Best place to advertise used car for sale?

[Ed_Flecko]

"In the old days", I used to advertise my used cars for sale in my local newspaper classified ad section. I'm hoping you have a better suggestion(s) for me to get into the 21st Century. I was planning on listing my truck for sale on "craigslist", but many people have cautioned me against that. Most people tell me if you advertise on craigslist, you'll likely get a lot of questionable people, shall we say. It sounds like, maybe Autotrader is a good way to go? Do you have any other suggestions on where to advertise? My truck is a simple, 2004 Toyota Tacoma 2WD, extended cab with the 2.4L motor, automatic transmission, and the truck runs flawlessly. I have appx. 183,000 miles on it. I have all service records and I'm the second owner. The truck is pretty stock (no electric windows, mirrors, no cruise-control, etc.) with a few minor dents in the front and rear bumpers and it does have air conditioning. The interior is cloth and in perfect condition. The only two things that have been added, which are pretty nice, is a solid tonneau covers, and a spray-on bed liner which is about 1/4 inch thick...it's really nice. It has new tires, and needs no maintenance. I change my oil every 5000 miles (per the manual) I use Fram Ultra filters and I run Castrol Edge 0W-40. I drive it every day to and from work. I live in Northern California. Thank you for your feedback! Ed

 

[Donald]

I have sold most of mine on Craigslist. Some sell quick, other take awhile. Keep in mind that people will call suggesting you put your vehicle in their online market place for a small fee. Get good pictures, price it right. Look up your competition on CL. With the weather warming, people will be out looking for cars. I have pulled an Carfax so I know what they will see if they pull it, and can explain anything ahead of time. Type up a Bill-of-sale, and find title. Make sure its clean.

 

[RooflessVW]

You could probably just sell a used Tacoma to a dealer and not miss out on any money. Resale on them is stupid high, no matter how old or beat.

 

[mclasser]

Although this was 5 yrs ago, I sold a car on cars.com. I took plenty of pics, priced it right and it was gone in less than a week. Nowadays, CL will get you more hits but you need to be prepared to deal with some "questionable" folks as you mentioned

 

[WhyMe]

i have bought and sold lots of stuff on craigslist. i would say my experience is that 75 % were just people like you and me and just want to buy something. the other 25% are just flakes. if you put it on craigslist just be prepared to deal with people. its part of selling something on your own some might want to trade you a cow for your car . guy might want to finance it. guy might come with a wad of cash. be prepared to hear it all. never let them test drive it unless you are sitting in with them and they show you insurance. if possible go to the dmv and transfer with that person. there are plenty of people that buy and car and try to flip it. if they can't then they sit on the title past the legal time to transfer. also, i would never drive too far to show a car to anyone. maybe 5 miles at the most. usually people that ask you to meet them far away are flakes. lot of them don't even show up. Selling a car can be fun or a pain. price it right and it should sell.

 

[Ed_Flecko]

Originally Posted by rooflessVW

You could probably just sell a used Tacoma to a dealer and not miss out on any money. Resale on them is stupid high, no matter how old it beat.

I think I'd rather sell it outright - I'm confident I'll get more money. That's funny you mention that "Resale on them is stupid high". The, what *I* think is a, "pie in the sky" price that I'd like to get is $6000 but the general feeling I'm getting from other Tacoma owners is to price it at $7000-$7500 and I might be pleasantly surprised. I hope so! Ed

 

[JLTD]

0w-40

 

[Kestas]

I've only sold one car on craigslist. It was a good experience. It sold 2 hours after posting.

 

[Donald]

As long as they are confident you changed the oil on a regular basis, they will not care about the oil or filter.

 

[spk2000]

Can also try Facebook or Nextdoor. I recently bought one off Nextdoor as it targets locals.

 

[spavel6]

I've found that if you state that you will only entertain calls, not texts, it greatly reduces the number of flakes, and you are able to quickly determine the "shadiness" of the individual over the phone. If you don't want to list your phone number, state that you will only respond via phone call to those that list their phone number in the initial email. Fakes/Time wasters/Flakes are far less likely to give their phone numbers and talk on the phone.

 

[JeffKeryk]

If it is half a clean as it sounds, you can use CL or just pat a dang sign on it. Tacomas sell fast. Even my old Tundra gets requests everywhere I go; sometimes people knock on my front door.