The used car market is tough. I need to change my approach.

[macarose]

I have been a car dealer since 2003. To be brutally blunt, this market has been one of the most challenging I have ever experienced.

Even worse than the last recession.

There have been a variety of factors. Facebook is now charging for ads while providing less reach. Craigslist seems to have lower volume too.

Most wholesale auctions are now hyper competitive because the lack of vehicles from 2021 thru 2023 are pushing everything up except for unpopular models and EVs. When I buy those, they sit.

The retail side of the used car business is consolidating, and the long-term reliability of cars is getting worse. My list of cars I won't buy is longer than it has ever been.

I feel like I'm hitting all the cylinders when it comes to the quality of my vehicles. Even though it takes me more than twice as much time to find those outstanding buys, the value proposition is still exactly where I like it to be.

The market is just dead... and bleeding out.

Usually I do a pretty good job of hitting the sweet spot when it comes to a vehicle's price, the ownership history, and overall market demand. I also advertise in four different markets on Craigslist (Atlanta, Augusta, Birmingham, and Chattanooga) and have about 4,000 followers on Facebook along with nearly 500,000 members at Mileage Impossible.

There is a missing ingredient somewhere. Maybe my model mix is wrong. Maybe my online presentation needs a different approach. Fewer words. More videos. It's like I built a baseball team filled with excellent players, but now attendance is down and the usual media marketing isn't working.

I'm looking for a discussion of ideas. What works in your market. What I may want to try with mine. This is what I have online right now. Feel free to brainstorm ideas.

 

[eljefino]

I bought this camry for my youngest kid to drive. 08 with 221k miles, underpriced at $2500. Beautiful blue color, kinda sorta starting to rust underneath, needed brakes, and the tires were 10mm smaller than they should have been, and a load range less. Fixed all that and got it inspected/legal. The car was loaded like an Avalon with reclining rear leather seats, the sunshade on the back deck, working dual zone AC, etc.

Also found it burned a little oil (normal for a 2009 2.4) that didn't get fixed to perfection with piston soaks or 5w30, and my kid just didn't take well to driving it. Blind spots, no rear camera, touchy DBW throttle. So I sold it for $3300 (with a recent state inspection) to the first person to reply, within the span of the first morning it was listed.

And I got an 08 Prius, 251k, $1100, with a gorgeous interior, some "rubbing is racing" body damage on the passenger doors, that had been sitting for a week or more unsold. Seller was surprised I showed up, as he was getting a lot of no-shows. You and I would think that the Doordash crowd would be out looking for beater Prii but this one somehow escaped detection.

You've got three luxury makes and that Dodge Caliber, nothing I'd buy here in Maine. The Dodge is a turd (sorry) and the luxury makes mean more excise tax and insurance. But I'm not one to judge the Atlanta market with its lack of rust and possibly different priorites as far as status symbols go.

Myself, I don't like when a seller "gushes" about the car's condition, it seems slimy and dealer-esque. Well, yeah, you ARE a dealer. I just say "everything works, no warning lights on the dash, cold AC, new state inspection" and put in about seven photos including one under the hood and one or two under the car showing how little rust there is. I act casual, not putting too much out there, to make the person curious enough to come look in person. Once here, they'll realize my car is better than anything else they've been looking at. IMO more photos are NOT better.

 

[Elkins45]

I’ll offer one piece of advice that”s maybe not even worth what you paid for it. I’m reading this on an iPad and when I clicked your link it opened the Craigslist app. Here’s a crop from a screenshot of that app:

The title doesn’t tell me make, model, or year. One owner and perfect Carfax is a plus, but not if it’s on something I would never consider buying, like a Kia or Dodge. If I’m feeling lazy I’m going to scroll right past that without ever opening it. Maybe that’s just me, but it’s the first thing I thought of.

 

[SC Maintenance]

Since your selling modestly priced cars I would suggest due to the K-shaped economy, where the top half continue to do well and the bottom half do not - record credit card debt with rising delinquencies, McDonalds had a huge same store sales decline, at the same time student loan required payments have kicked back in, and soon the delinquencies will be reported to credit agencies crashing a lot of people credit score, etc, etc. So I wouldn't beat yourself up too much.

Still you need to sell some cars. I would actually suggest that no-one trusts Craigslist anymore, and you can look up the demographics on social yourself but Facebook is not where the youngsters are going anymore. I would guess a large percentage of your customers typically younger? Maybe you need to expand where your posting.

And I agree with @Elkins45 . I have looked at your adds because I know who there from, but if I didn't I would not click. They actually have a clickbait feel to them a bit honestly. It would be worth a try, list 25% with full details in the title and see if you get more hits?

 

[macarose]

Since your selling modestly priced cars I would suggest due to the K-shaped economy, where the top half continue to do well and the bottom half do not - record credit card debt with rising delinquencies, McDonalds had a huge same store sales decline, at the same time student loan required payments have kicked back in, and soon the delinquencies will be reported to credit agencies crashing a lot of people credit score, etc, etc. So I wouldn't beat yourself up too much.

Still you need to sell some cars. I would actually suggest that no-one trusts Craigslist anymore, and you can look up the demographics on social yourself but Facebook is not where the youngsters are going anymore. I would guess a large percentage of your customers typically younger? Maybe you need to expand where your posting.

And I agree with @Elkins45 . I have looked at your adds because I know who there from, but if I didn't I would not click. They actually have a clickbait feel to them a bit honestly. It would be worth a try, list 25% with full details in the title and see if you get more hits?

They limit the number of characters I can use on the titles but I'm going to start with the models first. Good idea.

 

[macarose]

I’ll offer one piece of advice that”s maybe not even worth what you paid for it. I’m reading this on an iPad and when I clicked your link it opened the Craigslist app. Here’s a crop from a screenshot of that app:

View attachment 287226

The title doesn’t tell me make, model, or year. One owner and perfect Carfax is a plus, but not if it’s on something I would never consider buying, like a Kia or Dodge. If I’m feeling lazy I’m going to scroll right past that without ever opening it. Maybe that’s just me, but it’s the first thing I thought of.

I just changed that ad but I'm also going to change all of them this evening so that the model name is the first thing you see.

Thanks very much for the heads up.

 

[Chris142]

Most people on a budget do not understand the difference between a quality used car and a junker. They just want a cheap car for $500 and when it blows up they buy another.

 

[NormanBuntz]

I think it's a reflection of the national economy not being as strong as many people say. Except for the wealthy, discretionary income is tight. Owners are holding onto their cars longer with new car prices getting crazy high. It's a combination of things.

I see that Autotrader now charges $49 for an ad plus 1% of the sale price. Bummer. Last time I used Autotrader it was a flat $35.

 

[macarose]

I just spent the last two hours revising these ads thanks to a lot of great feedback here.

Please feel free to critique. If I didn't have thick skin, I wouldn't be in the car business.

 

[dbias]

The current used market is nothing like I’ve seen before. This past year I decided to downsize my number of cars as needs have changed. The first one to go was the 2012 ford transit Connect with 225k miles. I put in a few pictures and very accurate description on Facebook and after checking KBB for a fair price it sold to the second person that looked at it.
Second one to go was my 2016 Honda Civic Coupe with 125k miles on it and I did the same on Facebook and within minutes of listing it an 18 year old girl called and wanted to come see it. She showed up with grandpa in his immaculate dodge truck and he asked if she could drive it and I said sure and we took it around town a bit and came back to where he was waiting in his truck and he asked her if she liked it and she said yes she loved it. He handed me cash and his card. He owns three different new car dealerships within a 100 mile radius of me. I was floored. Why would he go this route to get her a car when he has access to literally a thousand of them? He never even looked the car over. I mean it was in great shape but still he barely left his truck except to hand me the money. Still scratching my head over that one.
I have a feeling that I could have gotten more money for both cars but liked the fact it was over quick and no hassles.
With all that being said I would say finding decent vehicles at the right price is hard for a volume dealer.

 

[macarose]

The current used market is nothing like I’ve seen before. This past year I decided to downsize my number of cars as needs have changed. The first one to go was the 2012 ford transit Connect with 225k miles. I put in a few pictures and very accurate description on Facebook and after checking KBB for a fair price it sold to the second person that looked at it.
Second one to go was my 2016 Honda Civic Coupe with 125k miles on it and I did the same on Facebook and within minutes of listing it an 18 year old girl called and wanted to come see it. She showed up with grandpa in his immaculate dodge truck and he asked if she could drive it and I said sure and we took it around town a bit and came back to where he was waiting in his truck and he asked her if she liked it and she said yes she loved it. He handed me cash and his card. He owns three different new car dealerships within a 100 mile radius of me. I was floored. Why would he go this route to get her a car when he has access to literally a thousand of them? He never even looked the car over. I mean it was in great shape but still he barely left his truck except to hand me the money. Still scratching my head over that one.
I have a feeling that I could have gotten more money for both cars but liked the fact it was over quick and no hassles.
With all that being said I would say finding decent vehicles at the right price is hard for a volume dealer.

I have to ask the obvious question. What did you sell the Civic for?

 

[dbias]

I have to ask the obvious question. What did you sell the Civic for?

I sold it for $9,800

 

[Elkins45]

Are you listing on sites like OfferUp and eBay? How about social sites like NextDoor?

I had another thought but it's not really fully formed. It seems to me that a lot of the cars you feature are ones that parents would buy for their kids first vehicle, or for college students. Maybe you need a way to connect with them. Do schools still have newspapers that sell ads? I know college newspapers sell ads. What about a banner hanging from the fence at the local football or baseball field?

 

[2009Caraman]

The current used market is nothing like I’ve seen before. This past year I decided to downsize my number of cars as needs have changed. The first one to go was the 2012 ford transit Connect with 225k miles. I put in a few pictures and very accurate description on Facebook and after checking KBB for a fair price it sold to the second person that looked at it.
Second one to go was my 2016 Honda Civic Coupe with 125k miles on it and I did the same on Facebook and within minutes of listing it an 18 year old girl called and wanted to come see it. She showed up with grandpa in his immaculate dodge truck and he asked if she could drive it and I said sure and we took it around town a bit and came back to where he was waiting in his truck and he asked her if she liked it and she said yes she loved it. He handed me cash and his card. He owns three different new car dealerships within a 100 mile radius of me. I was floored. Why would he go this route to get her a car when he has access to literally a thousand of them? He never even looked the car over. I mean it was in great shape but still he barely left his truck except to hand me the money. Still scratching my head over that one.
I have a feeling that I could have gotten more money for both cars but liked the fact it was over quick and no hassles.
With all that being said I would say finding decent vehicles at the right price is hard for a volume dealer.

Man, the last thing he wants to look at is another car. He knows, its a Honda, itll be ok.

 

[CKN]

I have been a car dealer since 2003. To be brutally blunt, this market has been one of the most challenging I have ever experienced.

Even worse than the last recession.

There have been a variety of factors. Facebook is now charging for ads while providing less reach. Craigslist seems to have lower volume too.

Most wholesale auctions are now hyper competitive because the lack of vehicles from 2021 thru 2023 are pushing everything up except for unpopular models and EVs. When I buy those, they sit.

The retail side of the used car business is consolidating, and the long-term reliability of cars is getting worse. My list of cars I won't buy is longer than it has ever been.

I feel like I'm hitting all the cylinders when it comes to the quality of my vehicles. Even though it takes me more than twice as much time to find those outstanding buys, the value proposition is still exactly where I like it to be.

The market is just dead... and bleeding out.

Usually I do a pretty good job of hitting the sweet spot when it comes to a vehicle's price, the ownership history, and overall market demand. I also advertise in four different markets on Craigslist (Atlanta, Augusta, Birmingham, and Chattanooga) and have about 4,000 followers on Facebook along with nearly 500,000 members at Mileage Impossible.

There is a missing ingredient somewhere. Maybe my model mix is wrong. Maybe my online presentation needs a different approach. Fewer words. More videos. It's like I built a baseball team filled with excellent players, but now attendance is down and the usual media marketing isn't working.

I'm looking for a discussion of ideas. What works in your market. What I may want to try with mine. This is what I have online right now. Feel free to brainstorm ideas.

An answer you are not looking for-
RETIREMENT. For every time there is a season-the season you are participating in could signal it's time for you to quit.

 

[macarose]

I used to tons of business on eBay. It became impossible. Way too many flakes.

Is OfferUp still a thing? Maybe Nextdoor will work well.

 

[macarose]

An answer you are not looking for-
RETIREMENT. For every time there is a season-the season you are participating in could signal it's time for you to quit.

I have thought about writing a book for several years now. It's a shame so many people never touch one these days.

 

[AZjeff]

Year, Make, Model, Miles, Price in the title. Maybe a descriptive word or two. Buyers can see that it's white, silver, etc. You say Carfax on request then include it in the ad, unnecessary sentence. Not sure if promoting your automotive writing adds or detracts from selling a low priced used car? Most just aren't going to be interested. Maybe use text hyperlinks instead of the 100 character links? Also a dealer taking photos on a random residential street might raise flags for some people. The infamous car flipper Atikovi was given much grief for it. A photo of a clean engine bay will mean something to some, little to others. Maybe find someplace with a less busy background? End of a parking lot with trees for background? Details don't matter much when times are good but when sales are hard everything matters. Being a dealer could you include an inexpensive 1 year warranty as a hook? No idea what the cost would be. Best of luck finding something that works.

 

[CKN]

I have thought about writing a book for several years now. It's a shame so many people never touch one these days.

Yes-but you can self publish these days-if that's what you really want to do.

 

[PandaBear]

Since your selling modestly priced cars I would suggest due to the K-shaped economy, where the top half continue to do well and the bottom half do not - record credit card debt with rising delinquencies, McDonalds had a huge same store sales decline, at the same time student loan required payments have kicked back in, and soon the delinquencies will be reported to credit agencies crashing a lot of people credit score, etc, etc. So I wouldn't beat yourself up too much.

Still you need to sell some cars. I would actually suggest that no-one trusts Craigslist anymore, and you can look up the demographics on social yourself but Facebook is not where the youngsters are going anymore. I would guess a large percentage of your customers typically younger? Maybe you need to expand where your posting.

And I agree with @Elkins45 . I have looked at your adds because I know who there from, but if I didn't I would not click. They actually have a clickbait feel to them a bit honestly. It would be worth a try, list 25% with full details in the title and see if you get more hits?

Not just craigslist. Most of the free to list ad places are full of scams and spams that many people start avoiding them. I typically just put in FB market place now instead of craigslist because of that. Free ads attracts a lot of unrealistic buyers and sellers.

Young people seems to go to instagram instead of FB. FB main site is now more for middle age and up crowd. They have more money but not always your target customer base.