Seller's question

[Guest Ragtop]

Can anyone recommend a site like cars.com with good selling results for Reattas? I posted my convertible here and on Craiglist with no responses. I noticed some pay sites have so many dealer ads for Reattas that I am afraid my ad would be lost in the shuffle.

[Guest geolewis]

1st question how much are you asking for it? I sold mine here with some help from Marck Barker,but did not get what many felt it should sell for. There are to many available,so if its priced right it will sell.

[Bushwack]

Can anyone recommend a site like cars.com with good selling results for Reattas? I posted my convertible here and on Craiglist with no responses. I noticed some pay sites have so many dealer ads for Reattas that I am afraid my ad would be lost in the shuffle.

Assuming you're asking price isn't outrageous/out of line, my experience having sold a few Reattas is eBay will get you the most attention but not necessarily the most money. Autotrader is a distant alternative. CL is sketchy but if you must, best you advertise in markets the Reatta is most prevalent (southern and eastern states). If your car is of value, either a gentleman will come to you and drive the car home or have it transported.

Your target buyer(s) is very limited. You're not selling a 5 year old Toyota. Your buyer knows exactly what he wants (possibly also shopping the Allante or a Corvette, even though all three have different price points) and is knowledgeable about the Reatta. He's patient and looking for value (not necessarily a cheap Reatta unless he's looking for a project). When it comes to the Reatta, it is very much a buyer's market.

So if time is on your side and it is priced right, go with Hemmings or Autotrader. But your car will get 10x the consideration and sell much quicker via eBay.

[ol' yeller]

I went back and found your ad. While your car has low miles, 85K, it has a lot of issues for a car with that low of mileage. I read about clunking noises, faded paint on the hood and a dent, a 7year old worn top and some interior issues. You also haven't flushed the brake fluid for many years and you have no service records. The main thing it had going for it was it was a somewhat unusual color.

My opinion is that you are asking too much for a car in this condition. As a reference, I use my '90 vert that I bought last year. It had 87K miles, a worn top, non working AC. The paint and body was excellent and the interior is perfect except for a broken horn button and broken visor clips, both of which were included in the sale. A downer was that it is white which is a very common color. My car came with complete documentation of service records including the original bill of sale and complete and untouched owner's portfolio. As a plus it also came with documentation that it was originally a pace car for the Great American Race in 1990. The seller had been asking $6,700 for about a year with only 2 interested parties but neither stepped up with an offer. The ad price when I came on the scene was $5400. I offered less and it was accepted.

The bottom line is that there isn't a huge market for these cars and it appears that there are still enough of them left to more than fill the demand. People on this forum are very Reatta savvy and won't overpay for a car with issues. Most of us already own at least 1 Reatta so we are particular about buying another. My recommendation is to either fix the issues your car has and then you might get the price you now desire or drop your price and sell it as it stands now. I don't think it is market exposure that is causing you problems in selling but road exposure. Your car is at that point where it doesn't pay for you to sink any more money into it. Unfortunately a buyer is in the same boat. They will just wait until a better car comes along which won't be too far off.

[60FlatTop]

I have been selling cars since I was 13. Somewhere along the line one important quote stuck and sums it all up; "The eternal search for the uninformed buyer".

Don't advertise to a focus group for the car. They all have one.

Target your listing to an audience with discretionary money, a general interest in "scoring" a real deal to show their friends. The New York Times comes to mind. Sell the sizzle and put just a touch of ignorance into your ad so they think they are taking advance of you. Its a Buick made in Italy to compete with a hand crafted Cadillac. Sell a Ferrari and call it a Buick. There are lots of intellectuals in the eastern Rocky Mountain foothills. Good places to pitch a sale there; LA maybe.

Avoid logic and quote original sales literature.

I sold a V12 Jaguar coupe a few years ago and barely mentioned the condition of the car. I focused on experience of ownership. The guy who bought it was a dealer. He wrote back and told me after reading the ad he had to have the car.

I sell cars using the illogical thought process I use to buy them. It works pretty good.

Bernie

[Bushwack]

I have been selling cars since I was 13. Somewhere along the line one important quote stuck and sums it all up; "The eternal search for the uninformed buyer".

Don't advertise to a focus group for the car. They all have one.

Target your listing to an audience with discretionary money, a general interest in "scoring" a real deal to show their friends. The New York Times comes to mind. Sell the sizzle and put just a touch of ignorance into your ad so they think they are taking advance of you. Its a Buick made in Italy to compete with a hand crafted Cadillac. Sell a Ferrari and call it a Buick. There are lots of intellectuals in the eastern Rocky Mountain foothills. Good places to pitch a sale there; LA maybe.

Avoid logic and quote original sales literature.

I sold a V12 Jaguar coupe a few years ago and barely mentioned the condition of the car. I focused on experience of ownership. The guy who bought it was a dealer. He wrote back and told me after reading the ad he had to have the car.

I sell cars using the illogical thought process I use to buy them. It works pretty good.

Bernie

Using the scenario of selling the Jag, how did you word the ad that attracted the buyer?

[Guest Ragtop]

Perhaps I was too brutal in my assessment of the car. I just did not want someone to show up expecting a show car. I chose the price as being between a 3 and a 4 on the Collector Car price guide. I can always go lower, it is impossible to go higher. 60FlatTop's comments remind me of the sale manager at a company I worked for, "Sell the sizzle, not the steak," was his favorite quote.

[jbeary]

After buying two Reattas, both of which I still can't regularly drive, I can attest there's lots of sizzle in the car to sell one. Convertibles seem to present additional issues. The discretionary money is exactly what you're after. Males who probably can not only afford at least two of these cars but who also have the reasoning agility to justify the purchase to his wife as well as himself. I have four Buicks that are at least 20 years old and the time I spend with these is part commitment and part fascination and that's what you're selling. These cars trade hands all the time and this forum presents great support so I wouldn't get discouraged. Everyone is looking for a bargain so you may want to start there.