Selling through Consignment

[mamazcookn]

Thinking of selling my 2011 E92 M3 through consignment. Would appreciate your experiences and thoughts. Live in Los Angeles area, would appreciate any dealer recommendations as well. Thanks!

[Bpark1977]

Originally Posted by mamazcookn

Thinking of selling my 2011 E92 M3 through consignment. Would appreciate your experiences and thoughts. Live in Los Angeles area, would appreciate any dealer recommendations as well. Thanks!

It really depends on how much your time is worth to you. I assume you are not trading it to a dealer because you don't need a new car, just to be rid of your M3.
You will get the least amount for your vehicle through consignment. The cut they will take to sell your vehicle will, most likely, make your net lower than just selling private party.
If you just can't be bothered to deal with the process, then that's your prerogative.
Be wary that some consignment places will say things like "we have someone really interested" when you're near the end of your contract period. Then once you sign an extension, "they just disappeared on us 🤷*♂️" and you're stuck there for another X amount of time.
If you choose a place, and they're not getting leads on your car, take it somewhere else. They're gonna make good money off you and should market the car accordingly.

Let us know how it goes.

[JPWEraser]

Just an idea, but have you considered the Carmax option? Sometimes people get decent offers from them and it's pretty low hassle.

[SoCalRPM]

OP, why are you already resigned to go the consignment route?

[Talib]

As the previous posters said, Unless you have absolutely no time, or have a hard time selling the car on your own, consignment would be the last option I opt for. The dealerships take a large percentage of your car price, at which rate you'd probably have better luck selling privately or trading in. IMO, these cars are highly in-demand, and if priced appropriately, shouldn't have any issues selling.

[WAKman]

Quick story: When I bought my first house, way back in 1985, I owned a Lotus Europa. (Had no money, but had a Lotus.) I had consigned the car to a specialty lot, needing to sell it for the down payment. The seller was motivated, though, so we worked a deal where I would transfer the car over to him for a agreed value of $6500, and he would just take title and continue to leave it consigned.

The car st unsold for a couple of months into winter. On day, I got a phone call from the new owner. The consignment guys went out to start the car, flooded the carbs, and the car burned to the ground (fiberglass burns nicely). The new owner was in a panic because his insurance company had no idea of that the car was worth. At the time, nice Eurpoas were in Hemmings for $10-12K, so I mailed him a couple pages. Never heard from him again, but I suspect he did well on the transaction .

[mamazcookn]

Originally Posted by JPWEraser

Just an idea, but have you considered the Carmax option? Sometimes people get decent offers from them and it's pretty low hassle.

I've sold some other cars to carmax (honda accord, golf, a4) and got decent money for them, but for an M3, I feel like their algorithms don't account for the supply/demand and small nuances of the car to give it a proper value.

[mamazcookn]

Originally Posted by SoCalRPM

OP, why are you already resigned to go the consignment route?

Consignment would probably be my last option of choice, but opened up the thread to simply have a better understanding of the experiences of others.

[JPWEraser]

Originally Posted by mamazcookn

I've sold some other cars to carmax (honda accord, golf, a4) and got decent money for them, but for an M3, I feel like their algorithms don't account for the supply/demand and small nuances of the car to give it a proper value.

You might be right but... what does it hurt to take it to them and get a quote? You can always refuse. Good luck either way.