Selling Car Experience.

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Al

Al

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Jun 8, 2002
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Elizabethtown, Pa
I have my '16 Spark listed at $8200 I have had inquiries but the problem is that is manual transmission. MSRP was $13,500

Just for the heck of it I looked at the "Sell Instantly" advertisementw I have it listed in AutoTrader and Cars.Com. Basically dealers respond. I got an "Offer" for $4200. I suppose I will list on Craigslist. Obviously the problem is "Manual"

I would rather not have 3 cars but it makes a good "run around" vehicle.
 
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IF more than one dealer really low-balled you-yes they know the market for manual transmissions are almost zero. Very few under the age of 40ish years (maybe older) can even drive one.
 
How many miles? I have my '17 automatic posted here and can't get $5,500. Few people can or want to drive sticks anymore, especially a younger crowd the car is aimed at.
 
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Originally Posted by spavel6
Funny - I only drive stick and wouldn't consider buying an automatic..


Funny I used to drive a stick and wouldn't consider going back. Neither car I drive even comes as a stick as an option although they both have paddle shifters which I never use. Last fill up I did, I was averaging less than 20mph and my gas mileage was about 14mpg. I blame all the Uber/Lyft vehicles on the street clogging things up and increasing traffic.
 
Originally Posted by CKN
IF more than one dealer really low-balled you-yes they know the market for manual transmissions are almost zero. Very few under the age of 40ish years (maybe older) can even drive one.
That's not true at all. That's what they tell you so they can turn around and sell your car as a "rare" manual. If you look at used cars, the manuals are not priced much cheaper than the autos if it all.

It definitely shrinks the market for your car, but under 40 is a millennial demographic now and they grew up driving 80s and 90s imported economy cars. A lot more of those were manual than they would be today. My sis is 33 and she just got her first auto trans car about two years ago and she got her first car when she was 21 or so. I'm 30 and my first car was a manual trans, too. Just because you don't like them doesn't mean no one under 40 can drive them.
 
I'd imagine it's downright dangerous to operate a smart phone while attempting to shift gears!
eek.gif
 
This is a cheap manual econobox.

People who prefer manual are likely driving manual sport car or good handling car, not econobox manual unless they want to save gas. In that case your econobox manual will likely only attract the cheap skates instead of performance loving manual driver.

So, that's what you are getting.
 
Originally Posted by Lolvoguy
I'd imagine it's downright dangerous to operate a smart phone while attempting to shift gears!
eek.gif


I manage.

lol.gif
 
How long has it been listed? Having three vehicles you are obviously not pressed to sell it. I would keep it listed, somebody will eventually be interested.

Also, if it doesn't sell by the end of summer, I would take if off the listing and put it back on once the tax return season hits. People tend to shop cars more during the tax return season.
 
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I suspect your difficulty selling has more to do with this being an unpopular model with a poor reliability record than having a manual transmission.
 
I thought that you were gifting this car to a nephew?
Either way, while we drove sticks for years as a matter of preference, they are the taste of only a very small minority of buyers these days and a used car lot is more likely to attract this small subset of buyers than you are.
If I needed a cheap commuter I'd make you an offer, but we're pretty well set ATM.
 
The average Spark buyer will be young, under 25 ... and WON'T HAVE A CLUE what a manual transmission is, or how to drive one. And, there is already a very, very small market for sub-compact cars, and a manual car eliminates 95% of those potential buyers.

You are also competing against dealership financing on new cars, where anyone with a pulse and some sort of income will get approved. People don't want a cheap newish used car, unless it is REALLY cheap. Otherwise, they just buy or lease new.

Personally, I think small cars like the Chevy Spark are wayyyyy better with a manual. I am, however, not your typical buyer ...
lol.gif
 
Originally Posted by PandaBear
This is a cheap manual econobox.

People who prefer manual are likely driving manual sport car or good handling car, not econobox manual unless they want to save gas. In that case your econobox manual will likely only attract the cheap skates instead of performance loving manual driver.

So, that's what you are getting.
Not every performance loving manual driver drives a sports car everyday or wants to in the winter. A manual trans is a must in an underpowered car IMO to be able to wind it out on highway on ramps.

Normal people like manuals, too. What's with generalizing people who drive manuals? Must be a bunch of manual trans-hating boring old men posting on this board!
48.gif
 
Good suggestions-thanks. I will look at listing it elsewhere and will just keep the for sale signs on it. I'll just put more miles on it than my Crosstrek. It has 33K miles and the bumper bumper warranty til august.

My grandson is in Nevada so it won't go out to him.
 
My pops only got $5,500 for his '14 Hyundai Accent manual, and that was WITH a brand new
If you want it gone, give it to a dealer and take the check. Why tie the money up?
 
Originally Posted by spavel6
Funny - I only drive stick and wouldn't consider buying an automatic..

X2. My 13 yr old 2nd cousin picked it up real fast
smile.gif
She won't be " one of them" if I can help it.

IMG_20190209_113041.jpg
 
Originally Posted by maxdustington
Originally Posted by CKN
IF more than one dealer really low-balled you-yes they know the market for manual transmissions are almost zero. Very few under the age of 40ish years (maybe older) can even drive one.
That's not true at all. That's what they tell you so they can turn around and sell your car as a "rare" manual. If you look at used cars, the manuals are not priced much cheaper than the autos if it all.

It definitely shrinks the market for your car, but under 40 is a millennial demographic now and they grew up driving 80s and 90s imported economy cars. A lot more of those were manual than they would be today. My sis is 33 and she just got her first auto trans car about two years ago and she got her first car when she was 21 or so. I'm 30 and my first car was a manual trans, too. Just because you don't like them doesn't mean no one under 40 can drive them.


Again-the popularity of manuals for those under 40 is NIL-IMHO. But we can agree to disagree on that. The numbers of automatics verses those models that can even be found with a manual are represented by small numbers on any given new car lot. Why would a used one be any different?
 
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