Selling a car online - is there anywhere that works?

[dcsappa]

Hello, I'm trying to sell a 1980 El Camino SS for my father.  He is elderly and not able to enjoy it anymore.  Can anyone suggest places to try to sell this vehicle?  I have tried Craigslist, Car Gurus, eBay Motors, and Facebook.  I feel that it is priced appropriately.  We are in Central Pennsylvania.

Thanks in advance.

[keiser31]

Post it here in the "Cars For Sale" section with all of the description text and LOTS OF PHOTOS and price. You never know if someone on this site will be interested.

Edited May 9, 2019 by keiser31 (see edit history)

[mike6024]

The bring-a-trailer site seems to be getting the best results. It is an auction, but you can set a reserve. Seems to cost $99 plus for the buyer there is a fee that's a percentage of the sales price. They have requirements though. You would need a complete set of photos showing all aspects of the vehicle, including the undercarriage photos taken on a lift, or they won't list it for you.

 

[edinmass]

Regardless of year, make, and model of car...........it would have sold if priced at market. Now I understand leaving negotiation room, but if you were just 1000 over market you would have had some offers. I have no clue as to the value, as I am a pre war guy. Fact is that today.........MOST cars sell on price............and with a very large supply of cars and less people buying them, most every car needs to be priced “attractively” to sell in a short period of time. It is astounding how many collector cars are for sale right now.........demographics are coming into play in ways that are hard to predict. Also, selling can be a real pain in the a—, so unless a car has a very high value, you could spend many days wasting your time trying to squeeze every dollar out of it. Good luck with the sale, it looks like a very nice truck.

[mike6024]

I suspect earlier El Caminos are worth a lot more than a 1980.

[Lebowski]

I've had very good luck with Hemmings Motor News. I've sold several cars through them and they seem to get a higher caliber of potential buyer than eBay and Craigslist. The only possible drawback is that they charge $99 for an ad which runs for up to 6 months. Check them out and good luck....

 

https://www.hemmings.com/ 

[daniel boeve]

As said its always the price that makes or breaks the deal .Its always the buyer that sets the final price not the seller.

[auburnseeker]

I agree on price.  Seems the only way to sell a car that isn't just about one of one , and I'm not talking made that way by options but by make and body style,  is you have to make it seem like a deal.  Almost all the cars I have sold in the last few years seem to have been priced just a little less than the competition to get the buyers to part with their $$.   How much do you have it priced at?  is it all original including paint and interior?  Well documented?  All those will have a huge affect on how easy it is to sell. 

I second hemmings, but it's just new enough it might not spark the interest that readers of that have in older iron. 

[Jeff Perkins / Mn]

Hemings response to my ad for my 1948 Station Sedan was minimal. I had several responses from AACA buy/sell. I sold my car on Bring-A-Trailer. That was a very positive experience. They have an 84% sell rate. They run a first class operation and were extremely helpful in setting my auction up. For $99 I feel I really got my money’s worth. I think your El Camino  would do well there, you can check history of sales on their site. I have seen several of them sell over the last few years.

[Guest]

I saw this car on Cargurus for $11K.

It looks like it's in good shape with reasonable miles.

Price is a little high compared to what else you can find for $11K, but it's not crazy high.

[mike6024]

 

'65 $33.5k

 

 

'68 $10k

 

 

'85  $9.5k

 

https://bringatrailer.com/search/el+camino/

 

 

[auburnseeker]

I think the longer the car is on the market as well,  the more the price may go down.  The real interested buyers are usually on top of the game and buy the car right away.  If it keeps coming up in search results the waters become tainted a bit and others wonder why it's not selling.  I know even I question some cars that look like a deal but don't sell after a few months or even sometimes weeks.  Continuous runs through ebay will also drive the p[rice down pretty much for the same reason. 

[stvaughn]

You’ve peaked my interest. Post some more information. 

[supercargirl]

Don't forget the El Camino forums and I have really good luck with Carandclassic.co.uk  and Postwar.com  Both sites are great for hitting the European market.  And countries like Belgium and Sweden love these type of American cars.  I get a lot of hits from the states too on these sites.  And of course post it on this site:)  It is all about exposure.  There is also  CarsOnLine and Barn Finds.

 

Make sure you have a good description and plenty of pictures as others have advised.  Exterior, Interior, engine, undercarriage.  Video of the car starting cold is a plus.

 

Good Luck.

 

[TexRiv_63]

Start with every free listing site available including this one and any other Chevy related forums. I'd keep trying Craigslist and Ebay but you will have a hard time getting top dollar there. I have also had good luck selling on Hemmings but not sure about interest level. Don't forget about putting For Sale signs in the windows and going to cruise-in or cars and coffee events, a lot of sales happen there. Good luck. 

[Steve_Mack_CT]

Sold my T speedster in 24 hours via fb last month with 2 offers standing by.  No one was more surprised than I was as I posted it as an afterthought to a couple more traditional sites.  So posting everywhere is a good idea.  Thoughts:

 

Provide lots of pics and detail as noted by others.

 

Avoid off putting, "serious only" type stuff and feel out the respondents when time comes.

 

Price realistically and be honest about issues and condition.

 

Personally I really like that gen el camino better than the earlier ones.  

 

Sometimes timing is just right.  Hope for that.

 

Good luck with it!

Edited May 10, 2019 by Steve_Mack_CT (see edit history)

[Ed Luddy]

As noted in previous posts the "collector car" has a glut of vehicles with a shortage of potential buyers. This is only going to increase in inventory, decrease in customer base within the next few years.

 Post boomers don't have the  cash, time, or desire we do. Markets constantly change. It's a basic fact of supply and demand. El Camino's after 1972 don't have a huge following.

A friend who is into  the classic Chevy market told me even the early ones are a very tough sell.