Here’s a rare Wheels post that doesn’t talk about either of my BMWs. My mother-in-law isn’t comfortable driving any more and asked me to help her sell her car, a 2004 Chevy Malibu.
I wrote last year about suggestions for selling a car private party. Many of us are busy, time is money and trading in is so very convenient. But investing just a bit of time can avoid leaving money on the table, or spending too much on the buy side.
My mother-in-law’s car was no exhilarating driving experience, but it was reliable transportation. The car was in good condition but far from pristine. It had the smaller four cylinder engine that the Malibu came with that year and so was very good on gas mileage.
I visited CarMax to get a quote of what they would pay for the car, which became my “floor” price. It wasn’t a terrible number, but I thought we could do better while still pricing it very fairly for the next owner.
After some online comparison searching, I came up with a price well north of the CarMax offer but also well below what KBB.com said the car was worth, which was too high based on other Malibu ads I looked at online. (The Edmunds.com private party number was far lower, a pattern I’ve seen repeated on many other cars).
The text of my ad is shown below. Three days after posting the car was sold – thanks Craigslist!
2004 Chevrolet Malibu Sedan – $4,250 (Alexandria)
Silver, 2.2 liter 4 cylinder motor, 78,500 miles. Selling for a little old lady (mother-in-law) who can’t drive any more. Great gas mileage, no accidents.
Clean well running car, Goodyear all season tires less than one year old, recent tuneup. Base model with power windows, air bags, FM/CD player. Title in hand and priced to sell.
If you want a great driving experience, stop reading this ad. If you want simple, reliable and economical transportation with low maintenance costs, this might be the car for you.
May she roll for many more thousands of miles
Next time you have a vehicle to sell, don’t automatically assume private party is too complicated or time consuming. With just a little due diligence, you can have a transaction that makes you more while also giving the buyer a better price than dealer retail. Everyone can win, and you’ll get some good karma too.