I've been trying to sell my 1996 Toyota Hilux Surf for a while now and no luck.  Unfortunately for me, my family isn't here to help me when I go on deployment. 

My PRD is in August and I will hardly be in port to sell my vehicle, so if anyone knows someone who wants a Toyota Hilux (4Runner) and is willing to do follow through within the next 2 weeks (April 13th at the latest), please let me know.  I do have it posted in the Vehicle's for Sale, and have had people inquire and fly down and for some reason or another, it couldn't happen.  I hate to sound desperate but I'd hate to have to junk this vehicle after it being such a reliable vehicle for the last 4 years. 

My email is in the Vehicles add on here, so email me if you have any questions.

I'll give you the straight answer, you are asking too much. It's listed for 3K, I'm assuming because of your post you would consider much less. There is a Range Rover same year for 2K listed on there too.

Out of the 5 SUV's listed on here, you have twice as many miles as the rest and your asking price is in the top 2, the other one in that range has less than half the miles on theirs than you have. Based on the market you can see why people are looking but not pulling the trigger.

If you want to sell it drop the price to 1200 and reduce it by 100. every day. Until it sells, I noticed you have a fresh JCI. If you drop the price you would have no trouble selling it.

At the end of the day it's a 1996 vehicle and the only people interested in it would be those that don't want to be into a vehicle too deep while they are in Japan.

If you end up junking it you may get 200. so anything above that is a gain.

Good luck.

JCI wasn't cheap, and neither is Road Tax, so those expenses can't be expected to come free. I will considering lowering the price, but for the other vehicle you're talking about, I think they're really underselling considering other vehicles on the market right now. Thanks for your advice and I will take it into consideration.

The one thing that I have noticed about people selling/buying cars here is that they suffer from high expectations. The money you paid for your vehicle is not money that you're guaranteed to get back when you sell it. I've seen/heard tons of people say "I paid X amount for my car, but that's ok, because I'll get it back when I leave." I can't think of a worse way to buy something you plan on using. Your car isn't an investment. It's losing value every minute it exists, with few rare exceptions.

In the end, your car is only worth what someone else is willing to pay for it. While you may be expecting to get JCI and Road Tax back, that's no guarantee. I think you're looking at selling it for what you're into the car for, when you should take a step back and be objective. What's a reasonable offer for a car of that age, in that condition, etc. Then price it accordingly.

I have had many people want the car, but being underway for a while, with no one to help isn't doing me any good. I already know I won't get what I put into it. Having had the truck for 4 years, I've already put more into it than I'm asking, with repairs, taxes (the many Japan has) and Insurance. I feel the the truck is genuinely worth that much considering the condition it's in now.

If I don't start out with the price i'm asking for now, then there's no room for someone to talk me down. If people want it, but not at the price it's listed, nothing says they can't talk me down in price. If they don't want to talk me down in price (not saying that I wouldn't go down, because I will), then that's on them. There's nothing wrong with starting high so people can bargain for a better price.

Delusional. If a "good many people want the car" then it would have been sold. The bottom line is, they didn't want it.

What you put into it has no relevance. Buyers are simply comparing your vehicle to similar ones on the market. Don't forget they also have the alternative to go to auction or off-base dealers. Why should a buyer go to someone to start high & bid down, when they can go elsewhere, start low & bid down? You come across as too difficult to work with when there are many other better deals out there.

One thing I've learned over the years is you can sell anything, anytime. I sold my mom's house at the bottom of the real estate market a couple of years ago, plus homes & cars of my own. It's simply a matter of price. If it's not selling, it's because of the price.

Re: your comment: "I feel the the truck is genuinely worth that much." Unfortunately, you're not the one who determines what the truck is worth. The market determines that. And right now, the market is telling you it's not worth $3000. You need to pay attention to what the market is telling you or you'll be lucky to get $200 for salvage costs.

Words's of wisdom.

If you are the seller it's too cheap.

If you are the buyer it's too much.

Realistically it's a 1996, at that age if it's not something exotic it's a disposable vehicle. You spent what 800 on JCI, that's your selling point drop the price to 1500 and it should sell.

When selling something like a car, you can't really add in what you've put into it for maintenance. That's the cost of ownership. You're not going to listen to a buyer who says "Well, I'm going to have to do maintenance on the vehicle and it's going to add up to more than you're asking for, so give me $200 and I'll take her off your hands."

Price it at the lowest you're willing to accept and leave it there. You don't have to haggle with people. If the price is $1500*, then that's the price. Period. When you price it high and expect people to haggle you cut out a lot of potential buyers.




*I have no idea what your truck is actually worth. I'm just using hypothetical numbers.

I agree drop the price sooner than later.
Those of us who have been here a while have countless stories about good cars that were priced too high until the last minute.. When they had to be dumped for almost nothing. I've seen cars sold for zero dollars, because the owner just wanted to get rid of it before leaving the next day.

I think the main problem here is that everyone wants something for nothing on this base. That truck looks (in the pictures at least) like a top notch 4 Runner. And with fresh JCI and road tax its worth every penny of 3 grand. The problem with a truck like that is where can you use it around here? Its a neat family hauler, but kind of impractical. Not to mention I'm sure its a 300 plate, so road taxes and everything are going to be more pricey over the time owning the vehicle. 1500 for that thing is IMO a low ball. But what do I know.

Oh, but is you decide to sell it for 1500 let me know

dblpost

Posted By indytrucks on 04-03-2012 1:24 PM

With fresh JCI and road tax its worth every penny of 3 grand. The problem with a truck like that is where can you use it around here? Its a neat family hauler, but kind of impractical. Not to mention I'm sure its a 300 plate, so road taxes and everything are going to be more pricey over the time owning the vehicle.

As I said, the seller is "not the one who determines what the truck is worth. The market determines that."  With all the factors that you mentioned, it's just not worth that price in the prevailing market in Japan.  Stateside, this would be a steal.  We're not stateside.

Everyone wants something for nothing. I just sold my car and had people calling, texting, and emailing offering me next to nothing for it. I wasn't in any hurry to sell so I got my asking price. There is an ass for every seat. The main limiting factor here for the OP is that he didn't leave himself enough time to have it for sale until that ass found his truck. I don't care what anyone says, the market to sell cars/ trucks is there if you have the time to wait for the right person to buy your vehicle.

04-03-2012 1:24 PM	Quote Reply Alert
Oh, but is you decide to sell it for 1500 let me know

See there at 1500 we have a buyer!

Of course he could, one day, possibly sell the truck for $3000. Hell, he might even get $4000. But if he actually wants to sell it soon, he's going to need to price it accordingly. Like ThaiGuy said, the market dictates the price.