Advice on private party selling

M3Master · Jun 30, 2022

So, I've never sold a car to a private party. It's always been a trade in. Obviously dealers are in the business to make money and trade value isn't always the best. That being said, here is my issue.

My wife and I each have a 1500 mile Level 2 fully loaded 2022 TRX. One red and one blue. Given our needs, we have decided that we want to go a different route. I have ordered a '22 Challenger Redeye and my wife a '22 Charger Hellcat. The question is, how to unload the trucks? The biggest/only argument for trading in the trucks is the tax savings we'd get would essentially make us pay zero, or very little tax on the new vehicles. Let's call that amount $6k.

I'm gonna take a ballpark guess and say the dealer is going to offer 85k...with the tax savings that equates the trade value to 91k(kinda bullshit because that tax isn't coming out of their pocket...but they know they have the advantage).

So, if I was going to sell private party, I'd need to at least clear 91k to cover the offset....which should be doable given the features, year, mileage and condition.

So, how do you make sure you don't get scammed? I have a lien on the trucks and was considering making a pass through sale at the dealership a condition of the sale. I think that only costs like $350 and I'd cover that. Covers my ass, the buyer's ass and also allows for the buyer to finance easier.

So, I don't want to squeeze every dime out of my fell Hellcat enthusiasts...I'm not going to put it on the market for 110k and sit on it. I'd like to make a few bucks to dump into the new cars also. What would you list these for? What is a fair private party price? What is the LEAST you'd take if you traded them in? The VINs are below.

1C6SRFU9XNN168529
1C6SRFU91NN152090

I appreciate the discussion.

Hinzy · Jun 30, 2022

For me, I would probably go with trade in unless it was significantly less.
I hate dealing with people on these types of sales.
The calls, the messages, the tire kickers, the low ball offers.... My time is worth more to me that dealing with that.

Nitro · Jun 30, 2022

Check out https://www.givemethevin.com/

I've used them in the past and had a good experience. They offered close to private party without the hassle of dealing with people. Well worth it!

M3Master · Jun 30, 2022

Hinzy said:
For me, I would probably go with trade in unless it was significantly less.
I hate dealing with people on these types of sales.
The calls, the messages, the tire kickers, the low ball offers.... My time is worth more to me that dealing with that.

That is totally fair. Not having to screw with it is worth a lot.

572 Savoy · Jun 30, 2022

Good luck. Be prepared for a circus, complete with monkeys. There will be the bottom feeders, the "would buy if...", and associated dumbass want to be's Or, everything will go superbly, you will sell instantly without issue. Call me jaded, but then it was all my fault because I am an " asshat". And I'm ok with that. Best to you.

JumpSquadAuto · Jun 30, 2022

The TRX market is starting to dip for a lot of reasons....mostly due to the overall car market dipping. You will get the most money in TX or the west coast. Be mindful of any sales tax implications in your state but I would try to see if a dealer can send it to ACV auction for you and what carmax, givemethevin, and kbb instant value offers you . That helps establish a baseline for what wholesale pricing is going for.....10% more is usually the norm for dealer turn around to retail from what one of the mentioned companies offers has been my experience.

You have to decide if that 10% is worth dealing with people. Ive also seen Ford dealers having more luck moving used TRXs then Ram dealers. Local Ford dealer is offering more for TRXs then the Ram dealers around here. Maybe cause a TRX at 10k over is a better deal for anyone walking in to pay 25k over for a V6 Raptor lol. I would see which local area dealer has the most overpriced Raptors and take a swing at them to buy at least one of the TRXs from you for MSRP or a little more.

El Jefe · Jun 30, 2022

. . .part out man.

Seriously, it all has to do with how much time you have and your ability coordinate the various facets of selling it on your own.

grim · Jun 30, 2022

Try going through an auction? Just unloaded a 2021 Jeep Wrangler using https://www.carmigo.io/ and I got 5k more than Vroom/Carvana and 7k more than GiveMeTheVin. Very easy and quick. YMMV.

Claasicdrive · Jun 30, 2022

grim said:
Try going through an auction? Just unloaded a 2021 Jeep Wrangler using https://www.carmigo.io/ and I got 5k more than Vroom/Carvana and 7k more than GiveMeTheVin. Very easy and quick. YMMV.

how do you get paid with the site you listed..can you explain the whole process

RedEyeTRX · Jun 30, 2022

572 Savoy said:
Good luck. Be prepared for a circus, complete with monkeys. There will be the bottom feeders, the "would buy if...", and associated dumbass want to be's Or, everything will go superbly, you will sell instantly without issue. Call me jaded, but then it was all my fault because I am an " asshat". And I'm ok with that. Best to you.

Dont forget the circus CLOWNS too!!!!!!!!!!!!!

RedEyeTRX · Jun 30, 2022

El Jefe said:
. . .part out man.

Seriously, it all has to do with how much time you have and your ability coordinate the various facets of selling it on your own.

Thats what I do with all the ones I steal from forum members...............
Wanta buy a couple of slightly used HC engines??

RedEyeTRX · Jun 30, 2022

You have to figure out what your time is worth.
As others have said, selling 2 HALO trucks to private parties will take time and patience. Past sales, I accept a cashiers check, but only when its handed to me by the bank teller at their bank. If they refuse, pass on the deal. Wire transfers are also pretty safe. Keep in mind, many transactions can be revoked by their institution.

At the dealership, it will be a quick deal and your trade value(s) will reduce your tax exposure. You might get very close (trade and tax) to the number you want. Done deal, moving on to the Challenger and Charger!

On my Z06 and HC RE, both were traded due to my near 9% local tax rate. Made personal and financial sense. Good luck !

grim · Jun 30, 2022

Claasicdrive said:
how do you get paid with the site you listed..can you explain the whole process

It was shockingly simple. I started out by entering the basic vehicle info to get an estimate similar to all the other sites. It generated a recommended range to list the Jeep at which I though was a little low but still higher than the other sites. I did some more research and figured what the hell…let’s give it a try. I created an account based off the email they send with the estimate. It guides you through the pictures required for auction, you confirm/adjust the vehicle features, and then set your reserve price. They “certify” it if you are within the suggest price range but you can set the price to whatever you want. If the reserve is met they subtract $350 from the auction price. They do ACH to deposit funds in your bank within 48 hours and do the same for the lien holder if that applies. They already knew my leinholder and the payoff amount. They knew who it was registered to as well. The auction itself was interesting. Each auction ends at 2 pm daily. I signed up mid-day the prior day so my Jeep was in the auction for a little over 24 hours. The first day, only got 1 bid and it was a low ball offer. I started to think it was a joke. But at 10 am the next day the bids started pouring in. Bidding ended over 7k higher than it started and we got 32 bids. Paperwork was sent electronically to sign over the Jeep within 2 hours after the auction was closed. The Jeep was picked up 48 hours later. I am fairly pleased but YMMV.

M3Master · Jun 30, 2022

Yea, the main dilemma is that I don't want to get in the chair and have them offer me 75k because they have my deposit. The peace of mind from a trade in deal is pretty appealing, but not if I'm going to lose 10k per truck.

shapiroeric · Jun 30, 2022

There is nothing that's worse to sell than a car.....absolutely brutal....cough up the extra money and trade them or wholesale them.....

M3Master · Jun 30, 2022

Funny how values are all over the place. Retail seems to be 100k plus. Trade in w/ KBB(inaccurate I know) shows 96k-103k. And Givemethevin's first offer was 80k.

@JC · Jun 30, 2022

From the people I've talked to on other forums, GMTV has been lowballing lately and even backing out of accepted decent offers.

Claasicdrive · Jun 30, 2022

grim said:
It was shockingly simple. I started out by entering the basic vehicle info to get an estimate similar to all the other sites. It generated a recommended range to list the Jeep at which I though was a little low but still higher than the other sites. I did some more research and figured what the hell…let’s give it a try. I created an account based off the email they send with the estimate. It guides you through the pictures required for auction, you confirm/adjust the vehicle features, and then set your reserve price. They “certify” it if you are within the suggest price range but you can set the price to whatever you want. If the reserve is met they subtract $350 from the auction price. They do ACH to deposit funds in your bank within 48 hours and do the same for the lien holder if that applies. They already knew my leinholder and the payoff amount. They knew who it was registered to as well. The auction itself was interesting. Each auction ends at 2 pm daily. I signed up mid-day the prior day so my Jeep was in the auction for a little over 24 hours. The first day, only got 1 bid and it was a low ball offer. I started to think it was a joke. But at 10 am the next day the bids started pouring in. Bidding ended over 7k higher than it started and we got 32 bids. Paperwork was sent electronically to sign over the Jeep within 2 hours after the auction was closed. The Jeep was picked up 48 hours later. I am fairly pleased but YMMV.

what about the title? Electronic title transfer or do you have to physically mail it?