Selling A Car - Carvana Etc.

[PontiacHO]

I’ve been given the green light to sell my mother in law’s car. (2007 Impala with less than 30k miles.) She hasn’t driven in 3+ years. I’m not sure that the car will run with the old fuel in it. Anyway, We want to eliminate dealing with individuals coming to see the car at her home. We’ve never used the on-line process but seems (in theory) to be the best solution. The dealer makes an offer and comes and picks the car up???
Are there any on-line companies that do better than others. We’ve heard that Carvana seems fair???
Any advice is appreciated.

 

[RitcheyRch]

Try givemethevin.com

They paid much more than Carmax and Carvana when I had to sell my Dad's Dodge Challenger when he was diagnosed with Alzheimer's and could no longer drive.

 

[PontiacHO]

Thanks for the info. Had never heard of them but it seems they are aggressively trying to be the best in this market.

 

[MrHorspwer]

Don't expect much from Carvana. The oldest vehicles they have listed is 2009 but the bulk of their inventory falls into the window of less than 10-years old.

My bet is they're going to offer you a price more in-line with them sending it to a wholesale auction, not listing it on their site. Expect to be disappointed.

 

[Speedbird001]

Model Year 2007, your probably SOL with any of these big name places.

Probably better off with Autotrader (if you can handle the BS that comes with that)

Maybe try a local used car place. I’d ask them about consignment, no $ out of their pocket until they get paid… did that with a motorcycle, painless (I had to ok the sale price, they took 20%)

 

[northestPM]

You will get way less if you trade it in or sell it to a car buying business/dealer/Carmax/Carvana. Yes, they are very easy and convenient but you will get much less than selling it private party. I doubt these dealers would give you much at all.

Sell it on Facebook Marketplace, but you will have to deal with the annoying lowball offers and tire kicker people. But you'll probably get thousands more in your pocket.

 

[joekingcorvette]

Use FB marketplace and Craiglist. I if priced right you should get some offers. 2007 Impala's with low miles are very desirable. I sold a Corvette that I purchased new in 2005 in one day on marketplace. I had a high mileage Chevrolet Cruze that was really nice and I had to almost give it away. I sold the Cruze for someone else ( I wouldn't want one). Oh and if you don't get any bites keep lowering the price.

 

[alarmguy]

I’ve been given the green light to sell my mother in law’s car. (2007 Impala with less than 30k miles.) She hasn’t driven in 3+ years. I’m not sure that the car will run with the old fuel in it. Anyway, We want to eliminate dealing with individuals coming to see the car at her home. We’ve never used the on-line process but seems (in theory) to be the best solution. The dealer makes an offer and comes and picks the car up???
Are there any on-line companies that do better than others. We’ve heard that Carvana seems fair???
Any advice is appreciated.

I would definitely give Carvana a shot, it only takes a few minutes online
I’m not too sure how one would do with an older model, but it doesn’t cost you anything to find out. Meaning they may not be interested enough to make a high offer versus somebody on Facebook marketplace.

Again, go to Carvana‘s website and find out, the worst that can happen is you become educated as to the value of the car so if somebody else tries to really lowball you, you have carvans as a back up.

Convenience has a price, but that doesn’t matter to some, including even me maybe as long as you know it’s not possible for a car retailer to give you a retail price as they have to buy at wholesale cost and resell at retail. But knowing that it’s certainly hassle free really no different than when you trade cars in.

 

[PontiacHO]

Thanks. The obstacle is the car is three hours away from me. The logistics of showing the car to potential buyers is almost impossible. (Craigslist or FB Market) That’s the reason for checking into the online offer-purchase possibilities. Then selling the home and property is next. At least a realtor conducts the showings without the need for our being there.

 

[RhondaHonda]

The Carvana quote only takes a few minutes, so give that a shot. I’m not sure they even buy cars that old, though. I’ve sold one to givemethevin.com and one to Vroom(dead). With givemethevin, I sent in pics, drove it to the nearest auction place and dropped it off. Vroom picked it up at my house. Givemethevin was a much better overall experience and probably points to why they are still in business.

Realistically, what’s a low mile 2007 Impala worth, $4,000? I think any of the online buyers are going to give you auction prices at best, so $1,000 or so. It may be worth listing it and taking a day of work to show it after you advertise it for a week or so on Facebook, etc.

Keep us posted.

 

[harbor]

Given your situation, it’s prob best to sell the house & property first, get the Impala running (battery/clean fuel) and then sell it from MIL’s location or drive it back home and sell it from your place.
Your realtor may have additional suggestions.

 

[Hillbilly Deluxe]

You missed the boat with Carvana. The prime time to do that was Sept 2021 - June 2022.

Your best bet is to do this-

Have it professionally cleaned/detailed. Get the maintenance up to date. Make sure it's got good tires, brakes, etc. Get it looking and acting as like new as you can.

Write out a GOOD, COMPREHENSIVE description and put it on FB Marketplace. State at the bottom of the description - No scammers, no lookers. Do not send "Is this still available", this will be 100% ignored. If you mistakenly hit send on that pre-recorded message, immediately send a message saying it was a mistake. Send me a well-written message stating that you are seriously interested in the car.

I assure you that stating that last part in the description will bring you interested parties. It will also allow you to legitimately weed out the people you do not want to deal with. I have had 100% success with this method described above for several cars in which match your situation - me selling cars for my stepfather, mother, etc. I have them cleaned, I survey pricing, I write great descriptions and I have the maintenance up. I have had ZERO PROBLEMS getting high-quality, serious buyers to deal with in less than 24 hours.

Do what I say and you will have a few serious buyers on you in a matter of hours and you will get top dollar. Probably 25% more than any car lot will come close to offering you. Like was said above, no car lot other than a buy-here, pay-here is going to want that car. A lot of private individuals will want it.

 

[Hillbilly Deluxe]

Thanks. The obstacle is the car is three hours away from me. The logistics of showing the car to potential buyers is almost impossible. (Craigslist or FB Market) That’s the reason for checking into the online offer-purchase possibilities. Then selling the home and property is next. At least a realtor conducts the showings without the need for our being there.

Get the car to your house and deal with it there. Make sure you have the title.