02nz wrote: ↑Tue Apr 03, 2018 10:26 am
Came upon this thread as I've been helping my parents with selling a luxury SUV (they're downsizing in retirement). Listed about 10 days ago on Craigslist. Despite immaculate condition, low mileage, and what I thought was an appealing price (lower than just about anything other listing online of this model, and about 7-8% below KBB private party), I got almost no serious offers, only lowballs. (I suspect the price range - around $34K - is a main reason, as there are far few buyers with the means/financing in this price range; I had a much easier time selling two other vehicles in the past on Craigslist, but those were around $15K and $24K respectively.)
So I got offers from Carvana and Vroom (both very easy, and within $50 of each other, almost exactly KBB trade-in value) and from Carmax (about $1500 less than Carvana/Vroom, but still $1500 above the lowball offers through Craigslist). I'll see if there's any more interest on Craigslist in the next several days but will probably end up selling to Vroom, which gave the highest offer.
Update on the above - we sold the SUV today to a private buyer (Craigslist) for $33500. As a DP here were the other offers I got:
Carmax $31000
Various dealers through KBB Instant Cash and Cars.com - all around $31000
Carvana $32457
Vroom $32500
(KBB Private Party value was around $36000, clearly too high)
I'd already started the process of submitting documents to both Carvana and Vroom before I finally found a serious private buyer. Between the two sites my recommendation would definitely be for Carvana - they appear to be a bigger operation (any model search on their site turns up around 3x the number of cars that Vroom has), and they were consistently more responsive. For example, after uploading title/driver's license, I got a link by the end of the same day to schedule the vehicle pickup. Three days after uploading the same documents to Vroom I've heard nothing from them.
And the process also confirmed why so many people hate traditional dealerships: I got an exceptional offer via Cars.com from one dealer for $34000 (yes, yes, I should have known it was too good to be true). I called to confirm this was real, contingent upon the car being described accurately. I made clear I wouldn't tolerate a bait and switch. I was assured the offer was real. Sure enough, a 40-minute drive later the offer changed to $30,500, with no explanation as to why (such as that there was anything about the car's condition or equipment that wasn't consistent with my submission through Cars.com). I gave the dealer a piece of my mind and left. He rushed out to offer $1000 more, which I also declined.
Bottom line - finding a private buyer will of course get you the best price if you have a little bit of time, and if you stick to the basic rules (e.g. meeting in a public place, only accepting a cashier's check which you accept at the buyer's bank) the risks are minimal. But it gets harder and takes longer for more expensive cars, because of a smaller target audience and financing. if I had to do this all over again I'd probably just go for the easy, hassle-free process Carvana offers. I'll certainly consider them if I'm in the market for a used car in the future.