[Ian916]

- Simple question: where/how is the best way to sell an Alfa? I have sold other cars and motorbikes via e-bay/auto trader but are these places right for an Alfa given that it is a bit more specialist and I would imagine that most of the lookers do not know their Fiesta from a Polo. And yes, I have advertised here.

 

[biggreenzebra]

Ask yourself where would you look if you wanted to buy one. That's the answer.

Include in your ad all the info that you would expect one of us to ask. Last cam belt change, rear suspension rebuild etc

 

[DavidHF]

- Simple question: where/how is the best way to sell an Alfa? I have sold other cars and motorbikes via e-bay/auto trader but are these places right for an Alfa given that it is a bit more specialist and I would imagine that most of the lookers do not know their Fiesta from a Polo. And yes, I have advertised here.

You'd be surprised you know, I sold my GTA SW on Ebay last year, Got exactly what I wanted for it, Even had several messages from strangers just wanting to tell me what a gorgeous car It was (No Joke), The only thing that let's Ebay down is people who simply just want to waste your time, But you'd get that with A.Trader and P.Heads anyway.

Make sure to take good quality Pictures, Be absolutely honest (especially on Ebay), Just Imagine it if it were you looking for a car.

Try Gumtree or Swapz as well.

 

[James Junior]

I am a serial car changer and have had best results with PH and eBay.

Autotrader is ridiculously expensive by comparison.

 

[Bezste]

Sold my last 2 Alfa's on Ebay - very quickly!

The 2 best pieces of advice I would give is take plenty of good quality photos and go overboard with the description - don't think that 3 banal sentences is good enough.

I'm always surprised at how many people go to the trouble of photographing filthy cars. Wash the bloody thing first!

 

[Ian916]

washed it, polished it, photographed it well, advertised it on e-bay..... Nothing Advertised it on here..... Nothing

Price, - a bit more than "book" but it has a lot of extras. All a bit disappointing really.

 

[Jcm5659]

Unfortunately I think you may know why it's not getting any interest if you yourself think its a bit over priced..
Its a buyer's market especially with alfas I would try a sensible price drop its surprising the difference a couple of hundred quid will make. ..upto you of course depends how much you want rid of it. .
Best of luck remember everyone wants something for nothing. !!!

 

[Alfa Seltzer]

I've sold 3 Alfas on eBay with no hassle for the full asking price...obviously a decent ad is essential.

As for the others...in my experience:
Autotrader: Old fashioned and very expensive
Piston Heads: Attracts tyre kickers with no money but plenty of chat
Gumtree: Attracts folk who just want to size your house up for a burglary

I may perhaps be slightly guilty of generalisation?

 

[PaulR]

I've always used Autotrader and sold with no problem.

TBH if your price is realistic, descriptions and photos good then you will sell no matter where you advertise.

 

[Ralf S.]

Your car sounds too expensive if you didn't get anu interest.

Unfortunately there's too many people who "take a punt" and advertise a car for some way too dear amount to see if someone can be fooled into paying too much... so that makes buyers wary when they see an above book-price car for sale.

You can hang on in there for the price you want and hope someone comes along who is looking for just that car and recognises that it really is worth that much... or you have to reduce the price a bit.


Ralf S.

 

[Gary Slegg]

As other's have said, perhaps it was over priced - people rarely want to pay more for "extras".

 

[crazycarb]

It's always been autotrader for me, to attract local buyers.

 

[Ian916]

As other's have said, perhaps it was over priced - people rarely want to pay more for "extras".

you might be right, - that means over £3000 depreciation in 18 months..... Which is appalling for a car that had already depreciated £17,000 in 6 years.... - Have to say deprecation and lack of willing buyers is a big turn off to people buying Alfa's. I will not make the same mistake twice no mater how good a car they are. This GT is one of the nicest cars that I have ever owned, probably the best to drive but cannot help but think now that I need to sell it I should have not made my decision with my heart but rather my head and bought a boring Golf... Such a shame.

Perhaps it opens out to a wider issue of cr4p dealerships and poor marketing from the factory/importers. As you may tell from my screen name I am a motorcycle person so know the work that Ducati did and still do to build confidence in the second hand market but they still struggle in comparison to the likes of BMW and Harley, - tow makes of bikes that I have sold for more than I bought them for!

 

[Alfa_Holic]

E-bay is the place I have sold my last 4 Alfas (all to AO members actualy!). I used to use pistonheads pre them charging for ads, but they seem to have less private sellers on there now. All the PS Alfas seem to be Velcoes!!!

Thing I like about e-bay is the the description space an the ability to embed pictures. Much better than Autotrader. I find I still get timewasters on Gumtree...

 

[Roswell]

Autotrader works for me too.

 

[TomX19]

I've bought a few cars from eBay, and what I like to see (as mentioned above) is a full and proper description with good English and grammar, and not in the Comic Sans font with lots of crazy colours! You see so many ads on eBay saying "superb", "best example in the UK" etc. which then go on to list numerous rusty bits and faults. I avoid ads with these kind of statements like the plague as I find them dishonest, unless it really is a potential concourse winner of course.

I like the ad broken down into good points and bad points, with the bad points described honestly. For most Alfa models an enthusiast buyer is going to want to know when the cam belt was last done and by whom. A photo of the invoice for this work would be good. If it's got loads of history, take a picture of all the bills (and original owner's handbook etc.). There are plenty of traders out there who say their cars are FSH yet the bills are nowhere to be seen.

I've bought cars from eBay without looking them over first, always from honest sellers who described them accurately and honestly, and have not gone wrong yet, even with a Fiat X1/9!!