Imo000

The worst is the moronic offers that soem make, without ever seeing the car. I keep telling them, come have a look and if you are a serious buyer, we'll make a deal.

LastMezger

I don't even respond. Offers like "I have a budget of $5,000 for a summer toy. Call me if you want to deal." or "I have $10,000 cash in hand." just seems like a scam or something. WTF would I care if the buyer had "cash in hand"? Finance it, lease it, borrow money from your mom...doesn't matter to me...

PPo

I purposely make it very difficult for the buyer to qualify to come out and see the car. I set it on my terms, and on my time. If they are serious, they will meet your terms... once they check out to be 100% legit and interested, then I let my guard down and become friendly. Selling a car privately is a huge pain...

I just gave my mechanic a car a few weeks ago... we agreed that he would put it on his lot, and handle the whole deal. He knows the price I want, and I told him that anything he gets over that price he can keep. Let's see how that works out...

LastMezger

Good ideas.

Imo000

I don't know if making it very difficult is a good idea. I just set a common date and time that works for me and the buyer and then stick with it. I don't make them jump through hoops cause I wouldn't want someone to do that with me.

I leave the address for last and to get it, I ask them to call me when they are leaving. This way I'm pretty certain that they will show up. Other that than, I don't screw around with the buyer.

GTASHARK

I'm going through the same kind of private sale experiences that have been mentioned in this thread. Balancing being civil with prospective buyers, while not bending over backwards.

There certainly is strong case for trading in to a dealer

Christien

If you guys are serious about trading in, I'm happy to take a look and make an offer, but it *would* be at wholesale value. pm me.

LastMezger

Thanks Christian. I suspect, however, that some of the lowest offers are still well above wholesale. I understand that though.

canuck964

I don't know if it is the same in Ontario but in BC when you trade in your car you get the HST credit on the trade in amount.

Therefore the HST on the new car is based on the difference between the sales price on the new car and the trade in value of the old car.

This means that if you were to sell privately and buy a new car your private sale price has to be 12% (for BC) greater than what the trade in value would be.

Nine11

GST in Alberta is calculated based on the difference as well. Tirekickers and dreamers are always part of the selling nuances.

force4rmr

Unless you do a convenience deal and get the best of both scenarios....best price for your car and the tax savings of a trade

LastMezger

Same in Ont.

Turbodan

if you are buying from a dealer they may agree to put the car in a trade and sell it to your arranged buyer and save you the tax.

PPo

Maybe my language was too strong... I don't screw around with the buyer, but I am very strict about a few things... Like, I will not negotiate the price on the phone, come see the car, then we can talk. No, I will not take less, or commit to the discussion unless you come see the car. I will provide only enough details about the condition that are relevant enough for you to come see the car, I will not type out a long explanation of each part I replaced, or take many pictures and send them to you over E-mail. If you can only pay by cheque, you can have the car when it clears... your problem, not mine. No, I will not take it to your mechanics an hour away until you come see the car and provide a CASH deposit. Deposit is refundable of course. No you cannot borrow it for a day and see how you like it... do that with somebody elses car. I don't care what you think it is worth, how much money you don't have, how much you want it or what your wife thinks... if you can't afford it, don't buy it, and don't waste my time. Finally, I always state that the price is FIRM, and not negitiable. Then I am always willing to negotiate once you show up, are knowledgable about the specific car, find out that you have recently looked at other similar cars, present yourself properly, show up on time, and are generally good natured. I also have the advantage of never being desperate to sell... When people show up with a certified cheque for the amount I am asking, I have all the time in the world for them. That happened for the last 2 Porsches I sold, and they where great people who got a very good deal.

...and I like the idea of waiting to give the exact address until the are on thier way over... nice...

swbatte

I had a guy offer to swap me some of the art he had made for my NSX.
Really?

I had another one say I know you're asking $45,000, but I have $25,000 in hand. I said I have a $45,000 car in hand