Benefits of HELP! NOW!
Why get my new book HELP! I Gotta Sell My Car NOW! This is what you’ll learn to do:
- how to prepare your car, including when an investment in fixing it up pays off
- price your car so you get everything coming to you – and not leave money on the table
- where to post your ad – start on free classified websites
- how to use free websites, including Craigslist, Kijiji, Oodle, and Backpage
- how to use premium sites, including AutoTrader and Cars.com
- how to create an ad that SELLS
- what pictures to take and how to take them
- how to record a video walk around – the secret sales tool that even dealers don’t know about
- how to SAFELY test drive your car
- how to negotiate like a pro
- completing the paperwork, including what needs to be in the bill of sale
- counting the money, including what to do if there is a loan against the vehicle
- the final checklist before you hand over the keys
Still not sure? Read the FREE sample chapters.
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L. James Johnson’s new book, HELP! I Gotta Sell My Car NOW! New Rules for Selling Your Vehicle Online! is available for download at BayAreaCarGuy.com.
Getting Your Car Ready for Sale
Major auto dealers sell millions of dollars of used cars every month. They make their vehicles as clean, tidy, polished, and attractive as possible. Some call it “curb appeal.” It works!
Whether you are selling a luxury sedan or an old clunker: a clean and spiffed-up vehicle will sell quicker and for more money than one with halitosis – unwashed, grimy, and strewn with unwanted papers and moldy fast food containers. You want to seduce your potential buyer, not turn them off with a bad first impression. It’s worth the time and effort to do it right.
Be appropriate for the value and condition of your vehicle. For example, a quick wash and vacuum is probably all that is needed for a $1200 Ford Taurus. However, if you are selling an $8,000 Toyota Camry, you probably want to invest in a wax job and deeper cleaning from grille to trunk. For a Lexus or Escalade, even more tasteful care is needed.
No matter what you want to sell, do what is appropriate for your vehicle. Fronting the cash to have it detailed by a professional may pay for itself ? and even put money in your pocket. Basic services run from $15 to $50, and $100 to $300 for a full-service, professional detail job that will leave it sparkling inside and out. Don’t be shy with a professional detailer: request a price quote. Then call around for the best deal – with them, you are a buyer.
HELP! NOW!
Why go to all the work of taking photos of your car, writing a great ad, and posting it on sites like Craigslist, Kijiji, AutoTrader or Cars.com if it looks dingy when a buyer comes to look at it.
If you have other questions about:
- how to be safe on the test drive
- what form of payment is recommended (hint: don’t take personal checks)
- how to price your vehicle so you don’t leave money on the table
- how to complete the paperwork
See my new book, HELP! I Gotta Sell My Car NOW!
HELP! NOW! walk you through the NEW RULES for selling your vehicle online.
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L. James Johnson’s new book, HELP! I Gotta Sell My Car NOW! New Rules for Selling Your Vehicle Online! is available for download at BayAreaCarGuy.com.
Simple HTML Formatting
Want to dress up your online ad? Use simple HTML tags in your Craigslist and other classified site postings to add formatting to the text. HTML tags in bold.
Bold
This text is <b>bold</b>.
- This text is bold.
Italics
I used <i>italics</i>.
- I used italics.
Underline
I <u>underlined</u> a word.
- I underlined a word.
Increase Font Size
I can make text <big>bigger</big>.
- I can make text bigger.
Decrease Font Size
I can make text <small> smaller</small>.
- I can make text smaller.
Center
<center>I can center this sentence.</center>
I can center this sentence.
Indent
I can indent and add italics to this <blockquote>sentence</blockquote>.
I can indent this sentence.
Make A List
My Honda Civic has extra features:
<ul>
<li>moon roof</li>
<li>alloy wheels</li>
<li>6-CD changer</li>
</ul>
- My Honda Civic has extra features:
- moon roof
- alloy wheels
- 6-CD changer
Links to Other Pages/Websites
I can create links to <a href=”http://www.bayareacarguy.com/tools/”>handy tools</a> that come in handy when selling your car online.
- I can create links to handy tools that come in handy when selling your car online.
Adding a Photo
I can add an extra picture of my car: <img src=”http://i601.photobucket.com/albums/tt94/ljamesjohnson/Porche.jpg”>
- I can add an extra picture of my car:
Font Colors
This is <font color=”red”>fun </font> because I can change <font color=”green”>font colors</font>.
- This is fun because I can change font colors.
I can also use <font color=”black”>black</font>.
- I can also use black.
Or <font color=”blue”>blue</font>.
- Or blue.
Or <font color=”fuchsia”>fuchsia</font>.
- Or fuchsia.
Or <font color=”maroon”>maroon</font>.
- Or maroon.
Or <font color=”navy”>navy</font>.
- Or navy.
Or <font color=”olive”>olive</font>.
- Or olive.
Or <font color=”purple”>purple</font>.
- Or purple.
And I can use <font color=”teal”>teal</font>.
- And I can use teal.
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L. James Johnson’s new book, HELP! I Gotta Sell My Car NOW! New Rules for Selling Your Vehicle Online! is available for download at BayAreaCarGuy.com.
5 NEW RULES of Selling Your Vehicle Online!
Most used car buyers have been online before they ever walk into a car dealership. Car dealers have been forced to adapt (some kicking and screaming) – by building an Internet sales department, re-directing advertising budgets, and reconsidering how they price their vehicles.
Don’t tell them I said so, but many large auto dealers do a poor job of marketing their vehicles online. They know a lot about print advertising, but fewer buyers are looking in newspapers or auto/shopper magazines – and why bother? They’re out of date by the time they’re delivered. The cars pictured may have been sold before the paper went to press!
Many “old school” car dealers simply haven’t figured out the New Rules for effectively marketing their vehicles online. Unfortunately for them, they won’t get a second chance to create a first impression.
You Can Learn, Too!
If professionals are having a difficult time staying ahead of the learning curve, you shouldn’t feel bad if you are not clear on how to effectively sell your car, truck, or SUV on the Internet. It’s barely two years since I was asked to decipher the mysteries of online marketing, and to design the best method for selling used (my boss insisted on “pre-owned”) vehicles on sites like AutoTrader, Cars.com, Craigslist, and Kijiji. Luckily, it was a forward-thinking company that trusted me to experiment, knowing I’d make mistakes that we could learn from. How else to learn?
It took a year of trial and error to develop a clean, effective format for our online postings and ads. But that was only part of the learning curve. I discovered that there is a weekly shopping cycle specific to online buyers. Unless you time your ads correctly, much of your effort could be wasted. We also learned how important pictures and pricing are to attract potential buyers and complete the sale.
Developing New Rules for marketing used vehicles online increased our sales volume, and we drew buyers from farther and farther away. Customers regularly drove two, three, and, in one case, five and a half hours one-way just to check out a car we’d posted. And virtually every customer who drove that distance bought the vehicle they came to see.
Think about it. What would entice someone to drive eleven hours round trip to look at a used car?
James explains, other than great Photos, what is needed to have an effective online ad.
The New Rules
1. Bold Headline
First, the subject line has to grab attention away from all the competing ads – and for some models there may be hundreds posted.
2. Detailed Information
The text must be clear and concise, specifying all the information a buyer cares about in order to determine if your vehicle is worth the time to look at.
3. Personal Touches
Personal touches will sweeten your posting – information that only someone who cared about the vehicle would know. These make the seller seem trustworthy. Emphasize the positive AND tell the truth about the condition of the vehicle.
4. Specific Photos
Seeing the features and accessories that your buyer is looking for will catch her attention.
5. Video Walk Around
Finally, the secret weapon that induces someone to drive eleven hours is the video walk around. It’s a simple tool I love to use, even if my customer’s in the neighborhood, and it’s easy to put together. It builds an enormous amount of trust and rapport between buyer and seller, providing a load of information quickly. I know the video walk around sealed the deal for my buyers even before they came over to see the car. There’s a step-by-step guide on creating your own walk-around in Chapter 10.
HELP! NOW!
My new book HELP! I Gotta Sell My Car NOW! walks you through the 5 NEW RULES of selling your car online. I provide a step-by-step guide for selling your car online, including:
- price your car so you don’t leave money on the table
- what sites to choose, and how to market your car for FREE
- which photos do you take and how do you shoot them
- handling inquiries and test drives
- how to negotiate like a pro
- handling the paperwork and counting the money
Your time and money is on the line. Learn from the pros – learn the NEW RULES of selling your car online. HELP! NOW! is on the way.
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L. James Johnson’s new book, HELP! I Gotta Sell My Car NOW! New Rules for Selling Your Vehicle Online! is available for download at BayAreaCarGuy.com.
Camera Recommendations for Online Car Photos
We all face specific challenges when taking photos for online ads, be it for Craigslist or AutoTrader. For most private sellers, the least expensive digital camera available today will take adequate photos. This is not true for dealers. Auto Consultan Chad Manz makes his camera recommendation for car dealers here.
For private sellers who want to get the most out of their online photos (and hopefully sell your car faster!), you need a camera that includes:
- a wide angle lense to capture the essentials of the interior
- a macro setting to capture the odometer and other dashboard features
The other consideration is having a camera that you can hold at odd angles and still see what the picture will look like.
Below are two recommendations. First, the least expensive option that still has a wide angle lense AND all the other features you’ll need for online photos:
Pentax Optio P70 12MP Digital Camera with 4x Wide Angle Optical Zoom and 2.7 inch LCD (Silver)
If you want a top of the line camera that includes a swivel (commonly called “articulating”) LCD screen, then this Canon PowerShot is the right camera for you, and the only camera that Chad Manz recommends for dealers:
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L. James Johnson’s new book, HELP! I Gotta Sell My Car NOW! New Rules for Selling Your Vehicle Online! is available for download at BayAreaCarGuy.com.
Where to Store Pictures Online?
I recommend that you take at least 30 pictures of your car, truck, or SUV when selling it online.
Primary Exterior Photo
I often take 60 or more. Car industry pros know that the more pictures you put in front of a buyer, the better the chance of them closing the deal.
Why take so many pictures when Craigslist only lets you post four pictures, and inexpensive premium site packages (AutoTrader or Cars.com) allow less than that? In my book, HELP! I Gotta Sell My Car NOW! I recommend that you post additional pictures to an online image hosting service and send prospective buyers a link to them. This can mean the difference between making the sale or not.
Why host images online vs. attaching them to an email? It’s simpler and quicker. I state in my book HELP! NOW! that responding to emails in minutes – not hours – often makes the difference between selling your car or not. If you are on the run and monitoring emails on your phone, you can respond to a buyer immediately WITH THE LINK TO MORE PHOTOS instead of waiting hours to get back to your home computer to attach pictures to an email.
2008 Honda Civic SI Mugen
Responding with such quick service grabs a buyer’s attention and lets them know that you are following the NEW RULES of selling vehicles online. Who do you think they would rather deal with? A saavy seller who is providing quick, efficient service, or the many OLD SCHOOL sellers (including dealers) who most buyers cringe from?
Also, there’s less chance of something going wrong:
- like having your email get lost in the buyer’s spam folder
- or having it blocked by his email server because you (1) didn’t resize the photos (2) you packed the email with too many pictures.
-
If you get a lot of inquires about your car, you’re going to be spending a lot of time attaching the same photos over and over. It’s simpler to send a single link to every inquiry. In this way you can put up tons of pictures and let them view them until their heart’s content.
Buying a car is a big decision. People appreciate not having their process short-circuited to suit your timetable and needs.
Be helpful. Give buyers the tools they need to make a decision and support them in THEIR process. You’ll stand out as one of the good guys. Doing so has its own rewards AND will help sell your car faster.
PhotoBucket
I recommend the #1 most popular photo site in the country: PhotoBucket.com.
It’s free and you can sign up here: Image and Video Hosting – FREE.
Your pictures are accessible to anyone – if they have an account or not. Simply upload your pictures and send a link. You also get these features with your free account:
- organize your photos neatly into albums with a built-in organizer
- collaborate with family or friends to build group albums using hundreds of album themes
Kit S. with her Honda Civic
- lots of tools for photo editing
- you can resize your photos prior to emailing or uploading to other websites
- lots of effects to add to your pictures, from unique frames and stickers to special effects
- a scrapbook builder – simply drag and drop your pictures into one of hundreds of pre-built scrapbooks
- a slideshow builder so you can post your shows to blogs, websites, or your online profile
- want to add music: use the remix builder
To get your free account with the top image hosting website in the U.S. go to Image and Video Hosting – FREE.
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L. James Johnson’s new book, HELP! I Gotta Sell My Car NOW! New Rules for Selling Your Vehicle Online! is available for download at BayAreaCarGuy.com.
backpage.com – An Up and Coming Classified Website!
We all know that Craigslist is the towering giant among free online classified websites. Over 50 million unique visitors land on Craigslist each month making it the 8th largest website in the U.S., and the 24th largest in the world.
Does this mean that you should rush out and post your car, truck, or SUV only on Craigslist? The answer depends on where you live. Classified websites offer a local approach for selling to local buyers. This means that Craigslist is not the leader in all U.S. markets. In fact, it comes in number three in some markets.
One of the up and comers giving Craigslist a run for their money is backpage.com.
I like working with backpage.com because I have an affinity for my local San Francisco Bay Area alternative weekly. backpage.com is owned by the original alternative newspaper, New York’s Village Voice, but your ad may be displayed along with classified ads from the back of many local papers including my SF Weekly, the LA Weekly, City Pages (Minneapolis), and the Seattle Weekly.
backpage.com online ads are free, but you have the option of paying a fee to add your post to the local, printed newspaper and to post online in multiple cities.
I recommend using Craigslist as a strategic site to post your online vehicle ad, but don’t forget about backpage.com. Remember the “mud on the wall” theory:
You never know when that last post on some obscure website will generate a phone inquiry about car.
Be smart and begin with the largest, high-traffic sites in your area, but why not use as many free sites as you have time and energy for. That includes backpage.com. After all, it’s free, right!
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L. James Johnson’s new book, HELP! I Gotta Sell My Car NOW! New Rules for Selling Your Vehicle Online! is available for download at BayAreaCarGuy.com.
Backpage.com – An Up and Comer!
With classified websites organized to provide a local service, how do you determine which free websites to use when selling your car, truck, or SUV? It’s always smart to use as many as possible. What the heck, they’re free, right? You’ll only be out the time it takes to create each post.
Which Ones to Use?
The world of online classified websites is constantly changing. Craigslist is the towering giant among current players with over 50 million visitors a month. An up and coming player in this game is backpage.
backpage is owned by the original alternative newspaper, New York’s Village Voice. Your ad may be displayed along with classified ads from the back of various local alternative newspapers including:
- SF Weekly (my local alternative choice in the San Francisco Bay Area)
- LA Weekly
- City Pages (Minneapolis)
- Seattle Weekly
The ads in backpage are free. However, you have the option of paying a fee to add your post to the local, printed newspaper, and for posting online in multiple cities.
Mud on the Wall
Remember the “mud on the wall” theory? Always throw up as much “mud” as you have time and energy for because you never know when that last post on some obscure website will generate a phone inquiry about your car. backpage is a growing player in the world of online classified websites. It could very well be the difference between your car selling or not. What the heck – it’s free, right?
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L. James Johnson’s new book, HELP! I Gotta Sell My Car NOW! New Rules for Selling Your Vehicle Online! is available for download at BayAreaCarGuy.com.
