hey guys in this video we're gonna give
you the five steps on how to
successfully sell your car online and in
Craigslist tune in and three two hey
guys welcome back to at the pump an
automotive podcast for enthusiasts by
enthusiasts I'm sitting here with my
good friend Brian and today we're gonna
go over the five steps on how to
successfully sell your car in Craigslist
which a lot of people try some people
don't quite get what they're asking for
hopefully this video gets you top dollar
for your car you're looking to sell
absolutely so first before we step into
the five steps on how to sell your car
first we want to talk about some things
and maybe some examples of what not to
do because selling your car online that
these steps are gonna help you not only
be more successful get more traffic to
your ad and also sell your car for more
money that's the ultimate goal
right exactly so first we wanted to kind
of jump in and show you some some really
bad craigslist ads that we found across
the US and just some examples of what
not to do before we start jumping into
the steps of what to do and this is
stuff that even if you wanted this car
and you came across this ad it would not
trigger you or try to you know provoke
you to even contact that person to go
look at it
I mean first and foremost you got to
have people texting or replying to your
ad if you post a less than par ad you're
not getting anyone to click or call you
absolutely absolutely so first let's we
pulled up this out here we have an ad on
Craigslist that is for a which just says
BMW MW yeah
so it doesn't even say what model it is
what year the car is just says BMW a
couple things that you'll notice to you
on this is that the quality of photos a
there's only four of them but more
importantly each photo is missing like
half of the car I mean this photos one
the gas cap looks like it's open parked
on the side of the street there next to
a storm drain or something like you're
absolutely right the car is not clean
it's not presented well it's not
photographed well and even the ad itself
I mean it doesn't even tell us what is
you know what the mileage of the car is
is nowhere to be seen on the ad I don't
even see a guy's phone number or contact
info so even if we wanted this BMW who
are we can't how are we gonna get ahold
of the great good point you're
absolutely right so it's it's tough
because we want her to show these first
I mean this is a great example of what
not to do because if you're in the
market for a BMW or let's just say in
this car a if someone searches BMW
5-series this car is not gonna be pulled
up you've only just had key word BMW so
you're missing out on a lot of keyword
search and SEO stuff for this whether
it's Craigslist or Facebook marketplace
whatever it is so exactly stuff like
this is is pretty brutal so the second
example that I love this is one of my
favorite things so this is a 2005 outie
a6 Quattro it's got the full title in
there got the miles you know things are
good description is extremely short two
things that you know you look at one
thing like the headlights
it's amazing how yellowed headlights
just date the car so much yeah you know
in that little things like that can be
fixed we just did a how-to video on our
youtube channel so go ahead and check
that out
it's literally ten dollars in 10 minutes
you literally can make your headlights
look from old man toenail yellow - Josh
oh yeah yeah yeah yeah that's crazy so
little things like that but most
importantly what's funny about this ad
is that if you look at the rear photo
template you're gonna see a temp tag so
for those who don't know what a tent tag
is this gentleman just bought this car
and got it registered whether it was
from a dealership or at his local DMV
got his temporary tag on the back so
anytime that you see a temporary tag on
an ad for Craigslist that means he
bought it within 30 days most likely
that he's had some work done on the car
or something went wrong got a repair
bill of it being X amount that's way too
much and said you know what I'm gonna
try to dump it he got a lemon and is
essentially trying to flip it or pass it
on to someone else is kind of what that
tells me you know yeah so having the
temp tag on there big no-no I mean if
you are gonna try to flip the car take
that thing off just have it blank or
whatever it is but nonetheless so these
are little examples that we have guys
that not only are the photo
badly quality's bad but also the
description there's nothing there
there's nothing that gives me as a
potential buyer any interest or insight
into the history of the car what's been
done what needs to be done what my
ownership experience was things like
that so right we showed you what bad
things are let's jump into the five
steps of what we needed you to
successfully sell the car on Craigslist
yeah so Brian which takeaway on the road
the first step is gonna be info
gathering one of the things you need to
post and be aware of is stuff like the
VIN the year make model the mileage you
know common stuff yeah also stuff that
people are gonna ask questions on like
if you don't have the VIN a common thing
that everyone knows to do or most people
know to do is ask for a Carfax private
party might not supply one but if you
want to go spend the forty bucks or
whatever to get one you need the VIN you
literally type in the VIN number CARFAX
prints you out your entire vehicle
history report maintenance done in the
car factory recalls if there's a
warranty left all that type of stuff
right and that's I think key to have on
there so people know what they're
getting you know to give you an example
think of this like your dating profile
so if your dating profile read exam like
those other two right there you post a
weird photo of you eat and cheetos on
the couch right it's got your belly
sticking out you just have the name Phil
no last name and your description just
says I like snacks you know right that's
literally what it is yeah so think of it
in that regard so Brian's right step
number one let's gather all the
information let's know all the history
of your car pull up any receipts that
you might have if you're not saving
those save those because those become
value to someone that may want to
purchase that car down the road and
receipts would be maintenance items tire
rotations or new tires oil changes maybe
you got a new radiator or the a/c
recharged or something all that stuff's
crucial for a potential buyer to know
what's been done so they don't have to
do those things right when they buy it
right take the ten minutes sit down get
all the stuff in line know exactly the
specs on your car and if you have a copy
of the original window sticker know what
options around there if you have both
keys or key fobs that's a huge
that's been well-maintained or it's been
a good owner make sure you have your
title in hand if that is a car that you
own outright if not then it's a lien but
no no everything that you need to gather
all this information put it all in one
spot because you are gonna use this
later on a lot of people don't but I
always recommend some type of bill of
sale along with the I'd say exchange of
the vehicle for money yeah you know
those are you could simple Google search
you could bring up bill of sale
templates left and right print one out
fill it in have the guy sign it and then
it's just protecting the buyer as well
as the seller so that's a key thing the
other one as we alluded to on some of
these ads of what not to do is you got
to prep the car you got to wash it or
clean it or make it look nice moves us
into step two yeah just like the dating
profile you know you're probably not
gonna roll out of bed and take your
photo you know you'd probably roll them
into that yeah yeah that's true who
knows teach their own butt right you
probably want to get ready or you know
take a shower at least brush your teeth
the normal stuff so step two guys is to
prep your car to succeed and what we
mean by that is unlike those that we
just saw those were just dirty cars some
iPhone photos taken vertically in their
driveway or whatever it is
so prepping your car to succeed what we
mean by that is washing your car I'm not
talking about getting out your you know
your grills garage da polisher and paint
correct in the car I'm talking about
just getting the car clean outside and
inside trunk engine bay that's a big
thing too that a lot of people mislead
it's amazing what a clean engine bay
which is simply just power washing your
engine bay or just wiping it down with
some waterless wash or armor or whatever
you want to do on the plastics that
makes it look so much better than just a
dust collecting motor that's under that
hood right exactly
so prepping things like that is is huge
again we talked about this earlier the
headlights it's amazing
what just cleaning up your headlights
getting some of that old yellow crust
off of there would make the car look so
much more desirable yeah and we're not
talking about a to three hundred dollar
detailed job by owner professional
certified deed
we're talking about a $5 express wash or
a quickie wash to get the dust and the
bird poop off you know take the ten
minutes to pull into a station and
vacuum it you know get the chips and the
leftover fast food bag or the Starbucks
coffee from this morning out of the back
seat make it clean and presentable it
goes a long way it does it does
that takes us into step number three so
step number three is take killer photos
yeah photos are gonna be huge because
what people are gonna see first on your
ad when they're searching through
Craigslist is they're gonna see a photo
of your ad right so you want to make
sure that photo looks good it stands out
again just like a dating profile you
want to make that stand out so when
someone's scrolling through looking at a
particular car and yours happens to be
on that list that that is an
eye-catching photo that allows them to
click on it and then now expand on all
the information about your car that is
your time you try to get somebody right
so taken photos what we recommend is
taking 8 photos of the exterior that's
gonna be you know front rear left side
and right side and also taking at angle
so what we suggest is to maybe start
your first photo should not be the front
of the car your first photo should be
the side of the vehicle or like you know
front angle or rear angle giving you a
full overview of the car yep there's too
many ads out there that just have the
photo of the front but that doesn't do
any justice to anybody they're gonna see
a grill and some headlights yeah and I
was also gonna add to that when you are
taking your photos make sure the entire
car is visible in the frame or in the
picture yeah we add some ads that we
looked at that we're the bad ads
quote-unquote we're like half the cars
cropped out or the far headlight away
from you is cut out of the picture like
it takes a few seconds to check and just
move or realign the angle to make sure
it's getting everything you want to show
that you're trying to sell sure here's
our suggestion if you're gonna start
with the photo you know maybe it's the
the front quarter panel of the right
side and then you're moving to the right
side of the car and then the rear
quarter panel of the right side then the
rear do it in order so that when they're
scrolling through your photos it's
cohesive the car is moving in the same
direction right it's it's exterior
photos first for the first eight
and then following up on our next point
is gonna be interior photos right do as
you know as many as you want we'd also
recommend to maybe throwing in some
photos of the wheels and tires so do
four photos of that as well each wheel
show any curb rash if there is any or
not yeah on there but also it'll allude
to the tires of what condition they're
in as well so once or if even all four
the tires are the same brand or type you
know that's another kind of red flag if
the cars got three or four different
types or brands of tires mmm
owner may not be taking the best care of
that sure and that's something to look
for or if you have nice wheels and tires
and they are all matching that's
something you might want to highlight on
your ads so more money so once you do
your eight exterior photos followed up
with four wheel and tire photos as well
then move on to the interior take some
really good shots of the interior should
be driver C passenger seat - center
console rear of the car rear seat things
like that but also keep in mind take a
photo turn the car on take a photo of
the - in front of you the gauge cluster
cluster tach speedometer where they'd
have any engine light indicators or low
tire pressure things like that when you
do it make sure your doors closed so it
doesn't say door ajar do it so it all it
shows is there's no warning lights on
the car you don't want to see check
engine light right don't you want to see
a red little door open light just right
close the door
take a good photo which will illustrate
simply that there's no warning lights
and the current mileage of the car right
okay so those are important things to do
that is a step that most people miss
what I would throw in at the end take a
photo of your binder or any paperwork
that you have on the car including the
owner's manual the keys put it all just
in a nice little area and take a photo
maybe in your office or on the couch
whatever it is of everything that's
coming with the car if you have any
accessories like a battery tender a car
cover whatever it is make sure you
photograph ootah graph those put that
towards the end so that's a cohesive
flow is eight exterior photos going in
the same clockwise or counterclockwise
direction
moving onto four wheel
photos moving on to your interior photos
and then maybe any accessory and or
maintenance handover type material right
which would be your maintenance receipts
or anything like that that you've had
that you've kept over the years yep yeah
step four is where you're gonna post it
where you gonna post it you know you got
to put this out there this is
essentially your marketing piece know
you know you're your own business right
now you're trying to sell a product that
product being your car so you got to
post this what we call your local
community Craigslist Facebook
marketplace offer up stuff that would
draw local traffic cuz you want to be
able to meet someone hopefully within
that day and exchange the keys and the
title for a bunch of cash or you can go
to the bank and they could you know
deposit a check a wire transfer it's 20
20 there's tons of ways to get this done
absolutely so step four alludes back to
our first step we talked about earlier
to gather all the information on your
specific car whether it's specs mileage
history things like that this is where
when it comes to post you have all your
photos added in there on whether it's
Craigslist whether it's Facebook
marketplace whether it's offer up
whatever it is once you get all that
information from step one this is where
we're gonna apply it we're gonna put it
into a nice written ad in the
description area which is gonna give you
an idea of who you are why you know how
long you've owned the car that's a big
thing to put in there your history with
the car I've owned it for five years
especially if your car is more than ten
years old you could say you're the
second or third owner right you know
what
chain have you got this in hey I'm the
third owner of the car I've had it from
2017 until now and kind of just give
people an idea of what they're getting
into sure cuz that's a commonly asked
question follow that up with the reason
why you're selling mm-hmm so and it
could be multiple reasons it could be
just because you purchased another car
right that it could be because your
family's growing you need a different
car you can't have the sports car right
right that that just gives the potential
buyer insight into who you are how this
car has been treated the insight of its
lifespan of this card correct so that's
an important step to list all your
history and everything like that list
all the specs on the car if you have a
or information on the original MSRP put
that in there too the more information
that you can put into your ad
description box the less questions
people are gonna have and the little
texts you're gonna get here and there of
hey what's the miles well I forgot
to put that in there or hate yeah what's
the color of the car forgot to write
that in there correct things like that
so put more information than you think
in a very detailed flow oriented manner
in the description box and this is also
something where it's super super crucial
to put down your contact info and a
preferred method of contact some people
don't want to maybe you have a you know
little baby at home you don't want to
have your phone blowing up if he's
trying to nap so say text to preferred
leave your phone number or you're at
work you can't field phone calls in the
middle of the day text preferred leave a
phone number you've got to have some way
for a buyer who's wanting to give you
hopefully thousands maybe tens of
thousands of dollars right he's got to
get ahold of you sure like we pulled up
an ad that didn't have any contact info
on there it's like dude come on wonder
why I'm not yeah right yeah
and finally to with what Brian said make
sure you put your location in there too
right so on Craigslist you'll put your
location but it's not going to pinpoint
your direct house it's gonna give you a
look at ten mile radius of where your
location is yeah that gives someone
insight maybe that'll allow them if you
put that and they go wow that's on my
way home from work right let me just see
if he's available to swing by and look
at it exactly so this this might all
seem redundant in like complete common
sense but you would be amazed of how
many craigslist ads don't have any of
this stuff right and another thing too
just for safety measure if you're
uncomfortable with meeting a complete
stranger at your actual house address
which is totally common I do this myself
I've sold numerous cars on Craigslist
meet him at a local grocery store or a
gas station or some easily available
place with parking somewhere where it's
lit up you know they're gonna want to
check the car out probably in the
daytime and really look this over so it
doesn't need to be literally in your
driveway or your apartment complex it
could be a neutral place yeah Walmart
parking lot whatever it is right so step
number five is what we put fielding
question
so what's gonna happen after you post
this you're gonna get some phone calls
you're gonna get some texts you're gonna
get some emails on maybe certain
questions on the car and and this is
your time to provide any and all
information that you can you need to
attend to these this potential buyer as
much as you can be super nice don't be
rude
don't be a dick or answers questions
whatever it is because that is a
fielding portion for him to maybe ask
certain things that will get him more
comfortable with is this car gonna be a
good purchase exactly in my family and
this happened to me every time I posted
a car I'd put the year make mileage all
the information I possibly could like
we're describing and people will still
be like how many miles is this a v6 or a
four-cylinder like if it's something
that they're asking that's early in
there don't belittle them or try to
ridicule you know just yeah just answer
it it literally takes enough time to say
it's got 87,000 miles as it does to be
like hey man it's in the ad or read
above or something like that or my first
time reading right yeah just be be nice
about it so what we wanted to do so we
wanted to show you guys we found it we
scoured Craigslist found a really good
example of what to do on a BMW m2 that
is for sale we're gonna pull that up to
show you exactly what that looks like so
what we'll talk through - so this guy is
is posting his 2018 BMW m2 6-speed
manual in the title he's got everything
that you need there even has the chassis
code of F 87 it's got everything in
there start to finish 2018 F 87 BMW m2
6-speed manual transmission right out of
the gate I know exactly what this car is
yep okay with that the prices are as
well he's got his location he's got his
VIN numbers he's got all the information
what cylinders rear wheel drive takes
gas odometer is 5,500 miles paint color
title status transmission type coupe
he's got all the genetic now maybe not
everyone would can already pick that
apart just looking at the photos but
it's good to have all that stuff in
there yeah when you have all that stuff
in there it's also a search engine so
when someone types in being
you coupe this cars gonna pull up as one
of those cars
you're so right so it's important to
have all that on there he's got his
location bubble as well got some great
photos again starting with the outside
of the car he's got a great photo of the
front left quarter panel taken over the
entire car it looks great the entire
cars in frame the entire cars cleaned
it's in a beautiful place with a nice
little backdrop it's a good thumbnail
photo so to speak yes to pique someone's
interest to jump on exactly then he
moves in the same direction moves over
and grabs himself front picture you can
see the black kidney grilles you know
everything like they're very clean goes
to the rear shows his rear of the you
know whether it's a duck tail spoiler
that he has it looks like an aftermarket
exhaust got that there another photo of
the headlights maybe trying to see
showing off whether it's got clear bra
or any rock chips or anything like that
he's getting the front close photo there
another one of the rear now he jumps
into the interior so yeah we got our
exterior photos done outside now he's
known as his interior photo shots so an
important thing to grasp here is that it
is a manual transmission so even though
it says manual in the title even though
the transmission says manual under the
item box on the right and still took a
photo of both the interior of the manual
transmission
he's verifying it with more pictures
more evidence showing his dry carbon
that's an option on that car and things
like that shows the pedals again very
clean no gunk on the dead pedals or any
of that stuff right there very clean
boom
great Emoto this is that - gauge
indicator that we were talking about the
cars on it's idling just under a
thousand rpms there's no weird lights on
there's no codes thrown yeah there's
nothing that would deter you from
contacting this guy and trying to buy
the car sure
the last photo like we talked about he's
got a copy of the original brochure the
window sticker the owner's manual and
then two keys yeah with two keychains as
well so this if I just look didn't read
the ad and just looked at all the photos
I would know this car's taken care of
it's probably an enthusiast car and
there's a high pride of ownership
because the car is extremely clean this
is all what I've gathered simply based
on a title
in photos I haven't even looked at the
description yet right okay so moving
down to this description again goes
through the entire thing 2018 F 87 BMW
m2 names the color mineral gray metallic
six-speed manual transmission also lists
all the packages on the car which is the
executive package which on his previous
photo you can go up and see what's
included in that black grills black side
grills carbon fiber accessories LED door
protector stuff like that so all of this
is illustrated that's just a brief
synopsis of what's on the car from when
he ordered the vehicle yeah the next
paragraph is called extras or things
that he's done full front expel clear
bra he's got a full clear bra on the
front of the car he's got ceramic tint
all around the car he's got aftermarket
exhaust tips he also said with that I
have the original tips and will revert
to stock upon final sale if need be so
he gives you both and he's illustrating
these are what's on the car but I also
have om exhaust tips for it at your
blessing as well right down at the
bottom he gives us his history - I've
purchased a car and been the sole owner
of this vehicle never - never modded the
car is 100% stock this was my weekend
car and always garage kept make fence
down by the local BMW dealership and
still under om warranty that's a great
statement right there you want to know
the history he's not taking it to the
local Bob's Jiffy Lube or some quick
lube place exactly so non-certified BMW
mechanic it's not him and his buddy who
watched some YouTube videos that are
working on that right right no exactly
so finally puts family has a need for
another vehicle bigger vehicle I'm
letting this one go so now I know about
the car where it started the history
what he's done to it why he's selling it
and then now that gives me all the
information that I need so that is a
great example of how to post something
on Craigslist Facebook marketplace offer
up give them everything that they need
and more to make a decision more
importantly this is gonna make this car
stand out if I go look at another m2 on
Craigslist right now and it isn't of the
caliber of this I subconsciously I'm
gonna start thinking about this car base
alright good this Attis right and just
after you reading this off I don't
honestly know I could have a question to
ask this guy sure I mean I might ask him
are you negotiable on the price because
that's probably a common question
everyone wants a deal straight but
besides that you've got everything you
could possibly need to look up to verify
what he's done or has yeah so this is a
great this is a great example here well
guys thanks for listening those are our
five steps on how to sell your car
online on Craigslist and try to not only
just get the most money out of it but
also sell the car quicker and get on to
the next project that you want okay a
lot of us have to sell what we have
currently in order to move on to the
next thing well let's make that process
as good and as efficient as possible for
us to move on to our next toy exactly so
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thanks for your time guys we'll fix it -
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