Part 2 – “I’ll just sell my trade in myself!”

Here are the facts: (not in any particular order) Use these or build your own case of why it is easier and sometimes less threatening for them to sell their car to us.

1. Most people want to negotiate harder on a car advertised in the newspaper. After all-they are buying a lot of “unknowns” when they buy your car off the street, and they want “to get it cheaper, just in case something goes wrong”.

2. Most car thieves don’t wear dark clothes and paint their eyes with black paint….they come to your house during the day, ask if they can take your car “around the block” “for a little spin” and while they are out of your sight, it is an easy matter to copy the key and disarm the security system-they find out (you tell them where the car will be the next day, because they “want to look at it “during the day” and they go to your workplace and drive your car away, while it is parked right outside your office.

3. Do you really want Jeffrey Dahmer or Ted Bundy or Charles Manson’s goofy cousin showing up at your house at 10:00 on a Saturday morning (they Googled your phone number, man), while your 17 year old daughter is home alone, babysitting your 10 year old son? Or showing up on your doorstep, even when you are home alone? You would probably invite any of those guys into your home if they knocked on your door and asked to use the phone to call a tow-truck, because they had “a flat tire down the street”. When interviewed-their neighbors always say “They kind of kept to themselves and were real quiet….didn’t talk too much….they looked normal…” don’t they? Think about the uninvited danger aspect here!

4. You have a buyer, (Customer A) who agrees on a price that is at the bottom end of what you were asking for the car. But-hey it’s sold and we can move on (you are tired of answering the phone calls and getting disappointed). They give you a $50 deposit to hold it for “a week or two”, while they wait for a check from Grandma. In the meantime, someone (Customer B) stops by or calls. Customer B looked at the car a couple weeks prior, and offers you about $700 more than the offer you have, from Customer A….oh-and it is CASH!!!…..what do you do? You try to phone Customer A, no answer, no message…it just rings and rings. Customer B calls and says: “Do we have a deal or not?” What do you do?

5. A nice older couple stops by to drive the car, as they back out of the driveway, you hear this sorta’ scraping/grinding/crunching sound, as they roll out into the street. They come back after their “spin around the block” and tell you they will take it, but you have to fix the scrapes that are on the right side of the car (which were not there this morning!!!) What do you do?

6. They are taking advantage of the Tax-credit Program you offer here at your store. “Folks-you are only going to pay tax on the trade difference*” (naturally-check with your state and local tax laws-etc.)

7. There are forged Cashiers Checks being passed every day!!! My neighbor had this nice old 66 Chevelle for sale….put it For Sale on the net….a guy from Oklahoma buys it on the internet…arrives here in Tampa with a “Cashiers Check” and when the check was presented to my neighbor’s local bank- – - no problem. About a week later-the bank calls my neighbor with the bad news: “The Cashiers Check you deposited is not a good one.” Fortunately-the person passing the checks was doing this all over the country and my neighbor’s brother is employed by a branch of the Federal Gov’t. and between the Bank’s investigators and the guy’s brother-they were able to track this guy down.

8. It will take you about 45 days (average numbers here) to sell your car. That might translate to another 2 payments on the car you are trying to dump. That’s 2 additional payments on a car you don’t like and that’s IF SOMETHING ELSE DOESN’T BREAK!!!

9. What is your time worth? $10 per hour $100 per hour? $1000 per hour? C’mon-you won’t work for free and can you really put a price on your safety, security and peace of mind for you and your family?

10. or….. Now you have the neighbor who is looking at your car. They want to buy it and you know that if they buy it-you will have to live with them for the next 5 to 10 years, and they are not afraid of knocking on your door every time something on the car breaks-or even hiccups……..Ouch! Can you afford to do that?

I can give you 20 reasons for every one you come up with, to take the risk of selling your car yourself. Be kind to yourself-don’t do it!

To sum up everything here: Total up the ad, the repairs, the extra insurance, the extra payments, the possibility of theft or fraud, the possibility of your safety being jeopardized, the risks and rewards, and the many other factors involved, and it is generally just plain not worth your time, to attempt to sell your car.