Thursday, September 25th, 2008
Jay G writes for a wide selection of websites on various topics. He is a veteran of the internet and has come to be respected in his many areas of expertise. This article was written on behalf of AutoLeeg, a popular used cars for sale website.
Buying And Selling Cars with Ease
Whether you are buying a car or selling one, you know how frustrating it can be. You need to find a buyer or a car quickly, but there are so many marketing options available. Which ones are the most effective? How can you be sure you are getting a good deal or selling your car for what it is truly worth?
Choosing the Right Car
For those who are buying cars, the first step in finding the right car is to decide the type of vehicle you want. You can spend hours scouring resources full of used cars for sale, but if you do not know what you want or need, you are going to struggle to find the right vehicle. First, make sure that you find a vehicle with enough space for your regular passengers. This does not just mean enough seats. Many of the vehicles with three rows of seats have very little legroom in the rear, so if you are transporting adults on a regular basis, your passengers will not fit, even though there is a seat for them.
Next, consider the amount of trunk or storage space you need. Will you be using the vehicle for vacations, or just for driving to and from work? Also, make sure you consider the gas mileage on the vehicle. With the ever increasing cost of gas, you need a vehicle that is as fuel efficient as possible.
Once you have an idea in mind as to the type of vehicle you want to buy, consider visiting an automotive dealership that has used cars for sale and test driving a few. This will give you a chance to check out the actual space inside the vehicle, get a feel for the engine, and see how comfortable the controls feel. Narrow down your search after visiting the dealership before you begin searching auto classifieds for a vehicle. However, be sure that you do not buy on this first visit. Car dealers can be pushy and make you feel like the deal they are offering is the best possible deal you will find, so you need to be tough to avoid this pressure. You will want to take time to search on your own for the truly best deal.
Sources for Used Cars
You can find the right car through a dealership, by shopping online, or through a private seller. The route you take depends on your preferences and the asking price of the vehicle. You can find cars for sale from private parties, in newspaper and magazine classifieds or by shopping online. Most people find that the Internet allows them to comparison shop and get a better price on the car they want to buy. Shopping online also helps buyers see a larger selection of autos, since they are limited to the inventory on hand when shopping at a dealership. Most dealerships also register with online classifieds, making the Internet the most convenient place to begin when buying a used car. There are many online automotive classifieds that are great tools to use when shopping for a used vehicle.
Financing Your Purchase
You can finance your purchase through a lender whether you purchase from a private party or a dealership. The best way to ensure that you get the car you really want is to get pre-approved for financing before you begin actively shopping. This will, of course, require that you have a car in mind so that you know the approximate amount of money that you need. Once you have chosen a vehicle and know the price, approach a lender and apply for a car loan. Once you are approved, you will be given a pre-approval notice that you can show a seller if you are ready to make a purchase. If other buyers who do not have pre-approval are interested in the vehicle, the seller will be more likely to choose you because you have the money ready to go.
How to Determine a Car’s Value
Whether you are buying or selling cars, you need a way to determine the value of the vehicle. You can use many tools to help you set determine the value of a particular vehicle. One way to do this is to look in automotive classifieds to see what the asking price of similar vehicles is. Of course, you have no way of knowing based on classifieds alone whether or not the price a particular seller is asking is too high, but this can give you a general feel for the current market.
One tool you will want to use when determining the value of a vehicle is Kelley Blue Book. This guide, which is available online, allows you to see the average listing or selling price of a vehicle that is the same make, model, year, and condition as the vehicle you are either buying or selling. Keep in mind that Kelley Blue Book is a national guide, so the fair price in your location may be slightly lower or higher than the Blue Book value. The bottom line about the value of a car is that it is worth what the buyers in the market are willing to pay. If you are selling a car and have it priced just below Blue Book value, yet no one is willing to pay that, you have the car priced too high for your market.
How to Advertise a Used Car for Sale
Sellers have basically three options to use to advertise their cars. The first is to place a sign in the window and drive the car around town or park it in a visible location. The second option is to advertise in paper classifieds, such as automotive publications or the local newspaper. This can be an effective way to sell a vehicle, but it can also be quite pricey. The third option is the use online classifieds.
Sellers can benefit greatly from using the Internet to help them sell their cars. Just as shopping online provides the buyer with more cars to choose from, selling online provides a wider customer base. There are many free and low cost automotive classifieds websites that advertise used cars for sale. This makes the marketing simple, as the owners of the classifieds sites will promote their sites and draw in the buyers. All the buyer has to do is set the price, submit the information, and then sit back and wait for the vehicle to sell.
Finalizing the Sale
Whether you are a buyer or a seller, finalizing the sale of a used car is basically the same. Once the buyer and seller have agreed to a selling price, the buyer will present the money, usually in the form of a check, to the seller. The seller will then sign the title over to the buyer. At this point, the vehicle is considered sold, and the buyer can drive away in his new vehicle.
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Monday, September 15th, 2008
This article was written by Jay G on behalf of MotoClassifieds.US, a popular auto classifieds website.
Is selling a car privately a hassle? Not anymore. We already know about the popularity of classifieds sections in newspapers and magazines, but with the advent of websites devoted completely to online auto classifieds, things have gotten much easier. Gone are the days of having to wait until Monday morning to catch a customer service representative on the phone to place your ad.
Auto Classifieds – What are the Benefits? Do They Work?
That’s a pretty good question. For as long as I have been alive (and that’s 34 years), I have seen “Used Car For Sale†ads at every corner. These days, it’s one of the most popular online classified genres, not to mention being very popular with newspapers, magazines, radio and television.
Let me start this off with a short story. I had an “auto related†experience a few months ago.
In early January of this year, I was in the market for a new car. Since I have driven a Honda Accord as my two previous cars and a Honda Prelude as the one before that, I pretty much knew what I was going to buy. I dabbled with the thought of getting a BMW 5 Series, but I wasn’t ready for something so expensive. Maybe I’ll get the Beamer next time.
On January 3, I visited my local Honda dealer and was quite ready to drive home in something new. That day, I drove on the lot in a 1998 Honda Accord V6 and was planning on driving off the lot in a 2008 Honda Accord V6. Obviously, I was going to trade my car in. Before my trip to the dealer, I looked up the value of my 1998 Accord on KBB. They valued the car at around $3,500. I was slightly shocked, because I thought the car was worth more than that. I mean, this was my baby. This was the car I had taken such good care of over the years. But, if that is what the car was valued at, who was I to argue?
Upon choosing the make and model of the Accord I wanted to purchase, I entered negotiations with the salesperson. I was told that the dealership would give me $1,500 to trade in my 1998 Accord. As you could imagine, I got red in the face and threatened to walk out. They raised the price to $2,000, but I still argued for a bit. After a while, I realized they weren’t going to budge from that price, so I caved. Sound familiar? Has something like this ever happened to you?
Now, can you guess what everyone said to me after I told them of my experience? I’m sure you can. They said, “You know, you could’ve gotten a heck of a lot more money for your car if you had sold it yourself.†Gee, really? Of course I could’ve. I mean, everyone knows that dealers don’t give you as much as the car is worth. Why is that? It’s because of all the costs associated with prepping a car to sell on their lot. If it’s an older car, they can’t even sell it and it goes to auction. To be honest, I am not even sure what the dealerships do with some of the cars they take as trade-ins. I have heard stories about people getting $1 for the car they gave to the dealer.
So, I’ll admit that I could’ve made more money if I had sold my car privately. The question is why I, and so many others, lose money to trade their cars in. The answer to that question probably has something to do with convenience. We don’t want to deal with the hassle of a private sale.
Is selling a car privately a hassle? Not anymore. As I stated above, we already know about the popularity of classifieds sections in newspapers and magazines, but with the advent of websites devoted completely to online auto classifieds, things have gotten much easier. Gone are the days of having to wait until Monday morning to catch a customer service representative on the phone to place your ad. You can now access an auto classifieds website any time you want, from the comfort of your own home. You can write a description, upload a photo, add any features you want and pay by credit card within a matter of minutes. Some websites even offer the entire service for free. Either way, your ad will be live when you are finished. It will also be accessible to anyone from anywhere.
Now that we have that cleared up, let’s go over some of the benefits of selling your used car online:
- Convenience. Auto classified websites offer “any time, any place†type of convenience.
- Reach. By place your car ads online, you will virtually be reaching buyers across the globe. Too many people? Don’t worry; these websites have tools to narrow down a potential buyer’s search.
- Account management. You can place, edit and delete your ad any time you wish with your own private account management tool.
- Popularity. These days, more and more buyers are turning to the web to search for their new rides. Many of them don’t even (and never have) read the newspaper.
- Multiple ads. Many auto classifieds websites allow sellers to place multiple ads, oftentimes for a discounted price, or for even no cost at all.
- Help. Many websites have online tutorials or help pages that assist you in selling your car.
- Multiple venues. When you advertise your car on one classified website, oftentimes your ad will show on related websites as well. It’s these “viral†relationships that get much more exposure for your ad.
As you can see, there are many benefits to placing your used car for sale online. Do the online ads work? Well, that first depends on the ad itself. If you write a strong description, show a good photo and offer a fair price, I wouldn’t see why not. If everything is lined up, I would think you would have a successful sale within a matter of days or weeks.
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Tuesday, January 16th, 2007
This is pretty cool. If you remember a while back, I mentioned that we have several data feeds that a variety of websites draw from…mostly the new “Classified Search Engines” like Oodle and Vast. Both of these websites give us a bit of traffic, with Vast picking up pretty quickly. I think this idea is great. I have a good time checking out their sites and watching them grow. I have a knack for seeing behind the scenes at what they are talking about and watching what works and what doesn’t.
I have had this email tucked away for a few months and kept meaning to put it up…it consists of a few links that list our classified listing on Oodle. Right now, there are not too many because the person placing the ad must place a photo with it. They also need to list their city as one picked up by Oodle. So here they are:
Pet Classifieds
Free Classifieds
Motorcycle Classifieds
Boat Classifieds
Auto Classifieds
Over time (especially this Spring) these numbers should really pick up…
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Friday, September 1st, 2006
So I mentioned earlier that I had a few business blogs, but never gave the URLs for any of them. They hold some really informative content and may be worth checking out. Here they are:
Pet Classifieds Blog
Free Classifieds Blog
Motorcycle Classifieds Blog
Boat Classifieds Blog
Auto Classifieds Blog
RSS Feed Directory Blog
If you are into any of these things, check them out. They all have links to the various categories of the respective classified sites.
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