I have a dilemma. When I bought my new Camry, I thought my old car (Lexus SC430) would be easy to sell. Well, although it's in perfect condition and priced well, nobody has been interested in three months of advertising it for sale. The Lexus is now worth a little more than what the Camry is worth, and I have cash in both cars, so one of them needs to go. Ideas, anyone? Whichever one I sell is fine, really, since both cars are excellent in their own way.

Steve Villatoro
www.stevenvillatoro.com
“An enlightened guide to small business mastery.”

Maybe I can help you with your decision. Try going to CarMax and they will most likely give you a fair price. I bought a new 05 Camry at a dealership and after a year sold it to CarMax for almost the same price I bought it for...

Gas is only going to get more expensive year after year. If you can get a fair price for the Lexus, the Camry will save you money.

steve...i hope you aren't thinking of bailing out on us ????

I don't know how "old" your Lexus is, that would matter to me more than the "values" as I don't want an "old" car as my primary driver reguardless of the brand.

Other than losing the tax credit, the gasoline is a short term issue, you'll eventually need to trade and a newer and better hybrid will probably be available. The Lexus may depreciate a little more than the Camry from this point forward. The Camry may bring what you paid for it considering the scaricity (but factor in the loss of the tax credit for the new buyer_only $1300 though in a few weeks)

At this point in time and given your situation I'd go with the one I enjoy driving the most.

Ooook, here, I will help a little more... I will trade or sell my 2006 4Runner LTD 4WD V8 (no navigation) with less than 3000 miles for, well you guessed it right, the 2007 TCH. Hope this helps

My leaning would be to keep the newer car.

61.5mpg lifetime - 82mpg in recent months

Best Run >
www.cleanmpg.com

"fanatic" is what the lazy call the dedicated

Steve, I am in the same boat as my Lexus GX470 now with gas prices as high as they are is not a very hot item at 12-13 MPG. Just as bad as owning a Hummer lol.

TCH-43mpg
VW TDI--48
08 LS 600 HL-20
08 LX 470-16

Steve, for what it's worth I hope you end up keeping the TCH. I've enjoyed reading your posts on this board, and
would hate to lose you as a member.

The SC430 has been my midlife crisis dream car for the past few
years. I doubt I'll ever be able to afford one, but it certainly is a
beautiful car.

Scott

Steve,

Don't know what you've already done, but here is a little advice. If it's a rehash of what you've already done, forgive me.

First, it's an easy decision. If you bought a new car, just sell the old one. No reason to jerk around.

Second, unless the car you're selling is super popular it's going to take some legwork to get it sold. So do these things:

Tell everyone you know it's up for sale and offer a $500 bounty if they find a buyer.

Since you're in So. Cal., list it in the Recycler (it will end up on Cars.com), Autotrader, Craigslist imotors.com and any other site you can find. Don't pay for an ad, it doesn't make much difference in finding a buyer.

Consider auctioning it on Ebay Motors. That will get it done, though the price may be a little lower than what you'd like.

You can also consider talking to local dealers. A clean, late model car is something they'll want on their lot. If they'll give you dealer blue book for it, it might be worth being rid of the hassle.

There are also lots around town where people park cars for sale. Kind of like a concession lot. Ask other sellers where those might be.

Think of it as a part time job you do 7 hours a week. Sit down an hour a day and ask "What else can I do to sell the bloody thing?". Eventually you'll find the right buyer.

Good Luck!

Donald