Selling my Tacoma: Living on Planet Hell, Surrounded By Idiots

Yeah, I guess on a deal like that you'd probly be better off with an OBO, my car I was selling wasn't worth a crazy amount so I got all kinds of stupid offers. First guy that actually looked at it bought it for 100 under my price.

 

I always have a handful of folks that want my vehicles, and state so prior to me even being interested in selling. Of course when that day comes, 75% will fall away, but 80% of the time one will actually buy. No ads, no hassle, fair price to both sides.

When I do advertise, I just ignore the noise, and patiently wait for someone to actually appear to see the vehicle. When that happens, it's never more than two before I have a fist full of $. They were interested enough to see it, and once they do, they want it. 95% of the time it's the first looker, on the spot.

Many other vehicles I just run till they are under $2k in value and give them away to folks in need. Usually high mileage, but mechanically safe and reliable, more cosmetically challenged. Along with a full tax write off. (have to itemize, and know how to work the system, all legal)

As far as selling on Clist or Autotrader, I've never had to. But I have sold thousands of dollars of interesting stuff on eBay and hundreds of dollars on Clist. No real issues with people, most of the time, but I do ignore the noise.

I'll never respond to someone asking for data that is in the ad. If they are too stupid to read, I don't want to mess with them. I also use a disclaimer in the ad of 'if you are reading this, I still have the item available, as I remove my ads within 15 minutes of sale (I do), so don't ask is it still available'. If they do, I ignore them too.

Most importantly I use an email address dedicated to these sales, so I can easily kill it if I get spam-handled.

 

What does any of this have to do with the 3rd gen Tacoma..

 

Nothing of course. The OP hit the wrong forum.

Unless maybe he thinks the thread title is specific to 3rd gen ownership.

 

The more expensive used cars are, the harder they are to sell... It's far easier to sell a 2003 Toyota 4Runner with 200k miles for say $7K than say a 2011 Tacoma for 23K. A lot larger audience with available funds in the lower dollar range. It took me almost 3 months to sell my 2011 BMW 335d which was booking between 23k and 25k (of course selling a german "luxury" car is another ballpark of its own).

 

Dealing with the cl flakes is an art form. 22 emails from one guy and he can't decide if he wanted my truck or not. Then an offer for $26,000 for a loaded 2016 trd sport DCLB (sold it for $32500)

i was patient and the one guy who called and knew his shit bought my truck and saved $7,000 vs buying new.

I wish more people would buy like i do, do the homework, have the cash and go buy it and enjoy.

 

Mosin bro

 

Not really... I put my 08 Jeep Sahara Unlimited on CL in 2011 and had a response within 3 hrs. Made arrangements for a test drive the next morning. Man, wife, kids and I went on a test drive and on the way back we stopped at the Credit Union where he got me a check for my asking price( $27k). done and sold in less than 24 hrs.

 

I'm a craigslist and eBay seller I've had plenty of flakes but mostly all good experiences meeting pretty cool people. Like many have said you have to ignore the noise and not be overly excited or over anxious. I learned to stop listing my phone number in ads and only use the email services as a firewall of protection. I try and write a very detailed ad with lots of pictures and also write "no trades" and "if this ad is still up it's still available". Now it's so easy to spot the scammers, the serious people read the listing and know how to contact you.

 

I'd tend to think your scenario is more of an exception to the rule from my experience. I've sold 6 vehicles privately over the last 17 years.

 

I have to agree with you , I sold my 2013 4runner in just a few weeks for 32.5K . had lots of interest in it. sold to a nice young man. We met at the credit union got a cashiers check all was very simple and easy.

 

Oh ya, how's the sale of your truck going?

 

Other factors affecting how quick you sell a vehicle are location, demographics of the area, local economy, your pricing in relation to perceived/market value of that vehicle, as well as supply & demand of the model. I've always tried to price at or right above blue book knowing you have to take a hit on negotiations. The 4Runner sold in 1 hour of posting at 1k over blue book. The BMW took me 3 months to sell and ended up taking just less than blue book for it. My GMC Denali took a couple of weeks to sell at $30K. My old 1987 VW Golf sold in 2 days for $2500 and it was a powder blue 4-door...fugly.

The 2011 BMW 335d sell was the toughest for me. I dealt with two buyers who could not secure credit when purchase time came. A ton of tire kickers and people who mostly just wanted to test drive it. I got to the point where I was ready to start asking people for bank statements or loan pre-approval before I would allow them to test drive it. One guy dicked me around the entire time it was listed for sale, in fact he was the first to test drive the car. The day we were supposed to meet at the bank he told me he thought it needed new tires then asked for me to drop the price another $500 after we had already agreed to a selling price the day prior.

 

When my '16 arrived I took my '98 TRD OR 358,000 miles to my buddy where I get my biscuits. Left it, told him to drive it as long as he liked. A few days later I went by told him what I wanted, he made me an offer we met in the middle and some folding dead presidents later, voila!!! . I wish everyone was as lucky!

 

Wait so you had a 2016 and already sold it privately? They been out for like 6 months that was fast. Can I ask what made you sell it?

 

People are very strange about this, and I can't figure out why. They respond with no intention of buying and try to low-ball or, show up and leave (after test driving) while stating "I will have to talk to my wife". Even after you have clearly stated the FIRM price with an honest description of the vehicle, they still leave you with a weasel answer as to why they can't go through with the deal.

 

This first thing that should have been a flag is that is a Suzuki GSXR, not a R1.

 

LOL You are right! I used to ride a Honda 1000 Interceptor ....... years ago; whoops that just gave MY age away ... LOL ..... Ugh - I hate scammers like this!

and YES this is an actual picture of my Interceptor ... LOL

 

I made a few $ as the canadian price and us pricing differs.

I ordered another one , this time a limited which comes with the long box in canada. I might sell that one too if i get a good enough offer!

 

I gave up selling vehicles on the internet...bunch of scams and tire kickers. I finally worked with a small mom and pap dealership on a consignment. I told him if you can sell this vehicle, I will give him $500.00. They placed my vehicle in their lot and gave me what I asked for. Sold within two weeks.