Selling my car with an instant cash offer was almost too easy

We all know the current state of the used car market. The prices are absurdly high, making it difficult for buyers to get a reasonable deal. But if you’re looking to to sell a car, times don’t get much better than this – the market is desperately looking for anything with four wheels and a motor to move people around. Apparently even resellers are so desperate that they will buy slightly modified entry-level sport torques. Specifically, my (old) cut.

I had been toying with the idea of ​​selling my FR-S for about a year now, and at one point even had it listed on Facebook Marketplace. For monthit seemed like I was constantly showing the car to indifferent buyers, all of whom complained about the seating position (totally stock), exhaust note (totally stock), or hard idling (admittedly the ‘one can be on me).

So the car was taken off the market, I left Rochester and started working at Jalopnik. As the FR-S sat, used car prices soared and the urge to move on began again. This time no amount of cortisone would fix it – I was To go sell my car.

But living in New York made it difficult. I could only really take the train to my car on the weekends, so potential buyers had to line up to see the car on Saturdays and Sundays. So I tried Kelley Blue Book’s instant money offer, and it was perhaps the easiest transaction of my life.

I filled in the car information online and received an initial offer for more than I paid for the car when i bought it 20,000 miles ago and many stickers.

“Sure,” I thought, “it’s worth taking the train to Connecticut.”

I showed up at the dealership on a busy day, but it still took them ten or fifteen minutes to check the car. It was most as stated, although I had really forgotten how low the tires were, which cost me a few bucks. Twenty minutes later, I had found my old plate in my hands and the papers drawn up for my car.

Could I have had more on the private market? Absolutely, without a doubt. But that would have taken weeks, and your average private buyer is more discerning about what they will or will not accept than a dealership. The opportunity cost of the instant cash offer was more than worth it in time, and it allowed my unseen track car purchase that will carry me through the summer months. Expect to see more on that one soon.