I’m currently in the process of selling my 2001 Honda Accord Sedan ULEV, with 188k miles. The car is in very good condition with no mechanical issues, doesn’t leak any fluids, but has some minor dents, scratches and rusting on the body. I’ve used three websites: KBB, Nada, and Edmunds to try and get a value for selling it. I plan on selling it to a family member for a reasonable discount after I figure out what that value is, but it seems that the values on these sites range from $1,056 for a private sale on Edmunds, to $2,125 for a trade-in on Nada, to $2,565 for a private sale on KBB. I definitely feel that the Edmunds value is WAY too low, and the KBB value may be a bit optimistic. Does anyone have any thoughts on the accuracy of these values or whether there are other resources online that are better to use? Thanks for any input!
Cars over 10 years old with high mileage are worth whatever someone is willing to pay…Dealers look at them as scrap and dispose of them that way…If it’s going to a relative, I would just donate it to them…Save yourself a lot of grief down the road…
Word of precaution; your relative might not talk to you again:) Make sure whatever you sell it for, they realize that they are getting an older car with high mileage and if the transmission goes out right when they are pulling out of your garage, they won’t complain.
I guess that is one reason to donate it to them. But if it was me, I would just put an ad on craigslist and sell it to the first buyer that offered reasonable cash for the car.
You should browse the ebay sales and see what the bids on a similar car looks like. Also look on craigslist and other sites and see what the asking prices are. Maybe cut 10% off and that should be a good place to start.
Use them all, none are perfect. You must use the correct value, though. Trade-In is always lower than private sale or dealer retail since it is essentially wholesale value. Condition is very important, too. Be honest with yourself and pick the same condition for all 3 sights.
For a family sale, sit down with them and show all 3 trade-in prices and all 3 private sale prices. Likely you will agree to something in the middle. Be brutally honest about the condition of the car and tell your relative to have their mechanic check it. But I wouldn’t recommend selling a car to a relative.
Take it to a local used car lot or 3 and see what they will buy it for. That gives you trade-in value. If there is a CarMax near you, they offer fair prices for used cars. And don’t tell them your plans. Act like you really want to sell it to them. Maybe you will in the end anyway.
There is good reason that so many people will never sell a used vehicle to a friend or relative.
The ultimate price you pay is usually far greater than any monetary amount you get for the car.
“Use them all, none are perfect.”
Very sound advice from @Mustangman because that’s exactly what I do. You can get a very good idea of a vehicle’s value by comparing all the estimates. If you use just one source the price will be too low or too high and neither one is a good thing when buying or selling a vehicle.
Caddyman is probably right about selling a vehicle to a family member. No matter how good of a deal you make them on the car these things have a way sometimes of backfiring when a problem crops up 2 weeks later.