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Best way to sell a high mileage used car?

Discussion in 'Fred's House of Pancakes' started by dongkeykong, Apr 20, 2012.

  1. dongkeykong

    dongkeykong Junior Member

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    i have an '02 honda cr-v with 240,000 miles and haven't had much luck on craigslist and autotrader. car runs great but the high mileage is a turn off for most buyers. what are my other options to sell it? maybe donate the car and get a tax write off? donating seems a little unpredictable as the amount i can write off depends on how much they can auction off the car for. any suggestions/info appreciated.
     
  2. fulltank

    fulltank New Member

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    Are you asking more than 5K
     
  3. icarus

    icarus Senior Member

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    Price it reasonably,, if it isn't moving at $X, lower it a bunch,, all depends on how much you want to move it. At $5000 donation value, 28% bracket, it will only net you ~$1500 in tax savings,, less if you in a lower bracket. At auction it will get way less than any book value, so this not to much return.

    Are you better off selling for less? Your call.

    Icarus
     
  4. GrumpyCabbie

    GrumpyCabbie Senior Member

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    Price matters 100%

    You ask more than it's worth you won't sell it. You sell it for $1 and you'll sell it tomorrow.

    Remember it's a high mileage car and it's not what it's worth to you, but what it's worth to someone else. Why get rid of it now - because it's going to start costing you money to keep it running? That might be the assumption of prospective purchasers.
     
  5. cwerdna

    cwerdna Senior Member

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    Yeah, from what I recall, the IRS also changed how much you can claim if donated (IRS Guidance Explains Rules for Vehicle Donations). Previously, I believe people were able to inflate values.

    If there's a Carmax near you, you could try them.

    Also, try taking it to Honda dealers. I sold my former 350Z to a Nissan dealer (wasn't a trade in). I got a surprisingly high amount. I wasn't getting much traction on Craig's list.

    A friend sold her 97 Accord (which she really didn't want to sell on her own due to time and safety reasons) to a Honda dealer next door to the Toyota dealer where she bought her '11 Prius. Toyota dealer was offering her very little $. So, I said, try taking it next door the Honda dealer. They gave her an amount she was reasonably happy with. It wasn't huge, but again, she didn't want to spend the time to sell it on her own.
     
  6. Mr Incredible

    Mr Incredible Chance favors the prepared mind.

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    Clean it within an inch of its life, wash/wax, and price it like you just want it gone. Explain the excellent maintenance in great detail. Clean the windows.

    Craigslist has worked well for me, but it has to be worked at.
     
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  7. Skoorbmax

    Skoorbmax Senior Member

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    Can't hurt to put it on craigslist but most people on craigslist are total morons. I would put it in the paper and autotrader as well. And a decade old car with those miles isn't worth more than $3k if in very good condition for its age, I'd say, but I've not specifically shopped the CR-V. You must do that, find out what comps are going for.

    EDIT: Actually, I forgot people who buy used Hondas are not entirely there in the brain department and often overpay! I've found a multitude of them locally going for $4k-5k even if a 1999 or 2000 model and the 2002 is a new model year. Your miles are high, but if it's in good shape and an 02 maybe you actually could pull 5G for it.

    Haha, I just love what people pay for used Hondas. I'm on autotrader now, somebody is asking $12k (dealership) for a 2002 with a 100k miles on it. In fact, none are less than 8k of the 30 near me, but miles are not higher than 150k, either.
     
  8. massparanoia

    massparanoia Active Member

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    I would try craigslist or ebay. With 240,000 miles you should be exempt from the lemon law, depending on your state. You will have to make sure it passes emissions/safety inspection though.
     
  9. daniel

    daniel Cat Lovers Against the Bomb

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    Kelly Blue Book says $4,500 to $6,000 depending on condition. I had to guess at trim line since you didn't say. How much have you been asking? You said it "runs great," but what's the physical condition? Paint, rust, dents? Tires? Do you have maintenance documentation? All that stuff will make a difference.
     
  10. dongkeykong

    dongkeykong Junior Member

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    thanks everyone for your suggestions and comments. guess it all boils down to price/demand. i think to the typical buyer 240,000 miles may just as well be 1.5 million miles but i may try CL and autotrader again with a lower price and see how that goes. when i was shopping for the prius a used car dealer told me there was an export market for used japanese suv's, that once a vehicle reaches say 150k miles a car like mine will fetch about $3k to $4k at one of these specialized auctions regardless of excess mileage. he seemed sincere at the time but who knows, has anyone heard of something like this?

    Massparanoia, i was unaware the lemon law could possibly apply to a private sale??
     
  11. PriQ

    PriQ CT+iQ

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    Cars like that are excellent for trade ins as it is much easier to haggle the price on the old car than lowering the price for the popular new one.
     
  12. massparanoia

    massparanoia Active Member

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    Back in MA, you were on the hook for any car you sold privately if it had under 120k miles or was under a certain age, I can't remember exactly how old. I think some states have similar laws. There is a big liability, especially in todays sue happy society, in selling a car privately. I usually trade mine in, or see if I can sell it to a dealer like carmax or something.
     
  13. coppola

    coppola New Member

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    Try Mobicarz.com, it is the best place i think. 3 months back i sold my VW with 210000 miles. At mobicarz its very easy to create your ad and once it got live with in 2 days you will get calls from the people. But one think keep in mind, as yours is a high mileage used keep lil bit low price.
     
  14. ursle

    ursle Gas miser

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    Err, autotrader is offering 1,746$ cash for it(4wd, lx) in excellent shape with all papers, keys and a smile, that's the bottom line, sad but what the market will bear.

    Autotrader is legit, I imagine it's the auction price, but, "it's" what any dealer is going to check for a price, and any honest dealer is going to give you the autotrader price, not the ten cent's on the dollar price.
     
  15. Tony D

    Tony D Active Member

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    Have I missed something, or is this thread over two years old???
     
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  16. Okinawa

    Okinawa Senior Member

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    12 years old and 240,000 miles, it isn't worth anything, Zilch.
     
  17. dongkeykong

    dongkeykong Junior Member

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    update in case anyone was curious lol. it sold for $5,xxx via autotrader.
     
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  18. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    congrats! (y) did it take 5 years?:cool:
     
  19. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    you nailed it!
     
  20. dongkeykong

    dongkeykong Junior Member

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    just a bit less than that ;)
     
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