Autotrader failed (shocking, I know)... now what?

Well, my 8 week ad on AutoTrader just expired. According to the management tools, my car was displayed in over 20,000 search results, and nearly 2,000 viewed the ad. Despite what would seemingly be impressive numbers, only 178 actually viewed the contact information and only 5 ever sent any kind of message (4 emails and 1 text). Of those 5, I honestly felt they were all spam/scam. "Send me a picture of the seat of the vehicle," or "What is the lowest price of the vehicle." If you can't remember the type of car you are interested in buying, I really question how legit you are... maybe that's just me.

Good news for me is that I'm not in any rush to sell the car. Really, I have until September before it becomes an issue. I avoided Craigslist for my first attempt so I wouldn't have to deal with the spam/scam aspect of selling a car these days. It really didn't do much good.

I'm selling a high(er) end, performance, luxury, used car. Craigslist has the right price, so I'll list there, but it doesn't feel like the right demographic. It's in the Open Classifieds here (https://grassrootsmotorsports.com/forum/open-classifieds/fs-my-2008-lexus-is-f/110731/page1/), and AutoTrader failed.

So, now what?

Lexus-specific forums?

Tom_Spangler wrote: Lexus-specific forums?

There is an active one, I thought about posting there but they have a rule that states most have XX number of approved posts before listing in the Classified section. I may post-whore it until I hit their magic number and list it.

eBay?

BradLTL wrote:

Tom_Spangler wrote: Lexus-specific forums?

There is an active one, I thought about posting there but they have a rule that states most have XX number of approved posts before listing in the Classified section. I may post-whore it until I hit their magic number and list it.

This is prolly what I would do.

Or find a more enthusiast focused place to list it. But really you already did that here

I found a buyer for my Focus ST on here, but it took a few months.

I posted mine on the ST forums, but no real interest.

One thing I would say is that now that your Autotrader ad is expired you should put details about the car in your post here.

Oops. Posted my comment on your for sale thread. Sorry. At least I bumped it.

Will you take a paintball gun and $2k in trade?

I will offer 2 paintball guns and $3k in trade. And a Lexus F hat so you can wear it in when you miss the car.

Here's what I did in a similar situation (although about $11k under your price): https://grassrootsmotorsports.com/forum/off-topic-discussion/seeking-advice-selling-an-almost-new-car/105546/page1/

I could have paid it off, waited three weeks for the title, and possibly gotten an extra grand or two. However, when I looked at eBay, I couldn't find a single ATS for sale by a private owner. I also looked at Cars.com and Autotrader, and saw that almost all were offered by dealerships.

I think most people are looking to finance when buying a car in that price range, which is more difficult to do in a private sale. I even had a hard time selling my Dodge pickup on CL for $8.5k, but I've had no problem selling cars in the $1.5k - 6.5k range on CL.

In my case, I just didn't think there was going to be anyone with $22k burning a hole in their pocket looking for an ATS.

The IS-F is a completely different animal, though, so I would imagine you could get some traction on an IS-F forum. I've also seen some higher-end cars trade hands on the Corner-Carvers Classifieds forum.

I'd try eBay. Generally if you don't sell it in the auction you'll get enough exposure to sell it outside of eBay. That's if you price it right.

So...... What's up he least you'd take for it?

I always just say, "What's the most you'd pay for it?".

I berking hate those people.

How many miles are on this beautiful car and where is it located? I might be able to convince my pappy that he needs an isf.

Right now, it has just over 70k but has a transferable warranty to 100k. It's in Birmingham, Al.

I'll go the ad and update all the details when I get home on Monday.

Bring a trailer sold an ISF.

I would think you'd have a hard time selling a car like that on Autotrader. I use it a lot...but only to really look at dealer ads. For personal sales, I tend to look more at forums, CL, etc... I think Autotrader really caters to dealers.

You're also selling a fairly expensive car, with a fairly limited buyer market. It may take some time. Only "quick" option is to trade in to CarMax or similar type place.

Should've done the "run it 'til it sells" option on Autotrader. Cars like this can take a long time to sell. I had my ten year old Jag listed for over 3 months before it sold, but it was also very low mileage and I was asking the moon for it.

FWIW, I go through cars like kleenex, and I have never had success with forums. It's always been autotrader, craigslist, or word of mouth.

Edit: Just looked at your ad, I think your asking price is about $2000 optimistic. I've found that vehicles move much faster when they're priced right. A lot of people are haggle averse (which is why Carmax does so well) and won't even reach out to you if they perceive that it's priced high. As a seller, it's much easier to stand firm on your price after you have a conversation\test drive going.

cars.com is free in some markets. It seems to go by zip code on whether or not there is a free option or not.

I don't think Bringatrailer is the audience for this car - you're unlikely to get a price you'll be happy with there.

I would do a run til it sells on Autotrader, along with the forums and Craigslist. And be patient

The price ranges on the IS-F is pretty wide. When I set the price I aimed for a middle ground on comparable year/mileage/color. Also, with the limited number for sale mine was the only one within 300 miles.

That said, I agree that the price should be about $2000 less.

Updated the AT and CL ads, submitted to BAT, and edited my post in the Open Classifieds. I'll see if I can get it on the Lexus forums tomorrow.

When it sells I'll update where the buyer came from.

BradLTL wrote: The price ranges on the IS-F is pretty wide. When I set the price I aimed for a middle ground on comparable year/mileage/color. Also, with the limited number for sale mine was the only one within 300 miles. That said, I agree that the price should be about $2000 less.

I own more than my fair share of IS-Fs, and I've been doing this professionally for a decade, so I feel like I know the market pretty well.

That being said, the IS-F is rare enough (~8,000 in the U.S.) that many owners feel content to price it high and tell prospective buyers "Go find another one." The problem is that many buyers will go find another one. IS-F buyers aren't afraid to shop out of state, especially if they're after a specific color (USB comes to mind).

Keep us posted, I'm curious to hear where your buyer ultimately comes from.

Bring a Trailer will make you set a low reserve to ensure it sells and they look good.

I recently sold my LSx 951. To my surprise it sold on Craiglist. Although it had thousands of views on forums and I did put it on eBay (sold locally before the auction ended) I got very little response.

Same thing when I sold my 2011 Audi S4. Selling a used car in the $20-30k range takes time, most people in that price range are more likely walk into a dealership to buy one. I've always sold cars in the $10-14k range (or less) very quickly on either Craigslist or the forums...

Craigslist has been more successful for me than Autotrader. You should take it to Carmax and at least see what they will offer you. See what is worth more to you, your time, or their money.

It took me a little while to sell a low mileage Ion Redline a couple of years ago. Craigslist got me nothing but kids and lowballers, and forums didn't return anything. I eventually paid to put it on Autotrader and then Cars.com as a last ditch. The eventual buyer found it on Cars.com.

Autotrader was surprisingly lackluster. Didn't get much traffic there, and IIRC the only inquiry I got was from some guy that wanted to help me sell it... Cars.com was a different story. The ad got a lot more views there, and a good handful of inquiries. After a slight price drop and around 3 weeks, the eventual buyer saw it there and drove 1.5 hours to come get it.

Tom Suddard wrote: Bring a trailer sold an ISF.

Looks like it did not meet reserve.