In the past selling a car meant going to the local newspaper and buying an ad. This was expensive, time consuming and if you didn’t sell the car you had to pay for it again. On top of that you couldn’t put pictures or change anything once you had bought the ad. For this reason people often simply put a for sale sign on the car and waited. That is no longer necessary. Selling a car on craigslist is very easy, but there are still thing you will want to know.
Posting an Ad on Craigslist
Posting the ad is the easiest part of the process. If you go to the craigslist site you can find the location closest to you easily by choosing your state, then city. Once there look at the left hand side right under the title craigslist you will see a link that says post to classifieds. Click that link and you’ll be taken to a list of categories. These are generally self explanatory. For a car you’ll choose for sale then car or truck by owner.
This takes you to the post. Here you have to enter a title. This should be the year and make of the car. You also have the option of putting in the price and location. If you plan to put in this information put it in here. After that is a section to enter information. Write everything you know here. Mechanical difficulties, recently replaced parts and mileage are all good places to start.
Adding pictures is not hard, but it is slow. You can put up to four pictures. Using the browse function find them on your computer and then wait. Once they are loaded they will show as pictures. All that is left is how to contact you. You can put in a phone number but you can also choose to have your email address show, or get mail through craigslist. Do the second, even then you’ll get spam, but it will be temporary.
What to Put in Your Ad on Craigslist
There are a few things everyone who checks on Craigslist is going to expect. Pictures are vital to getting calls, try to get as many angles as possible and focus on the best parts while showing everything. Honesty is important when selling a car on craigslist. If there are any problems it is far easier to explain it in the post than to everyone who calls.
The other thing you’ll want to be aware of is the expectation. Everyone who calls expects you to come down in price and they won’t be happy unless they get it for less than what you have listed. This means you need to raise your price so you can lower it even if you add the word firm.
What to Expect Once You’ve Posted your Ad
The first thing you have to be aware of is that the people who call you first are probably trying to get a deal. Often car dealers will call every ad and low ball the price to see if anyone accepts. You’ll also get a lot of email that is badly spelled asking for information. Be wary of both of these as the first will give you far to little money and the second spam. Remember selling your car on craigslist is free and you don’t have to sell the car today.
