We are still trying to sell Don's Escape. I am having a terrible time of it. I am trying to sell it for under blue book price but still no bites. I gave up a few weeks ago, and now I just think we should get out from under it... and our time to do that would be soon becuase he is done in 16 days. (YAY!!!!!!!!!!) But my original plan was to sell his car for under blue book but more than we owe on it, and then put that down on a commuter that was around $4K... We would have about $2k to put down, ending with a $2K personal loan instead of a car loan which would mean we could spend less on ins because we wouldn't have to have it fully covered.

Our plan, however, is going to pot every time he drives up there. The higher the miles the less it is worth. And I am now getting to the point that getting a smaller/more efficiant car would be better regardless if we have a big down or not. It costs him $17 to go to work one way right now. YIKES!

So how would you do it? Cus something has to be done. And the car is in great shape for how many miles are on it. It has brand new tires, muffler, rear hatch latch, exaust sensor, muffler sensor, manifold... all of the back end is new basically, along with the tires and the tune up we just gave it in Dec when he started this job.... anyway... I don't want to be on the end of another 60 month loan, so that won't happen, but we could get a good car for $4K or so that would save us 1/2 the payment in gas each month...

what would you do? Please, I need some guidence here.

Val

Is the car parked in a place that prospective buyers would see it? Are there any noticable blemishes? Is it neat and clean on the inside? Can you run it in a local car trader?

What are you currently doing to try and sell it?

I have sold every car (4 of them now) in less than a week.

I've always run an ad in the local newspaper and had no problem.

I've been nervous about this myself, hoping we can sell the Outback because if we can't we'll be so screwed, paying two payments for a while. But mostly because we're so rural people will freak when they learn where the car is and be unlikely to come see it to buy it.

How have you advertised it? How are you describing the car? Be sure you give enough info and accentuate the positives.

What about taking it to the dealer and trading it in? You could just see what they would give you. How about a place like um, uh, blanking on the name, but there was a big chain place in Florida that specialized in no-hassle type sales and trade ins.

I'd trade it in for a Civic...we are seriously considering one for Matt's car to drive to work. We've had them before. So efficient and reliable.

we listed ours on craigslist and sold it within 24 hours

A Civic is what Don wants... but we really need to get as many bills down as possible so we can start working this debt down a little bit. If we were to stay where we are, we would be breaking even when Don gets this next raise every month. I want debt to be going down. I know that this isn't the time to expect that. BUt at the same time I am feeling the push now... I don't know why, but I am simplifing left and right. I just decluttered the patio, the linens, and the clothes down even more than I did last month. I am about to tackle the garage this weekend. I just need to start getting things in order. It is about time we can handle the income we are at. And in June when we actually start seeing this raise, I want to know just what we want to get and get to paying down bills... so my goal with selling this vehicle is having LESS in bills AND gas if I can. And if we find something for around $4k then we can put down a big chunk and get a personal loan for the rest, making our payment, our insurance, and our gas all go down. That is my goal.

On another note... what kind of car were you guys selling? Because I think part of the reason this isn't selling is because it IS an SUV... you know? Gas prices going up, SUV's are NOT in demand like they were 7 years ago.

I listed it for $300 less today. Already got a bite... not a sale, but a bite. :)

Val

we listed ours on craigslist and sold it within 24 hours

Ditto for DH's car. He listed it on Craigslist and it sold the next day. The car had major problems too, not to mention an expired safety and a soon to be expired registration. I listed a table and it sold that day. We love Craigstlist now!

ours was a mazda 626 - we sold it when we bought my minivan.

i sold a mazda 626 too, and a mercedes sedan, and a little toyota and a nissan 240sx...

one sold by an ad in the paper, one through craigslist, and the other two driving by with a sign on it.

i always CLEAN the car, and I mean, even the engine. Replace the oil, air filter, top off fluids. Detail the car. Then I put everything the car has (adding things like maintence records, any aftermarket things, any thing that makes the car special... like one owner, commuter miles, things like that). And then I price it a bit low, but not so low that I won't take a lower cash offer. Then, tape these things to the window and park it somewhere where it is going to be seen!

Why can't you get a Civic for $4k? We just looked at a really solid 99 Civic for $5950 asking price, with 104k on it.

I am hoping that bite turns into a sale! *crossing fingers for you* I'm sure you will sell it. I agree, the fact that it is an SUV may be hurting you. Or are there any repair issues w/that particular year or something?

I would agree this is a bad time to sell an SUV. The last car I sold was my diesel mercedes to a couple that were converting it to a greaser.

No... nothing major. The ABS function on the breaks are recalled, but that is something that is dealer fixed with no $$ out of pocket, and we are doing it next week hopefully.

A greaser... great name. I will have to remember that. A few friends have "greasers"... lol.

Lauren, we probobly can... we just need to get the car sold before we even have a chance. I told Don I would go as high as $2500 on personal loan (3 year, at 10%) so he can get something in that range + what we have after the car is sold and paid off.

Val