How We Sold Our Very Loved, But Very Old Car.

Hey there everyone! 

Today I thought I would share my experience in selling my very old car. 

We bought this Nissan Sentra waaayyy back in 1996.  It was brand new and only had 52 miles on it.  We got a bit of a deal on it since it was a leftover 1995 model.  It has been a great car to us.  We bought it a couple months before we got married.  It took us on our honeymoon, on our 3 year anniversary trip to Florida and we brought home our son in this car.  We never thought we'd also take our son to 5th grade in this car!  So she has had a good life with us and has been a great car. But this past year she has become tired.  With 253,000 miles on it, she began nickel and diming us.... a part here, a part there.... $200 here, $50 there, another $300 there.... ahhh, our car was much less dependable.  When she was rejected for inspection back in January for a variety of brake work that needed done equalling over $800 we knew that it was time to give it up. 

Now, for all the money geeks out there, you know that hubby and I are debt free except the house.  We learned a very important lesson here.  While it was great that we buckled down and paid off our debt, we neglected to save towards the purchase of a newer car when this time came. So, if you are on the path to become debt free, be sure to save for things that need to be replaced in the future so you don't end up being stuck like we were.  If we had just started putting $100 a month away when she rolled over 100,000 miles, we would have immediately had a good chunk of money for a different car. I'm getting off subject, but BEWARE!

So here's what we did to sell the car.... after I accepted that it indeed was "time to take the next step".  *sniff*

Clean and wash the car as best as possible.  Now guys, I'll admit, I didn't wash the outside, because really, look at the paint job.  So I thoroughly cleaned the inside and called it a day. 

Take some good pictures with different angles. 

We listed it on Craigslist. Craigslist is free and easy to use.  We uploaded the pictures and were honest about what repairs needed to be made. 

Price it Fairly.  We weren't looking to make a bundle.  We put our list price at $500, after several offers and a couple showings, we found a buyer and agreed on $400. 

There was much more interest than I thought there would be.  Cars that are known for longevity will probably get you the same results.  Maybe not so much for say a Ford Focus.... nothing against Fords, I'm just sayin'....

Now my car is being fixed by a fella who is handy with cars and will be his errand running car.  It makes me happy to know that this isn't the end for her.... and the $400 in my hand?  Yep, that's heading straight to my next car! 

Until Next Time Friends....