sell private or trade ???

Hi I am selling my beloved jewel and wondered if any advice on whether to sell privately or to a dealer to avoid hassle. Also what pitfalls to look out for when selling privately. Finally glass,s guide seems to give a lower price for private than for trade but when I read top marques etc all private car sales have good prices on them i.e better than trade in Please anybody got any advice? thanks asif

Hi, The facts here are that selling privately you will hopefully get more than selling to a dealer. However there are horror stories regarding the private sale route. ie cars getting stolen, bounced cheques to name a few. Also selling privately how can one distinguish from the tyre kickers. Each time you take the car out is a potential situation if you look a the cup half empty perspective! If you allow an individual to drive the car who's to say it is the first drive and they get carried away and an accident occurs. My wife states I should work in insurance as I can always find a negative. If it were me I would go the dealer route and take the lower money for peace of mind. Regards Alan

It all depends on how much experience you have of selling cars, how proficient you are at it, and how confident that your car will sell privately. Agreed, the easy solution is to sell it to the trade, but this is going to hit the pocket hardest. Only you can decide if the hassle of a private sale is worth the extra cash. If you go the private sale route prepare a carefully scripted but honest advertisement. Choose the best place to advertise it, the Club site or PP, specialist magazine, Autotrader, Pistonheads etc, A badly worded advert always puts me off - if the seller can't be bothered to write an attractive advert, can he be bothered about taking care of his car properly? I know that may not be fair, but it's how it is perceived. Be honest with yourself about whether what you are selling is just like one of a hundred others, or something a bit special or desirable due to specification or mileage, perhaps. If it is fairly run-of-the-mill, then you are competing purely on price and condition. Remember that the asking prices are not the same as selling prices - deals will inevitably be done. You can always make the car more attractive to the buyer - you might consider offering to pay for a Porsche 111-point check as a show of confidence in the car, and it will also give the buyer the option of taking out a warranty. The worst part of selling privately are the no-shows, tyre kickers, and time-wasters. When someone contacts you for a viewing make them aware that you will not allow them to drive the car unless they can show you proof of insurance. This will also give you a good idea how serious they are. Always make sure the car is spotlessly clean for a viewing. Buyers will not look through grime for a jewel underneath. Take them for a reasonable test drive, but drive the car sensibly and sympathetically - they would prefer to buy from an old fuddy-duddy than a boy racer. If you do allow them to drive the car, don't be afraid to tell them to slow down if you don't feel comfortable. And the primary rule is: Never part with a car until the funds are cleared at your bank. I could write volumes on this, but these are the basics. No, I've never been in the trade, but have bought and sold quite a few cars privately. A half-way solution might be to get a specialist to sell it on your behalf. Although some of them are happy to do this, and you will get more than selling it to the trade, the specialist will be keener to sell their own stock, in which they have more cash invested.

In the past I've made prospective buyers pay for 1 days insurance via my insurance company and offered to offset it from the price of the car if they buy it. Going back a few years now but it was approx £20 I seem to remember.

Hi Richard thanks for the advice how do i advertise on the club website thanks asif c4s cab 996, 2005

I meant the Member's For Sale forum, where your other post was moved to! http://www.porscheclubgbforum.com/tm.asp?m=273832&mpage=1&key=&#273832 If I were you, I would brighten it up with a good description, a photo or two, and put a price on it. Also try Pistonheads, as it's free. Quite a few people look there for used Porsches. I sold my daughter's MGZR there at Christmas.