Overhaulin'

Would I most likely get more or less if I sold my car thru an online auction instead of a dealership?

Public Comments

1. It's a risky business. You could have a very unpopular search topic, and have your car sold for WAY less than the face value. However, a dealership always undermines your opinion, and gives you a low estimate in the first place. Personally, I wouldn't do either. I would go through the paper.
2. both will likely screw you. selling it "face to face" so to speak is probably the best way to sell it. once you have buyer(s) there wont be much confusion about what you are asking for the car. in an auction, people are only gonna be interested if the price is low. but if not many people bid, then the car will sell for below value. dealerships aim to make money. they want to get your car for cheap. so the best route is likely just from you to another person.
3. You will always get more selling privately over dealers because they never pay more than wholesale. But how much more you can get depends on make, model, mileage, condition, presentation, type of auction, etc. When I sold my last car on eBay, I spent hours washing, waxing, taking tons of photos and describing in details of all the pros and cons. Bidders love details and pictures. I also went with the no-reserve auction and started the bid at a penny. No-reserve auctions can be risky because you must sell to the highest bidder no matter the price. But I knew that my car was a popular car and very desirable. Sure enough, it sold for $1000 more than I had advertised on Craigslist. If you are nervous, you can do some pricing research by listing it on free sites like Craigslist & Pennysaver. If you get no calls then u priced it too high, if u get many calls u priced too low.