My daughter and son-in-law need to sell two cars as they prepare to relocate from the San Francisco area to Tokyo. They’re wondering if it would be better to try to sell in December or wait until January. (They leave the end of January.) Any ideas?
Makes little difference…What are they trying to sell? (Make, Model, year, mileage…)
If they try to sell it now, they might still be trying to sell it in January. I would not wait to get started.
I’m not convinced that there isn’t a good time to sell.
In early spring many people get in the mood to buy a new(er) car. April, May and June are typically the biggest car sale months for dealers. So if you’re BUYING a new car avoid those months if you want a good deal. So if people are buying more in those months…then that sounds like a good time to sell.
In SF any month should be about the same as another. Certainly people are busy with the holidays but if you need a car you need a car so the used car market isn’t affected that much. In climate areas that experience severe winter weather (ice, and snow) the used car market is “off” a bit in the winter months. New car sales are more affected by seasons and winter weather but this year the end of year sales have been strong.
Either is probably equally as bad. Trying to sell now competes with Christmas purchases. They are chasing even scarcer dollars. Selling after Christmas competes with Christmas credit card bills. Once again, chasing money going elsewhere. So they might as well start now. If they can’t sell to a private party they can sell to a used car dealer. But I’d wait until they are close to leaving to take that avenue.
Every month you wait, the car is worth less and less…