What's the Best Way to Sell Your Truck?

revjake. Getty Images.

Recently, my wife and I decided that becoming a one-vehicle family was in our best interest. 

We barely use my pickup truck, so the battery died and had to be replaced. Then, one of the front brake calipers seized up from non-use. The rotors were rusted so badly that they had to be turned and the brake pads replaced. Cha-ching! Despite the truck rarely leaving my driveway, I was being forced to do expensive repairs on a vehicle I hardly used.

Before putting it up for sale, I took the truck in for an oil change and a new sticker, the current one runs out in June, but because I rarely drive it, it failed emissions. The mechanic put a black reject sticker on that's good for 60 days, told me to put on 100 highway miles to make the emissions right, and not to worry, re-inspections are free. I drove 100 miles, brought it back, and it still failed. I was told to keep driving it for at least another 100 miles; that's why the black reject sticker's good for 60 days. It could take a while... 

But even with a lengthy and honest explanation, I knew that having a reject sticker on the windshield wouldn't help me sell my truck...

Over the years, I've sold many vehicles on Craigslist and at the end of my driveway. So I put a big For Sale sign on the windshield, parked it at the end of my driveway, and listed it on Craigslist and Facebook Marketplace.

I thought my one-owner 2018 Nissan Frontier SV 4.0 4WD with matching Leer cap and lots of WeatherTech accessories would sell quickly. After all, it just turned 14,000 miles on June 14th, my birthday.

I immediately began getting text messages from the Craigslist ad and on Facebook Messenger from Marketplace. There were a lot of low-ballers. Although the truck was advertised at $22,000, one guy asked me if I'd take $16,000 cash because that's all he had, while another was willing to splurge and pay $17,000...

One guy came to the house and offered $19,500. After I said the lowest I'd take was $21,500, he said he could be back in an hour with a bank check for $20,000. He said he was from Taunton, but the plate on his truck was a Rhode Island one...

Another guy texted his spiel. "I understand that you want to get as much as possible, but the market is tough these days. There are a lot of tire kickers on the market who will make an offer and never show up. Most people need financing, which takes a lot of time and is a hassle. I'm with a dealership, and we always have the funds. And we will cover the shipping as well. We offer $18,500, and we can get you paid today!"

Another guy on Messenger wanted to buy my truck, and I set up an appointment for him to see it. He was coming from Connecticut, an hour and a half away, so he messaged me asking me if I was willing to complete the deal today because he didn't want to drive back and forth. I searched him online, and according to my search results, he was arrested for violently threatening someone and spent some time in jail for it. When I told him the truck was under agreement and canceled our appointment, he responded, "I knew you were a scammer!"

Shortly after receiving that message, I got another one from a guy asking me if the truck was still available. After I said it was, the first guy messaged me back and said that it was a friend of his who messaged just to see if I was just trying to scam someone. I told him, "Although the truck is under agreement, agreements can fall through." I blocked him and his buddy. The other guy was right, who needs the hassle...

It was getting frustrating to deal with all the lowballers, so I decided to see what Carvana and CarMax were willing to pay for my truck.

Thursday afternoon, I filled out Carvana's required information about the vehicle online, including the VIN number, and sent them pictures of my odometer, title, and driver's license. Within minutes, they came back with a cash offer of $21,600.

Then, I did the same for CarMax, and the only additional thing they wanted was a selfie. They came back with a cash offer of $21,600, same as Carvana's...

Currently, my wife is home from the hospital for the first time since Christmas and under my care, so leaving her alone is not an option. Carvana offered to pick up the truck and do the transaction in my driveway for $140 on Friday morning, but CarMax didn't have that option. Under the current circumstances, having the truck picked up was a better option for me.

I got a text at 8:00 a.m. on Friday morning from Lenny, just 18 hours after getting Carvana's price, that he was on his way to Norton to pick up my truck. He arrived at 8:45 with a ramp truck. He looked my truck over and scanned the computer for errors; the emissions and reject sticker were not dealbreakers. He gave me some documents to sign and then handed me a check from Carvana for $21,460. I gave him the title and the spare keys. It was that easy.

After he secured my truck, he shook my hand and wished my wife and me good health before driving away.

I canceled my registration and insurance online and took all my ads down. No more lowballers and scammers for me!

In the case of my truck, it was in mint condition with low miles and a perfect candidate for a Carvana purchase. Fuck dealing with the scammers and lowballers on Craigslist and Facebook Marketplace. For me, Carvana was the best way to sell my truck.