Buying a 944 or 924S is one thing; selling one and getting the best price for it is another. Here are ten simple rules to follow when putting your baby up for sale.
We sell our cars on the internet, through Ebay, Craigslist, and Facebook, among others. We also browse through he ads ourselves, and sometimes cringe at what we see. So here are a few simple rules to help you attract buyers and get the most when you sell.
- Before selling your car, clean it up inside and out. We have all seen ads with photos of a dirty car, trash in the floor, dirty and sometimes disgusting. So before photographing your car, wash and vacuum it! Not too difficult, and it makes a world of difference.
- Take the time to fix the little things that are wrong. We see the ads that say, “Comes with new ____ that I have not had the time to install.” Go ahead and install it. If you got the part and didn’t think enough to put it in, then what else is wrong?
Take photos of everything, even the bad things. Seven photos of the outside of the body will generate questions about the interior, so also take photos of the interior. Include photos of any interior defects, split seams, cracks in the dash, etc. Also photograph under the hood, under the hatch and any body damage.- Make your descriptions accurate and complete. Include the year and series in the text description, and include the colors of the body and interior. Doing “good” and “bad” helps with any old car for sale – highlight was is good about it, but also include a list of the bad stuff.
- Photograph the build sticker in the back under the carpet, between the tail lights. This sticker shows the original engine, transaxle, color codes and options that came with the car when new. You may also want to photograph the build plate under the hood on the left side to show when the car was actually built.
- Provide whatever history you have on the car, but be sure you can document it. If you have receipts for water pump, belts, clutch, tires, brakes or other repairs, list what you have. If you don’t have receipts, it still helps to mention the maintenance that you have done.
Price your car realistically, but know that buyers will offer lower. Looking at “asking prices” online does not value your car. Also, price valuations published by places like Hagerty depend on auctions and other public sales to determine pricing ranges. Even Blue Book and NADA look at a very limited number of public sales to determine selling prices. An asking price that is too high will drive away prospective buyers, so be realistic.- Porsche 944 and 924S cars with automatic transmissions are difficult to sell. Most buyers want a manual transmission and the automatics from the 80’s were not all the wonderful. Unfortunately, the market for an automatic is very small, so if you have one that you are trying to sell, understand that it may take a while to find the right buyer. An automatic can reduce the selling price by as much as thirty to fifty percent, but there are buyers out there.
- Offer to help with a pre-purchase inspection if the buyer wants one. Buyers at distance may want someone to take a look at it before purchase, so offer to help with this process. It could easily turn into a sale.
- Remember that honesty is the best policy. If you oversell your car, you will get disappointed shoppers who come to see it and leave disappointed. Honesty helps sell.
When trying to sell your car, accuracy is very important. If someone contacts you about the car, get back to that person right away and answer any questions. Anticipate any questions, and take extra photos that a prospective buyer may want. Email extra photos or post them with the ad to get as much information out there as you can.
Sell your car – then go find the next one!
