[JerseyM3]

So I am currently waiting for delivery of my 2025 M3, which is due at some point in May. I will be selling my "gently used" 2022 Audi RS3 that is bone stock. Low miles. Great condition.
My question for those of you who've sold a car before, either thru a dealer or private individual, what was your experience? What do you recommend? Any pitfalls to look out for? I have a few online quotes from local dealers in NJ but I probably could do somewhat better privately but I don't know if the few extra bucks is worth the potential headaches dealing with people who don't know what they are buying, shady, etc? If you did sell, how'd it go?

Thanks!

[MassWholeBimmer]

I always felt that I bargained for a good offer for my trades when buying new... coupled that in my state, I only pay new car sales tax on the difference between the new car price and my trade value.
So with that, *IF* I can get a few extra $$'s selling privately, for me personally it's not worth it.

[elliswyatt]

I’ve sold quite a few cars privately and the transactions have all gone well. All of the cars that I sold were “enthusiast” cars which means that the buyers knew exactly what they wanted and they found it in what I was selling. I had full service records which helped. Many of the buyers were from out of state which added some complexity in terms of verifying the transfer of funds or figuring out how to get a license plate on the car for them to drive it away.

Your RS3 is certainly a desirable car for an enthusiast. Clean up the interior, shine up the exterior and degrease the engine bay. Someone will fall in love with it.

[JerseyM3]

Thanks for the advice. I definitely will make sure she's all clean and spiffy.
With regards to sales tax, if I sell it, who pays it? My car is financed 5 years, I'll have it 3 come July. Definitely not going to sell it for more than MSRP but with only 13k miles I have a little equity between what the market shows and my payoff.

[Burrcold]

I can't stand trying to sell privately. Many years ago it was the only way that I would sell, but these days with all the idiots online lowballing, no shows, tire kickers, etc. meh not for me. If it were me, I'd shop the car around to dealers, Carmax, etc. and see who can bid the highest. The RS3 is still a fairly high demand car, so I don't think you'll have a hard time getting what you want (or close enough to not have to deal with dingbats privately - I honestly hate saying that because I used to ONLY buy/sell used cars privately).

[JerseyM3]

Originally Posted by Burrcold

I can't stand trying to sell privately. Many years ago it was the only way that I would sell, but these days with all the idiots online lowballing, no shows, tire kickers, etc. meh not for me. If it were me, I'd shop the car around to dealers, Carmax, etc. and see who can bid the highest. The RS3 is still a fairly high demand car, so I don't think you'll have a hard time getting what you want (or close enough to not have to deal with dingbats privately - I honestly hate saying that because I used to ONLY buy/sell used cars privately).

Yeah I'm feeling the same. Carmax etc.. for some reason don't appraise German cars well. My wife had a 2014 Cherokee with all sorts of issues and they gave her 23k when the dealer would only do 9k on a trade. I have some local dealers giving me decent offers so will see. Appreciate it tho

[Alfisti]

I guess first question is why didn't you trade it when you bought the new one and second one is, why is selling a car considered so difficult? I don't understand the trepidation. List it, sell it. What's there to get all tied up about?

[BWBike]

I sold one car through Carvana. My son in law sold one too. The price was decent and they came and picked it up without issue. As long as it runs and they can drive it onto the flatbed, they hand you a check.

I don’t know about Carmax or other ones, but I will use Carvana again when my wife sells her car.

[JerseyM3]

Originally Posted by Alfisti

I guess first question is why didn't you trade it when you bought the new one and second one is, why is selling a car considered so difficult? I don't understand the trepidation. List it, sell it. What's there to get all tied up about?

Well dealers were giving me a lot less on a trade. I didn't want to leave the equity on the table. I'm not saying it's difficult, I'm just asking those who have to see where they've been most successful.

[JerseyM3]

Originally Posted by BWBike

I sold one car through Carvana. My son in law sold one too. The price was decent and they came and picked it up without issue. As long as it runs and they can drive it onto the flatbed, they hand you a check.

I don’t know about Carmax or other ones, but I will use Carvana again when my wife sells her car.

Yup. They are good for Asian and American cars but for some reason lowball their offers on German cars

[Alfisti]

Just chuck it up on AUtotrader and see what happens. If you get a bite, meet at a police station, i call ahead to let them know and they cool with it.

[tturedraider]

Originally Posted by Alfisti

I guess first question is why didn't you trade it when you bought the new one and second one is, why is selling a car considered so difficult? I don't understand the trepidation. List it, sell it. What's there to get all tied up about?

Originally Posted by Alfisti

Just chuck it up on AUtotrader and see what happens. If you get a bite, meet at a police station, i call ahead to let them know and they cool with it.

The world is not as simple as it once was and your posts have a very condescending tone. As Burrcold says, selling privately is nothing like it used to be and certainly isn’t for someone who has never done it before. Regarding not trading it in. I’m sure that is still an option. In case you aren’t aware ordering an ///M3 these days is usually a months long process from making the deal and ordering until delivery and negotiating a trade-in at that time isn’t an option.

[tturedraider]

Originally Posted by JerseyM3

Thanks for the advice. I definitely will make sure she's all clean and spiffy.
With regards to sales tax, if I sell it, who pays it? My car is financed 5 years, I'll have it 3 come July. Definitely not going to sell it for more than MSRP but with only 13k miles I have a little equity between what the market shows and my payoff.

The buyer always pays the sales tax. Just as if he was buying from a dealer. Selling a high dollar car is definitely more challenging than selling one worth $10k or $15k. And selling when you still have a loan and don’t have the title in hand adds additional complications. Most buyers are reluctant to hand over a bunch of cash without getting the physical title in exchange. If you decide to sell privately and you have the means to pay off the loan ahead of time and get the title in your possession that will make your potential buyers more likely to make the deal.

In many states the trade-in value the dealer allows is deducted from the sales price of the new car, thus reducing the sales tax due on the new car. This serves to increase the effective trade-in price offered.

If you sell privately price your car correctly for the market. Just like when selling real estate. Overpricing and thinking that sticking “or best offer” in the ad doesn’t help you sell for more money. It just prevents potential buyers from bothering with looking at your car.

[Alfisti]

Originally Posted by tturedraider

The world is not as simple as it once was and your posts have a very condescending tone. As Burrcold says, selling privately is nothing like it used to be and certainly isn’t for someone who has never done it before. Regarding not trading it in. I’m sure that is still an option. In case you aren’t aware ordering an ///M3 these days is usually a months long process from making the deal and ordering until delivery and negotiating a trade-in at that time isn’t an option.

I don't understand what has changed, there has always been tire kickers, low ballers etc, easy to weed them out. I dunno, I can't see what there is to consider. Throw it up on Autotrader, see if you get genuine interest and go from there.

[Burrcold]

Originally Posted by Alfisti

I don't understand what has changed, there has always been tire kickers, low ballers etc, easy to weed them out. I dunno, I can't see what there is to consider. Throw it up on Autotrader, see if you get genuine interest and go from there.

You're right, there have always been tire kickers. But come on, you can't say that you don't see a difference in selling privately vs 10-15-20 years ago. Even selling a simple part on this very forum is a crap shoot.

I'm not saying to not bother with a private sale, it's just not for me anymore. I don't have time for the games, potential scammers, etc.

Like tturedraider said, it's especially more dicey when you haven't done a private sale. Just not worth it IMO.

[Alfisti]

There's more scammers everywhere but I just sold my father in law's Q5. Up on autotrader, kijiji and facebook, weed out the idiots, answer a few questions, talk money, meet at police station cash cheque in hand.

I mean by all means go the easy route, that's fine but OP wants to avoid taking a bath.

What about BAT? May get decent money there, can always set a reserve. Low risk.

[BWBike]

Originally Posted by JerseyM3

Yup. They are good for Asian and American cars but for some reason lowball their offers on German cars

Didn’t know that. I sold a Ford Escape and my son in law sold a Toyota Corolla.

[jkoral]

Originally Posted by tturedraider

And selling when you still have a loan and don’t have the title in hand adds additional complications. Most buyers are reluctant to hand over a bunch of cash without getting the physical title in exchange.

Not sure if OP's RS3 has a loan, but someone on here had a good experience with www.keysavvy.com.

Unlike traditional escrow services, KeySavvy is a licensed dealership with real-time access to DMV services that make buying and selling cars worry-free.

Everything I've seen has been positive (rennlist, reddit, etc). I plan to use them next time I sell a car (loan or not, even the payment exchange appears easier).

[elliswyatt]

Originally Posted by jkoral

Not sure if OP's RS3 has a loan, but someone on here had a good experience with www.keysavvy.com.

Unlike traditional escrow services, KeySavvy is a licensed dealership with real-time access to DMV services that make buying and selling cars worry-free.

Everything I've seen has been positive (rennlist, reddit, etc). I plan to use them next time I sell a car (loan or not, even the payment exchange appears easier).

Very interesting and reasonably priced service. Thanks for the tip.

[JerseyM3]

Originally Posted by jkoral

Not sure if OP's RS3 has a loan, but someone on here had a good experience with www.keysavvy.com.

Unlike traditional escrow services, KeySavvy is a licensed dealership with real-time access to DMV services that make buying and selling cars worry-free.

Everything I've seen has been positive (rennlist, reddit, etc). I plan to use them next time I sell a car (loan or not, even the payment exchange appears easier).

Thanks. Yes i have a payoff. Appreciate the note.

[JerseyM3]

Originally Posted by BWBike

Didn’t know that. I sold a Ford Escape and my son in law sold a Toyota Corolla.

Yeah its for some reason they don't want to deal with euro cars and SUVs. For example, my nephew bought a 21 Honda accord low mileage from carvana for 26k. He resold it back to them with 12k more miles for 24,600. My RS3 is a 22, 13k miles, not a scratch. No damage, 9 year ceramic coat, interior is pristine... offered me 42k. MSRP is 68k. Come on man.

[BlkGS]

Originally Posted by JerseyM3

Yeah its for some reason they don't want to deal with euro cars and SUVs. For example, my nephew bought a 21 Honda accord low mileage from carvana for 26k. He resold it back to them with 12k more miles for 24,600. My RS3 is a 22, 13k miles, not a scratch. No damage, 9 year ceramic coat, interior is pristine... offered me 42k. MSRP is 68k. Come on man.

Honestly I think that's a pretty fair offer for a 3 year old German car that has a newer generation out that got a lot more priase than the old one...