Tag: car

I recently listed my 2020 Tesla for sale and sold it in 1.5 weeks. Autotrader (or Cars.com?) predicted I would sell it in a bit over 3 weeks considering market demand and my pricing.

An overview of my preparation:

• I learned that demand for the Tesla Y right now is quite soft, and my research suggested that the overall demand for EVs is not strong.
• I researched third party pricing through KBB and CarGurus and looked at competing listings both locally and nationally across all sites.
• I listed on Cars.com, Autotrader ($49), Facebook, OfferUp, and Craigslist ($5). CarGurus disabled their private used car listings a few days before I listed.
• I looked into sell-direct marketplaces and dealership offers and those offers ranged from $21 to $24K.
• I took over 30 photos after the car was detailed and shared the maximum allowed for each platform. My approach was, no surprises, you should see everything that you might note in person. Don’t wate your time, don’t waste my time. The lighting was a bit darker than I wanted – I was going for the golden hour, but everywhere in the area around me ended up being shaded at that time.
• I decided to use KeySavvy to act as an escrow service protecting both sides. I really liked that I wouldn’t need to handle securing payment and because I had a car loan obligation, I didn’t want to create complications for the buyer.
• My friend Sean suggested I consider using the recently departed Daniel Kahneman’s Thinking Fast and Slow in considering how to write my sales ad. As Wikipedia describes, the “book’s main thesis is a differentiation between two modes of thought: “System 1” is fast, instinctive and emotional; “System 2” is slower, more deliberative, and more logical.”

As a buyer, I want System 2, to read and research carefully and to make up my mind even before seeing the car. I have bought 3 cars and 2 houses this way. However, Sean’s comment was more about, most people are more likely to be System 1 in how they respond to your ad. I ended up doing both. I’ll let you see both formats and then share more notes about the overall experience that closed with the sale.

System 1 Ad Format (the quick reacting, knee-jerk TLDR person)

2020 Tesla Model Y Long Range AWD | Tow Package + More | 51K Miles

The System 2 Ad Format (what I wish someone would prepare for me)

2020 Tesla Model Y Long Range AWD | Tow Package + More | 51K Miles

I’m selling my 2020 Tesla Model Y Long Range All Wheel Drive as the original owner. The car is in very good condition with 50,894 (80% highway) miles and current range of 291 miles.

The vehicle has a clean title. Carfax report and all repair/maintenance records are available for review. CA DMV registration paid for 2024.

Includes the tow package, homelink for automatic garage door opening/closing, and other bonuses. No FSD.

Asking $27,750.

Price rated as “Great Deal” by CarGurus Car Values. Kelly Blue Book Value Range is $26,721 – $31,228.

VIN: [REMOVED].

Purchase Process:
We will use KeySavvy for the transaction. KeySavvy acts as the escrow, ensuring a safe and easy process. Buyer pays a $99 fee; I will pay all other fees. [LINK]

Recent Maintenance:
-3,500 miles on Michelin Pilot Sport EV tires (20K warranty)
-3,000 miles since the last maintenance visit

Warranty:
Battery & Drive Unit Limited Warranties expire June 28, 2028, or 120,000 miles. Basic Vehicle Limited Warranty has expired.

Vehicle Details and Key Features:
-Tow Package ($1,500)
-Homelink – Automatic Garage Door Opener ($350)
-Exterior Color: Pearl White Multi-Coat
-Interior Color: All Black Premium Interior
-Autopilot (Not FSD)
-19’’ Gemini Light Wheels
-5-seat interior
-Panoramic Glass Roof
-Heated Seats
-Premium Audio System

Condition:
-Light paint wear, various small scuffs and scrapes. See up close photos of driver side door (1”), driver side rear bumper (4”) areas, passenger side rear wheel (.2”).
-Light curb rash on wheels.
-Repaired driver side damage from a 2022 incident – work done by Tesla and Nationwide-approved shop.
-Windshield replaced in May 2024 by Safelite.

Additional Inclusions:
-2 Key Cards
-Windows: Tinted for heat reflection ($1,200).
-Charging Cable: Official Tesla universal charging cable ($250) with Gen 2 NEMA Adapter ($35).
-More: Various accessories including an extra set of floor mats, new official paint repair kit, new official tire repair kit, official (installed) mud flaps and more.
-Carpool Stickers: Automatically transfers to new CA owner.

Maintenance History: All recalls addressed
-Sep 28, 2023: Wheel alignment, standard maintenance at 47,553 mi
-Aug 22, 2023: 12V battery replaced
-Oct 10, 2022: OCS Filter Module installed
-Sep 22, 2022: Tow package installed, standard maintenance
-Sep 02, 2022: Homelink installed
-Nov 05, 2021: Maintenance items

More photos: [Link]

———————

Here’s the rest of the story:

• I ended up pricing at $27,750 after some initial thoughts of $28,250. I wanted to be the best price in the market. Was I giving up some money? Should I price higher to have some wiggle room to negotiate down? Perhaps yes to both, but I wanted anyone who was remotely interested in the car to reach out to me first. I wanted my car to be prioritized among all other listings. I didn’t know how long this selling process would take and in a soft market with high interest rates, I didn’t want to be left standing in a game of musical chairs – I had experienced this a couple of years ago in the housing market.
• Facebook generated, by at least 10X, the most inquiries of all the car marketplaces, but 90% of them were not serious. I knew this would happen beforehand, so I vowed to myself to not get annoyed. If someone gave me the Facebook’s default “is this still available?” message, I would give the thumbs up icon. If someone clearly didn’t read the description, I’d give a short reply and point them back to the description. If someone made a lowball offer, I’d say “no, but thank you”. I treated it as garbage in, garbage out – people who gave me a system 1 response would get one back in return. People who were more detailed and thoughtful got a similar level reply back as well.
• Which System Ad was more effective? I don’t know. I started off with the System 2 ad, but switched to System 1 the following week. The eventual buyer ended up coming from Cars.com and originally saw the System 2 ad. I liked working with him because he was always respectful and asked good questions.
• I ended up selling for a few hundred dollars less than asking. I was still confident I could sell it for my asking price, but there’s a real cost of continuing to work on selling the car to new parties. I felt taking the 1.4% discount and giving the buyer a small win was worth sparing myself of future effort, which could easily be tens of hours or more in the following weeks. I did end up liking the System 1 ad more because it reduced cognitive overhead for buyers, even if it then put the responsibility on the buyer to know which questions to ask – if you think that’s immoral, most private ads I saw are ridiculously sparse in information.
• I got interested buyers from all the platforms, but if I rank the platforms by true leads, they probably all come in tied at 1 or 2 each. That means that if I were to do it again, I’d relist on all of them except perhaps OfferUp. Someone tried to scam me there by offering to take over my payments and told me to call him. At the same time, OfferUp is free. In general, I suggest having a high level of vigilance in terms of junk / scam offers and following my garbage in, garbage out policy of responding.
• Keysavvy (as the escrow) ended up being very easy to use on both sides, and the buyer can simply pay and take control of the car without delay. It took two business days for my bank loan to be paid off and to get the remaining amount in my bank account, but the car buyer can buy and leave with the car within an hour. I chatted with Keysavvy’s customer support a few times before making the sale, and they were great in the process. I was able to make sure I understood what to do, what would happen, and things happened with no surprises.
• Right now, buyers in the US with less than $150K annual income can purchase an EV that’s less than $25K in price from a dealer and get $4K back in federal rebates. ($24K car effectively becomes $20K) So many people who messaged me were thinking about this, but they’d approach me with “why don’t you drop your price to below 25K so I can get the rebate”. Their thought was why doesn’t this seller take less money because it’s better for me? For those who were more thoughtful about a creative way to approach this, I reciprocated. Again, garbage in garbage out. Keysavvy acts as the dealer because technically, the buyer buys the car from them, and you sell your car to Keysavvy so anyone using Keysavvy can take advantage of the EV offer.
• For buyers who immediately asked for a test drive, I added a filtering mechanism. I’m not a private dealer who’s just available for people to come by, test drive the car and lowball me. I felt that if someone were serious, they wouldn’t mind some extra friction, and I was surprised by how many people ghosted as soon as I sent the filtering message below:

Hi [Name], you reached out to me about my 2020 Tesla Y. A few things I would like to check on.

1) I hope you have been able to read through my notes in detail about the car, the purchasing process, etc. Any questions there?

2) Also, are you looking to test drive and finalize the transaction with Keysavvy at the same time if everything is good?

3) For the test drive, I’d like to ask for a copy/photo of the driver’s license and insurance in advance.

4) I’ll be asking you to follow a specific route that should take us around 10-15 minutes, but provide a feel on various road conditions including freeway. I ask that only the one person (driving) join the car for the test drive.

Please help me by confirming agreement with these four items. As a reminder, I am firm on price.

In summary, here’s my advice when selling a car on your own:

• Know that it’s an ordeal.
• Garbage in, garbage out. Don’t waste your time explaining or getting exasperated with most people – with just a little practice, you will quickly figure out who is extremely unlikely to buy, regardless of what they claim. You can still be courteous, but not waste your time.
• Do your research so you know how competitive your car is in the market and have confidence in your research. To the previous point, make buyers do what you want them to (price, buying terms, etc.). Anyone who thinks it’s a hassle will eliminate themselves.