autobahnA8

Moving into a 991 soon and debating taking a bath on my 997 as a trade-in or going the private party sale route. Have never tried to sell a high(er)-end car private party and was curious if anyone has had any decent luck doing so. Any nuances with liability, transfer of ownership, etc.? Did you get any "buyers" who just wanted to test drive the car and weren't legitimate buyers?

I'll be looking to part with my 2007 C2, midnight blue over stone gray leather, 6-speed, 39,3xx miles. Fresh 40k service and rear tires.

Thanks in advance!

996toomey

I have done it several times without incident.

If you price it correctly you can sell it here on RL.

niche

It's all about price. Price it to sell, not to keep and you will have a good buyer quickly. Over price it, get frustrated and you'll end up in a dealer.

mjsporsche

Summed up perfectly.

The other factor is the signals you will get from your discussions and meetings with the potential buyer.
Selling to a fellow enthusiast (rennlist ) is a more comfortable, enjoyable and trusting experience.

I usually say that you are buying the seller as much as the car. The same holds true when you are selling.

SteveFromMN

If you do it let us know your how you do.

Tcc1999

So true

Also very true.


Sold my '08 S to a fellow RL'er at the lease buy out price which was several $K less than I might have gotten otherwise - a deposit in the Karma Bank as well as a timing issue. But realistic pricing (=not being really greedy) is important and I had numerous, numerous responses most with cash in hand. To be fair sold it to the first responder. He's was/is a great guy, we had a good rapport and I was happy to sell it to him at that price. I hope the experience was equally good for him. The money transfer was not a problem although at some point you have to take a leap of faith - and this helps if you have a few conversations with the person you are selling to. In my case the car was leased so I had a slightly more complicated arrangement but all went off without a hitch.

Edit: I think you have to be a member to post it here. Membership cost is probably less than an ad and, while I'm just guessing, you might find a more knowledgeable, trustworthy buyer from a group of enthusiasts looking for a good car at the right price (at least that was my experience)

McCulla

I've sold all 6 of my Porsches since 1987 (4 911's and 2 944S2's) privately. No issues on any of them and no test drive tire kickers. Like the other posters have mentioned, having your antennae up and tuned is important and the money changing hands is sometimes freaky, even if it only takes 10 minutes. If you are patient and not overly greedy AND you don't mind doing the deal, don't trade it in.

Steve/K2WE

Where do you live?? In New York, I gave my old car to the dealer as they took almost $30k in trade off the bottom line of my new car AND I saved thousands in sales tax.. It might be worth trading it in, this way you won't get calls in the middle of the night from the new owner complaining about some odd ball problem.. I learned my lesson.. Never again.

How much will the dealer give you twords the new car??

Steve in Saratoga Springs, NY

autobahnA8

Thanks, all.

I'm in NC. Have had some help from friends in the car business RE pricing my 997 appropriately. Dealer offered me a trade-in price that was about $10k short where I think it would clear market. I am sympathetic to the fact that they will need/want to put some money into it and need to make a profit, but for $10k I think it might be worth going the private party route.

mdr2001

AutobahnA8,

I am the "other side" of the Tim's(Tcc1999) post. I can say that the experience was excellent - actually better than I could have imagined. I have been on the board a while(dreaming) but never able to find the right deal. Enter the sale thread posted last year.

I agree that fellow Rennlisters will have a deeper appreciation and knowledge of the car than the general buyer - so you should eliminate a few "test drive" calls. I bought my car from Tim sight unseen(except for detailed pictures) and without a test drive. All was done via phone, email and of course a PPI. There were no surprises.

The car has been great and as we approach 11 months of ownership, I wouldn't do it any other way. I know I have seen many posts of members looking for cars with similar configurations. I say post it on the board and see what happens. It appears nice 997 examples are in short supply - so you may be surprised.

Besides, do you really want to see the car on the Porsche lot 2 weeks later for $15K more than they gave you for it (now I am just stirring the pot )

GLWS

Mark

X51

Sold my 996 X51 here on rennlist last fall in less than 2 hours. Pride of ownership, honesty, full records, well maintained - all those things are important to enthusiasts like us. If you have a great example to sell, it will sell itself. I sold mine for $5k more than the dealer was willing to give me for it on trade, and yet it was considered "under market" by several of my peers on rennlist. I wanted it to go to an enthusiast who would take care of it like I did, and I wanted someone to get a very fair deal. I think that's the only way to do business. Good luck with the process!

Chaos

I have looked at cars that were later traded in for alot less than I initially offered...

2K7TTMIA

Good advice from all. You factor in savings on sales taxes on top of trade in value and it would still be a shade below private sale, which if it sells quick, works in your favor. Good luck either way and post up what kind of 991 deals are available in your area.

autobahnA8

I ended up finding a local [non-porsche] dealer who was willing to offer my car on consignment for a flat fee. I thought this was a good outcome as I don't have to worry about being available to show the car and he is able to offer financing, take trade-in's, etc. which could broaden the universe of potential buyers.

Dealers in my area weren't willing to go much more than 4.5% off MSRP - guess that's what happens when there is only 1 dealer in the city! I found a nice deal on a barely broken in 991 which I acquired in a private party transaction.

Datura

I just sold my Carrera S by private sale. Got 5K more than the dealer would give on a trade.

I would recommend that you have all the paperwork ready to email to a potential buyer such as Carfax. I had my local Porsche dealer do an advance PPI as well.

Pretty painless actually. The buyer flew in, checked out the car, we went to a local bank where they issued a certified check to me.
What little time I put in was certainly worth 5K in my pocket.

I had it listed Rennlist but sold through Autotrader I believe.