Has anyone used AutoMax?

[ironhat]

My father-in-law (like a father to me) passed on 05 May and left behind an '05 Taurus with 32K miles on it. I have had in my front yard or my daughter's yard since then with a sign on it and listed it in the local paper. I've only had 2 interested parties who both wanted it for a graduating kid going to college but the kids didn't want a 'grandma car' as my daughter put it. Can't blame them - smaller cars get better mileage too. Anyway, I'm losing value sitting on it and wondered about AutoMax. The closest one to me is 1.5 hours away so it's not exactly convenient. Can I expect a typical dealer's low-ball figure or are they more reasonable. Mind, I do not expect to get retail from them, just not a humiliating and upsetting experience.

[Uncle Cracker]

No car dealership is going to pay more for your car outright than they could get it for at the auction. Anything else would be financially unfeasible for them. And if they think they will have difficulty moving it in a hurry, and at a good profit, or disposing of it at auction, then the offer will be even lower. It's all about their profit, and don't let them tell you otherwise.

[p8ntblr]

My father-in-law (like a father to me) passed on 05 May and left behind an '05 Taurus with 32K miles on it. I have had in my front yard or my daughter's yard since then with a sign on it and listed it in the local paper. I've only had 2 interested parties who both wanted it for a graduating kid going to college but the kids didn't want a 'grandma car' as my daughter put it. Can't blame them - smaller cars get better mileage too. Anyway, I'm losing value sitting on it and wondered about AutoMax. The closest one to me is 1.5 hours away so it's not exactly convenient. Can I expect a typical dealer's low-ball figure or are they more reasonable. Mind, I do not expect to get retail from them, just not a humiliating and upsetting experience.

Have you tried craigslist. That's where I sold my jeep.

[DaveS]

I sold a car to CarMax once - they gave me right around trade in value as listed in the Kelly Blue Book.

Took about 30 minutes - start to finish.

[mnphats]

Ditto on the Craigslist recommendation.

[ironhat]

Hmmm, there's a craigslist about an hour from here. It's probably a better choice than trade-in value. Because of the distance I've never even thought of it before.
Thanks!

[cabinetman]

I had a friend that had to sell a "granny" econobox. He made pictures and posted them on bulletin boards that allowed that sort of thing like laundry mats, grocery stores, colleges, and libraries. Wound up selling the thing in about a week. You could check out the value of your car by clicking in the details to NADA Used Car Prices, or Kelley's Blue Book. Good luck.
.

[ironhat]

Thanks for the NADA link - forgot about them. They actually assessed higher than KBB by a few hundred dollars. I hadn't thought of the BB's either. Thanks!

[crokett]

For Carmax it depends on age and mileage on the car. If they don't think they can sell it off the lot they will send it to auction. That means they won't pay you much for it.

[ironhat]

I just listed on craigslist, one hour north of here but serving a large area. Pretty painless process. Interestingly, the verification code when I was signing up was 'CHIEZ'. Strange coincidence that it's one letter off from my name!

[eezlock]

Automax?

You might want to try Auto Trader magazine, if they are in you area, check at a local convience store for a copy of their magazine. It would have all the info. you need to contact them. They will come out, make pictures of the car,list all the extras, mileage, condition, etc. and put it in the magazine
for a reasonable fee.Let them do the selling for you...may be the best way to go here! eezlock

[p8ntblr]

I just listed on craigslist, one hour north of here but serving a large area. Pretty painless process. Interestingly, the verification code when I was signing up was 'CHIEZ'. Strange coincidence that it's one letter off from my name!

It's fate man. Means you're gonna sell it real quick

[Rand]

The only way I'd sell or trade in a car to a dealer is if I had way too much money. Since it's unlikely I'll ever have that problem I'd try craigslist first and the local newspaper classified second.

[LCHIEN]

www.edmunds.com is another good source of trade in and resale pricing for pev.owned vehicles.

Selling to a dealer is not for everyone but it does have some benefits:
Don't have to deal with strangers coming to your house, waiting for them to show up (or not show up as happens)
Don't have to deal with strangers wanting to pass off checks or counterfeit money or other forms of questionable payment, large sums of cash, etc.
Don't have to deal with unreasonable would be buyers who annoy you and waste your time
Dont have to worry about transfer of title or other legal problems/hassles if the new owner fails to register the car and then uses it in the commission of a crime. (with the dealer he'd at least give you a bill of sale or document showing you sold him the car.)