rate my craigslist ad

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Is the car currently parked at the Citgo? Is it the AWD model?

You should include the VIN number in the ad
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Are you sure your price is in line with Edmunds?
 
Looks good. I hate it when people list all the things that have been replaced on an older car. You nicely state all repair and maintenance is current.
 
Originally Posted by Kestas
Looks good. I hate it when people list all the things that have been replaced on an older car. You nicely state all repair and maintenance is current.

+1
 
Looks good but I would skip listing all the options, or at least move them to the bottom. Too much reading.

What I found is people mostly want to know how old the tires are, percentage of brake pads left and if it has been smogged. So maybe include this info as well.
 
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Good ad. No BS. Plenty of pictures. All the relevant details.

Bummer it's got 138K miles... If it had under 130K you could put it on Turo and rent it out.
 
I would add a couple photos from under the hood. I like to see if there is major rust or damage that was fixed.

Other than that looks good.
 
Vacuum the floors real well esp. the driver's side floor mat.

Get rid of the word "FIRM" in the ad. If you really won't take less, price it at $4400 and take the first offer for $4k. Otherwise you will keep getting offers for $3500-3750 or so. Dealing with CL buyers, they're all going to want at least a few hundred off the asking price.

Expect to weed out some bad buyers. Don't respond back to those that want to help you sell the car. Otherwise agree with what others have already mentioned. Consider listing on others sites like Facebook marketplace, cars.com, autotrader.com, etc. Here are some more tips esp at the end of the article:

https://www.moneycrashers.com/sell-your-car-on-craigslist/
 
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Yeah, include vin and a picture of the engine. Otherwise looks good. Nadaguide says full retail is $4775 and clean trade in is $2900. Stuff priced closer to clean trade in tends to sell. I would have gone for $3500.
 
I would post pictures of the engine bay and the driver's side leather seat. One thing I always check for when looking at a car is if there's any bolster wear to the leather.
 
" Hello. I am currently stationed in *****. I'm on a tight schedule and would like to have the item shipped to ***** asap. I will send you a cashier's check for the full price of the item+ shipping....".
 
Make sure your top 5 points to convey are ordered as such. Maybe a space between that and the rest. It seems like some important stuff(maintenace) to me me lower but I am not your typical $5k car buyer.

People only read the first few bullet points and decide to read on.
 
Hello. I am currently stationed in *****. I'm on a tight schedule and would like to have the item shipped to ***** asap. I will send you a cashier's check for the full price plus a few hundred for your troubles+ shipping....".


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As I posted in your for sale ad, it looks very nice but why no ability to reply by Craigslist email? For many buyers that's a red flag. Like spammers harvesting phone numbers. If you post on the internet you should be able to correspond via the internet. If I see that in an ad, unless I really want it, I move on to the next one. If I have a list of questions I don't want to tap it out on a tiny screen when I have my computer, nor do I want to play telephone tag and hope I don't get called back when I'm driving and don't remember half the stuff on my list I wanted to ask.
 
I've sold two old cars this year privately online so I feel like I have a bit of a handle on general stuff (plus I work in the marketing dept. of an auto sales chain). I would delete all of this because it's stuff you firm up after contact is made (and no one has read this far down anyway):

"important. . .no text asking if is still available will be answered
When it is sold the ad will be taken off
Ask any questions, tell where you are coming from, when you can look at it
Text preferred, calls ok and leave a message (include your name, where you are from, any questions, when you can look at it)
Will not hold, first $4000 cash buys it. I will text you when it is sold.
Cash only. No PayPal. No payments. No checks."

The whole tone of the ad isn't friendly or inviting, it looks like you're scolding any potential buyers and telling them what they need to do to make YOU happy. If someone is going to send you a scam text, a disclaimer in your ad telling them not to won't dissuade them.

Also, in my experience, the listings with "FIRM" listed on the price are the ones that sell the slowest, even if the price is fair. People these days (except in rare cases) will NOT pay asking price for ANYTHING. Start higher and then work down to an acceptable price.
 
Originally Posted by IronMaidenRules
The whole tone of the ad isn't friendly or inviting, it looks like you're scolding any potential buyers and telling them what they need to do to make YOU happy. If someone is going to send you a scam text, a disclaimer in your ad telling them not to won't dissuade them.

Also, in my experience, the listings with "FIRM" listed on the price are the ones that sell the slowest, even if the price is fair. People these days (except in rare cases) will NOT pay asking price for ANYTHING. Start higher and then work down to an acceptable price.


+1, sounds a little bit like a drill sergeant. And that the seller is doing them a huge favor by selling it to them.

So try to convey a friendly, upbeat ad.
 
Originally Posted by terry274
Will not hold, first $4000 cash buys it.


Not many people go around looking at cars with thousands in cash in their pocket. Expecting everyone to do so will throw off many buyers who would be uncomfortable bringing that much money to a complete stranger on the first encounter. Especially when meeting at a gas station. Most of the sellers who want to meet like that don't want the buyers to know where they live and sounds a bit shady or what a curbstoner does. It's also useless if you worry about the buyer knowing where you live if your name and address is on the title. Take a $200 non-refundable deposit with the balance due in a day or two when he can get to the bank for cash, or you can meet at the bank and get a bank check.
 
Not a bad looking car-if it's been in Nashville it's whole life, play up the rust-free Southern aspect. Otherwise, pretty good, but get ready for the scammer avalanche...
 
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