About two years ago, the car I was driving was approaching 140,000 miles. It was mostly freeway mileage since my commute was over thirty miles away. At that time, the car was 8 years old and it had minor body damage due some minor accidents, but it was mechanically sound.
Gas prices were rising, and I decided that I needed a new car that was more economical to drive. Due to the old car's age and high mileage, I decided rather than trading it in, I would get more money for the car if I sold it myself. My first tactic was to tape for sale signs with my phone number in the window and park it across the street in front of my home. About a week went by with only a few people slowing down to look, but no actual calls.
Next, I placed an ad on Craigslist and arranged to meet potential buyers somewhere other than my home. I received more responses through craigslist, but it also brought about people that didn't show up. The no shows would arrange to meet me at a specific time. When the appointed time came around, they were nowhere to be seen and I never heard from them again.
Then, I made the decision to place an ad in Auto Trader. By this time I had already purchased a new car and I was anxious to sell. I received a few very low offers which I refused since they were less than what a dealer would have paid. I was anxious to sell, not desperate.
I finally ended up selling the car. It took more than two months and it was a huge hassle. Dealing with unreliable people was the biggest issue. People either never made an offer or offered so little I would have been better off trading it in to begin with.
