Has anyone tried listing their Roadster for sale on DupontRegistry.com?

[NicholasJB]

I've listed my car for sale on TMC, Craigslist, Cars.com, AutoTrader.com, and CarGurus.com. I would love to get some more exposure, especially now that the weather is turning nice again, and ran across DupontRegistry.com. However, the cost of listing it there is twice what AutoTrader charges, and I'm having trouble imagining a case where someone interested in buying a Roadster would search there but not on Cars.com or AutoTrader. The cost seems extreme, and so I'm wondering if you get more for that listing than I realize.

Has anyone ever used DupontRegistry.com when selling their Roadster? What was your experience with it? Did you get additional leads beyond what you received from the more standard listing services? Would you recommend it?

This is for a Pittsburgh, PA car.

 

[calisnow]

How has it not sold if you've got it listed on 5 separate sites?

 

[dhrivnak]

How has it not sold if you've got it listed on 5 separate sites?

Because people do not want to pay what it is worth.

Unfortunately it will likely require a cut in price or patience.

 

[ecarfan]

Because people do not want to pay what it is worth.

It is worth whatever at least one person is willing to pay you a price you agree to. Each person will have their own idea of what they will pay. And you have your idea of what price you are willing to accept.

Apparently, so far you have not found anyone willing to pay you your asking price. I hope you do find someone who will pay the price you want. Good luck.

 

[NicholasJB]

Unfortunately it will likely require a cut in price or patience.

It is worth whatever at least one person is willing to pay you a price you agree to. Each person will have their own idea of what they will pay. And you have your idea of what price you are willing to accept.

This is exactly true. When I set out to sell the car I was not in any real hurry, and so I decided that I would leverage my patience and list it at what I considered a more reasonable asking price, rather than a "must sell now" price. As my patience wears down, I'll let my price wear down as well.

Though I've talked to one or two other sellers that have much lower pricing (on 1.5 or 2.0 models) and from the sounds of it they don't get any more inquiries than me. It seems like the Roadster really is a niche car at any asking price, or the winter just really cuts down on interest. I am the lowest priced 2.5 in this half of the country so I don't think I'm being that unreasonable.

In any case, if I could get some more exposure and possibly find a buyer more quickly for a $99 ad in DPR I think it would probably be worth it. I just can't see how they're going to reach any more potential buyers than I already have. But I figured I would ask here in case I'm wrong.

 

[LoL Rick]

I don't think anyone would go to duPont in search of a Roadster. But you might find someone who wasn't searching for a Roadster but has the cash to buy a new toy. I talk to people all the time who have no idea what a Tesla is.

 

[Roadster]

If you're willing to auction it, give Bring-A-Trailer a shot. Looks like they have a $49 special for the month of March so... book it today. To my knowledge (and some basic web searching), I don't ever recall seeing a Roadster sell or even be listed there but it does appear the occasional Elise and Exige has.

 

[ecarfan]

It seems like the Roadster really is a niche car at any asking price

I agree. I have seen Roadsters listed on TMC for months that don't sell. The car appeals to a very narrow market of EV enthusiasts, and it has depreciated much the same as any other car: meaning, a lot. Not a surprise to me.

 

[DeedWest]

I would recommend to include your battery CAC, and the miles it charges to in Standard Mode, if possible, to your classifieds. I know myself, having shopped for Roadsters quite a few times, have always been eager for that information first and foremost. I've found myself more likely to consider lightly optioned cars with great battery health, as opposed to heavily optioned cars with worse Ideal Miles per charge.

Just my $0.02. Your car looks like it's in great shape and your photos look great. Sometimes the best Roadsters take a lot of time to sell.

 

[NicholasJB]

Thanks for the suggestion.

Is there any way to get the CAC without OVMS? My OVMS on H20 wireless stopped working over the winter, and I'm not sure why; I'm wondering if H20 pulled an AT&T and stopped supporting OVMS.

I have my CAC from an OVMS text from just before I took it in for service and put it into storage for the winter. Think that's too far out of date? I don't know much about how CAC works.

 

[Stefan T]

yes

go in the service menu
take ESS then SOC and there it is

 

[bolosky]

Or pull the logs and use one of the log parsing tools that folks here wrote.

 

[strider]

CAC from the Fall would be fine. Assuming it was put in Storage mode for the winter it wouldn't have changed much.

But IMO your asking price is still quite high. 50K miles is high for a Roadster. I have 60K on mine as it's been my daily driver since I bought it but it seems like many of them are weekend cars.

The most common thing you can expect to need is a new PEM. I think those run about $10K. So if the only reason you're selling is the fear of an expensive repair, it's possible you may "lose" more in the sale than you could expect to pay in repairs. By selling you would therefore cement the "loss" vs maybe not having an expensive repair (and you get to continue enjoying the car).

Food for thought.

 

[Pantera Dude]

I've listed my car for sale on TMC, Craigslist, Cars.com, AutoTrader.com, and CarGurus.com. I would love to get some more exposure, especially now that the weather is turning nice again, and ran across DupontRegistry.com. However, the cost of listing it there is twice what AutoTrader charges, and I'm having trouble imagining a case where someone interested in buying a Roadster would search there but not on Cars.com or AutoTrader. The cost seems extreme, and so I'm wondering if you get more for that listing than I realize.

Has anyone ever used DupontRegistry.com when selling their Roadster? What was your experience with it? Did you get additional leads beyond what you received from the more standard listing services? Would you recommend it?

This is for a Pittsburgh, PA car.

Why not list it on ebay?

 

[NicholasJB]

Thanks all; managed to get my CAC. It's reporting as just under 131.

The most common thing you can expect to need is a new PEM. I think those run about $10K. So if the only reason you're selling is the fear of an expensive repair, it's possible you may "lose" more in the sale than you could expect to pay in repairs. By selling you would therefore cement the "loss" vs maybe not having an expensive repair (and you get to continue enjoying the car).

That's a good point and I did consider that. On the other hand, I'm paying out over $450/month in interest (it was over 5 years old when I bought it), which is a lot. If I sell it and purchase something newer and cheaper I can cut that loss in half (or even more).

Though there are other reasons I'm looking to sell it. First and foremost being how problematic having a 2 seat car is with two teenage kids, followed closely by one of those kids learning to drive next month.

Why not list it on ebay?

I did try that. From what I've seen Ebay feels like a good "last resort", when you're ready to give up and take a lower amount for the car. I actually had a dealership offer me about $5k more to trade the car in than my Ebay listing got up to.

 

[supersnoop]

Thanks all; managed to get my CAC. It's reporting as just under 131.

That's really low, especially for a 2.5. I hate to say it, but you're still probably $5k-$10k too high with that CAC.

I'm paying out over $450/month in interest

Have you considered refinancing? I initially financed my Roadster through PenFed at a decent rate (2.24%, or thereabouts), and my interest was only about $72/month. Your interest is way too high.

I actually had a dealership offer me about $5k more to trade the car in than my Ebay listing got up to.

Reserve auctions on eBay never get close to a real price. Either you have to take the risk and sell it with no reserve, or you need to just list it as a classified add; no auction, just a buy-it-now and maybe a "best offer" option.

 

[NicholasJB]

That's really low, especially for a 2.5. I hate to say it, but you're still probably $5k-$10k too high with that CAC.

It's not as high as some babied, weekend cars, but the last two 2.5s that I saw reporting a CAC were as low as 130 or under, and that's with 23k and 35k miles. Given my 51k miles I think 130 is pretty good. That said, I'm always open to offers; looking for another Roadster?

Have you considered refinancing? I initially financed my Roadster through PenFed at a decent rate (2.24%, or thereabouts), and my interest was only about $72/month. Your interest is way too high.

I've considered it, but most financers won't touch a car over 7 years old, and those that do want insane interest rates (7% or higher). I've never heard of anyone getting an interest rate below 5% on a car over 5 years old, even with perfect credit. PenFed, for instance, offers 2.74% interest if you take a 48 month loan (ouch!), but the fine print says "Rate valid for model years 2017 - 2012."

I've wondered if that's part of the reason Roadsters seem to get so few calls these days (other sellers I've spoken to don't seem to see much more activity than I do).

Reserve auctions on eBay never get close to a real price. Either you have to take the risk and sell it with no reserve, or you need to just list it as a classified add; no auction, just a buy-it-now and maybe a "best offer" option.

To clarify, the Roadster was a financial stretch for me; it doesn't really represent my income. I make a good living, but I'm not a 1%er; having the freedom to list a car without reserve is probably never going to be within my means.

I didn't realize Ebay has a classifieds option. I thought they were an auction only service. I'll look into that; thanks.

 

[tvuolo]

Wow, that's a lot of interest. Have you looked at some credit unions? Mine will give you 2.74% up to 66 months for 2008 and newer. 3.24% for 67 to 75 months. This assumes you have a 740+ credit score, and are financing over $18K. Add a bit for lower scores. You can usually join any credit union by making a donation to their associated charity.

 

[supersnoop]

It's not as high as some babied, weekend cars, but the last two 2.5s that I saw reporting a CAC were as low as 130 or under, and that's with 23k and 35k miles. Given my 51k miles I think 130 is pretty good.

Unless I'm reading the PIA survey incorrectly, a car shouldn't dip to a 130 CAC until around 100,000 miles.

offers 2.74% interest if you take a 48 month loan (ouch!), but the fine print says "Rate valid for model years 2017 - 2012."

The 2012 limit only applies to the 72-month loan. The 3.49% rate on a 60 month loan would dramatically reduce your interest payment. On a $60,000 note, that's less than $100/month in interest.