Best place to sell older model car that runs, but with body scratches and dents?

[Anonymous]

As subject says. About to buy new car. I know we can trade it in but it is an older model car that needs a new muffler and has some cracked plastic body damage. Anyone used Carmax or Carvana or one of those places?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:As subject says. About to buy new car. I know we can trade it in but it is an older model car that needs a new muffler and has some cracked plastic body damage. Anyone used Carmax or Carvana or one of those places?

I doubt carmax would want to buy it if it has body damage and mechanical issues but it is easy enough to check. They have a web app where they give you an approximate price. If you don’t mind hassle, Craigslist is the best place to sell a car in rough condition to get a few extra bucks.

[Anonymous]

Without a muffler it won’t pass inspection. Depending on the location and extent of the body damage, that might interfere with inspection too. The key value-enhancer for a used car is that it is inspected and ready to register immediately. So you are looking at minimal value based on estimated wholesale or junk value, or somebody who fixes up and resells distressed cars. Either way, you may want to consider whether it’s worth the hassle of minor repairs and self-sell, or just take what you can get as-is from a used car dealer.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As subject says. About to buy new car. I know we can trade it in but it is an older model car that needs a new muffler and has some cracked plastic body damage. Anyone used Carmax or Carvana or one of those places?

I doubt carmax would want to buy it if it has body damage and mechanical issues but it is easy enough to check. They have a web app where they give you an approximate price. If you don’t mind hassle, Craigslist is the best place to sell a car in rough condition to get a few extra bucks.

DP. Carmax will buy anything you can bring to them. They likely won't sell it on their lots, but they do a significant business in trade and resale to other dealer networks. If it's really old and in bad shape, they will ship it to Central America or overseas to 2nd-world countries. That's where most of the old cars in this country eventually go now.

You will get a better price selling it private party than you will selling it to Carmax or trading it in, but you have to be willing to meet with potential buyers, allow them test drives, maybe go to their bank for certified checks. If you don't want to do that (which is perfectly acceptable) then you can get your quote from Carmax, probably good for 48 hours, and take that printout to the dealership to see if they'll match.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As subject says. About to buy new car. I know we can trade it in but it is an older model car that needs a new muffler and has some cracked plastic body damage. Anyone used Carmax or Carvana or one of those places?

I doubt carmax would want to buy it if it has body damage and mechanical issues but it is easy enough to check. They have a web app where they give you an approximate price. If you don’t mind hassle, Craigslist is the best place to sell a car in rough condition to get a few extra bucks.

DP. Carmax will buy anything you can bring to them. They likely won't sell it on their lots, but they do a significant business in trade and resale to other dealer networks. If it's really old and in bad shape, they will ship it to Central America or overseas to 2nd-world countries. That's where most of the old cars in this country eventually go now.

You will get a better price selling it private party than you will selling it to Carmax or trading it in, but you have to be willing to meet with potential buyers, allow them test drives, maybe go to their bank for certified checks. If you don't want to do that (which is perfectly acceptable) then you can get your quote from Carmax, probably good for 48 hours, and take that printout to the dealership to see if they'll match.

OP here. Thanks for this incredibly helpful post and advice!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As subject says. About to buy new car. I know we can trade it in but it is an older model car that needs a new muffler and has some cracked plastic body damage. Anyone used Carmax or Carvana or one of those places?

I doubt carmax would want to buy it if it has body damage and mechanical issues but it is easy enough to check. They have a web app where they give you an approximate price. If you don’t mind hassle, Craigslist is the best place to sell a car in rough condition to get a few extra bucks.

DP. Carmax will buy anything you can bring to them. They likely won't sell it on their lots, but they do a significant business in trade and resale to other dealer networks. If it's really old and in bad shape, they will ship it to Central America or overseas to 2nd-world countries. That's where most of the old cars in this country eventually go now.

You will get a better price selling it private party than you will selling it to Carmax or trading it in, but you have to be willing to meet with potential buyers, allow them test drives, maybe go to their bank for certified checks. If you don't want to do that (which is perfectly acceptable) then you can get your quote from Carmax, probably good for 48 hours, and take that printout to the dealership to see if they'll match.

OP here. Thanks for this incredibly helpful post and advice!

Well let us know what happens. I bet carmax will tell you to shove it

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As subject says. About to buy new car. I know we can trade it in but it is an older model car that needs a new muffler and has some cracked plastic body damage. Anyone used Carmax or Carvana or one of those places?

I doubt carmax would want to buy it if it has body damage and mechanical issues but it is easy enough to check. They have a web app where they give you an approximate price. If you don’t mind hassle, Craigslist is the best place to sell a car in rough condition to get a few extra bucks.

DP. Carmax will buy anything you can bring to them. They likely won't sell it on their lots, but they do a significant business in trade and resale to other dealer networks. If it's really old and in bad shape, they will ship it to Central America or overseas to 2nd-world countries. That's where most of the old cars in this country eventually go now.

You will get a better price selling it private party than you will selling it to Carmax or trading it in, but you have to be willing to meet with potential buyers, allow them test drives, maybe go to their bank for certified checks. If you don't want to do that (which is perfectly acceptable) then you can get your quote from Carmax, probably good for 48 hours, and take that printout to the dealership to see if they'll match.

OP here. Thanks for this incredibly helpful post and advice!

Well let us know what happens. I bet carmax will tell you to shove it

OP here. Funny story. I tried to submit my info online and it errored out with a message that they don't see many cars with my details (late 2000's but fewer than 90k miles) and asked me to make an appointment to bring it in. Another place online made me an offer. I intend to use that for my baseline at dealership (as was suggested above). I will circle back once I buy new car - fingers crossed it comes in early March.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As subject says. About to buy new car. I know we can trade it in but it is an older model car that needs a new muffler and has some cracked plastic body damage. Anyone used Carmax or Carvana or one of those places?

I doubt carmax would want to buy it if it has body damage and mechanical issues but it is easy enough to check. They have a web app where they give you an approximate price. If you don’t mind hassle, Craigslist is the best place to sell a car in rough condition to get a few extra bucks.

DP. Carmax will buy anything you can bring to them. They likely won't sell it on their lots, but they do a significant business in trade and resale to other dealer networks. If it's really old and in bad shape, they will ship it to Central America or overseas to 2nd-world countries. That's where most of the old cars in this country eventually go now.

You will get a better price selling it private party than you will selling it to Carmax or trading it in, but you have to be willing to meet with potential buyers, allow them test drives, maybe go to their bank for certified checks. If you don't want to do that (which is perfectly acceptable) then you can get your quote from Carmax, probably good for 48 hours, and take that printout to the dealership to see if they'll match.

OP here. Thanks for this incredibly helpful post and advice!

Well let us know what happens. I bet carmax will tell you to shove it

Carmax will buy any vehicle. On rougher stuff, it’ll be a lower offer, but they’ll make one.

[Anonymous]

Facebook marketplace if you are willing to deal with the hassle, or I've had good luck setting to my local mechanic who was willing to pay a little more than Carmax.

[Anonymous]

Carvana is another option

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As subject says. About to buy new car. I know we can trade it in but it is an older model car that needs a new muffler and has some cracked plastic body damage. Anyone used Carmax or Carvana or one of those places?

I doubt carmax would want to buy it if it has body damage and mechanical issues but it is easy enough to check. They have a web app where they give you an approximate price. If you don’t mind hassle, Craigslist is the best place to sell a car in rough condition to get a few extra bucks.

DP. Carmax will buy anything you can bring to them. They likely won't sell it on their lots, but they do a significant business in trade and resale to other dealer networks. If it's really old and in bad shape, they will ship it to Central America or overseas to 2nd-world countries. That's where most of the old cars in this country eventually go now.

You will get a better price selling it private party than you will selling it to Carmax or trading it in, but you have to be willing to meet with potential buyers, allow them test drives, maybe go to their bank for certified checks. If you don't want to do that (which is perfectly acceptable) then you can get your quote from Carmax, probably good for 48 hours, and take that printout to the dealership to see if they'll match.

OP here. Thanks for this incredibly helpful post and advice!

Well let us know what happens. I bet carmax will tell you to shove it

Carmax will buy any vehicle. On rougher stuff, it’ll be a lower offer, but they’ll make one.

They have a minimum offer of 500 bucks. That’s what we got for a crap car that barely made it to them. They said it will be sold for parts and scrap.

[Anonymous]

Neighborhood listserv. Lots of people looking for cars for kids, nannies, etc.

[Anonymous]

OP again. Have not sold it yet but wanted to provide an update. I originally submitted the details to Carvana and received an offer of $691 (it's 2008, has some body damage and needs a new muffler). When that one expired I "refreshed" and the offer went up to $984. When that one expired I refreshed and it went up to $2025!

I am guessing lowballing is the model. The lesson here is if you are considering selling a car to Carvana, begin the process a few weeks before you actually want to sell.

[Anonymous]

I am guessing it can also depend on their current inventories. If there are too many cars like yours it is $600 if too few then $2000. Curious if the offer would go down next week

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am guessing it can also depend on their current inventories. If there are too many cars like yours it is $600 if too few then $2000. Curious if the offer would go down next week

Without giving away too much personal info, trust me when I tell you this is not a "demand" issue.