Pros and Cons of Selling Your Family Car at Auction

If you're looking to sell your family's car, an online car auction can be one of your options. Offering up the vehicle at auction offers a number of advantages over selling it traditionally, although like all methods there are cons to this method as well. If "how do I sell my car" is a question that's been going through your mind as of late, weigh whether or not selling the car at auction is the right choice.

Pros

You Can Get More Money

If you sell your car at auction, you stand to sell it for a higher price than you could have gotten otherwise. It partially depends upon the market and how desirable the model of car you are selling is - the final price could end up being hundreds or even thousands of dollars more than you would get by selling it normally or trading it in. This is one of the main pros to selling a family car by auction rather than through other means.

An Auction Can Reach A Wider Audience

As opposed to selling the car locally for a set asking price, an auction gives you the opportunity to reach a much wider audience. Listing an auction on the Internet, for example, means someone who is highly interested in buying the car will find it and be willing to buy it when there might not be much interest locally. Some auction services will advertise the auction for you, so you won't have to find a way to raise awareness of the availability of the vehicle yourself.

It's A Good Option If You Just Want To Get Rid Of The Car

If you have tried selling the car normally and that hasn't worked - perhaps there are serious flaws with it or it is even not functional - an auction can help you simply rid yourself of the car. For example, even a car that doesn't function very well (or at all) can still have value at auction because of its parts.

Cons

It Might Not Sell

As when auctioning anything, there is always the possibility that it will not sell at all. This can particularly be a problem if you are moving soon or otherwise need to sell the car in order to proceed with your current plans.

It Might Sell For Less

Just as you might end up selling the car for more money than you could have gotten had you traded it in or sold it outright, auctions also come with the risk that the vehicle might sell for less than you want, or even less than what the car is worth. You can avoid this by putting the starting price at the minimum accepted amount, although this can discourage people from bidding in the first place and from getting into bidding wars.

You Might Have To Deal With Shipping

In some cases, the buyers will be responsible for collecting the car. However, if you don't specify that the auction is local only, you might end up having to get the vehicle to the buyer, which is a lot more complex for something as large as a car. Carefully consider how much you are willing to do to get the car to the buyer, factor in shipping costs and be sure to stipulate the appropriate conditions when starting the auction.

"How to sell my car?" is a pretty common question, but most people don't think to put their old family car up for auction. Doing this has some distinct advantages, particularly in the greater amount of money you stand to sell the car for. The cons are important to consider as well, so be sure to carefully weigh your options based on your unique situation to choose the right method of selling your car.

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