buy a Rental Car?
5. Should You Buy a New or Used Car?
6. Is an Extended Car Warranty Worth It?
7. Review of Hertz Rent2Buy

Photo by Alisha V

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