How to Sell a Fair Condition Car
I have been trying to sell my 2000 328Ci for about a month. I paid cash for it a couple years ago, and (lesson learned) haven't taken excellent care of it. I dinged the side pulling into my parking garage, there is a tear in both front seats (that was previous owner actually), it needs one brake light, my boyfriend unplugged my amp for someone unknown reason and doesn't know how to plug it back in and occasionally a warning light comes on but it'd nothing serious as it's been doing it for months.
My question is, how do you sell a car like this? It's not in good condition... but it's a BMW so I know it's not a junker and it drives perfectly fine. I just moved to San Francisco where I never drive it and I'm paying $200 a month for parking. Money is very tight for me right now so I'm not keen on fixing it up to sell, but it seems like no one will buy it in it's current condition. Help?
Re: How to Sell a Fair Condition Car
^^^ try selling it outside the state of California.
For better or worse, California has a 'lemon law' that not only applies to car dealers but also to 3rd party sellers in many circumstances.
(snip)"Basically, one can get a refund or complete, satisfactory repair for a secondhand purchased or leased vehicle as easily as one can for a brand-new car, as long as the used car was purchased for private, non-commercial use"(snip)
So if you must sell this vehicle while located in California, you basically have the options of A. fixing everything such that the vehicle will pass a California vehicle inspection, or B. sell the vehicle as 'junk'. Obviously A. is going to cost you a chunk of money out of pocket before the sale, while B. is going to reduce the amount of money flowing into your pocket after the sale.
Welcome to California !
PS does this car have the California / New York emissions package, or was it built for sale in a state with less stringent tailpipe emissions standards ? If the latter, you may still have difficulty getting it to pass a California vehicle inspection ( with tailpipe 'emissions test' ) even if everything else is 'fixed' !
Re: How to Sell a Fair Condition Car
You paid cash for the car, so it's a sunk cost. Price it low to make it go.
HTH
Z
Re: How to Sell a Fair Condition Car
If you can't sell it yourself, try taking it to car dealers and see what they'll give you for it. If you're not using it, have you looked for a cheaper place to park your car?