Potentially Selling CT5 BW

[Deneed4spd]

Due to events in life I’m thinking of selling my 2023 CT5 BW. I have been researching online what I think I should list it for but thought this group might have some opinions.

Electric Blue
Manual
PDR
Mid-Tier Seats
Satin Rims
PPF front and rockers and door bottoms
6300 miles - original owner
No carbon
Extended GM warranty till 2034 up to 80K

Any thoughts? Looked at KBB and it looked interesting.

 

[DCV]

If it’s gotta go go go, I suggest Carmax or Carvana. They’ve been offering not bad prices now on buying cars. Let’s face it, private sells are hard to do at the price point of a 5 BW. You’ll get some oddball people talking to you. You could even sell it to a local Cadillac dealership, they will take it in.

 

[jbawden]

Agree with DCV, hard to sell private, but only because buyers have zero creativity and initiative. They just want to waste a full day at a dealer and over pay and then really get hosed during the F&I upsell finale rather than getting financing ahead of time and working out a deal in 1 hour. I think anything in the upper $80k's you're doing really great. Electric blue is polarizing, so that is a bit of a wild card that could push that number up if you're patient, or down if your not.

The end of the line of the current version could be in your favor, but I think that is later in the year when it's really hard to get new and the maybe the world is less unsettled. If we end up with $10/gal premium, oof, time to rethink the sell plan.

 

[piranha971]

Well, how much to list it for depends how quickly you want to sell it. If not in a hurry, I would list it at the high of the KBB private party value and see what the interest is. I bought my car from someone asking the same question in THIS forum and we worked out a deal that worked for both of us. I would never sell my car to a dealer, as you are guaranteed to get a lower price and as the value of "knowns" of a real owner who you can speak to, and judge as an owner, is wasted. I also MUCH prefer to buy from a private party than the dealer for the reason above, also because it is always cheaper and I pay a fixed fee to the state, rather than a % in taxes. I really wish more people would sell cars themselves instead of giving a dealer a cut of the sale for the convenience. I know about the tax deducted from the new purchase when trading, but outright selling to a dealer is a waste.

 

[CBH]

Interesting discussion - private vs dealer. In my younger days - and when I kept cars for less time - I bought and sold a number of vehicles privately. Its the only way I bought or sold anything. This was back in the days of microscopic newspaper ads............

You would think the internet makes it easier than ever to sell your own car. But my last sale was my 2009 Camaro. I sold it when it was 3 years old and had 30K miles. I had a custom 2-tone leather interior and 22" chrome wheels. I listed it everywhere online I could find and got zero interest. I ended up selling it to a local Chevy dealer who guaranteed they would beat AutoNation by $500.

Is it me or have private sales - at any price point - nearly vanished ?

 

[piranha971]

For some additional perspective: I ran the car through Carnana to see what they would pay and established a fair sell/buy price several thousand dollars above that.

 

[Kevin0311]

Private sales are still a thing took a year to sell my17 SS manual w/8k miles with some tire kickers in-between but ended up selling and shipping to complete other side of country from NY a year ago.

 

[Deneed4spd]

How do you even sell a high level car privately? I’m assuming u have to limit test drives. And have them meet at bank to wire funds?

 

[piranha971]

I get to know the owner a bit by email and on the phone, build some trust. Check records on the car: CARFAX, warranty status, etc. Get detailed photos and a rundown of any known issues. The cars I buy are relatively new and under warranty. I test drive them when I fly in to pick them up with everything arranged ahead of time. We go to the bank and I make payment and they sign over the title. If there is a loan, unfortunately, the bill of sale is all you can get. So that's where the upfront vetting of the owner comes in.
I flew in and drove home for the CT4BW with a bill of sale only. Had to wait a month for the title to arrive.
I flew in to check the car and make a payment and flew back with the title for our X5. It was picked up a few days later by a shipper. I wasn't going to drive 2k miles home.
Yeah there is manageable level of risk in both transactions. But it was worth it hands down in both cases.
The original owner (@Darinja) of my 4BW is back into another 4BW and is back in this forum so he can chime in how it went on his end selling to private party.

 

[CaliBW]

Before I bought my BW i was constantly looking at Bring a Trailer. The audience there is knowledgeable and price aware. The BWs did relatively well and you can set a reasonable reserve too.

 

[Deneed4spd]

Yah - I might be going down maybe the cars and bids or bring a trailer.

 

[piranha971]

Keep in mind the buyer fee at these sites. For a 100k car, its the max 5% or $5,000 they charge. So the buyer factors that in.

 

[Finally-a-V]

As a seller, I guess you can do an ad on Autotrader, Cars.com or CarGurus, plus cars and bids or BAT.

From a buyers perspective, I have always factored in the buyers premium if it's a dealer auction. Here in AZ you don't pay sales tax on a private sale, so the buyers fee is a bit of a wash. I've noticed many private sales on the three interweb sites often seem high.

My other issue is, how do I drive a 1000, 1500 or more miles home with no tag? Do I take the sellers tag? I wouldn't give up my tag to a buyer. Do I bring my own tag and hope I don't get stopped? Yes, shipping solves that, but it would be fun to drive home your new car.

 

[jbawden]

About a year ago to the day I bought @5VBW Nick Black Diamond Tricoat 5 and it all started on this forum. For a couple of reasons the financials were processed through a dealer in FL but the car never was in FL. I had it shipped in an enclosed trailer from upstate NY to Napa. Nick is a great dude and the dealer added some security, but I was still a bit uneasy wiring a huge sum of money to people I don't know.

So private deals still happen, but for higher end cars they are harder and require some trust. I think people feel like there is some sense of security or have recourse at a dealer. In other words, "it has to be a good car, otherwise the dealer wouldn't have bought it". Experience says that is a fallacy, but I still think it's what people think.

Memorial day last year it was off loaded...such a great day. I'm going to have to take her out for an anniversary ride.