After a lot of deliberation and with a heavy heart, I have decided to sell my S2000. We are expecting an addition to the family and I will have to switch to a more practical car.

Even though I have not posted very often - this board has been a tremendous resource and I am grateful for all the guidance I have received and the great atmosphere I encountered.

I would be ever so grateful if you guys could help me out in my final days as an S2K owner. I need your advice on how to go about selling my car. Details/questions are as under:

1. MY2001 Spa Yellow Pearl S2K, 14.5k miles. 16 months of Honda warranty left.

2. Ricks steering (Yellow/black), shift boot, center console, body and wheel "S" badges. Voodoo Titanium polished shift knob, Muz luxury floor mats.

3. Also comes with almost new Valentine One and equipped with LOJACK. Original Honda car cover.

4. My car was leased through Chase automotive finance. I was one of the early schmucks who paid a mark up on the car. So current payoff is $29175.54!

5. Vehicle is in pristine condition.

Questions:
Regarding the sale of a leased vehicle

1. When advertising the car, do I have to expressly state that is currently leased? Does this make a difference to the buyer. Once we agree on a price, all he has to do is hand me a check for that amount, right? Why should it matter to him if I leased or financed the car??

2. I talked with Chase regarding a third party buyout. They told me to mail them the check with an instruction letter as to the name of the person I wanted to transfer the title to. They would then mail the title (I assume with the name of the new owner) within 7 business days. Now, during these 7 business days, when the buyer has given me the money, but title is still with Chase, who should have possession of the vehicle. Me or the new buyer?? DMV Registration will still be in my name - if he has the vehicle, am I liable for any accidents etc..... s it OK to offer possession of the vehicle to buyer immediately after he gives me the check even though title is still with Chase. Conversely, will a buyer tolerate being asked to wait 7 business days before being given delivery of vehicle after he has paid??

3. Kelley blue book says private party value =$30000 Edmunds.com says $27000. Private ads range b/w $26000 and $32000. Could someone please tell me what a reasonable or good price would be for my vehicle (details above). Thanks. I will use your input to decide selling price. I realize that I may have to sell for less than actual payoff and make up the difference

4. Should I advertise my car a certain amount above what I expect to receive? i.e. 1-1.5k over. Or should I just flatly give the price I want and say "firm" or non-negotiable??

5. Sales tax?? Someone told me that once Chase mails the new title to the new buyer - he must take it to DMV for transfer of registration and then pay any sales tax directly to DMV. Is this correct?? Am I liable for any portion of sales tax?? Does sales tax come into the negotiation process b/w myself and new buyer?

6. Finally, what avenues should I use for advertising here in the L.A. area? LA times, Recycler, AUTOTRADER, any others.

Thanks so much for your help guys. I am grateful for your input and assistance.

 

Moneeb, I'm sorry to hear that you have to part with your S. I don't know the answers to all your questions, but here are a few (we bought ours used, so that's where my info comes from):

I'm assuming this is a MY2001 ... With all the mods, it's not a bad idea to post in on this site, sounds like you've definitely taken great care of your S !!

I think this will depend in part on how the buyer pays. If he has to get a loan, it will most likely be a paperwork exercise between Chase and his lender. You'll have to get a check for the down payment for sure ... and then you will have to discuss how the financing gets handled and possession with the new owner.

You are not liable for any sales tax. When the new owner goes to register the car s/he will have to pay the tax then in order to get the car registered. (Yes, I know this from personal experience.)

My personal gut feeling would be to try the autotrader first at a higher price, and then here on s2ki.com if it doesn't move from autotrader. I say this because there are still a lot of people who are paying over MSRP for this car, and don't know about this site (and therefore are not as well educated about pricing as we are). You may find someone willing to pay for all the extras and TLC you've put into the car.

Good luck!

 

Thanks for the input S2K redhead.

Anybody else with any input? Thanks for your help!

 

If your getting a new family car from a dealer you can have the dealer buy out your leased s2000 from citibank. kelleys is always marked high and edmund is mark little low so go with something between on your price.

 

Normally if your credit is good you can inform a lender or leaser of your intent to sell the vehicle and they will endorse and send the title to you so you will be able to hand it to the new buyer when he presents a check. This has always been the case on cars I have owned however they were all financed not leased. The way you have to structure it might cause some buyers to think twice. Perhaps if you have another source of funds you could buy out the lease in advance and then have the title ready to hand over. I would be very nervous giving someone a large amount of money and being told the title will be mailed later. At a minimum get a letter from the leaser stating they hold the title and will forward it as soon as payment is made. Then structure the handover so that as soon as they pay you the money is sent directly to the lender. That would remove the risk of you not forwarding the money to the leaser and leaving the buyer stuck. One other thought is if you can wait the car will bring more money in the spring.

 

TTT

Anyone else with any more input.

Please?

 

OK I realize that the questions I asked in my initial post were probably too detailed and complex. The time commitment to answer those questions in detail is probably too great - and that is why I am not getting too many replies.

For those of you that have replied - thanks for your input.

One thing that I REALLY need assistance with is determining an appropriate selling price for my car. If you can, please help me determine an appropriate value for the vehicle. Details/questions as under:

1. Once again - a brief overview of the package: 2001 S2K 14.5k miles. All mainenance records. Pristine condition. Ricks center console, shift boot, 2-tone (yellow/black) steering, and body and wheel "S" badges. Voodoo titanium shift knob. Also has LOJACK. I am throwing in an almost new V1 radar detector and original Honda car cover.

Specific questions

1. The prices I obtained from the online resources do not account for the accesories I am offering. All the Rick's accesories that are mentioned above plus the V1, car cover, and shift knob. How much I can I reasonably add to the price for all these accesories? I really do NOT want to go through the hassle of removing them and selling them separately.

2. For my zip code (90066 - West Los Angeles) KBB says private party is $30,060 and Edmunds says $27,180. One seems to high and the other seems too low. I have advertised at $28,875 or best offer (OBO). Is this a reasonable price to advertise at ? In the negotiation process, how low can I go and not be throwing the car away?? I need to move the vehicle but I do not want to sell for an unreasonable (by market standards) price.

Thanks for your input. I really look forward to getting some insight from you guys since this is the first time I am actually selling a used car.

For those of you that could also answer some of my original questions (first post on this thread), I would be VERY grateful.

Thanks.

 

Well, for question #1, the only way you'll get any of your money back is by selling the car to someone who knows what they're getting AND who cares. If they don't care, then they won't be willing to pay for the mods.

As for #2, I think both are too high. Prices are dropping, particularly on the new and used '02s. I realize that the prices in Cali. tend to hold up a little better, but not by that much. You're asking for essentially $29k for a used '01. Someone could probably find a new '02 and have it shipped to Cali. for around $30k or maybe a little more.

Just my two cents. Take it for what its worth.