{"id":19053,"date":"2025-01-09T15:28:17","date_gmt":"2025-01-09T15:28:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/peraltafinancing.com\/business\/finance\/free-car-how-i-sold-my-car-for-the-price-i-paid-5-years-earlier\/"},"modified":"2025-01-09T15:28:17","modified_gmt":"2025-01-09T15:28:17","slug":"free-car-how-i-sold-my-car-for-the-price-i-paid-5-years-earlier","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=19053","title":{"rendered":"Free Car? How I Sold My Car for the Price I Paid 5 Years Earlier"},"content":{"rendered":"


\n<\/p>\n

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\"mercedes\"
That\u2019s right! I bought my car for one price, drove it around for five years and then sold it for the exact<\/em> same price! The good news for you is that nothing I did took incredible effort. Rather, it was more an application of a few tricks anyone could do themselves. So if you want to drive a free car, keep reading.<\/p>\n

Finding the Car<\/h3>\n

There\u2019s a saying among car traders, \u201cYou make the money when you buy the car.\u201d<\/em> What that means is that if you buy the car for a low enough price<\/a>, selling it for a profit won\u2019t be hard. Since our goal is just to sell it for the same price, we don\u2019t need to get an absolute screaming deal. We just need a price that\u2019s lower than someone else would pay years from now. That person can be our buyer later on.<\/p>\n

To find the car, I prefer using Craigslist and eBay. Other decent options are Cars.com and Autotrader.com.<\/p>\n

The reason I like Craigslist<\/a> and eBay is because that\u2019s where the best deals are found. It\u2019s probably because it\u2019s free to list cars on each site. This means sellers who are short on cash tend to list their vehicles there. When sellers are short on cash, you can get a good deal and help them out quickly.
<\/span>
What should you pay? Less than market value, obviously. To determine market value, you can use the Kelly Blue Book at KBB.com, or NADA at NADAGuides.com. I prefer to do more hard hitting research, though, as I\u2019ve found that you can get an even more accurate price that way.<\/p>\n

To do your own research will take weeks at least. Search for cars every few days and get a feel for the asking prices. See how quickly the cars sell. Pretty soon, you\u2019ll begin to understand what a vehicle is worth in your particular market. Once you spot a good deal, it\u2019s time to pounce.<\/p>\n

Paying the Right Price<\/h3>\n

The best tip I can give you is to tell you that the final price is never about what the seller is asking. Instead, it\u2019s about what you\u2019re willing to pay. Don\u2019t be afraid to negotiate. If you naturally hate the idea of bartering, take along a friend who will help. Remember, to get a free car, you must get a good price. Paying in cash usually means you\u2019ll get a better deal as well<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Once You Own the Car<\/h3>\n

Obviously, the less you drive, the better. That means fewer miles are racked up. I\u2019ve never driven too much so this is good. But also consider that cars depreciate with or without you driving them. They depreciate the most in the first four years<\/a> and then the fall in price tends to slow. So if you\u2019re wanting a free car to drive, buy an older car. Cars depreciate until they reach about 20 years old, then depreciation plateaus and desirable cars actually go up in value.<\/p>\n

The Selling Process Once You Are Ready to Move On<\/h3>\n

Do your best when it comes to selling the car. This means taking good pictures, posting accurate information and being patient. I know it\u2019s tempting to accept the first offer, but I would have lost money on my car if I had done that. Be patient. It\u2019s okay if it doesn\u2019t sell right away.<\/p>\n

One tip \u2014 if it\u2019s not getting interest, maybe you\u2019re selling during the wrong time of the year. Convertibles and rear-wheel drive sports cars are most popular in spring\/early summer. 4wd vehicles rise in popularity and price during the fall and winter. Depending on your vehicle, there is an optimal time to sell.<\/p>\n

Other tips for selling include keeping all repair history on the car, being able to show the car often, and fixing any small faults that really let the car down ie: yellowing headlamps, an obvious scratch, etc.<\/p>\n

Things to Remember<\/h3>\n

Remember that you will be responsible for running costs during your time of ownership. These include fuel<\/a>, insurance<\/a>, registration<\/a>, maintenance and repairs<\/a>. The car itself may be free but it\u2019s unlikely you\u2019ll be able to get everything for free. Possible. Just unlikely.<\/p>\n

Also, cars depreciate at different rates. Find a car that depreciates slowly. According to Consumer Reports, Subaru\u2019s depreciate the slowest. Using the tactics in this post would work well for snagging a Scoobie.<\/p>\n

See, none of these details are too tricky. It\u2019s mostly a matter of having patience and doing your due diligence.<\/p>\n

Which car will you go after?<\/em><\/p>\n

Tagged as: Frugality<\/a>, Lifestyle<\/a>, Shopping Smart<\/a><\/p>\n

Editor’s Note:<\/strong> Did you know about the service called $5 meal plans<\/a>? For $5 a month, they send you recipes of delicious, healthy, yet cheap food that costs just $5 a meal.<\/p>\n

Several of my friends signed up and they are able to eat at home more because the instructions are easy to follow, making everything convenient. The deal also comes with grocery shopping lists, which saves them so much time. Check it out yourself by clicking here<\/a> and you too may be able to save more and become healthier at the same time.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

That\u2019s right! I bought my car for one price, drove it around for five years and then sold it for the exact same price! The good news for you is that nothing I did took incredible effort. Rather, it was more an application of a few tricks anyone could do themselves. So if you want […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":19054,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[93],"tags":[1075,11253,807,11252,1924,1170,1003],"dealstore":[],"offerexpiration":[],"class_list":["post-19053","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-finance","tag-car","tag-earlier","tag-free","tag-paid","tag-price","tag-sold","tag-years"],"yoast_head":"\nFree Car? 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