Mike11

So, I am looking to either sell or trade in my 2009 GX470, Black, 53,000 miles (with navigation, Grey interior, third row seats, Mark Levinson sound, great condition, etc.).

I am contemplating whether to trade it into the dealer (big price hit) or try and sell it privately.

Anyone tried to sell one privately before? Experiences with it? Where was the best place to list?

Ragnoir

As you already stated you will get more money selling it privately then trading it in. I've had success selling a few cars on Craigslist. But it will take time.

The last car I sold it took over 2 months and I had several tire kickers and people just stand me up to see the car. If you aren't in a hurry I would list it and see what you get. Won't hurt anything to try.

danmm7

Sell privately.

I've sold 4 or 5 cars privately, using craigslist and web sites like cars.com (small fee required)

With every singe car, i sold it for way more (thousands more) than what any dealer offered me as a trade. It is simply amazing how little $$ the dealer offers for great cars and now much profit they later make on them.

Selling privately will take you longer for sure but in my opinion it is well worth it. You will get lots of calls/emails with people asking basic and even stupid questions. Put as much details in your ad as possible. List all the options, current mileage, maintenance history, any new parts/tires recently installed and any possible issues with the car. You can even list the VIN number in the ad so buyers can go and do carfax checks on their own. This will help reduce and flush out the 'stupid' questions. There will be some serious buyers with some valid questions. Before you agree to a 'test drive', try to screen the potential buyer by asking them a few questions, just to get a feel of how serious/mature they are. If someone sounds fishy, find an excuse not to show him/her the car.

Depending on the car you're selling, you'll get different type of potential buyers. I sold an older cheap sporty hachback (Ford Focus SVT) and i got many calls from younger guys who wanted a 'fun' car for less money but half of them did not have the money. They wanted to kick the tires, get a free test drive, etc. This was more of a waste of time for me but the car simply attracted this type of buyers. I still sold the car for good $$ - it just took longer (~2 mo) and many pointless phone calls and emails.

On the other hand, when i sold my '06 Acura RL (luxury sedan worth $20k+) i got only a few calls but they were all from very serious, mature, older buyers. It took only 2 test drives and the car was sold. Took me total of 3 weeks from listing to having the money in the bank. Sold the car for $5k more than what the Acura dealer offered me as trade-in value!!!

Price your car/truck properly. If everything is in good shape and there are no major pending issues with the vehicle, I would go with a price somewhere between the KBB 'private value' and 'retail', but definitely close to the private value number. People will try to negotiate, so this will give you some room to go down a bit and still get you the KBB 'private' value.
Also, based on the number of calls you get during the first week, try to gauge how flexible you should be with your price. Obviously, if you get lots of calls/interest in the car, do not be too eager to lower the price much.

*** As a form of payment always ask for cash or bank/certified check. Avoid private checks and any other 'creative' ways of payment. There are LOTS of crooks out there.
*** Also, avoid dealers who will contact you and promise you that they will give you 'top dollar' for your car, 'well above trade in'.... 99% of the time, they will waste your time.

Selling a car privately can be fun and very rewarding but it will require some time and some patience. If you work 60-70hrs a week and you have no free time to meet with buyers or take calls, it may be easier to just trade in the car.

Good luck!!!