Best way to sell your Corvette?

[Michael J.]

I am going to be selling one of my Corvettes soon and am wondering what everyone thinks is the best way to do it. I recognize the Driveline ad is a prefered way to go, but it seems slow and low tech, anyone had good experiences using other routes?

[Tom H.]

Re: Best way to sell your Corvette?

Hate to say it, but if good old fashioned word of mouth doesn't do it......................... ebay is probably the best bang for the buck. Instant exposure to the whole world. JMO.

[Paul H.]

Re: Best way to sell your Corvette?

Corvette Forum, Hemmings, Craigslist, E-Bay, Driveline.

[Jay G.]

Re: Best way to sell your Corvette?

E-Bay
Then you Provide LOTS of info. For the new owner.
If a Nos. Car. State/Post All Nos. and date codes. Providing Full disclosure for the prospective buyer.
If uneasy RE: Stating Vin number can XX out couple ditgits.
But qualify the buyer with your phone conversations before giving your address etc.
Leave a Phone number they may call You. Ouestions etc.
OR State they e-mail you their phone number etc thru e-Bay.
If they fail to provide a Full name or phone number. Move on to the next client. If they're serious they will get back to you.
They may call you more than once.

But, Be PREPARED to Sell your Car.
If priced reasonably it will sell. Then sellers remorse can settle in.

[Ronald L.]

Re: Best way to sell your Corvette?

You just did it here

Ditto - hate to say it, flee bay exposure to the more serious watchers. Pull in the leads on a high reserve and sell it outside the system.

[Michael J.]

Re: Best way to sell your Corvette?

Good ideas, thanks to all. I have bought tons of stuff on eBay but never had the courage to sell anything, I always worried about dead beat buyers, maybe I shouldn't be so afraid. I have sold to dealers before, but they usually want to low-ball you to death so they can resell at a big profit. But I guess they have to make money too, just hate for it to be off me.

[Bruce B.]

Re: Best way to sell your Corvette?

I have sold a number of cars using Ebay and the key is exactly what Jay stated: provide lots of information, as many pictures as is allowed and be sure to talk to any interested buyers. If when talking to them let them ask lots of questions and then ask them some. Also get thier telephone numbers and home address as they can provide credibility.
I feel it is easy to qualify a good buyer through a good conversation. And if you don't feel comfortable with a buyer just end the conversation in a nice manner.
I have also found that buyers out of the USA can be lots of trouble.
And these days the only safe payment methods are wire transfer or cash. For wire transfer open a new account to use for the transaction, then close it when the full payment is made.
Good luck.

[Jim D.]

Re: Best way to sell your Corvette?

Best bang for the buck - nobody beats E-Bay. I've sold several cars there with absolutely no problems.

Jim

[James N.]

Re: Best way to sell your Corvette?

Ditto........ebay

[Loren L.]

Re: Best way to sell your Corvette?

put a MILLION dollars in the trunk and offer it for sale for $400K

[Richard M.]

Re: Best way to sell your Corvette?

Last year I decided to sell 3 cars, my 56 project, my 62 project, and the 63 driver coupe.

I tried to sell our 63 coupe at the Daytona Turkey Run and later on ebay. Lots of exposure and lookers. Tried to sell the '62 on ebay 3 times over a one year period........No luck. No sales.

So I put three ads in the "For Sale/Want to Buy" section on CF(corvetteforum.com). Each ad had links to detailed photos and descriptions on my home made Comcast website. Total Cost? Zero dollars.

I sold all 3 cars within a month! I couldn't believe it. Check the ads yourself. They're still there in the archives.

Home run #1. The '56 was seen by the guy from Utah I bought it from a year and a half earlier. He had sellers remorse the day the truck came he told me. I got disenchanted because too many projects and he saw it. We dealed even money, and loved the bonus that he got his original title back unmarked.

Home run #2. The '63 was seen by a man from Austria. His buddy came over for "holiday", checked it out, talked to him on the phone, and we did the deal. Wire transferred funds with no problems. We've actually become car buddies, and he sends me pictures of he and his wife traveling around Europe in it. Last month to Italy and back through the mountains.

Home run #3. The 62 project was seen by a guy from Maryland who saw it on my website through a Google Search! Sold!

Rich

[David S.]

Re: Best way to sell your Corvette?

You just did it here

Ditto - hate to say it, flee bay exposure to the more serious watchers. Pull in the leads on a high reserve and sell it outside the system.

100% Agree. If the Driveline does not do it, put on eBay and use eBay as a marketing/ advertising tool. You'll generate a ton of interest and then end up selling off line.

Good luck!
Dave

[Dick W.]

Re: Best way to sell your Corvette?

DO NOT ACCEPT PAYPAL!

If the buyer has remorse and complains to PayPal, they usually favor the buyer and will go after you to refund the money. Plus when it is all done it will cost you 3% plus for the convience

[Paul J.]

Re: Best way to sell your Corvette?

Michael,

Good advice from the others. Don't forget usedcorvettesforsale.com and cars.com. Also, Craigslist is good for local sales, but I only use it for cars that are not as special as a vintage Corvette. If you use Craigslist, watch out for the strokers.

Paul

[Paul S.]

Re: Best way to sell your Corvette?

I concur with the above recommendations--on Ebay, the value is the exposure although you may not sell to your "high bidder" there, lots of people watch Ebay. I found the 67 I bought in April initially on Ebay. Saw the ad 45 minutes before it closed, emailed the seller to contact me if his buyer backed out (which he did), and eventually bought it.

Usedcorvettesforsale.com, corvettetrader.com and corvetteforum.com are the three sites I went to most often. Also take advantage of Driveline although that has limited reach. Lots of current corvette owners and most buyers are not NCRS members and will never see driveline or even know it exists.

I cannot emphasize enough the value of good recent photos including VIN and trim tags. And take every inquiry seriously--when a buyer is doing a nationwide car search, phone calls and pictures are a lot cheaper than airfare and paying to have cars inspected. I got relatively adept at ruling out prospects by talking with owners and checking out photos. As it was, however, I paid to have 3 inspected by local NCRS judges which I didn't buy or even make an offer on. And didn't even get that far on dozens of others for a lot of reasons: uncooperative sellers, lack of decent photos and no "claimed" ability to use a digital camera, or could tell from what I saw or heard it wasn't the car for me.

So you really do need to be prepared, if you want to sell. If you're technology challenged, partner up with someone who can help you get good, clear digital photos, receive and respond to emails promptly, and so forth.