Sadly, our 2010 Chevrolet Camaro, with 22,000 miles, must be nudged out of the long-term fleet so we can add some new vehicles for testing. As a first step, I looked at the Edmunds True Market Value price for the Chevy, which turned out to be $32,442. This seemed like a very high price considering the sticker price was just over $35,425. Still, a quick search through Autotrader showed that there were plenty of Camaros out there at sky-high prices (although with fewer miles).
I decided to test the market by listing the Camaro on Craigslist and in the free classifieds on eBaymotors for $31,900. Four hours later I got a call from a young-sounding guy named Louis who kept demanding, "What's your lowest price?" I told him the ad just went up so I wasn't going to negotiate over the phone. He replied, "That's cool -- but what's your lowest price?"
While I was shooting pictures of the Camaro it occurred to me that I could do a short walk around of the car and post it on Youtube. I showed the video to a colleague and he commented, "That's worth a thousand pictures." Of course, it is a thousand pictures -- but I know what he means. The video now has a number of views so I'm hoping that other potential buyers have watched it. I'll keep you posted on the sales process and the final price we get for the Camaro.
adamb1 says:
11:18 AM, 09/22/10
$31,900, what a deal. It's only been involved in one documented burnout contest and is just on its first transmission rebuild. Sounds like a deal.
audisport says:
11:27 AM, 09/22/10
Yeah, sign me up.
redwoodaggie says:
11:32 AM, 09/22/10
It's good (sad) to know that there are people that are worse at negotiating than I am. I have gotten calls from the "What's your lowest price?" people when selling stuff on Craigslist. Sooo irritating.
ocramidajzj says:
12:06 PM, 09/22/10
I find that there are many people who play this "lowest price" tactic. It's actually quite annoying and really takes the fun out of negotiating. My typical response is that the ad shows the lowest price I'd like to let it go for but I'm willing to take some offers. At which point they hang up. The truth is that most of those people are delusional and can't accept that they can't afford anything close to the advertised price.
Craigslist eh? I'm surprised you didn't get an email from sister Mary Margaret asking you to send your personal information to her so that she can cut you a check. Wetting I've posted anything of value on Craigslist I usually get a ton of scam responses. Maybe it's only prevalent in the NE.
stress83 says:
12:16 PM, 09/22/10
While this car is still "hot" to the masses, this particular one is not flawless. With those blemishes and the miles, the purchaser of the car will be someone who will use it as a driver. I don't see the sale price being any more than $28-29k.
bankerdanny says:
12:22 PM, 09/22/10
I just bought my latest car from a Craig's List ad. I found it was much easier to find private owner vehicles there than say, Cars.com or Yahoo Autos.
But then I bought a $6k 2004 Jetta, not a $32k Camaro. I sold my 2007 Forester ($14,900 with 37k miles) through Cars.com, but my buyer found it on Yahoo. Apparently it sources ad's from Cars.
There was one persistent call I rceived from some sort of service that matches buyers and sellers that I simply ignored. Otherwise it worked well. Interestingly (for me anyway) the price it fetched was very close to what your True Value calculator predicted. I find this interesting because it has not done a very good job of predicting the value for IL's own cars.
1487 says:
12:29 PM, 09/22/10
resale value seems pretty impressive, dare I say Honda like even.
tmanz says:
12:39 PM, 09/22/10
"He replied, "That's cool -- but what's your lowest price?""
I love the masterful negotiating technique
But he blew it, everyone knows you have to ask the same question 3 times to get the answer you want
tmanz says:
12:40 PM, 09/22/10
someone has to add this link to the youtube comments
http://blogs.insideline.com/roadtests/Vehicles/2010-chevrolet-camaro-ss/
06scooby says:
12:54 PM, 09/22/10
yeah the last few cars i've sold on craigslist always net me tons of scam emails (especially the ones that fish for your email address by asking "is it still available?") but the thing that bugs me the most is all the telemarketers that end up getting my number off the ad!! I start getting all these solicitation calls and stuff! bugs the crap out of me.
I agree that the "what's your lowest price?" is lame, especially when they haven't even bothered looking at it. I ignore those people as they are just looking for some rediculous deal and not your particular car.
mboily says:
01:14 PM, 09/22/10
I'm going to miss reading about the camaro. :(
greenpony says:
02:29 PM, 09/22/10
I never liked the Camaro. It's portly. It's ugly. And silver? Come on, folks. These cars are everywhere too. My god, what an infestation!
But really this car has started to grow on me. No, I still don't like it, but rather than looking away in distaste whenever I see one (not a good idea while driving) I understand the concept. A powerful, affordable American performance machine. Somewhere between the nimbleness of the Mustang and the comfort of the Challenger. I think I get it, even though I'd never get one, so I too am a little saddened to see it go.
bankerdanny says:
02:48 PM, 09/22/10
Greenpony, it is portly and ugly (to my eyes at least), but here in Chicago they aren't common. I have seen maybe a dozen on the road since it was introduced.
agnh says:
03:12 PM, 09/22/10
I saw the Craigslist bashing and I just had to vent for a moment.
I have bought one car through CL, from a used car dealer. While I was looking, the dealer ads I called on mostly became 'bait and switch' jobs. In one case, the exact same photo showed up for 3 different cars advertised by different dealers. In many cases, the dealers numbers seem to be cell phones for some reason. The car I did end up buying, I got about 45 days out of it.
The private sale cars I called on, in several cases, I'd leave a message and someone calls back and asks you to call a different guy. You call them and the voicemail is full.
I sold two cars through Craigslist, both in need of expensive repairs and both were bought by guys that repaired them and put them back on CL a week later.
desmolicious says:
04:24 PM, 09/22/10
You can link the youtube video in your craigslist ad.
vt8919 says:
07:55 PM, 09/22/10
Adamb1 hit the nail on the head. Why pay nearly the original price on a used vehicle that has that sort of history? Might as well save up and spend a little more on a brand new one.
lostboyz says:
03:57 AM, 09/23/10
maybe you should write in that the tranny was rebuilt. It might cut down on the ammount of calls you get, but thats a deal breaker for a lot of people.
1487 says:
05:44 AM, 09/23/10
once they get rid of this they can stock up on more BMWs and Audis that most people can't afford.
makakio says:
07:47 AM, 09/23/10
Lostboyz brings up an interesting question: would IL be forthcoming about the tranny rebuild or wait for a buyer to ask about any significant mechanical repairs?
oachalon says:
09:29 AM, 09/23/10
What did edmunds do to the wheels on this thing. Poor wheels and curbs. Why does every car edmunds has either needs body work or the wheels have been curbed 10 times.
We own vehicles with 200k miles and the wheels still look brand new. After 22k miles the wheels are shot on this car.
greenpony says:
07:44 PM, 09/23/10
Danny, what part of Chicago are you from? I'm in the far northwest burbs, and commute to Wisconsin, and I probably see a dozen a day.
jehnavipat says:
10:22 PM, 10/ 4/10
The Camaro shelves despite its Camaro 60 and 70 of the same name, is very much a modern car. Although there are 426 horses under the hood, all is sweetness and light, terribly sophisticated, thanks to the wonders of computer control and electronic fuel injection. In fact,thing is perhaps a little too quiet little Rumpa Rumpa-exhaust position would be complete.
http://www.chevyreview.net/